When the idea of a
self-initiated FMP was put across to me, I felt blank for ideas and slightly
worried at the possible outcomes, as well as the nervous feeling of opting for
an unsuitable project. After a lot of thought over several previous weeks, I settled
with a few ideas that could be versatile, experimental and use a range of
techniques that I wanted to develop more throughout the project.
I wanted to select a
project that no one had really completed before, one that I could direct myself
and make it my own. I chose my Disney inspired project for the final cut
because if I wanted to put my own stamp on the project, it needed to be
alternative, with plenty of room for idea creativity for each shoot. I knew
from the beginning of my thought process that I wanted to create a blurb book
due to the relation of the physical book with the fairy-tale story that parents
would read to their children at night, however the alternative nature would be
slightly unrecognised yet related to the original ‘uncensored’ versions of
fairy tales. I also chose to experiment with nursery rhymes for a wider range
of characters, especially as each rhyme has a purpose and/or an event in
history to relate to which the shoot could be based on.
I think that this
project went very well because there are many strong areas within ideas
creation, research, planning, shooting and evaluating:
·
Variety
of idea creation methods
·
Sufficient
research of stories- current versions, re-made and original/censored versions
·
Documentation
of artist research and inspirations
·
Excessive
planning for each shoot- storyboards
·
Effective
organisation of models and selection of location
·
Selection
of the most suitable file type- RAW
·
Simple
direction of shoots- model positions etc.
·
Detailed
evaluations and advice of what to do/not do in the next shoot
·
Documentation
of what’s working/not working
·
Annotation
of contact sheets and selection of images
·
Effective
post production comparisons
·
Meaningful
experimentation with different equipment and techniques
·
Studio
and location techniques
·
Film
processes (both 35mm and 120mm)
·
Researching
print/framing/book places and the preparation beforehand (re-sizing and book
creation)
However, I think that
there are also some areas of my project that I could improve on or do
differently next time including the more effective use of my blog. I tried to
treat this as a second sketchbook but found it difficult to keep up to date as
the website itself was quite difficult to upload photos to and the format was
also frustrating to work with. I also think that next time, I will need to keep
a running bibliography as I go along rather than just at the end as this will
be easier compiling each link and book name/ISBN at the time. Other than this,
I think that my project was very successful and if I was to complete it again
next time, I would just develop my ideas from here and include a few different characters/stories,
possibly some further shoots to represent this.
I think that my final
images work really well, both my print on the wall and those exhibited in my
book because I feel that they are all critically composed and well thought out
with regards to their framing and colour scheme. I’m really pleased with how my
book is set out, especially as I think that I have more than one final image
for several of the stories so I was able to include these extra images also. I
think that my images represent my alternative photographic style and the post
production was executed well for a set of appealing images that meet the brief
and criteria. I feel that I have created a body of work to be proud of and am
pleased that my experience and technique has developed during this project, as
well as my confidence as a photographer with regards to approaching models and
directing them throughout the shoot.
