#5IMAG003W

[rviale]

Book evolution

Two reasons made me procrastinate the making of my book: having to write essays and Covid pandemic. The second one affected me quite deeply, especially in regards of concentration, inspiration and general energy. Also, since the plan was to shoot different times specifically for the purpose of making the book, I found myself with a relatively small amount of images I was able to use. My plan had to change and I decided to make something shorter, simpler, but still on the same subject. 

After scraping up my hard drive searching for inspiration, I found a bunch of photos from different travels, organized them in two different folders in my laptop and put them next to each other. I started looking for resemblances, similarities and symmetries. I came up with some I liked, but the more I ttried to find new ones the more they looked forced and not as powerful. 

I decided I wanted to make the book short and relatively small, in order for it to have a familiar feel when held. With a soft black cover, and a simple white title. 

Reading the book “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” I came across the expression Unintentional Beauty. It hit me, it was exactly what I wanted the book to be about: something beautiful without the intention to be so. Something beauiful hidden behind overlooked things, such as the forms of human body and architectural details. 

[hannahmatthewswestminster]

Calverts

my aim for this publication was for it to be produced in a way that had the least amount of harm on the environment as possible. this was so that the book itself represented the concept the content depicted. this would hopefully show the viewer the small changes individuals can make, to in turn, have a greater positive impact

calverts is a book designing, binding and printing company based in shoreditch. through researching their website it is clear they use multiple techniques within their company to ensure they are environmentally conscious. “we work with our clients to deliver print and design solutions that are socially and environmentally responsible as well as beautiful and effective. we are FSC® certified and adhere to the ISO14001 environmental standard”

a case study in printing sustainably

used 320gsm cairn natural 100% recycled board left over from a previously printed job – no need to purchase and transport paper. the inner pages of the book were a selection of recycled papers. 

the inks used were vegetable oil based and biodegradable

the printing process itself was powered by renewable energy, and by using recycled paper (made from post consumer waste which would otherwise have gone to landfill) 137kg of carbon was saved

*designers need to know about imposition, because along with a basic understanding of printing press formats, they can use imposition knowhow to cut both the financial and the environmental costs of paper and print

get creative + print sustainably

this is the company i would go to in order to print this publication, i would discuss ways in which the bookbinding itself could be sourced sustainably too. i would gain an understanding of the process used to print the book, in order to learn this information for my future creations

[harry-mortlock]

Chosen sequence for my images

If I were able to present as we normally would do at the end of a project, I would have, had them printed A1. Hopfully that can help you image how they would physically look up in a gallery wall space.

[katiaelizabethanderson-blog]

Ohayo ((オハヨウ) Satoshi Kon (2008) Film & Animation

scene 1 - 5

scene 6 - 11

scene 12 - 17

scene 18 - 23

scene 24 - 29

scene 30 - 35

The scene numbering is to make it easier to read the text as it might be hard to read in the screenshots, but the screen grabs of the scenes are still easily visible. Below is the corresponding notes (numbered) for each scene. 

Scene Notes

The first scene is a title page, written in japanese is the word ‘Ohayo’, which translates to goodmorning in english. 

This transitions with a close-up of some objects in the main characters room, a happy birthday flower bouquet. 

This is the close-up. It pans down slightly, and transitions (the same way, by fading in opacity) to another detailed close-up. 

Presumably a birthday present, and a birthday card. Some princess pink quilted handbag and basket (maybe lunchbox?) has flowers and the same ribbon as the bouquet. These items seem out of place in such a messy apartment with muted colours and old fashioned patterns as seen from the rest of the scene(s).

Cut to a close up of the main character who is trying to ignore her phone alarm. The outer edges of these close up shots  are out of focus, leaving only the features of the face in sharp clarity, so we remain focused on the subject.

She scrunches up her face, an honest expression, unable to ignore the alarm any longer. 

Wider shot of the room reveals a messy room, cluttered with things and posters all over the place. She lifts herself up heavily, slumped, and reaches out to grab her phone to shut off the alarm. 

The one half of her remaining in bed is noticeably more opaque than the one who gets up to turn the alarm off. 

