15 Images - Group Reflection

Visual Studies - 15 Images Group Reflection

This assignment will critically reflect the fifteen image idea, and the research conducted before shooting from secondary research sources. This assignment will then critically reflect the images, the effectiveness of a blog, and how to improve for further study in the future. 

The idea that was of a girl being stalked by another girl, this was decided because from the research conducted there were over sixty percent of women are said to be stalked by men which would have made a perfect twist for the fifteen images if the stalker was then made to be a women when the framing would suggests a man. However the story was strong and planned to be different from what is always done, the story felt like it was missing something that would make it unique. In contrast the story was original and the main theme was the main characters journey through this which gave the story an original feel because the focus wasn’t the stalker but the girl.

When conducting research the following were used as inspiration; book by Karen Rose which allowed understand of how the character is feeling, and a more personal experience which could be shown in the images, Film which was Taken this gave an understand of how to build tension, and add mystery, last was TV series which was Pretty Little Liars, this series had the element of being tormented through messages and the stalker always being there which gave not only the personal effect but also how to show this and frame the stalker in the images. However out research was planned, it was very precise which didn’t allow for any other examples or additional twists, there also wasn’t any research on changing the main character focus, and minimal research on why someone would be stalked. If there was more research there this could have given the story the fresh and unique feel that was missing. 

Due to the complicated story, there were many practice shots, and different framing to discover which would work the best, however this took a lot of time and meant there was a lot of time spent over thinking the story and less focusing on what the stalker is trying to do. In contrast this was discovered after shooting that there was a lot of focus on the shot, and not much on what was happening within the shot which meant there was more time in planning the story out and writing a shot list to ensure that the story was coming through the images. The images tell the story of a jealous girl stalking someone, and inflicting torment through the images, however the images aren’t as tension building as are seen in film, and TV. In contrast the images to build tension and evoke the right response, however the images would have given the feeling of a tension build if the images were slowly showing more of the stalker as they go along however they do not in the images.

The images could have been strong with more research and better shot planning through story boards, shot lists, and more practice shot which would have allowed us to see the images weren’t building tension and progressing to the reveal of the stalker as they could have. However the images do show the main character detreating through the images, and her emotional response which was our focus because the story was about her. In contrast the story might have built more tension and added mystery if the main focus was the stalker and what the stalkers main goal was. The images worked to tell the story and to build up to the reveal of the stalker, however the images could have been stronger, adding more of a feeling of unease, because some images were stronger than others in delivering the required effect. In contrast once the images were moved into premier pro, and sound was added this gave the images something extra that was lacking in the images alone. Although the sound built tension and had a good flow, if some of the images were changed this could have created the scene, and allowed the viewers to interpret the images their own way. Some of the images felt a little obvious in terms of the narrative which then took away the feeling of a mystery thriller, however due to the images progressing to a reveal of the stalker the sound gave the images the feeling of a mystery because the sound allows for the viewers to known how and what to feel at a particular time.

When shooting and researching the blog was helpful because it was an easy reference tool, the blog was also useful to look back on our work and see which images weren’t tong and discuss why. Therefore the blog helped as a means to reflect and document the progression which wouldn’t have been notice without a means of documenting. 

The final fifteen images and sound created the scene of the mystery thriller, however the final version could have had more personal touches, such as breathing, possibly voice over, and this would have made the viewers feel as though they are experiencing this with the main character. In contrast the final version did reach our expectations of the final version, however the added sounds could have made the story feel more real, and build tension, while allowing the viewer to sympathise and feel connected to the victim.

While filming as a group there was an exact story and narrative that were followed, which was what was decided, however if there was a chance to go back, doing it from both characters perspectives would have allowed time to decide on which worked the best, and gave the best emotional response.

In conclusion, the images are strong and the story shows what is intended and give the correct response, the images also build tension while adding mystery to the shots. However the story could have progressed further with a different perspective and a character change which could have given the images a different feel. 

