Documentary - Personal Reflection

Overall, I am unbelievably proud of myself and my groups efforts towards this project. I feel that there have been many times where we could have easily just accepted defeat and taken the easy way out but every one of us kept true to our idea and powered through until the very end.
There were many risks taken during this project; There was no way we could be 100% sure that we would get the shots of the flatmates that we wanted, because of this we had to spend most of our days just loitering around the flat until people came out of their rooms and were willing to talk to us.

One thing that I do think that I have lacked in is ongoing research during the project. I feel as though I have been so engulfed in the practical side of it that I haven't done as much written work as I originally would've hoped. I know now that this is something that I am going to have to work on in future projects as it will help me track my progress.

I also feel as though my knowledge of documentaries is very minimal. I feel as though I would have had a much better idea of how to film a documentary if only I had watched a lot more in my own time ; This would've given me a much better understanding as to what styles of documentary make them so different from one another.

With all of this being said, I am very happy with the outcome of our documentary. I feel as though the feedback that has been given so far has been amazing and is pleasing to hear that it had such a good impact on those, especially students who can relate to living with strangers. This project has definitely opened up my perspective on documentaries and I hope to use my new found skills in the future if I ever make another one.

Documentary - Editing

When the editing began, it was initially quite a difficult process. I was using Premiere Pro which isn't the editing software that I am usually familiar with; This caused some problems as it was though I was trying to edit a documentary with a piece of software that I had no clue how to use. The edit had a very slow start as I found it difficult to adapt to using a transcript to help with the editing. Eventually after a day or so I got the hang of it and the transcripts made things so much easier whilst editing. 

After trying to edit on Premiere Pro for a few hours I was really struggling. For some reason the clips that I was importing were not staying in their designated folders and every clip that I imported was being imported 3 times instead of just the once. Because of these reasons, I decided to change to the editing software that I was most comfortable with; Final Cut Pro. Once I started using Final Cut, the whole edit began to take shape. The clips seemed so much easier to trim and put together. 

There was a point in the edit where there was a clip of myself and Callum singing. Because this clip was recorded on an iPhone, I wanted to try and give more of a 'home video' kind of look so I wanted to try and add a old camcorder filter to put over the clip. I searched online for a downloadable filter but was unable to find one. The clip still looked good without a filter but hopefully in the future I can try and find a filter if ever I need it again.

Documentary - Filming

When filming began, we established that we were going to have to make a schedule to keep on track throughout the week. We tried to stick to the schedule so that when we came to the editing part of the documentary, we would have all of the clips the we wanted to have.

Schedule:

Monday - exterior shots of house, communal filming to catch housemates interacting

Tuesday - shots of housemates rooms to get their personalities, interview two housemates

Wednesday - (main filming day) film four interviews, communal shots in the kitchen, come back in the evening to catch meal time

Thursday - interview final two housemates, film housemates just doing their thing in their rooms to capture their personalities

Friday - general housemate interactions, review footage to make sure we have all shots that we want

Although we have a schedule of what we want to film, it is very open to change due to the fact that some housemates are only available on certain days and therefore we have to respect this and work around their own timetables.

Even though we may have some adjustments to our timetable, I'm sure we'll be able to get everything shot that we want to, and we'll have enough footage to play around with in the edit.

Documentary - Understanding the Contributors

We have to understand what issues we may face when dealing with the public and the people we want to film, but also how to be responsible and considerate when filming them in their daily lives.

Things to be considered are:

• Allowing people to have some control over how they will be portrayed
• Negotiating the permission to film
• Does the presence of the camera affect what is being filmed
• Is the camera acknowledged or hidden
• What, who, when and where to shoot all crucial choices and may affect the viewers opinion on those filmed
• How will the contributors be perceived by the public
• How can informed consent be obtained under the influence of drugs, alcohol or mental health issues
• Why might people agree to be filmed

One of the things that I am most cautious about is how the presence of a camera may affect the way that people act and behave. When filming this documentary we want the contributors to feel as relaxed as possible so we can get the most true and honest footage of them as a person. One way that could help this problem is by having the camera at a long distance but zoomed in. This way the camera will still capture the same footage but it won't be in view of the people being filmed.