Cut to her in the kitchen, where she bends down almost out of shot to get some orange juice out of the fridge. I like the portrayal of a woman here, as seen in the scrunched up face. It is an honest look at a real person, not an idealistic one, who is just finding it a bit hard to get up in the morning. It isn’t trying to make her look beautiful in every shot, and that’s relatable and real. 

She glugs down the orange juice, tilting her head all the way back and finishing the carton. We see through her ghostly figure. The rest of the room is very dark, so we can assume it’s early, as we see the blinds are drawn but it is still very dark. We see her glugging the juice down from the way her neck moves, indicating big gulps. Again, this is honest and truthful portrayal of how people look in real life, when aggressively downing orange juice for sustenance in the morning. 

A quick jump cut of her kicking the fridge door closed, we see more details, like piled  up rubbish bags. Her life is unbalanced, disorderly, she might be depressed or just too busy to take care of her flat properly and that’s why she’s drinking orange juice for breakfast and not cleaning the clutter and rubbish. 

More clutter. She is still visibly see-through. Reaching for the remote on a cluttered table, with old dishes and empty cans, even a half full wine glass. 

Interesting angle as we see her sit down in front of the old fashioned style tv, turning it on, we see the news in the next scene.

Over the shoulder shot, dynamic use of small space. Would be hard to do this in real life setting, without warping perspective with a lens that would give the same frame so closely behind the subject. 

Back to the same shot we saw before from what seems to be the viewpoint of on-top of the television – where we are now watching her. Her other ghostly counterpart wakes up and turns off the phone alarm, just as she did earlier. They are doing the same thing but out of sync, neither of them whole, or fully awake. Visible in sluggish body language, slumped shoulders, and transparent figures of the same person reveal a sense of emptiness. 

Other self passes through her body, for a moment she becomes less transparent when the two halves meet. This is a kind of visual metaphor, that when we are balanced (whole) we feel more ‘full’ – complete, happy, or able. Being transparent like a ghost is kind of weak, no? 

The other self goes about her morning routine, getting orange juice that the first half of her already drank. 

She drinks it just the same. We view both halves of the main character at the same time quite often. 

Close up of more transparent self (2nd awake). 

Body language shows tiredness

Opening the bathroom door, the sun has come up now, illuminating the other ghostly self. 

One half disappears into the bathroom, and the other self continues to brush her teeth, as their heads both disappear behind objects in the room. 

We move to a side view from the perspective of the kitchen, and see a light and dark lighting of both halves. Again showing this theme of balance, light and dark within one whole. This reminds me of the present (gifts in scene__) in the first opening scene which seemed out of place in a dark and messy apartment, something so pristine and new, seemingly gifts for a different person more suited to them. Neat and tidy, more posh, more expensive, more ‘girly’ personality that the room (the owner of the presents) disputes.

They pass through each other again. This is significant conceptually and aesthetically. I have done this in my own film, and it’s a great powerful effect. They cast shadows on each other, it’s interesting to watch how they interact without knowing the other is there. Opposites of orange and blue coloured lighting are viable, another nod to the theme of duality, imbalance or contrast in one thing.

The second self to wake up is becoming less opaque, as the first one who woke up is becoming much more transparent. These are all indicators of becoming whole again, feeling like herself again, waking up to real life. 

A moan escapes as we pan up from a shoulder height shot (close up) to her face looking up into the shower. The lighting is noticeable in the highlights and outlining of her side, and the water is very reflective on her skin. 

They are both in the shower, that’s why she is less opaque.

This becomes more obvious when we see them separate from each other again, as she gets out of the shower.

2nd half of her is still very transparent at this point, much more see-through than she was at the start. 

Steaming her face, close-up. Foliage in the foreground.

We see them separate again for a moment

Before they connect again, making a fully whole (not at all transparent) subject, signifying their merging and completion of the morning routine. Ready to start the day, I’m actually awake now. 

This shot is the only scene where I believe she is made to look very pretty. Only once she has combined the light and the dark halves, is she allowed by the artist to be celebrated and become the object of desire or attention. There is a brief moment where we see her in the shower, it is a nice shot, and she is drawn in a pretty way, but this is where she looks almost angelic – a contrast to her scrunched up face or gulping of orange juice in earlier parts of the video. 

She finally greets herself (and the viewers watching) in the mirror, and we see her in an over the shoulder shot again. The only non-diegetic sound other than the faint music in the beginning of the short, she speaks the title of the movie, Ohyao (good morning). And that’s the end of the short.

