Sunday, 22 December 2019
Tuesday, 10 December 2019
Berlot Brecht
Berlot Brecht -
Brecht was a German practitioner specialising in theatre, inventing many styles of theatre and theories in the 1920s. He invented theories such as the fourth wall, interrupting the audience's contact with the show. He was against the idea of his audiences sitting passively and getting lost in the narrative of the actual show, rather audiences should look at the show as a presentation of life. 'Epic theatre' is a technique associated with Brecht that practises this, where audiences are reminded they are watching a play, and not getting lost into believing the character and crying/ laughing for them, for example. At this point, he was more interested in facts rather than fantasy.
Verfremdungseffekt (distancing effect) -
This effect links to the idea of feeling alienated, or distanced from. Brecht wanted the audience to feel an emotional distance from the play by adding techniques that remind the audience they are in fact watching a play, and that the story is not real. Causing this interruption may make the audience feel distanced and uncomfortable - Brecht's intentions. He wanted the audience to be active, and question the artificiality of the theatre and its setup. In thinking about this, Brecht hoped the audience would therefore emotionally distance themselves from problems that required logic.
Brecht and Contemporary media production
The idea of naturalistic theatre (audiences watching a piece of drama and being lost in the storyline and characters, forgetting about real life) is common in modern theatre, though Brecht's theory on Epic theatre and the fourth wall add some depth into theatre and play with audiences emotions, making them equally as important in modern day theatre. This is also done in films, the main character would break the fourth wall - which could be done in many ways, such as addressing the audience directly, commenting on a character within the story/ of their own character, speaking stage directions ironically, etc. A film that practises this by a filmmaker who seems to use the effect widely is A Rainy Day in New York by Woody Allen. The cinematography of the film consists of the 'characters' also filming a film.
Practical, filming using Brecht's theories -
- Moving image piece with no dietetic sound, just a voiceover.
- The film following a character who goes into the photography studio and over-exaggerates their personality.
- A voiceover of stage directions as to what the character is doing. film some shots of "Cut," 'director' speaking to the participant.
- One-shot
"Script" -
INT. photography studio, Day. 12pm.
Chantel walks in confidently tying up her hair.
The photographer follows behind her.
Chantel stands by the backdrop while the photographer, Dan, walks to get the camera.
The photographer walks around the studio, setting up the lights. The photographer starts to photograph the model.
(POV of model, photographer speaks directly to the camera)
Dan - "move your hand, smile, flick your hair."
(POV of photographer, speaks again directly to the camera)
Chantel - "Like this? How do the photos look?"
Brecht was a German practitioner specialising in theatre, inventing many styles of theatre and theories in the 1920s. He invented theories such as the fourth wall, interrupting the audience's contact with the show. He was against the idea of his audiences sitting passively and getting lost in the narrative of the actual show, rather audiences should look at the show as a presentation of life. 'Epic theatre' is a technique associated with Brecht that practises this, where audiences are reminded they are watching a play, and not getting lost into believing the character and crying/ laughing for them, for example. At this point, he was more interested in facts rather than fantasy.
Verfremdungseffekt (distancing effect) -
This effect links to the idea of feeling alienated, or distanced from. Brecht wanted the audience to feel an emotional distance from the play by adding techniques that remind the audience they are in fact watching a play, and that the story is not real. Causing this interruption may make the audience feel distanced and uncomfortable - Brecht's intentions. He wanted the audience to be active, and question the artificiality of the theatre and its setup. In thinking about this, Brecht hoped the audience would therefore emotionally distance themselves from problems that required logic.
Brecht and Contemporary media production
The idea of naturalistic theatre (audiences watching a piece of drama and being lost in the storyline and characters, forgetting about real life) is common in modern theatre, though Brecht's theory on Epic theatre and the fourth wall add some depth into theatre and play with audiences emotions, making them equally as important in modern day theatre. This is also done in films, the main character would break the fourth wall - which could be done in many ways, such as addressing the audience directly, commenting on a character within the story/ of their own character, speaking stage directions ironically, etc. A film that practises this by a filmmaker who seems to use the effect widely is A Rainy Day in New York by Woody Allen. The cinematography of the film consists of the 'characters' also filming a film.