Documentary - Expanding Our Idea

Our group decided to go ahead with the idea of following a group of housemates in the student village. The reason we decided to go for this idea was because we thought it would be quite interesting to see how 8 different housemates act with each other and see how they are coping living with people who at the start of the academic year they had no clue who anyone was. The question we wanted to ask was although everyone in the flat has come from the different backgrounds and upbringings; How easy is it for 8 strangers to live together? What do they really think of each other? And is there ever any conflict?

Because I am part of the flat myself, I would have to be interviewed as well. The main aim we wanted from filming the people in my flat was to make sure that they all felt as comfortable as possible and that they didn't feel intimidated by a big camera crew just intruding their personal space and asking questions about their thoughts and opinions of their flatmates. I feel as though we made sure that they all felt as comfortable as possible; I tried doing this my making myself feel comfortable in their rooms be it laying my feet across their beds whilst talking to them or just slouching in the chair, just little things that would slightly but surely make them feel a bit more eased when answering the questions.

Documentary - Initial Ideas

When discussing ideas for our briefed topic of 'Community', my group touched up on a few different ideas, some of which were to do with social clubs, housemates and even sports teams. After putting a few ideas out there we decided to start sorting out roles for the documentary. I put myself forward as being in charge of the framing of the interviews because I feel like I have a good idea as to what needs to be included in the shot and what doesn't to make it look engaging enough for the viewer to keep listening to the subject. I also put myself forward to be in charge of asking the questions to the people we would be interviewing because I felt that seeing as I live with them, they'll feel more inclined to talk to me as a friend instead of feeling pressured, answering personal questions asked by someone they've never met before. We also established that George, Danielle and Luca would switch roles around on the boom and camera so that everyone got a feel for the equipment. 

Portraits - My Final Image (Photo)

Portraits - My Final Image

After I had printed both of my favourite images, I was completely torn between which one I preferred. I much preferred the lighting in the Finn image but there was no real meaning behind it whereas the shaven picture didn't have as good lighting but I felt it was a much more engaging picture. If you read through my older posts you will see the message that is behind the shaven picture and how it is a lot more personal and has a better meaning behind it than the Finn image. This is why I have chosen the shaven image to be my final submitted image. I have gone around and asked a friends and peers which one they prefer and the mass majority of people have said that they prefer the shaven image over the Finn one. A lot of people said they felt it was a lot more mysterious and was a more engaging image compared to the other one. 

Another reason why I chose this image is because of the process of the project as a whole didn't quite go according to my original plan but still had a positive outcome. I shaved my model so I was able to paint him like a dog but due to unfortunate events my model was not able to make the final shoot. In a way I'm quite glad this happened because even though the final shoot didn't go ahead, I feel that if it did then people would have seen it in a more comedic way instead of artistic. This is why I feel that the shaven shoot is much better than anything that would've come from the dog shoot. 

Portraits - Printing My Photo

A few days ago we were inducted on how to print our images and were shown how to mount them onto a foam board.
The first thing we had to do was go to the print bureau to get our images printed onto a material of our choice. I decided to choose the material called 'Satin', I chose this because I thought it gave the image the best finish; It didn't have too much of a glossy look but wasn't too matte either. I printed my image of Finn off because after a lot of feedback from my peers it became apparent that that was one of the most favoured photos that I had taken. I then had to cut out a sheet of paper that was essentially a sheet of glue that when heated would stick my image to the glue sheet. Both my image and the glue sheet sit in what is basically a huge heated vacuum. The air is then sucked of the image and the two materials are stuck together. The process is then repeated but this time resting the two pressed images on top of the foam board. They all go back into the vacuum machine and you are left with the 3 materials stuck together. I then had to use a special cutting device to trim down the edges of my photo so there was no excess material exposed. This is the stage where the one thing that went wrong actually happened. I tried to get as close to the image as possible but on 2 of the 4 sides of the photo I didn't get close enough and there is hairline piece of white material attached to the photo which is too think to be able to cut again without ruining the picture itself.
I repeated this entire process again but with a photo from my new shots of my model that I made shave. The process turned out as well as it could've done which I am very happy about and there was no excess material showing. 