This last scene is no longer than 2 seconds. Is she greeting herself in the morning – or her other self? Is this just a confirmation that the combining of the two selves made her feel neutral again, ready to start her day, and that’s why she said it? I think it’s just a good morning, a sigh, a nod to encourage herself that she is ready for the day after reluctantly getting up.

General notes

·         stars dark (dark blue, grey) ends light (yellow/orange)

·         no speaking other than the title at the end by MC (the main character) at the end

·         still elements of blue in the scene at the end, but it’s light blue, signifying a release of sorts, a lighter scene or transition from that ‘dark’ place where the main character started off.

·         the only time where she looks happy is the last scene when she is ‘whole’, i.e. when the two ghostly halves meet up at this part of the morning routine. A glimpse of this happiness is caught in the shower scene in the way that she is portrayed to be pretty, as a sign of everything coming to a close or back to normal, imitating that feeling of ‘waking up’ when you have a shower in the morning and not really being fully awake until we do so, as most of us can relate to.

 Notes on the soundtrack

Calm chime music (non-diegetic, not heard by character), like a child’s ballerina box play as an introduction along with a title page, setting the tone of what’s to come. However, the sound is a bit sad. This works well as it transitions into background shots (close-ups of elements of the room) which further set the scene like the music does... Elements of this chime melody are quiet but still appear in some other parts of the film. The intro music is charming and peaceful, and fades out to a woman sleeping peacefully - then disturbed by her morning alarm which sounds very different to the intro music, and changes the atmosphere from calm to disturbed (also paired with her annoyed expression at the sound of the alarm). 

Disturbed by a telephone ringing (phone alarm). Sighing follows from the main character and some rustling of sheets, intro to some diegetic sound (what the character hears, we hear). She turns the alarm off and gets out of bed, her footsteps can’t be heard. The scene cuts straight to her standing in the kitchen opening the fridge, so there is no visual of the main character actually walking until much later, and therefore no need to replicate/add the noise of footsteps.

In terms of music, (non-diegetic), there is a changing of pace in the music once the character has woken up, and the music continues to speed up until the last scene when the MC greets herself in the bathroom mirror (scene 35). It particularly seems to change just as the tv is turned onto the morning news, and seems to imitate that sort of announcement music that you would hear from the news, except on a more ‘chimey’ and calmer toned (also paired with light piano melody as it transitions to be more smooth as the music then intensifies and changes tone slightly, leading to the climax of the whole morning routine, the end scene). 

Other sound like - brushing teeth, yawning, gulping, fridge door rattling, shower running, shower curtain moving, dripping water, and general noise from the tv can be heard. 

WATCH OHAYO HERE: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYUFBnAmK28&t=1s

[gambinijournal]

The first Youth Strike for climate change. On the 15th of February school children gathered a front of the Parliament Square to express their worries regarding their future. They were fearless, brave and very inspiring. They are the ones who are going to live in this mess what we did. They are hoping to change the world for better place to live, for them and next generations.

Their future in their hands..!

[erinaimeeabbott]

Clown Scene

[anastasiachristou]

WALL-PAGE-SCREEN: Research

Libraries, Candida Höfer

Inspirational work

[ygreque]

Researching type and looking for appropriate fonts both for my photobook and for the Moderated Reality exhibition

[lydiameteyard]

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR WALL, PAGE AND SCREEN 

LECTURE 5

THE PHOTOBOOK: A RENAISSANCE 

[sarawitek]

Wall, Page, Screen - Experiment Photoshoot

Over the weekend i decided to practice and experiment with pet portaiture on my cat.

