Evaluation

Sally Jenkins

 Advanced Photographic Practice

Evaluation

Overall I am really happy with the outcome of my video project. I feel that it tells a story, relates to current issues, is contextualised within photography and technically meets criteria. I have learnt a lot during this process, I had never used film as a medium before neither had I used the video editing software Premier Pro. I feel that I have developed in both areas and iv enjoyed the learning curve. This has now given me the opportunity to use these skills again in future projects or the possibility with more practice maybe paid work.

As far as my research goes, I think my blog adequately reflects my thought process throughout. I have used different reference points including books, online information and newspaper article to source information. I feel like for once I have really worked on my time management skills, arriving early for all seminars and workshops, this has paid off on my final project because I have allowed plenty of time on both blogging and editing leaving no last minute rush or panic. If I was to go back and re visit my research I would have liked to read more texts on feminism and the opposing arguments giving myself more room for debate but in the six week time frame I’m happy with the research I have sourced and feel my video references many of the different arguments I was proposing . Whilst commenting on my research I would like to comment on my development. I feel that my development is shown clearly throughout my blog and project. I feel not only has my technical abilities developed but also I have developed in being able to contextualising my own work. I could have shown further development on my blog by posting what I have learn and created in the first few technical sessions with john and the skills I have picked up from where I began.

My video, I am extremely happy with. I feel my concept is clear, my visuals are memorable and  the audio ties it all together. Iv extremely enjoyed working on a project with Sonny-Jay (my audio man) , It was nice to work with people from a different medium and we both found it helpful and interesting to bounce ideas off each other. He is now using this piece in his portfolio. If I were again to go back and work on this video again I think I would video more than one girl, I would maybe film a group of friend or girls of the same age to see how mixing up the isolated body parts would work . I fell that I have emulated “The Gaze” really well and I have done what I desired in my concept about creating an uncomfortable atmosphere between my subject and the viewer.

Finally when it comes to my concepts about the developing beauty culture and technologies influences on the younger generations I will be using the research I have done in this project as a starting point for my dissertation. I feel like there is still so much to explore in this field and I will be carrying on my research developing my ideas further. I fell that themes explored in this project relate to past work I have done and its something I will be carrying on both in my practical and theory work.

Finished piece with music

Enjoy

Changing the ending

I have finally managed to edit together a final cut or as i thought. Its 2 minutes long , the audio has been finished and is also exactly 2 minutes long but i wasn't as happy with the ending as i would have hoped. The video consists of long shots to start and as the music drops iv picked up the pace, speeding up some of the footage and shortening the clips but because of this i feel like there was no real ending clip . No conclusion because its consistent and just ends. Iv seeked advise and other people feel the same. I need to have an concluding shot of her perfectly "faked up" . This below is the original first finished edit. From this i have extended the second to last clip to make it the final image of the video. It fits with the music but i had to eliminate the "selfie" shot which contradicts my proposals and research. I have decided that this is the end of my video and after that it  rolls to the credits. After the credits i have added the "selfie" clip as an epilogue. An aftermath of the finished product. I aim to add relevant sound effects to the epilogue because i feel the silence makes the clip look misplaced to the other sequence in front. I'm am currently working on adding sound effects and smoothing out the end of my video playing with cross fades and positioning of credits.

Further edit

Here, after much time consumed deleting footage ,i have twiddled my 13 minute long clip down to three minutes! But i feel it is still a tad to long , i want to keep it two minutes or under because i want to keep my audiences attention and i don't feel like two minutes is to long to bore my audience but enough time to fit in the content.The first minute that i have constructed i will be keeping how it is because i like the pace and all the clips used i just have to edit 1 minute out the last 2 minutes of footage. I think that when i start editing the speed of some of the clips this will improve the amount i have to edit out .Its just a case of editing out everything that's un necessary to the story line , and tightening up the edits that exist.

 

 

Draft Audio

I have been sent the first draft of my audio and i absolutely love it ! couldn't of asked for something more suiting . Whilst receiving this i have started editing but now i have it its all fitting into place and I'm getting really excited for the final result. The statements i think work really well i , you have no choice but to listen to what the the female speaker is saying , its not discreet at all . Like the footage . 

 

Eye references

On showing the first 13min edit of my video , The eye shots were particularly commented upon . They were said to resemblance those of both the 1928 Luis Bunuel video "Un Chien Andalou" and a part of the cult film "A Clockwork orange".Both videos reference the eye being forced and held open to be made to see things . The content of what there looking at is irrelevant of my project but the forced watching is.  

Luis Bunuel; Un Chien andalou

This is a gruesome slightly disturbing video for mine work to be refereed to but its in the style of my shooting. My tutor just thought it important for me to understand what other people might be thinking when watching my video .


A clockwork orange



I feel that this video relates to my work more . As the main character is being forced to watch some thing by having his eyes held open i think that i am forcing my video upon the viewer. I feel the way i have shot it forces my viewer into an uncomfortable situation where they are watching something they ordinarily wouldn't have the opportunity to watch. Getting ready especially for girls is usually done behind closed doors and only wanting the public to see the finished result. but between making the model aware she is being watch ( way she glances at the camera ) and the viewer watching it i have almost created a "cringy " scenario . That even at times i haven't felt comfortable watching.

This is just a passing comment but the content of A Clockwork Orange " is disturbing and weird . It was banned from cinema when first created and provoked a strong reaction in most who watched it . Women were known to have fainted in the cinema ect. but because it boomed for be infamous in the public eye , popular culture too grabbed the aspects from the fil and something so ugly and contiversial made its way into the beauty industry. Ideas for Halloween make up above but also started men wearing eyeliner and other things ect. Im just commenting on how everything that is seen in the public eye whether its excepted or not worms its way into the beauty culture or shapes a trend. With all the controversy aroung "Geordie Shore" and "Big fat gypsy wedding" this is just history and culture repeating itself.

Starting to shoot

The shoot

Iv have started the shoot and the editing process. I originally wanted this shoot to be a test run but by the time i got to grips with the camera , lighting and directing my model , I was on a roll and just ended up getting it done. The difference between Stills and moving was a challenge at that. Silly things like having to shoot everything in landscape i didn't realise until conducting the shoot. The way a person moves is also alot harder to direct in film. Shooting everything enough times that in post production you have a selection rather than being stuck with one choice. It took me roughly 4 hours to have 20minutes of use able filming i could have had hundreds of images in that time. But overall i feel very positive about the shoot . I feel i have all of the main components to start an edit. The only things i didn't have access to are fake tan , shoes and we ran out of time to do nails but after constructing the structure of the video and these things are necessary ill go back and re-shoot them .

 

First edit

On uploading all my footage , i realised there is a mass so i needed to start picking out the weaker clips , anything repeated or out of focus .Irrelevant or just that i didn't like them. My first cut i have managed to get the 20 minutes of footage down to 13 minutes . I have made this its own untouched sequence so that if in a later stage i edit something i want back here i can find all the good clips . The next hopefully will go down to 4 or 5 minutes and after that I'm aiming for a 2 minute final piece. I have already asked Sonny to work on the audio around 2 minutes.