Portraits - Shoot 3

When preparing for my 'replicating natural photos' shoot, I had the idea to paint my models face like a dog. Because of this, the model would obviously have to have a cleanly shaved face so the paint is able to look most effective. This was one of the mistakes I had made whilst planning for the shoot as I had completely forgot that the model who I had decided to use had a full grown beard. I was now faced with two outcomes; Find a different model or have the model shave his beard. I had a conversation with him and luckily enough he seemed more than happy to take part and agreed to shave his beard. After speaking to my model for some time, he explained to me how he had had facial hair for about 7 years. This gave me an idea to document the process of my model shaving his beard off. The reason I wanted to document this process is because my models beard has been a large part of what makes him who he is as a person and I thought it would be interesting to see how he would be perceived once he was completely stripped of it. 

Above is my model before shaving any part of his beard. I wanted to take this picture to show to comparison before and after the beard was gone. I instructed my model to be completely topless because I wanted this to portray how he will soon be stripped of his trademark asset and I wanted the viewer to really see him for who he is, not hiding behind clothes to change our perspective of him; Just him by himself, completely open and vulnerable.

I took this photo at the stage of when my model had shaved down to stubble. I wanted to show in this photo how this was the last step before he went into his 'new identity'. Something that really stuck out for me when comparing this image to the first image is the fact that in the first image, the model has his arms by his side, looking very confident in himself, exposing his whole body to the camera. In this photo, the model is holding his arm and is looking quite sheepish and not as confident compared to the first photo.

This is the final image of my model, fully stripped, fully shaven and with a completely new identity. The model is still holding himself which shows he may still not be completely comfortable with his new appearance. Although he is still holding himself, he looks a lot more confident in this photo compared to the other two images. I feel as though the model really shows through his emotions how accepting he is of his new self; You can see this from how he is standing with a straighter back, stronger grip and the stern expression on his face.

Overall I think this shoot went very well, I feel as though the message really showed through  the images as well as the model really showed his emotions too. One thing that I would change about this shoot is possibly using external lighting but at the same time I quite enjoyed using natural lighting as I think it stayed true to the vulnerability of the model.

Portraits - Lars Andersen

Lars Andersen

I was trying to look for a photographer who had done similar work to my alleyway idea but couldn't find anyone. I then found a man named Lars Andersen; he isn't a well known photographer because there isn't much of his work on the internet but he did a very interesting piece of work that works with an alleyway too. Andersen lives in Norway and has been a pro photographer since 1999. His idea was that he decided to take photos of the same alleyway over the duration of 10 years. These pictures aren't taken from the same place like mine are but every photograph has a person or people in them which is a similarity to my work. You can tell that Andersen has captured these over a period of time as the alleyway is clear in some of the images but in others it is filled with snow. I feel as though I can relate to Andersens work because he had to wait for a very long time to get these photos and although I know I didn't have to wait 10 years, it still shows an element of patience because there was times that no one was walking down the alleyway and for Andersen to do this over the course of 10 years is very admirable and I very much respect his work.

Andersen's work: http://petapixel.com/2015/04/28/ten-years-of-shooting-a-single-alleyway-in-norway/

Portraits - Side Project (The Alleyway)

On my way back from doing my second shoot I found a set of steps at the entrance of the park which looked down an alleyway. Although this didn't have anything to do with the idea that brought me to the park, it gave me an idea that could possibly turn out quite well. I decided to take a seat on the steps and just wait until someone walked past me; I would then take their picture. I thought this would be an interesting idea because I would be capturing random strangers in their natural life. Some people who walked past were in a hurry and others having just a gentle stroll; I feel like the pictures I took may give an insight to their lives through the way they were walking, the speed they were walking and even the emotions on their face.

Above are the steps that I sat on whilst taking the pictures and also my view from the steps of the alleyway. I timed it and gave myself a maximum of 15 minutes to take a picture of every person who walked towards or away from me, as long as they walked through the alleyway, I took a picture of them. Whilst doing this I believe I had about 2 or 3 people acknowledge me but each one thought I was only taking a picture of the alleyway itself, you can see this from the man in the flat cap who was smiling, his image was slightly blurry because he tried to do a little jog to get out of the shot he thought I was taking.

After doing this side project I feel that I would definitely do it again. I think the outcome was very different and the photos came out well. There were no complications when doing this project and the positive of this is that I could go back to the same steps and have completely different results every time I did it.