[amyleighkeane]

ESSAY on the ‘’sexually queer female gaze’’ for referance

BY AMY KEANE

‘’Taking a range of photographic images or a single photographer’s work, discuss how the gaze is addressed through issues of Gender. From your research define your understanding of the gaze’’

The gendered Gaze, brought to the forefront of the medias attention by Laura Mulvey in her essay published in 1975 ‘’ Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’’. The ‘’male gaze’’ represents the portrayal of women in media, to be objectified and sexualised, as heterosexual men are prominently in control of the camera. Referencing to both voyeurism and Freud’s theory of scopophilia, Mulvey coined the term to produce the ‘’female gaze’’ to then represent the gaze from and for the heterosexual female viewer. Gender is dominantly used in the male gaze, assuming that the males in control of producing the media based content, are heterosexual and are therefore sexually and/or romantically attracted to the female subjects. From this their judgement and ability to produce un-biased content is non existent. In this essay I will further explore the gaze’s and their relation to gender but also question the theory of what gaze the sexually queer female would have,sharing their natural sexual and/or romantic attraction to women and the female body. Wether this makes them exempt to the male gaze as identifying as female. Further questioning if the obvious exploitation of women in media, and the common knowledge of this oppression to all women, overpowers the fact that sexually queer females could also only posses the power to sexualise and objectify the female body?

Freud in ‘’ Three essays on sexuality’’ looks at scopophilia. The theory that ‘’ looking itself is a source of pleasure, just as , in the reverse formation, there is pleasure in being looked at’’. In Freud’s research he linked this widely to’’taking other people as objects,subjecting them to a controlling and curious gaze’’ This information seems critical to Mulvey’s work regarding the gaze as a basis of where the nature of objectification comes from. To take this theory and understand that it can be somewhat pleasurable to condemn a subject to objectification is a flaw to Mulvey’s work that of focusing clearly on the heterosexual view of this. Looking at the apparent bigger picture should it not be classed as a contribution to the gaze but with the inclination of not being specifically gendered. As being a form of fetish that can be used by any gender as well as being able to be projected onto anyone of any gender.

A generic male gaze has been papable with the historically obvious patriarchy system in which still dominates the art world. The male gaze can been seen in works as early as 1538. Titian’s ‘’Venus of Urbino’’ is a painting of a woman in nude, lounging on a bed of expensive fabrics. One of her hands placed on her upper thigh covering herself and the other dropping a handful of flowers. The models head is tilted to the side with a controlled expression. The image posses a visual showcase of the male gaze, being a calculation of everything in which would be sexually appealing to a heterosexual male in context to the time produced. The female being nude, in which was considered to be a lot more promiscuous at the time, not having the prominent exposure to nudity that is classed as neutral in the twenty first century, is an obvious compliment to the ‘’peeping toms’’ and ‘’ obsessive voyeurs’’ ‘’ whose only sexual satisfaction can come from watching an objectified other’’. From the passive expression and pose to the models surroundings the woman is in the image simple to be looked at. Comprehending the surroundings of fabric and flowers you could say that the woman is placed and organised into position just as a still life of fruit would be composed. To be looked at, objectifying her for nothing more than her body. Submitting to a quote found in Mulvey’s writings by Budd Boelticher ‘’What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one , or rather the love of fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her. Who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance’’. Referencing that to the role of the heroine is the everyday woman and the ‘’Hero’’ is the everyday man. As an example in Titian’s image the role of the woman is to get a reaction from the male viewer. It is the idea in which the woman inspires with her appearance and pose rather than her intelligence or through a visual role of actual significance. This is easily communicated into modern day photographic advertising with women unnecessarily over-sexualised in order to capture the attention of the forever dominant heterosexual male audience for purposes of sales.

Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer, with her work being projected world wide. Photographing for publications such as the Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, Leibovitz portrayal of her subjects and models have a monumental affect globally for representation of said person. Overall holding a responsibility as a photographer to capture a positively un-bias viewing platform for the audience. Leibovitz is an openly sexually queer woman who often produced work with her late partner Susan Sontag for example a book called ‘’Women’’ photographs by herself and writings by Sontag. One of Leibovitz’s more famous shots is one of Demi Moore on a cover for Vanity Fair. The model was shot nude, the image itself has the subjects body profile cradling her pregnant stomach and covering her breasts with the other hand. Moore is looking away from the camera with a calm and strong expression. The image exudes with a comfortable confidence. It posses the power for the viewer to see and acknowledge the actress, the soon to be mother, the person present in the photograph. Creating the exact opposite to the male created ‘’Venus of Urbino’’ where all is acknowledged is the female form in a sexualised setting. Both images contain women as well as both images being nude pieces yet the process of expression differs being composed by different genders. Mulvey would point this to be a representation of the male and female gazes. The male gaze prominent in the ‘’ Venus of Urbino’’ as it was composed by a man with ideologies of being seen by men. Whereas Leibovitz’s shot this as a female, with the female gaze for the female audience. The argument now starts wether or not Leibovitz can truly shoot such images without the presence of the male gaze being included with her work considering her non-heterosexual sexuality and attraction to women. The question is as poses how could someone whose is sexually and romantically interested in women, especially in a nude based shoot, not over sexualise or objectify said model?. In the book ‘’Women on women’’ accurately coinciding with the title of being women photographers shooting women models, Sacha comments ‘’ Man always sees a showcase, a shop window, the way a woman shows herself to the outside world. A man can look at it, but not be in it- thats the difference’’. In this comment she is referring to the differences between the two gender gazes. Promoting the theory that as a woman, Leibovitz can find the distinction between women being sexual beings:when posing in erotic or non-erotic ways, with or without clothing as well as including sexual inclinations or not and alternatively women being showed as sexual objects. Mario Sorrenti, a heterosexual male, photographs what in the present day is not a shock or abnormality; the world of media bending to suit the heterosexual male and his desires. Sorrenti’s work is popular in the genre of advertising, in particular his work with model Kate Moss for the Calvin Klein men’s perfume Obsession. The sole purpose for the advertisement is to sell the product being perfume, yet the only content in Sorrenti’s image is a naked Kate Moss. An advertisement main goal is to attract its prime target audience with aesthetically grasping imagery to associate the product or brand to, furthermore increasing sales. The male gaze is at its most pronounced in this situation of literally using the woman and her body as an object of sexualisation for sales. Contrasting to Leibovitz’s image of Demi Moore, of which was used as a cover for the sale of a magazine. It puts into perspective if the same model was shot by a heterosexual male, like Sorrenti, and following the theory that sex is a large contributor for sales; would the new image of Demi Moore contribute to the sales of the specific magazine? This is only questioned with the idea that the male gaze is overbearing and not only affects the women oppressed by the gaze but the women that are influenced by this ‘’norm’’ that is in modern day culture. Because women have been so heavily exposed to such imagery subject to the male’s desires, could this also demonstrate a brainwashing of women to think that this representation of women is normal, positive or even influential? As to be the subject of the male gaze is what a male would describe to be desirable. The short answer would be Yes. Shown with the growing market of diets, beauty products and cosmetic surgery advertised to gain the ‘ perfect’ look/image. With this many examples of the ‘perfect’ image would also be a direct representation of what the heterosexual male conceives as attractive in a woman. The male gaze directs this idea in the twenty first century being a great deal more obvious than the critic of male appearance. Photography is a direct catalogue of this information especially within in the advertisement industry. Cases of this can be found in the clothing company American Apparel in which has had many advertisements banned in the UK due to their explicit nature involving women and their bodies. Particularly I am drawn to this series of photographs and text that purpose is to sell pairs of socks. Everything about the image screams that it has been raped by the male gaze. The main image consists of a woman in a submissive pose gripping her knees up to her chest, being the only thing apart from her hair loosely covering her breasts. The camera angle depicts the viewer to be looking down and aggressively onto the model. The expression of the subject being blank staring back up to the viewer with a somewhat fetishised ‘’ innocent ‘’ appearance. The set of three images to the left of the composition see the model mid chest to forehead laying down on sheets pulling prominent facial expressions widely associated with pleasure from performed sexual acts. The main text on the image states ‘’ Safe to say, she loves her socks’’. The comment is to that of a sarcastic remark referring to the viewer stereotypically looking at everything but the socks in the image due to the extreme sexualisation of the model. Finally with more text at the bottom right of the composition stating ‘’ Meet Lauren Pheonix. 