Stock Videos for Uncertain Times

 I wanted to collect some stock footage for my final film of Uncertain Times so I began by collecting some explosions from both Pixabay and Pexels 

Free Vimeo Videos

By Semovina

Grey Smoke

I like the idea of using the explosions of smoke and mingling these with the dancing and music as per my practice pieces. I may add a woman dancing and then I will shoot myself and add this to the shots 

Santosjesus90

I still like the one I originally got from Cotton Bro on Pexels however this video exceeds the limit I can show on here... 

I will add to this post a short storyboard to show further my ideas and explain how the shots will come together.  

I added these and other videos I collected in preparation for making my film to my drive so that I had these saved and available wherever I was working.

Website Research: Katy Grannan & Corrine Day

 As I am creating my own Art Photography/Performance website I will look at two photographers websites whose work I admire; Katy Grannan & Corrine Day.  Here I am analysing the website itself, and how the work of the artists is displayed and how easy and functional the website is for the user.  This website research will assist me in understanding how to create my own website so I will consider the overall design, colours, and typography, navigation, usability/user-friendliness, links and mobile view.

I will begin with the Katy Grannan Website.  I will begin the homepage design, the homepage here although looks interesting and is well laid out in a grid format with a landscape header, it has the artists name however it does not state what kind of artist she is or that in fact she is a photographer and filmmaker. When I click into the film at the top - it just states 'trailer for film' but there is no introduction and I do not know what this is about.  I click into he other boxes and there are just a single image and do not lead anywhere just state and event or exhibition.  This is very disappointing as I cannot directly from the homepage click into her work. 

I then went onto the navigation bar, this is on the left hand side and includes galleries, exhibitions, screening and how to connect.  It is very simple and easy to use but also not very interesting in design and when I click on the first tab 'Galleries' It is just a page with the galleries her work shows at. 

As can be seen from this image there are no images! just a list of galleries and the same is true of the Screenings page which is just a list on a black page and the Exhibitions  (a list on a black page) 

The About Page follows suit with no images and just a black page and a biography which includes a short history of the artists career.

The Social Media connects to Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram. Grannan does not have a huge number of followers on Facebook or Twitter (around 800) however on Instagram she has 11.3k .  There  are posts but clearly they are not all as well used as they could be.  

I then checked the mobile phone website and this was pretty much the same except the homepage just scrolls through the grid squares.  The black page are the same but some of these have not been adjusted for the phone view so do not fit on the page properly. 

Overall the experience of using this website was highly disappointing I wanted to look at galleries' of images and really explore the wok and instead there are just black pages with lists or singular images to promote something. There was essentially very little photography and I would not visit this site again. 

The second website I looked at was Corrine Day Website.  I will begin with the homepage which actually contains a biography/history as Day died young, starting off as a model and then becoming a photographer at the height of heroine chic.  Day was close friends with her muses and this intimacy is reflected in her images. 

The homepage here has a black background and white text it states simply her name and that she is a photographer and includes her images which make the page immediately more interesting and I want to see more. Scrolling down the page there is quite a of of information as this site is created by the Corrine Day Estate and in the footer there are different email contact addresses for enquires about her work. The copyright symbol is in the footer and there is a copyright statement and term of use link to protect the artists work.

The second page on the navigation which is situated in the header and is easy to use.  Is the Autobiography page which is written by the artist in her lifetime and includes an image - this is a nice remembrance of the person she was as it is personal and engaging.

The next three pages are 'Fashion', 'Musicians' and 'Actors' and these all show examples of her work which you can click into and enjoy 

For Instance in Vogue China you can view the shoot here..

When you click into the images they all pop up full screen so this is a very good way to show photographic images to be able to really see and explore the work. 

The next page shows all the exhibitions the artist has done and this page has an image for each of these and when you click into them much more information and images.

The next page is 'Press' and this show the headlines that were about Day's work in her lifetime.

The user then just click in and read the press article and see the images.  This works really well as it gives an idea of her time in the 90s and a context to the work Day created. 

The last page is 'Missing Negatives which are actually good to see but are missing negatives the foundation is looking for. 

I love to see old negatives as this is how I learnt photography on an Olympus OM-2 SLR camera using Ilford film. 

There is no social media on this site as this site is the Corinne Day Estate it is understandable, I do think this site is a very good remembrance of the artists work and is consistent, clean and easy to use throughout and I am glad in a way there is no social media. 

The mobile view on the Corinne day site - the homepage has an image and Enter site and then goes to the home and the information shown above the images are quite small on the mobile and these could be bigger and the writing a little smaller as the writing does dominate the mobile homepage.  The gallery pages work well as the images still pop up nicely with the information and when you tap they appear large on the screen.  Each page's format has been adjusted well to the mobile screen, I would say perhaps except the homepage.  Overall and enjoyable and pleasant experience and I would definitely visit again.  

