Initial Ideas - Major Project

 My continuation route is Photography.  I have begun to think of some ideas of things that I might do for a small project in Digital Arts this term.  I have been thinking about something to do with ritual or habitual behaviour that I can capture as images. I am interested in ritual in everyday life and so I was thinking about capturing this photographically.

I might start by looking at Natalie Grono as she concentrated on the rituals of childhood and photographed her two daughers.  As can be seen from this image the images are in black and white and highly stylised and in this case staged.  So in fact this is a photographic construction of daily life.  The light and water coming down does have the feeling of a baptism and as with baptism the children are represented as pure and covered in light.

Natalie Grono: Baptism 

Natalie Grono: Offerings

This second image is clearly a take on Ophelia, as shown in Millais' work here: 

Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-52, oil on canvas, 762 x 111.8 cm (Tate Britain, London)

'Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. The events shown in Millais’s Ophelia are not actually seen on stage. Instead they are referred to in a conversation between Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s brother Laertes. Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while.' (The Story of Ophelia – Look Closer | Tate, 2022)

The second image again is highly stylized and the light is again in the centre of the image and coming through the child's legs - in both cases the light is sunlight/natural light.  The images themselves are technically well shot however in terms of content if I was completing a ritualised image I may do something less stylized and perhaps with a little more grit as I think rituals that are personal rate not necessarily full of beauty.  I would perhaps take a more snapshot approach more in the way of Jurgen Teller, who shoots fashion.

Kate Moss by Jurgen Teller

I prefer the look of this image, it has a grungy, over-exposed feel.  The yellow light, the man standing over her taking the picture (the photographer) give this photograph the snapshot aesthetic which is more interesting, and although this may have been highly staged it has the look of being spontaneous.  I would like to explore this idea within my own work for this project.

References

The Guardian. 2021. Invisible Threads: the rituals and symbolism of childhood – in pictures. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2021/nov/24/invisible-threads-the-rituals-and-symbolism-of-childhood-in-pictures [Accessed 23 February 2022].

Tate. 2022. The Story of Ophelia – Look Closer | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia [Accessed 23 February 2022].

Software Testing: Photoshop

 I opened Photoshop and I will test Photoshop for the functions I need for my major project in Digital Arts.

I create a new canvas.  I did this clicking on 'create new' and then I clicked on Print in the top menu and then chose A3.  Then I checked it was portrait in orientation and the resolution was 300 ppx. 

I have added text using the Text tool on the left hand menu and then I changed the font to Modern No 20 Regular at 60 pts.  I then used the move tool to move the text to the left hand corner to make a rule of thirds layout.

I chose a picture from the internet to mock up my page and I downloaded this to my desktop and then went back to Photoshop and I went to File, open and then I checked the image size by clicking on image and then I selected the image and clicked on copy.  I went back to my canvas and clicked on past then used the move tool to line up the image.

I added further text using the text tool.  This was 36pts and the same font as I want consistency for my portfolio pages. 

I also created a logo on Tailor Brands and added this to my portfolio mock up page.  The logo itself I quite liked and could use this as my final design.

Website Creation: Home Page & Contact Page

 Today I set up my website using wix.  I began by choosing a template which suited my progression route which is Photography.

I have chosen the above template to edit.

I have changed the image by right clicking on the background and clicking on Manage Media, I could then upload my own image and replace the template image. 

I then changed the copyright by clicking on the text box and then clicking 'edit text'.  I also got rid of pages that I did not need by going to into the menu on the left hand side and then clicking on the the three dots and deleting each unwanted section/page.

I created a contact page and I connected my mail by using the wix form and editing the email to ensure that it was connected to my email. 

I then saved all my work so that it was ready and I would not lose anything.

Now I am checking my mobile view and seeing if it needs adjusting

Under the gallery of my own picture the site has pother pictures so I will remove this so that only my own pictures appear.  Otherwise this is looking good. 

Zoe Van-de-Velde: Promotional Video

 

This is my final video.  I have obviously not added my real CV here however this was fun to play with and I enjoyed creating something promotional that showcased my skills. 

The graphics and and videos on biteable are not too bad and there is an option to upload your own videos/images which in a real situation I may do if I was sending this to an employer.

Overall this worked well and ca be seen on my youtube as well as here and I can embed into my website if I wished. 

Biteable Video: CV

 Today we are making a short video which will promote ourselves.  To this we are using Biteable video software online.  I began by choosing a template

I then changed the photo by uploading a new photograph of myself and adjusting the frame. I Also changed the Background colour by going into Style in the menu and adjusting there.  I changed the text colour and added my name by clicking on this.

I changed the animation colours by going into animation colours on the left hand menu and this adjusted all the animations colours throughout the video 

I then added my 'Could I be the next Art Director' and added a short video of a fashion shoot.  I lengthened the timeline to make sure that the text was readable and clear. 

I then went to my first reason, again I adjusted the time length to ensure it was readable.   I changed the text and text colour and then checked the edit was working with another uploaded video.

I repeated as above on 'Know how to get things done' - the most important steps now are keeping this consistent and visually interesting 

I completed my final promotional slide using the same techniques as above

I finally added music and the video was complete!  Please go to my next post for the final video 

Completion of Chapbook & Reflection

 Much excitement as I have now completed my chapbook.  I have added this to Blurb as can be seen below 

I have made it sellable and created a preview so the book can be viewed in its entirety.  I have also ordered a hard copy to check it is correct if ordered.  The link to the book is here: The Book of Lost Things

I also updated my profile page here.

Overall I think in the given time this has been well executed.  What I have discovered is I can't write happy poetry but can write light-hearted stories.  This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and writing The Story of Milk I really wanted to complete her journey and I am tempted to actually write the rest of her story.  I do think that I could have improved the language, syntax, and descriptions in places and if I did complete the entire story I would certainly go back and edit this again.  The poetry I enjoyed writing despite my gloomy outpourings!  I particularly enjoyed writing the villanelle as I do think this form works really well and is fun to play with.  I have noticed mistakes already though and again proofreading and checking still needed to be carried out, again and again, to improve on this.  

The photographs are a mixture of my own and images from stock sites but I have listed and credited all those that I could and I think the combination works quite well.  I will edit and publish this again to fix a couple of the mistakes and when I see the published copy I am sure there will need to be more that could be fixed.  The process here is important and it is worth the time it has taken.  I am looking forward to writing my next one!

Website Creation: Home Page/Template

 

This my site that I have been editing.  I chose a Photography template as this is my progression route.  I have changed the name and the title. I did this by clicking on the name and clicking on edit text.  I chose Palantino Linotype for my text this was 60 pts.

I then need to change the picture so I chose a suitable image and did this by right clicking on the background and I clicked on change background.  I uploaded the image and then added to the background.

I also added copyright at the bottom in the footer.  Again I clicked on the text and then edit text and changed the name and the year. 

I then checked my mobile view please see below

As you can see the background did not really work so I right clicked and changed the background by uploading a new image. 

This worked much better and so I also adjusted the title and name and made sure everything was correctly aligned before saving this and flipping back to the desktop view.