Portraits - Shoot 2

After deciding to elaborate on the photo I took of the woman walking her dog, I went to Farnham Park today to take some more photos of owners with their dogs to which I could then replicate later. When taking these photos I tried to get the owners in the photo as well as the dog because I felt that it would make the composition a lot more engaging. These are a few of the images I captured.

Later this week I will be putting dog makeup on my friend and will be trying to replicate these pictures to the best that I can. When doing this, I found that there were some obstacles at times such as when trying to make the dogs sit. Some of the dogs were running around at times because I was someone they had never seen before so I think it made them quite hyper so to overcome this I had to ask the owner of the dog to tell the dog to sit so I could take an image with good quality.

Out of these images, I think my favourite one is the one with the Beagle that is quite close to the camera. I like it the most because I feel that it's the picture that shows the most emotion in the dogs face; it looks slightly lost, like it doesn't understand what's going on. I think this will be a good picture to replicate as my model can be close to the camera, looking off into the distance with a frown on their face. 

Portraits - Shoot 1

Last week I decided to take some photos of some people. These are a few of the pictures that I have gathered.

'Fin'

Ben Manning

2016

When taking this shot, there was a process behind it. I happened to have my camera with me when I was getting ready for a night out with my friends, Fin being one of them. When we prepare for a night out, one this that is essential is that we all play the playstation before going out. Fin was quite intoxicated at the point of this video being taken. The original photo I took of him accidentally had the in-built flash on which gave Fin a completely different look. After I took the first picture, Fin unplugged a cable from his television, which then led to a blue screen appearing which lit up half of his face in a really unique way. My only instruction to Fin was to "Make yourself look pretty" and he did the pose himself. I thought this was a really good picture purely because of the lighting; The way that Fins face is lit, I find very interesting how it is split directly down the middle of his face and also how the out of focus fairy lights down add to the aesthetic of the picture.

'Ella'

Ben Manning

2016

The story of this shot is quite different to the first picture. This was the first picture I ever took of my girlfriend. Ella lives about 2 hours away from where I live so it makes things difficult at times due to the distance. Because of this, I always make sure that I take pictures of her when she is around so I always have a good collection of memories from each time we see each other. This picture was taken at about 3am although you wouldn't instantly think that, the only reason I think that you would realise that it is late is because the curtains are pulled. The lighting I used for this shot was just a single light; I turned off the main light which would usually light my whole room up and instead, turned on the light which is above my sink. I used this light because it has a slight orange tint which projects around the whole room, giving the space a very cozy feel. I tend to use this light a lot more in the evenings because it gives off a homely feel to the room which is a similar feeling I get when Ella comes to visit. I hope this photo shows how the emotion of the photographer can be portrayed through the lighting that is used.

'Act Casual'

Ben Manning

2016

This was the first picture I took of some people I didn't know. I went on a walk in my local park because I thought the colours of the trees and the leaves were really nice to photograph. I'd spent about and hour and a half in the park and decided that I'd had enough shots and started walking home. Just as I was about the leave the park, I stumbled upon this young couple who were sat on a bench. The girl had her head rested upon the boys shoulder and the couple looked very in love. I thought this would be a wonderful picture to get to show the emotion of this couple. I went up to them and asked if they would be willing to let me take their picture. They both looked at each other and nervously laughed at the same time, they did agree although they seemed very sheepish. I told them that they looked really nice and to just forget what I was doing and go back to whatever they were doing before I arrived. What came from it next was the couple tried to recreate what they were doing but this immense awkwardness came about and the couple both had a slight smile which I think is actually quite sweet. I feel like this turned out better than what I originally wanted the picture to be.  

'Sunday Stroll'

Ben Manning

2016

This picture came from when I was on my way back from the park. I was walking behind this old man who was walking at a snails pace. One thing I did like about this man was how he was walking; He had his hands behind his back and he was whistling. This made me pause because it made me think that you hardly see people nowadays just going for a walk to enjoy the scenes around them. I didn't want to disturb this man, I just wanted to capture him as he was so that nothing looked forced like my 'Act Casual' photo. The way I captured this shot was I walked ahed of the man and turned so I was facing him, I then got my friend to pretend to pose for the camera so if the man saw what I was doing, he wouldn't mind because it looked as though it had nothing to do with him. When he was close enough, I angled the camera to the side and captured the shot. I feel as though this picture actually turned out very well. You can see how his arms are still behind his back and he is just minding his own business which I think gives the man a sense of innocence.