Comparing both sites, clearly the first site was disappointing - I think the homepage could have been interesting and I actually quite liked the grid design but clicking into each grid was disappointing whereas everything on Corrine Day's website when you clicked in there was more images and information and each image could be make full screen when clicking on it. Thinking about my own site I will consider having maybe more images on the homepage that can be clicked into and I will ensure all images enlarge to full screen and have correct title and good information.  Both sites were consistent in dark background and clear text throughout in the same font so there was no confusion as to the site you are looking at. I feel that the consistency on my site is similar so i am happy with this aspect of the website.  Social media was interesting on Grannan's I am not sure how much it added but I expect if you follow Grannan on Twitter or Instagram then it is interesting and informative.  On Day's as there was not any I almost preferred this I could look at ethe work and just enjoy and did not feel any need to 'connect' or to 'share' - this has made me reconsider the inclusion of some of my own social media on my own site.  

The mobile view on Day's site was much more interesting, worked better throughout and although I think the homepage could be improved there was a landing page with an image which was inviting.  Grannan's did not work well and was not that interesting or engaging.  Looking at these it did remind me how important it is to get the mobile view right and working properly and I will be focusing on this in UX testing after I have published. 

This was a good experience as I have considered my own design ideas and my own site while viewing these and I will be exploring different ideas with my galleries to make them engaging and user friendly to ensure that my site visitors want to return!

Software Practice: Ruby Tuesday

 I created a video in Clipchamp, this was a two-shot edit.  The two pieces of film footage I acquired from Pexels and are copyright free.  One was of a rose and the other a woman on a car.  I used the red coloured theme to create Ruby Tuesday. 

Ruby Tuesday By Zoe Van-de-Velde

I created this on Clipchamp.  I began by importing media using the top left-hand menu.  I imported my two clips and the music that I intended to use was from the Free Music Archive.  

I then began by adding two Text boxes (Typewriter template) to add my Title with a black background, I adjusted the duration using the right-hand menu and the font to Playfair display.  I then added both clips split them and rearranged them so that the edit was fairly quick.  I then went to transitions in the left-hand menu and added crossfades and adjusted the fade in and out so that this would work with the flowers and the woman.  I then added three new text boxes at the end, the same as the beginning ot add credits.  I added the music and then previewed and adjusted it before exporting it to my computer as an MP4.  Once I had done this I added to my YouTube channel and then added here to my blog. 

This was a practice and demonstration so it is a little rough and ready but it shows how a very simple edit can be effective. 

Footwear Experimentation Example

 In this post, I was just experimenting with footwear and looking at the anatomy of the knee-high boot and looking at color and texture using Photoshop. 

As you can see I had a selection of sketched knee-high boots and I added colour by using the quick selection tool and adjusting using the add and minus functions in the top menu.  I then changed the colour and used the paint bucket tool to add colour in sections.  I also used filters and 'noise to create texture, I can experiment more to make this more subtle or more textured in my final collection.  I also kept some white areas and tried to ensure that there was a reflection of the material and that the boot looked 3d.  I studied the anatomy of the boot so that I could discuss this further in my research. 

This was just a practice now I will begin working on my own designs and I will begin considering a colour palette and the structure, form and materials I will use on my designs. 

Experimental Music: Erik Satie and Software Practice [Music Students Example]

 In my project, I will create an EP of three pieces of avant-garde experimental music.  To understand and to consider how I might do this I will begin by discussing the music of Erik Satie.

Erik Satie (1866-1925)

Erik Satie was a French composer whose music was; 'anti-emotional, anti-virtuosic and anti-Wagnerian music, basically rejecting all the major trends of 19th-century classical music and blazing a new trail — maybe unwittingly — for modernism.' (Rowat, 2019) Satie was prone to a joke and often created ridiculous titles and poked fun at the audience and other composers. some of those titles included;  'Trois morceaux en forme de poire (1903; Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear) and Embryons Desséchés (1913; Desiccated Embryos), and directions to the player such as “with much illness” or “light as an egg,” meant to mock works such as Debussy’s preludes.' (EncyclopædiaBritannica: Erik Satie, 2023) Satie was also a favourite composer of the surrealists who found an affinity with his experimental work. He drank with Man Ray and contributed to Dadaist publications. Satie himself, in life, was eccentric, not allowing visitors into his apartment, he founded his own mystical sect, when he started out his acquaintances called him 'Mr Poor' and he carried a hammer with him at all times for protection which he continued to do even as he became well-known (Alper, 2023).