15 Images Assignment

For our Visual Studies assignment, as a group, we had to take 15 images and tell a story from them.

My Group

Kimberly McClarnan
Elesha Pederson
Rhianwen Davies

Story Plot

A teenage girl called Emily being stalked by an unknown person.

15 Images

Exhibition Photographs

For our Creative Practice Assignment 1, as a group, we took 6 Photographs about 'depression' for an exhibition.

My group

Kimberly McClarnan
Miriam Nosworthy
Jack Wilson
Liam King

6 Photographs

Lighting

Types Of Lighting

1. Background: The room has standard lighting (out of view) that illuminates the room and the backdrop.
2. Spot light: The small black thing on a tripod on the left provides direct light, currently on the backdrop.
3. Softboxes: The pair of white squares are translucent fabric over lamps to provide soft, diffused, main light over the subject.
4. Umbrella: Top right is a gold umbrella which reflects a spot light. This could be a strobe (flash) light to put some bright “key” light on the model’s face.
5. Reflector: The gold circle on the right can reflect light into dark areas, such as under the chin, and can be held by an assistant. When they’re not making the coffee.

Website - http://photosecrets.com/studio-lighting-for-beginners

From this website, it has help me learn more about different lighting used in a studio.

Background Light - This light helps remove shadows behind the subject

Main Lighting - Provide general lighting all around the subject. Inside the black fabric canopies are lamps. They can be continuous bright lamps, or strobes which fire like a flash. Either way they will be bright and require some power packs.

The canopies (softboxes) — To provide a white fabric screen that the lamp shines through. This disperses the light for that all-important even distribution of soft, diffused light.

Overhead Light - To provide the effect of general sunlight. This is difficult to do, need a big tripod, a convenient I-beam, a gantry, or some other sturdy structure.

Key Lights - This is usually a strobe (flash) into or through an umbrella. The key light provides the light for the viewer’s perspective. If using a camera flash unit, place it off camera with an extension cable to avoid a bright and direct reflection.

Bounce Light - Fills in some darker areas, such as under a person’s chin. You could use another lamp. Reflect light from an existing source using some white card or a fabric reflector.

Double Exposure

Double exposure is where one picture is superimposed over another. It can have a corresponding meaning in respect of two images and to convey the mood. With double exposure technique, you can create certain effect like ghost image, mirror image. 

How To Tell a Story With Still Images

A photograph has the ability to convey emotion, mood, narrative, ideas and messages – all of which are important elements of story telling.

The Short Story

Stories come in all shapes and sizes. Some are long (novels or even trilogies of novels) but others are short. Thinking photographically, these short stories might be one, or maybe two, images.

Most newspaper photography fits into this category of story telling – one image that attempts to capture the essence of an accompanying written story. They don’t have the luxury of multiple frames to introduce, explore and conclude so almost always tell the story of a single event rather than a longer one.

Such shots need to have something in them that grabs the attention of a viewer. They also will usually have visual and/or narrative focal points that lead the viewer into the photo.

Short Stories photos are often shots that leave the viewer of the photograph wondering about what they are looking at – not because they don’t understand it but because they intrigue and leave people imagining what is going on behind the image and what other future images of the scene might look like. In a sense these single image stories are often just as powerful because of what they don’t include in the shot as to what they do include.

Introduce Relationship – When telling a story through a single image think about including more than one person in the shot – when you do this you introduce ‘relationship’ into a photo which will conjure up all types of thoughts in the viewers of your shots.

Also think about context – what’s going on around your subject? What’s in the background? What does the other elements of the photo say about your subject and what’s going on in their lives? Of course you don’t want to be too obvious about setting your background up – doing so could lead to cliched shots.

Multiple Image Stories

ell a story with your images is to take a series of them. In a sense what you’re doing here is a step towards shooting a movie with your shots (a movie is a sequence of many thousands of images run together to tell a story).