Practical, filming using Brecht's theories -
- Moving image piece with no dietetic sound, just a voiceover.
- The film following a character who goes into the photography studio and over-exaggerates their personality.
- A voiceover of stage directions as to what the character is doing. film some shots of "Cut," 'director' speaking to the participant.
- One-shot
"Script" -
INT. photography studio, Day. 12pm.
Chantel walks in confidently tying up her hair.
The photographer follows behind her.
Chantel stands by the backdrop while the photographer, Dan, walks to get the camera.
The photographer walks around the studio, setting up the lights. The photographer starts to photograph the model.
(POV of model, photographer speaks directly to the camera)
Dan - "move your hand, smile, flick your hair."
(POV of photographer, speaks again directly to the camera)
Chantel - "Like this? How do the photos look?"
Monday, 9 December 2019
Pre production - 'The ugly side of social media'
Creating a marketing campaign for recovering social media addicts.
My target audience for this project would be teenagers and young adults, as their daily lives depend mostly around technology and social media, along with their demographic suffering most from mental health issues related to social media. Research including information provided in MTV's documentation videos based in L.A around social media influencers. All struggling with mental health issues, the participants are aged 13+ / under 25. The photographs/ posters will appeal to them, considering there is a wide spread of audience who may know someone struggling with addiction to the media, or experience it themselves.
During the pre production stage of the project in lead up to the final project, I may have issues such as cancellation from my model, availability of cameras / the studio, along with deadline timing. In preparation for my Final Major Project, I will ensure that whichever mistakes are made with time management with the photography studio and participants involved are learnt from, with reliable feedback for the future.
My initial idea for this project consists of exploring photographically, using the photography studio and silhouette technique. The photographs should be viewed in sequence, as there could be 1-3 photo's that all tell a story depending on the actions of the model - these being the model taking a photograph using their phone, then looking at the photograph on the device, then having their hands in their hair, etc, to show frustration, The meaning behind this being to portray the obsessive behaviour associated with using technology / social media, and how one feels when they do not get the perfect picture - for example. Viewing in sequence will portray this story in a technical, subtle manner, rather than a direct message. Interpreting how an audience will react to my project may also reveal whether they are passive or active, as my message is subtle.
I will experiment with how the silhouette will look using the background soft-box- if I want the whole model in faded form with some light to see the phone and other detail, as done in the picture shown below, or with no detail of the model in complete shadow form, meaning a brighter setting on the soft-box (brightest being 6.) The comparison below -
I have chosen to go against social media as it is an opinion I already hold, and feel that the best possible result can come from a topic that the media producer is passionate about. Further inspiration comes from the argument of Henry Jenkins, stating that young people are evidently affected by social media in some way - therefore causing them to "prepare themselves" to think in a different way for the future.
My target audience for this project would be teenagers and young adults, as their daily lives depend mostly around technology and social media, along with their demographic suffering most from mental health issues related to social media. Research including information provided in MTV's documentation videos based in L.A around social media influencers. All struggling with mental health issues, the participants are aged 13+ / under 25. The photographs/ posters will appeal to them, considering there is a wide spread of audience who may know someone struggling with addiction to the media, or experience it themselves.
During the pre production stage of the project in lead up to the final project, I may have issues such as cancellation from my model, availability of cameras / the studio, along with deadline timing. In preparation for my Final Major Project, I will ensure that whichever mistakes are made with time management with the photography studio and participants involved are learnt from, with reliable feedback for the future.
Sunday, 8 December 2019
Smashing stereotypes - 'Growing up' reflection
Within the 'Smashing Stereotypes' project, I have explored themes of femininity and LGBTQ+ rights, using both photography and moving image. Gender roles, labelling, and social construction are all subjects that come to mind when given a 'stereotype' brief, these ideas being the foundation of my practice. Working in a pair, our initial idea was to explore transgender rights considering this segment of LGBT is not as widely spoken about, and that I have personally not researched the topic before, therefore informing myself through the process. As we decided to contact a university lecturer who was open about her sexuality and identity as a transgender woman who we had met at Goldsmith University open day, the chances of respondents were low, we, therefore, could not pursue the idea as we knew not of any other transgender personas. Following the same community, however, we decided to contact a homosexual friend, who was willing to share his LGBT journey. We knew more openly gay/ lesbian teens than transgender, in the case that one cancelled last minute. This is something to consider for my Final Major Project, ensuring, if used, there are multiple personas available for the desired role in case of cancellation, etc. Our friend shared his LGBT story, discussing how he felt from his childhood onwards. As the candidate was not comfortable to be on camera, we recorded only a voice note. The voice note synced with our music edited on the beat to both moving image and photography, some photographs used as shown below. Cinematic shots of our location - Soho are embedded, including shots of gay pubs / bars and couples, with the use of soviet montage.
