It had the title 'Innovation', and basically, the brief was to form a group of no more than six fellow students from our course, pick any decade in history we wanted, make a time line, research it - and prepare a 10 minute long presentation on that decade, in any format we liked, focusing on 'Innovation', particularly in art and design, and taking into account political, social and cultural influences. We had to record all our meetings (listing attendance and contribution), and explain how we researched, and how the project developed, . In addition, Individually, there was to be a 1000 word essay on a particular piece that could be described as being 'art and design', that either was innovative or reflected innovation - and this essay had to include a section reflecting on our individual experience of group work within this project.
It was at this time that I really got to know Gemma - she approached myself, and Dawn (who is a long time friend of mine and who, luckily for me, had also decided to enrol on this course) and she, Dawn and I decided to work together on this project, with 3 other group members.
Initially, we found the brief just a little bit ambiguous in places, but after a couple of chats, we got our heads straight about what we should be doing. At the first meeting, we quickly agreed upon the decade - The Swinging Sixties - and set to work on collecting the information we needed for the time line . The second meeting had us collecting the info in, agreeing that we would make a shot film for the presentation, and I agreed to collate the information for, and design the presentation of the time line.
By the next meet, we were down to four - Dawn, Gemma, Suzie and myself - but on we plodded. The short film idea had to be scrapped as none of us felt we knew enough about editing to really pull it off, without the other two members - so we started talking about using images in a slide show, with a voice over, to do our presentation. So, Gemma, Suzee, Dawn and I set about finding images, and Gemma wrote a 'voice over' narrative for us. It very quickly came together, and once Gemma had written and recorded the voice-over, using also several sound clips sourced by Dawn, I collected in all the images, and learnt how to make a slide show - once I figured it out, and had completed the first half, Dawn joined me and together we completed it, with me designing the title pages and end credits.
Meantime, I decided for my essay, to focus on the fabulous work of photographer David Bailey, and in particular, on the incredibly innovative and stunning work, 'David Bailey's Box of Pin Ups'
Mick Jagger by Bailey
The Kray Twins By Bailey
I've loved the work of Bailey (and Donovan and Duffy) for a long time, and the only problem with the essay was that I could so easily have written double the amount and had a hard time keeping it to length! I was fascinated by how accurately Baileys work reflected the massive changes in popular and social culture during the 1960s - his work, in just this one collection, demonstrated the changes in attitude towards class, sex and even criminality.
The finished slideshow looked pretty damn good, I thought . . .
We were later awarded an A for this, and I got a B+ for the essay - so I guess it was worth all the hard work.
In part, the experiences gained from working on the Innovation project influenced how I approached the next module. It also involved working in a group for some of the units, and I knew that I needed to work with fellow students who had the same attitude to the work that I had, if I wanted to get out of this course everything I could. Dawn and I have worked together many times, and I had no desire to change that. Gemma felt that we had worked well together on the Innovation project, and Dawn and I had no hesitation in wanting to work with her again. Dave became the 4th member of the team - and he turned out to be on the same wavelength as the rest of us - as a result of this, I found this second unit to be far more productive, and even more enjoyable that the first.
Apart from the audio section, that is!
Audio
We had to record 30 second bursts from about 30 different radio shows - not music, just talking! Then we had to listen to them, right them down - then basically pick out snatches from the different programmes to create a completely different dialogue. And you know, its impossible to do that without ending up with a piece full of suggestive phrases and double meanings (most of them quite rude!). I learnt that I really am a visual person - I can play for hours with photographic editing, don't care how tricky or fiddly it is, but audio!!! It seemed very time consuming for a not particularly special result. It wasn't helped because the mac I was using decided it was NOT going to play nice, meaning I had to start from scratch on another machine, and then the staff who would usually be there to help us was unfortunately absent, and I really struggled with it - but I least I learned for sure, that I DON'T want a career in audio.
However, the rest of the units . . .
Jump Cutting
This was my second attempt at making a short film - and this time, I actually felt I learnt quite a bit. Jump cutting involves a form of editing where by the editing is obvious, things don't have to run in sequence, the action 'jumps' quickly and obviously, and there was a parallel edit running through it. We planned the story out in advance, and jumped straight into filming . . . and because we got the filming finished really quickly, we had plenty of time for editing - and Dave, who has experience editing was fantastic, very willing to share his knowledge and teach the rest of us how to use the software.