Portraits - Gillian Wearing

Gillian Wearing is an English conceptual artist who does lots of portrait work of which I find very interesting. There is a exhibition that she did called "Signs that say what you want them to say and not signs that say what someone else wants you to say". This exhibition is a collection of photographs of different strangers holding up signs that say things that they feel are true to them.

Gillian Wearing OBE

 "Everything is connected in life"

1992-3

Above is one of the photos from Wearing's exhibition. What I like in particular about this picture is the message on the paper, it is simple yet affective much like the picture itself. There are a lot of dark colours and the contrast is quite high, the reason of this could may have been so that the viewer is drawn more towards the message on the paper as there is a white on top of black, thus making the piece of paper stand out more. I like how the man in the picture is smiling too, I think it shows that he is confident, happy and stands by what he is saying in his message.

Gillian Wearing OBE

"I have been certified as mildly insane!"

1992-3

This is another photo from Wearing's exhibition, this is one of my favourite's from the collection; the fact that the man has stated that he is mildly insane adds an element of fear I think to the picture. It makes me wonder how Wearing managed to get the man to follow instructions to get him to stand and pose for the picture when there is always a chance that the man could cause her harm as he is not mentally stable. There is also the fact that he has a tattoo of what could be a gang symbol on his face which is also quite alarming. Another thing to take into consideration is the location in which the man is in; it seems as though he is standing in a public place, perhaps a train station or a shopping mall which again, adds to the fear element of the picture as he is a dangerous individual who is in public place and could potentially cause harm on others around him.


Source: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/wearing-i-have-been-certified-as-mildly-insane-p78352 

Portraits - My Initial Idea

When this project began, I quickly got an idea of how I wanted to arrange my final photograph. I've always been very interested in the topic of storytelling so I felt that this project would be a great way to implement storytelling into my work. My very first idea was to have a friend of mine stand and face the camera, looking quite rough and rugged and to also be holding some kind of bat. I also thought to possibly have another person in the background yelling towards the main subject. The angle of the shot would have been from the chest, up and the depth of field would have focused mainly on the subjects face but also have the person behind him in focus too. The reason I liked this idea is because I think it would make the viewer of the photo really question what is going on. Why is the man holding a bat? Why is there someone yelling at him? Why does his facial expression lead us to believe he doesn't care? I enjoy making the viewer think for themselves; I like making people have their own opinion of what's going on in the picture instead of saying exactly what it is and how you should look at it.

After having a meeting with Peter Renn, we started talking about my idea and we picked up on the fact that I prefer photos that are more set up rather than photos that are taken in the moment. After looking into a few different photographers whom Peter thought that I might like, we decided on a final route that I should follow. We decided that my photograph is going to be around the idea of taking shots that are in the moment and try to recreate them so that they look natural when really they are set up completely but at the same time I am also trying to put my own personal spin on them. The way I thought of doing this is for example; say I took a picture of a woman walking her dog in the park, I then would recreate the image, same angles and lighting to the best of my ability but instead of having an actual dog, I would have someone dress like a dog with face paint and fake ears so it is still recreating the original image but this way I can put my own spin on it in a very obvious way. I have taken this picture below as an example, this would be the picture that I try to recreate.

I think having the conversation with Peter really helped develop my idea because although my first initial idea sounded good to me, there wasn't really much I could experiment with whereas with this new idea, I feel as though there are a lot more photographers that I could look at and be influenced by. I also like the fact that it is out of the ordinary and that very few photographers would have done something like this before.

Portraits - Research Project

Wolfgang Tillmans

Wolfgang Tillmans is a 48 year old photographer who specialises in fine art photography. Tillmans said in an interview that he didn't find an interest in photography until he was 20 years old. He says that he never dreamt that he would one day become a photographer, and that he never saw a point in recording his memories as he felt that spending time trying to capture the moment got in the way of actually being there and living in the moment. Wolfgang goes on to explain how although he never had an attraction to photography or film, he was very interested in newspapers. He had a scrapbook in which he would collect news pictures from big stories that happened in the world such as the hijacked plane in Mogadishu or the suicide cult in Jonestown, Guyana. He explains how he "felt drawn to how so much drama can be condensed into a cheap, grainy picture.