150lbs of magic. Actress. Director. Look her up on Google’’. Firstly the mention of her weight is also completely irrelevant to the purpose of selling socks and only to a means of objectifying the woman to her physical stats. A small amount of ‘’Google’’ research puts forward the information that the model has a career in the pornography industry. Observing the image and the model disregarding this irrelevant information pointing to exploit the career she chooses to earn money only brings to mind one thought. Why is it necessary for a porn star to assist in the sales of socks? Even in perspective that the model, for her appearance alone suited the casting for what is suitable for American Apparels sock model, it has been made a statement with the text included that the brand wants to associate itself with what is a taboo subject, with sex. ‘’ Look her up on Google’’. This image is a prime example of photography that is used for the male gaze. It is the representation of the unnecessary objectification of women in advertising to please the most common viewer, being the heterosexual male. For an audience this promotes sexism and a divide between genders the male gaze in this instance is a promotion for this sexism that women and their bodies are to be used for any means like advertisement or sales. Looking at the works of Zanele Muholi, specifically indulging in her ongoing project ‘’Faces and Phases’’ showing photography of the community in which she is a part of being LGBTQI. Zanele Muholi has known not to be shy with her subjects of which have been photographed. Some of her work for example ‘’Being scene’’ depicting blurry video footage of bodies, lesbian couples including herself and her long term girlfriend being intimate. The representation in the photographs is important here being some of a small world wide collection of a sexually queer woman photographing sexually queer women. With my evaluation of Muholi’s images I have come to the conclusion that the images must posses both gender gazes or neither. Potentially collecting the alternative term as the Queer gaze? Defining as the depiction of women through the gaze of a queer photographer. Because of the photographers sexual preference in conjunction with the subject it could be advanced that the photographer has the potential gaze in which that would have be neutral? In comparison to David Hamilton’s representation of queer women in the book ‘’sisters’’ Muholi’s work can be analysed to be a honest depiction of the subject whereas Hamilton’s to be a exhibition of what he thinks queer women should be portrayed as. It could be argued with the obvious exploitation of queer women in media, especially in pornography, that Hamilton’s gaze is a explicit statement of the male gaze. Hamilton being male and queer women being sexualised more so than the stereotypically average heterosexual woman wether that be because of the fetish of the straight male only being able to use his gaze to look on the queer woman and not being able to posses her. Or due to the fact that there is a stereotype that makes queer women, especially their sex lives, to be that of a performance to please the straight man. This can be evident again ,as a second interpretation, of the quote by Sasha stating ‘’Man always sees a showcase, a shop window, the way a woman shows herself to the outside world. A man can look at it, but not be in it- thats the difference’’. The sexually queer female from my research does hold the ability to sexualise and objectify women. With the sexually queer photographers I have looked into it has been evident in their work that their knowledge and perhaps the personal accounts of sexism and oppression of gender sported from men and their gaze educates the queer woman not to do onto others what is done on to herself. Acknowledging that women can be sexual beings without being sexual objects. Identifying with their female gender first before their sexuality. With the knowledge of there being more than two genders and a spectrum of sexualities, including but not exclusive to heterosexuality, my research on the gaze has been refined to that the term needs to reassessed. An idea for this would be to look at the gaze not referred directly to gender or sexuality. But as a view that being a person whom does not identify with the same as your subject your ‘’ gaze’’ will still be evident on them, wether recored in a media form or not. IT will not be a true representation of that person. Although gender is relevant to the heterosexual male gaze for its history in photography dividing prominently females and males in a battle of equality between the sexes. Feminism, Equality for all, is a constant battle in the twentieth first century specifically in media pushing for representation of camera operators, editors, directors, producers etc of a multitude of genders and sexualities to find a balance of the gaze’s and a fair and equal representation of all current minorities. To achieve this would effectively almost execute the idea of objectification.