Series of shots used to tell a story can be anything from two or three shots arranged in a frame or collage through to hundreds of shots arranged in an album (online or printed).

Structure

1. Introduction – shots that put the rest of the images into context. These shots introduce important characters that will follow, give information about the place where the story is happening, set the tone that the story will be told in and introduce the themes that the story will meander through (see below for more on themes).

Introductory shots need to lead viewers into the body of the story. If you think about a good novel, it’s often the first few paragraphs that determine whether people will buy and read the book in full or not – the same is true with visual stories. Introductory shots should give people a reason to go deeper into the story.

So in a travel album – these shots might show the travelers packing, could include a macro shot of a map of the destination or of the tickets etc.

2. Plot – good stories are more than just empty words. They explore ideas, feelings, experiences etc on a deeper level. Plot shots will probably make up the majority of your photographic story. They show what happens but also explore themes and ideas.

So in a travel album I try to identify themes in my shots that I will revisit throughout a trip. Types of themes might include:

• Visual themes – perhaps colors or shapes that come up again and again on a trip – for example a friend recently showed me his album from a recent trip to the Greek Islands that featured quite a few shots with white buildings and blue seas – very powerful.
• Stylistic themes – repetition of photographic techniques and styles. For example on my last overseas trip I decided to include a series of macro shots of the different flora that I saw and ended up with a series of shots of flowers from a variety of different parts of the world.
• Locational themes – reoccurring photos from similar types of places. For example on a trip a few years back I decided to make ‘markets’ a theme in my shots across the trip. I sought out and photographed markets in every city and town we visited. I found it fascinating to see the similarities and differences between them.
• Relational themes – shots that focus upon a person or people over time. On a travel story this might document the moods of a person as they go through the highs and lows of travel or could document the development of a relationship between friends, lovers, siblings etc over time.

3. Conclusion – good story tellers are quite intentional about the way they end their stories. Last impressions count and it’s worth considering what lasting image/s you want to leave with the viewer of your photos.

By no means do you need to tie up your story neatly (good stories sometimes leave people feeling unsettled and wanting resolution) but do consider how you want to end.

To continue our travel story example, concluding shots could be anything from the cliched sunset shot (I think it’s been overdone personally) through to airport shots, unpacking shots, plane shots, some shots from the last meal at the destination, signs to the airport etc.

http://digital-photography-school.com/telling-stories-with-photos/

From this information, it will help me and my group for our upcoming assignment on taking 15 still images and telling a story from them.

Freytag's Pyramid

Freytag's Pyramid

Gustav Freytag was a Nineteenth Century German novelist who saw common patterns in the plots of stories and novels and developed a diagram to analyze them. He diagrammed a story's plot using a pyramid like the one shown here:

1. Exposition: setting the scene. The writer introduces the characters and setting, providing description and background.

2. Inciting Incident: something happens to begin the action. A single event usually signals the beginning of the main conflict. The inciting incident is sometimes called 'the complication'.

3. Rising Action: the story builds and gets more exciting.

4. Climax: the moment of greatest tension in a story. This is often the most exciting event. It is the event that the rising action builds up to and that the falling action follows.

5. Falling Action: events happen as a result of the climax and we know that the story will soon end.

6. Resolution: the character solves the main problem/conflict or someone solves it for him or her.

7. Dénouement: (a French term, pronounced: day-noo-moh) the ending. At this point, any remaining secrets, questions or mysteries which remain after the resolution are solved by the characters or explained by the author. Sometimes the author leaves us to think about the theme or future possibilities for the characters.

You can think of the dénouement as the opposite of the exposition: instead of getting ready to tell us the story by introducing the setting and characters, the author is getting ready to end it with a final explanation of what actually happened and how the characters think or feel about it. This can be the most difficult part of the plot to identify, as it is often very closely tied to the resolution.

http://www.ohio.edu/people/hartleyg/ref/fiction/freytag.html

From this, it has giving me a better understanding of Freytag's Pyramid