In terms of inspiration for this idea, makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills inspired me for the initial photography practical. Their previous advertisements for highlighting product 'Glow kit' used male figures in an empowering manner. After then photographing and using Adobe Photoshop for my promotion of the makeup brand, I had been inspired and was convinced I wanted to follow the same LGBTQ+ route, however no use of Photoshop this time. Though I had developed basic skills I previously had, including merging and locking layers, and further learning the editing of text using italics, bold, etc. If pursuing photography for my Final Major Project, I will take the software into consideration. Coming off from the photography idea, I had decided to explore both photography and moving image. My inspirations for the final idea included musical artist Troye Sivan, who is openly gay and expresses this through his music and music videos, along with social media platforms with a target audience of teenagers. Examples of LGBT exploration include music videos 'Bloom' and 'Heaven,' where he continuously smashes stereotypes by wearing makeup and dresses. As we had just studied soviet montages, we felt that the visuals under the Heaven music video fit perfectly as it included black and
white footage symbolising LGBT history, such as protests, signs, fights for rights etc. Footage in which we could link using the montage effect. The montage also links to the voiceover narrative, where the candidate speaks about growing up. History of LGBT developing in parallel to the candidate growing up was therefore our goal. With sound covered, another inspiration for the cinematics of the piece came from an artist who had inspired me from the beginning of this course, and has continued to do so through to my Final Major Project, being Connor Franta. His cinematic shots and edited voiceover in Youtube video 'More than just words' creates an artistic vibe - one in which I wanted to match and incorporate to keep the audience's attention and keep the whole video cinematically / artistically fresh. It also inspired the artistic side of the edit, we had decided to add something to make the video look more interesting, this being the grain overlay. The grain contributes to olden black and white footage, and to the historical research conducted behind this project.
After finalising our ideas from said inspirations with a view of our desired end goal and being clear of our changed idea, we began pre production. This including a storyboard, location scouting, a shotlist and risk assessment. Location scouting did not take much time, as I was aware of the locations we wanted to film in. When filming on location, we did not have a time frame - therefore did not overstep anything, and filled the time with as many shots of surroundings as possible. Using two cameras as part of our resources, both generally for moving image and photographs, however as done in previous projects my partner undertook more moving image, and I photography. Further documentation included the storyboard and shotlist. We found that we did not use the storyboard as reference when filming / during post production, however we used the shotlist in both circumstances. All shots recorded from location Soho were filmed, however due to deadline timing and the requirement of time to edit, we did not film graffiti shots in Shoreditch. To ensure and improve time management for future projects, I could view which shots are most important and balance these out between locations, ensuring there is time for both in equal amounts - e.g if we halved the time used in Soho then using the remaining time to shoot in Shoreditch. Separating the shot list into important / vital shots and spare footage is something I will continue to pursue when creating shot lists within my media projects. As we filmed on a Friday night in an area for socialising and drinking, a risk assessment was vital, further considering the time of year and weather - when it filmed, it was raining. One thing I have learnt by viewing the result of the project is to make the most of surrounding conditions - although it was raining and weather had been listed as a risk for slipping / camera damage, certain shots including the rain made the overall video cinematic, shots including the video shown below of various lights and raindrops onto a puddle. Colour also had a huge effect on our end product, in constant linkage to the LGBT rainbow.
The risk assessment overall made us aware, with further explanation as to how to avoid the risks that were carried through from this pre production stage till filming on location. In terms of post production, blogging the lyrics of Troye Sivans 'Heaven' with notes on our ideas helped as a reference point, and helped me remember what to edit, using Adobe Premiere Pro. To improve for my Final Major Project during the pre production stage, I could undertake test shots - in the case that I do not know the location I am filming, and ensure my time management upto this point improves and is accurate - and could do test edits for the post production stage, finding various royalty free sounds and noting these / experimenting with Adobe Audition, etc.