Below are a few photographs from Wolfgang Tillmans that I was personally drawn to.

Heidi Slimane (2000) - Wolfgang Tillmans

When looking at Tillmans work, this was the first picture that really jumped out at me. I just found that the whole composition was very compelling and intriguing. The first thought I had after seeing this photo was wondering what the man was looking at off camera. He has a very blank facial expression and is looking as though there is someone on the other end of the table. There is another obvious reason as to why this photo is interesting which is the fact that the table is quite messy; it makes me wonder how and why is there is a bowl which has been flipped over and also makes me wonder what is in the brown paper bag. I also feel that the colours in this picture are very interesting. I like that there is almost a divide down the middle in contrast so that the are the brighter, more light colours on the left with the whites of the table, the orange of the juice and the cream on the wall. There is then on the right side all the darker, more moody colours; his clothes, both jacket and trousers are a dark blue shade of denim. He also has a dark brown cupboard behind him which defines the divide of colour even more.

Richard James (1993) - Wolfgang Tillmans

This photo really stood out for me. I like photographs that tend to tell a story and I feel that this one does that completely. It makes me want to ask so many questions; Who are the people in the garage? Why can we not see their faces? Why is the garage door broken? Is it even their garage? The possibilities for the story behind this picture are endless. What I really like about this photo is that I think it shows a message of friendship. The boys in the picture are obviously not wealthy or have expensive things, that is why they have all crammed into this broken garage to spend time with each other; they are not bothered about where or what they are doing, just that they are with each other which I think personally is a beautiful thing to be able to capture in a photograph.

Simon de Pury (2001) - Wolfgang Tillmans

This picture was what I thought was the most interesting of the 3, simply because I look at the picture and just can't think what is going on in it which is why I like it so much. At a first glance I think "The man in this picture is obviously a business man" but it doesn't explain why he is in the location that he's in or why his suit is too baggy or even why he is holding poison ivy. Although in the previous picture, I stated that I liked when photographs have a story behind them. Although this is true, I also really like it when a photograph makes me think and has a real mystery to it.

In an interview, Tillmans goes on to talk about the artists whom he finds most interesting and inspiring. One of the names he states is Laurie Anderson. 

Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is a 69 year old, American avant-garde artist who also specialises in other multimedia projects. In 2002, Anderson was appointed the first 'artist in residence' of NASA. From this experience, she developed a solo performance, The End of The Moon, monologue that focused on the imponderables of space, both near and far.

Below is some of Laurie Anderson's work that I like.

Two Men in a Car - Laurie Anderson

This was the first photo from Anderson which stood out for me, what I like most about this picture is the simplicity. It's as though this wasn't planned at all, it seems like it was a complete snapshot which is why I'm drawn to this photo so much, it just feels so raw and honest. I like the obvious thing about this picture which is that there are white bars covering the eyes of the models which gives a slight mystery to their identity; it gives you the full picture whilst still holding back on parts to keep you intrigued.

Boys in the Court - Laurie Anderson

This was the second photo that I came across from Anderson. The first thing that I noticed is that the theme is identical to the first picture I analysed. I decided that I really enjoy this kind of style that Anderson has approached. I also like the fact that the two street boys are behind a mesh fence giving even more mystery to the image and telling me they hide behind something deeper along with the original white bars across their faces.

Man with a Cigarette - Laurie Anderson

This was the last image I found from Laurie Anderson. This photo follows the same pattern of white bars just like the other Anderson pictures. I like the fact that in this picture, you can tell that the man is smiling at something that is off camera which instantly makes you start to wander what is making him smile. Also the fact that he has his hands open which also makes you start to wonder who or what is off camera and why are his body actions in this certain way.

Hello! I'm Ben!

Full Name: Ben Manning

Age: 18

Favourite Colour: Blue

Favourite Old School Song: Good Life - One Republic

Favourite Song at the Moment: James Arthur - Say you won't let go

Favourite Old School Film: Good Will Hunting (1997)

Favourite Film of Recent: Legend (2015)

Guilty Pleasure Film: Tangled (2010)

Favourite Photographer/Cinematographer: Emmanuel Lubezki - The Revenant