Video Project Yr 2: May 2010

For this project i started off with the brief (Transitional Space) I created a video piece and developed my ideas through the space of the term. The video i created was a dark and sinful piece, this is what i wanted to develop in my photo work.

I firstly started looking back at the research i did before, gathering ideas and references of my own work and others.

I wanted my photo series to reflect my transitional space video, using the same aspects and ideas, creating a "Chase" sequence of images. I decided right from the start that this is what i wanted to do because i felt my video had strong potential and that i was genuinely interested in this idea.

My research began looking at other videos which i felt represented my working ideas, once i had began this process i started looking at photographers work.

I wanted to look at photographers who used interesting subjects, settings and props. I wanted to achieve a theatrical, outrageous sequence to hi-light aspects of certain works of art and photography. I started looking at Anni Leibovitz who's work is staged, vibrant and enticive which played a major roll in my ideas for my work.

I wanted my work to stand out and look, (wonderland, theatrical and elegant) and Anni seems to achieve this in every shoot.

I also looked at Lara Jade, who's work was my main inspiration, which tied in with my previous research.

Looking at both photographers i started thinking about paintings and how theatrical aspects are brought into them. My first emideatte idea was "Ophellia"and the strong powerful images of her lying in ponds and flowers and how interesting this was to the viewer.

I looked at Alexia Sinclair who's work reminds me of paintings and enchantment.

I then looked at Gainsborough's work as an idea, looking at well dressed ladies out of place in rural environments, looking presentable but questionable in there surroundings.

The famous painting "The Swing" caught my attention because of its theatrical setting, a young lady in the woods with almost dark eerie characters around her, the painting looks set on a stage and i ask why she's is in this situation. This gave me strong ideas for settings and situations within my work.

I wanted to then look at the wonderland aspect of my research and started looking at films such as "Peter Pan" and "Alice in Wonderland", both films caught my attention with the use of characters, screen shots and use of colours. This lead me back to Anni Leibovitz and her "Wonderland" work. With this i watched her video shoots on "You Tube" witch would later become really useful in my processes.

I then looked at some of my own work i had created using dark imagery and colours, giving me new routs and plans. I wanted to create my "chase" sequence as unusual and dark as my video piece but i was unsure how to get this across in images, this helped me look further into editing on photoshop and paying attention to the detail of my images.

Once i had done all this research i had decided i wanted to create a; sinister chase scene as a sequencing thrilling piece of art. My main goal was to piece together a series of shots leading the viewers on a "chase" along with the character in my images. It would be challenging to get this across to viewers because i didn't want to use any text or use of a chaser, i just wanted the effect that someone was there chasing.

My next step was to locate places for my shoots, this was the most important piece of research i did because it was critical i achieved the right look and era. I went on a location hunt around Leicester trying to find the right spots and i came across some perfect places.

I decided to use "Belgrave Hall" and "Grace Dieu Priory" because they had the right settings for my sinister cold eerie images.

Once all my research and location hunting i began taking my photos. I used a model called "Georga Smith" who i found on the "Gum Tree" website and chose a day for shooting. I went to "Belgrave Hall" first where the shoot went really well, i thought it was going to rain but the morning went to plan and smoothly. After that i went to "Grace Dieu Priory" where it went to plan too. I think it went smoothly because i had planed the equipment i would be needing and organized everything early witch work really well.

I was really please with the amount of photos i produced and couldn't wait to edit them.

One i came to editing my chosen images i looked back to "Lara Jades' work for inspiration and guide lines, this was helpful because I'm not that good on photoshop but overall i think my images turned out brilliant.

When it comes to displaying my work in an exhibition or insulation, i would use a film stip to display my work because i want to get across that my work flows like a film and has a distinctive sequence helping people see the true beauty of my work.

Overall i think i have achieved a strong, relevant pice of work with clear transitions through my images. Im surprised i got on so well with organizing my time relevantly, this was something i struggled with before and I'm glad i developed myself.

I think my work give people an interesting insight and plenty of questions and answers which was what i was aiming for. And with my own opinions i think i have worked well within this project and i think it is my best work so far.