Theoretical research including First wave Feminism through to Fourth wave and Post Feminism all act as contribution to the final piece. The idea of history linking to the participant 'growing up,' with further hope to inform the audience on how LGBT personas struggle / overcome, and how they smash stereotypes and pass labelling. Theorists such as Judith Butler contribute to my final project, Butlers trans rights book titled "Gender trouble" published in 1990 proves a change into feminism and an increase in changing opinions throughout the Third Wave. The theorist and Waves of feminism link to the developing narrative of my project. The parallel idea that the participant grows up and overcomes / accepts who they are, in comparison to the development Waves, in further comparison to how the cinematography and editing develops. Beginning in black and white with montage footage of suppressement, then developing in the colours and order of the LGBT flag, to then viewing colourful footage with a range of couples in London. Undertaking both the research and editing using key/ smart colour are attributes I have learnt during this project, though I feel both skills - research and colour correction editing, can be developed and improved within future projects. Constant filmmaking and editing also means desire for new experimentation and research, which is something we have attempted within this project by adjusting the ratio of our film. Inspired by musical artist Travis Scott who made a music video in 'skybox' form, this being something researched into artistically and something we wanted to try.
Overall completing this project, I have learnt how to artistically explore using narrative, research and cinematography whilst expanding my technical knowledge on Premiere Pro using overlays and music, with colour correction learnt by working with my partner. I would further like to continue with experimental, cinematic shots, further ensuring I have test shots for my Final Major Project (if pursuing moving image) in contribution to pre production. Next time, I could also use Adobe Audition, or other Adobe software's such as In-design if pursuing photography, to edit a voiceover in more detail, or a photograph. Time management will be sorted more efficiently, as I am aware I wanted to start the project using audio in a special way - in which was done with the editing between music and voiceover, however I could use Audition next time / could also ensure the quality of the voiceover is better by using resources such as a microphone in a quiet / soundproof room.
Bibliography -
https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/judith-butler-c-v-r.html
https://youtu.be/8VNV__mV38s
https://youtu.be/CAoDrPIBVdc
https://youtu.be/924fAhI_rU0
https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/all/desktop
In terms of inspiration for this idea, makeup brand Anastasia Beverly Hills inspired me for the initial photography practical. Their previous advertisements for highlighting product 'Glow kit' used male figures in an empowering manner. After then photographing and using Adobe Photoshop for my promotion of the makeup brand, I had been inspired and was convinced I wanted to follow the same LGBTQ+ route, however no use of Photoshop this time. Though I had developed basic skills I previously had, including merging and locking layers, and further learning the editing of text using italics, bold, etc. If pursuing photography for my Final Major Project, I will take the software into consideration. Coming off from the photography idea, I had decided to explore both photography and moving image. My inspirations for the final idea included musical artist Troye Sivan, who is openly gay and expresses this through his music and music videos, along with social media platforms with a target audience of teenagers. Examples of LGBT exploration include music videos 'Bloom' and 'Heaven,' where he continuously smashes stereotypes by wearing makeup and dresses. As we had just studied soviet montages, we felt that the visuals under the Heaven music video fit perfectly as it included black and white footage symbolising LGBT history, such as protests, signs, fights for rights etc. Footage in which we could link using the montage effect. The montage also links to the voiceover narrative, where the candidate speaks about growing up. History of LGBT developing in parallel to the candidate growing up was therefore our goal. With sound covered, another inspiration for the cinematics of the piece came from an artist who had inspired me from the beginning of this course, and has continued to do so through to my Final Major Project, being Connor Franta. His cinematic shots and edited voiceover in Youtube video 'More than just words' creates an artistic vibe - one in which I wanted to match and incorporate to keep the audience's attention and keep the whole video cinematically / artistically fresh. It also inspired the artistic side of the edit, we had decided to add something to make the video look more interesting, this being the grain overlay. The grain contributes to olden black and white footage, and to the historical research conducted behind this project.