We were pretty pleased with the result
Some shots from making the film
The photo used as a prop in the film
Dave and Gemma - behind the lens
Whilst we were filming this scene, we actually had passing cars stop to watch - and in one instance, someone asked was it a real cat!
Filming a close up
Dave meets an obstacle!
Reviewing footage
(thanx to Dawn for taking the picture)
Dawn and Gemma like what we have shot!
Me, behind the lens - thanx again to Dawn for taking the pic!
Shooting the parallel edit
Gemma
Dawn and Dave, behind the lens
Dave and Gemma
Lewis - to say thank you to Lewis for helping out as 'The Other Man', he was presented with one of the roses from the bouquet - and Lewis, being Lewis, he knew just where to stick it - if you'll pardon the phrase!
Vox Pops
The next bit of filming was a 'Vox Pops' video - basically, you pose a question, and record the reactions of people to it as they go about their everyday life - and the interviewer doesn't feature. We managed to have fun doing this, but must admit - prefer live action drama!
Next, we had two photography assignments - the first was to produce 10 photographs as a 'documentary narrative' - this was part of the Vox Pops unit. We had to pick a subject we felt strongly about and produce images that reflected how we felt about it. My subject was the local country side - I think we have some absolutely stunning locations, right on our door step - and that not enough is made of them, either by the local authorities, or even by the people who live here. Dave was concentrating on abandoned industries, and Gemma on ruined/derelict buildings, and I knew of one or two locations that would fulfil the brief for all of us. And I had the pleasure of introducing them both to one or two of my favourite photographic spots.
We started out in Minera, at the old Lime Quarry . . .
Sometimes, I just love lens flare!
I love the drama of this place.
Considering how beautiful the place is, and considering the amount of evidence of the industry that is still lying about the site, I just don't understand why it isn't made more of!
Venturing through the tree's we encountered a 'Phil Mitchell' Robin . . .
Pretty sure his chirping and tweeting at us, as we passed by, would have translated to 'GET OUTTA MY WOODS' !
Colour, Design and Observation.
The next unit comprised several different subjects -
Complimentary colour
Rhythm
Analogous Colour
Looking down
Frame within a frame
Looking Up
Reflection in a window
Monocolour
I really enjoyed this unit - spending time, out and about with the camera is always fun - and again, I found myself looking at my environment in a much closer fashion than I usually would, noticing stuff that would usually pass me by.
However, I will say that for a person like me, who is absolutely petrified of heights, the photo of 'Looking Down' was especially challenging!
Parallel Edit
This last unit was another film, and this time, we had a whole two weeks to do it. We decided to tackle the issue of mental health, and I absolutely loved working on this. We used several different locations, and I felt that as a team, we bounced idea's off each other, and that we all benefited from the experience and input of each other. The finished film was something I thought we could all be really proud of - although it was still clearly an 'amateur' attempt at film making, you could see how we had improved, and I could see how we had really started to grasp the concepts behind film work. I also learnt so much about editing - once again, we had been well prepared, had jumped straight into filming, and left ourselves lots of time for the editing - and that gave the less experienced members of the team, such as myself, more chance to have a go and get to grips with using Final Cut.
For personal reasons, one of the team members prefers that this film isn't floated for all to see on the internet, so sadly, I can't share it - but I was very pleased with the B+ grade it earned us.
So, again - what did I learn from this Module?
I learnt that the film editing software wasn't as scary as I thought it would be! My attention to detail in the film units improved, and I discovered I really enjoyed working as part of a group, and seeing it all come together.
Again, the point about having to really 'work' for this degree hit home - I am sure a lot of my friends who hear me talk about building sandcastles, or kicking toy cats along the road for a film scene must think I do nothing but have a damn good laugh. Well - there are a lot of laughs - but the organisation required is immense, the willingness to go and find out how to do things right, to ask questions and seek advice, is constant, and the extra time, outside of the actual university hours, needed to research and read and organise yourself for group work, is heavy.
I am loving every minute of it !
Mainly I learnt that although I was really beginning to enjoy the film work, for me, its still the photography that pulls me the most. I guess I really started to 'find my feet', and become more sure of the direction I want to move in.
Next - Where I am up to Now - and Creative Futures 1.
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