[hannahmatthewswestminster]

mock book

[harry-mortlock]

Final set of 4 images for my Wall project:

The project is all about taking a closer look at the ‘scars’ of the Earth. What I mean by this is that within all of my images they are mostly densely populated with trees, shrubs etc. So I am looking at the strange patches where things seem to not grow, whether that be on the side of the cliff as it is too steep for anything to even grow and be stable, or a sudden break in the landscape full of closely packed trees, suddenly leaving a large wide open space. I have ended up going with the title ‘Scarred’ because just like a scar on your body nothing can grow in that area and you are left with an altered part of yourself which is different from everything else. No one scar is the same, just how none of these large patches in my photos are the same in any way.

[katiaelizabethanderson-blog]

Video Research

Why does anime inspire me so much?

intricate storytelling - which often blends between reality and dream worlds, which are really interesting to me and relatable to my work / personal life. They often touch upon the different lives we (normal, modern people) - online and offline, real and dreaming, onscreen and off screen. 

What shots are associated with anime? 

Long, still shots, as well as “pillow shots” which are random cutaways to objects in a scene such as a water bottle or a piece of litter. This gives the impression of the shot ‘breathing’ which feels so charismatic and charming about anime. 

In anime we are also able to like in live action to jump cut and match cut between scenes. For example in Paprika we see a lot of ‘matching screen’ transitions. This is when you would cut from one scene of blood dripping onto the floor, to another scene which is occurring in an entirely different time/place however the scene matches and so they cut together seamlessly. Here is the example from the film. 

Woman in alley way stumbles to find a wall she can lean against, wide shot, long shot

Blood drips from her onto the pipe she rests on, and we see this blood trickle down in a close up of the bottom of the pipe

Close up & matching scene cut to the blood dripping onto the floor, however this blood is not dripping from the pipe and the woman in the alleyway, but from a separate occasion which is clarified in the next shot

Where we see a character holding a knife covered in blood. 

The way that these scenes connect is really smooth and clever, and if you blink you would miss out on the next scene, or the information that we have now transitioned to another scene. Paprika was developed by Satoshi Kon, and he also directed Perfect blue (1997). His shots have been copied and used in big movie names such as Requiem for a Dream (2000), Inception (2010), examples below. 

This same technique is used in other cinema, for example it is used for visual comedy in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World in the scene below. This movie is directed by Edgar Wright.

Kon has used this technique in multiple ways, exact graphic matches as shown before, as well as the two time periods which mirror each other. However he would take this idea and put it on steroids, and create really dense / intricate dream sequences (like in the intro to paprika) which are all connected by match cuts or graphic matches. You will recognise this in his work when you watch any of his works. He liked to link and stack transitions back to back, so the viewer would never be very comfortable with a scene before it would dramatically change to another one, and like I said earlier if you blink you might miss valuable information.

He does other stuff like jumping through scenes, for example doing a murder scene : he would show us the build up, skip the murder, and then show us the gore-ish aftermath. 

This use of intricate editing, has a immense effect on the viewer, our relationship between space and time is so warped we don’t even know what we are watching. I like his movies because you have to watch them a few times, or think really carefully about what you are seeing to gain information from the shot. His films also read super fast, and watching them over makes me uniquely experience his film differently every time. His style of film and sound tries to interpret his idea that people all interpret the world differently. Our experience of fantasy, space, time, reality, is different person to person, but also collective. The way he moves from scene to scene is something I don’t see often in live-action movies. There is a relatable and nostalgic feeling to the imagery and I always have goosebumps from the editing, story telling, and artistry. 

[gambinijournal]

Advertising Shits In Your Head - Strategies for resistance is a small yellow book published in 2017 by Dog Section Press. The creator of the book, emerges us about visual pollution (advertising) across the public spaces in the cities and gives us a solution to resistance through the subvertising. 

Subvertising is a practice of making parody of corporate and political advertising. It can take a form of a new image or be alteration of existing advert with elements of satire. 

As a citizen, living in the big city I am highly exposed to visual pollution, western advertising. The advertising which tells me how I should be, what should I buy, where I shall go on holidays, what should I wear is giving me a negatives thoughts in my head who exactly am I? The abuse of advertising distract my balanced harmony about myself. The advertising creates an illusion of reality and tries convince citizens to live the lifestyle as seen on the adverts. 

Yesterday I have meet people from Bristol and London who are involved in subvertising public spaces. They are doing great job. They are one of the citizens who ask the questions about use of public space by public not by rich companies trying sell their product. I will definitely follow the subvertising movement and get engaged myself.

[knightviii]

Shared Passions

The project comes directly form a passion for the landscape, something that I cannot simply describe into words, it is as strong as my affinity and passions for wildlife. Therefore I can only attempt to summarise what my passions are and how they help me in my work.

As alluded to by the post title, another artist that shares my passion of landscape and nature is Michael Whelan, who explores his relationship with the landscape and consequently also our relationship that we hold with the landscape. 

His project “Fragments” does exactly that, using the mountain peaks as a means of relating to the land, his connection and perhaps like many artists that work with the landscape go beyond a mental connection but also rely on the physical connection that we make when we are in the environment itself. We must allow ourselves to be completely engulfed and immersed by the landscape. It is in a sense remembering the landscape by being there physically allows you to form that connection.