After finalising our ideas from said inspirations with a view of our desired end goal and being clear of our changed idea, we began pre production. This including a storyboard, location scouting, a shotlist and risk assessment. Location scouting did not take much time, as I was aware of the locations we wanted to film in. When filming on location, we did not have a time frame - therefore did not overstep anything, and filled the time with as many shots of surroundings as possible. Using two cameras as part of our resources, both generally for moving image and photographs, however as done in previous projects my partner undertook more moving image, and I photography. Further documentation included the storyboard and shotlist. We found that we did not use the storyboard as reference when filming / during post production, however we used the shotlist in both circumstances. All shots recorded from location Soho were filmed, however due to deadline timing and the requirement of time to edit, we did not film graffiti shots in Shoreditch. To ensure and improve time management for future projects, I could view which shots are most important and balance these out between locations, ensuring there is time for both in equal amounts - e.g if we halved the time used in Soho then using the remaining time to shoot in Shoreditch. Separating the shot list into important / vital shots and spare footage is something I will continue to pursue when creating shot lists within my media projects. As we filmed on a Friday night in an area for socialising and drinking, a risk assessment was vital, further considering the time of year and weather - when it filmed, it was raining. One thing I have learnt by viewing the result of the project is to make the most of surrounding conditions - although it was raining and weather had been listed as a risk for slipping / camera damage, certain shots including the rain made the overall video cinematic, shots including the video shown below of various lights and raindrops onto a puddle. Colour also had a huge effect on our end product, in constant linkage to the LGBT rainbow.
The risk assessment overall made us aware, with further explanation as to how to avoid the risks that were carried through from this pre production stage till filming on location. In terms of post production, blogging the lyrics of Troye Sivans 'Heaven' with notes on our ideas helped as a reference point, and helped me remember what to edit, using Adobe Premiere Pro. To improve for my Final Major Project during the pre production stage, I could undertake test shots - in the case that I do not know the location I am filming, and ensure my time management upto this point improves and is accurate - and could do test edits for the post production stage, finding various royalty free sounds and noting these / experimenting with Adobe Audition, etc.
Theoretical research including First wave Feminism through to Fourth wave and Post Feminism all act as contribution to the final piece. The idea of history linking to the participant 'growing up,' with further hope to inform the audience on how LGBT personas struggle / overcome, and how they smash stereotypes and pass labelling. Theorists such as Judith Butler contribute to my final project, Butlers trans rights book titled "Gender trouble" published in 1990 proves a change into feminism and an increase in changing opinions throughout the Third Wave. The theorist and Waves of feminism link to the developing narrative of my project. The parallel idea that the participant grows up and overcomes / accepts who they are, in comparison to the development Waves, in further comparison to how the cinematography and editing develops. Beginning in black and white with montage footage of suppressement, then developing in the colours and order of the LGBT flag, to then viewing colourful footage with a range of couples in London. Undertaking both the research and editing using key/ smart colour are attributes I have learnt during this project, though I feel both skills - research and colour correction editing, can be developed and improved within future projects. Constant filmmaking and editing also means desire for new experimentation and research, which is something we have attempted within this project by adjusting the ratio of our film. Inspired by musical artist Travis Scott who made a music video in 'skybox' form, this being something researched into artistically and something we wanted to try.
Overall completing this project, I have learnt how to artistically explore using narrative, research and cinematography whilst expanding my technical knowledge on Premiere Pro using overlays and music, with colour correction learnt by working with my partner. I would further like to continue with experimental, cinematic shots, further ensuring I have test shots for my Final Major Project (if pursuing moving image) in contribution to pre production. Next time, I could also use Adobe Audition, or other Adobe software's such as In-design if pursuing photography, to edit a voiceover in more detail, or a photograph. Time management will be sorted more efficiently, as I am aware I wanted to start the project using audio in a special way - in which was done with the editing between music and voiceover, however I could use Audition next time / could also ensure the quality of the voiceover is better by using resources such as a microphone in a quiet / soundproof room.
Bibliography -
https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/judith-butler-c-v-r.html
https://youtu.be/8VNV__mV38s
https://youtu.be/CAoDrPIBVdc
https://youtu.be/924fAhI_rU0
https://creativecloud.adobe.com/apps/all/desktop
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Brainstormed ideas for practical photography: Using a male model wearing something that may be seen as female or promoting makeup - ...