Satie's music could be considered the first example of minimalism in music, there is a simplicity and beauty to his work.  His chordal changes and reputation for repetition reach their peak in his work Vexations (1893) 'this piece consists of a single bass phrase to be accompanied with chords notated above it. It is assumed that the piece was written for keyboard instruments, but the score does not specify. Text instruction above the staff reads as follows: “In order to play the theme 840 times in succession, it would be advisable to prepare oneself beforehand, and in the deepest silence, through serious immobility.”'(Alper, 2023)

A piece I would like to share here is Choses vues à droite et à gauche (sans lunettes) (1914) - this translates as 'Things seen to the right and to the left (without glasses)' which is a three-movement suite for violin and piano. (Please listen below)  This piece again is simple, and minimal, and reworks the fugue and choral forms.  The set of three he used often which reflected the Trinity and also Satie was working on the idea of music and The Golden Ratio.

This is a very small and inadequate introduction to Satie however I wanted to include this before I added my own experiment with music.  I created this with Satie in mind and I was hoping for something simple and also, I am hoping with a little aural beauty.  I created this on Ampedstudio which is a quite basic online music studio.  I played with the various sounds available and placed them on the track timeline, as it was an experiment I was very much just sketching an idea in sound.  Once I had layered the tracks I downloaded this and I opened this in Adobe Audition as I also wanted to work on this software to create my music this term.  

Please find my two finished sample pieces here these are in G Minor and Eb Major

Betel Nut Blues

Prelude to Pleasure

I want to expand on this sound continuing to work in G minor and considering further the form and structure of the piece.

References

Alper, M. (2023) Composer Erik Satie was so much weirder than you realize, Flypaper. Available at: https://flypaper.soundfly.com/discover/composer-erik-satie-was-weirder-than-you-realize/ (Accessed: 07 November 2023). 

Rowat, R. (2019) Essential Erik Satie: 10 pieces you should know | CBC music read, CBCnews. Available at: https://www.cbc.ca/music/read/essential-erik-satie-10-pieces-you-should-know-1.5053020 (Accessed: 07 November 2023). 

Encyclopædia Britannica (2023). Erik Satie, Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erik-Satie (Accessed: 07 November 2023). 

Software Practice Photoshop: Portfolio Concept

 Today we are creating our portfolio introduction page with the concept of my project on Photoshop.  I will begin by creating a blank canvas to work on.  I did this by opening Photoshop I clicked in new file and this opened a dialog box.  In the box I clicked on print in the top menu and chose A3.  I then checked that the resolution was 300ppi, this creates a high quality resolution. I then chose the orientation as landscape as I am doing film and photos and these will be landscape. I then chose a custom background colour of slightly off white which I think will work for my portfolio page. 

I then added an image from my desktop.  By clicking on File and then Open, I then went to Select in the top menu and then Select All and then I went to Edit in the top menu and then copy.  I then clicked back onto my canvas tab and then clicked on Edit and paste. I then clicked on the move tool at the top of the left hand menu and then I clicked on Show transform controls in the top menu.  I then could move and enlarge image so that it worked on the page. 

I then added my title, I clicked on the Text button in the left hand menu and then I clicked into the canvas.  I then changed the font by clicking into fonts in the top menu.  I used Bookman Old Style 60pt and then I added my own name underneath in smaller font of 30pts

I then created a logo of freelogodesign.com and used the brand name De Velde Productions and I liked the tagline of 'The All Seeing Eye' I then added this to Photoshop.  I clicked on Open and then I repeated the steps I took for adding the image. 

I then used the text tool to and clicked onto the canvas and changed the size to 24pts and kept the font the same. I then wrote my introduction to my project.

This still needs work but is a good practice for the portfolio concept.

Photoshop: Class Practice Portfolio

 Today we looked at Photoshop and how to create a page in our portfolio depending on progression route.  I began by opening Photoshop and creating a canvas to work on.  I created two canvas One in Landscape and one in portrait both A3 in size. One I created with a white background and one in pink.  I did this by clicking on new file and then in dialog box 'Print'. I chose A3 and then the orientation and then background colour and clicked on create.

My next job was to pick an image and then add it to my canvas I did this by choosing a digital asset from Unsplash and Pixabay I added Interior design image by clicking on open and then choosing the file from my computer I then clicked select and select all and then copy and then going to back to my canvas I pasted this in.  I then clicked on show transform controls in the top menu and then adjusted the image to the size I wanted on canvas 

I then added the title of my projects, using the Text tool in the left hand menu.  I just clicked on the tool and then clicked into my canvas and then changed the font and the size of the font.  In the Interior Design Canvas I used centaur at 60pts and added a subtitle at 36pts.  On the fashion I used Copperplate Gothic Gold 72pts.

Then went to freelogodesign.com and created two logos with my brand name De Velde Design.  I customised each logo and then downloaded and uploaded to my canvas and used the move tool and the transform controls to put this in place. 

I then added another text box and wrote the introduction to my projects, this is not complete and I will return to these when I have completed my work and adjust according. 

I have saved both of these as a psd file so that I can edit later.