Welcome back!
SPRING TERM – DEADLINES
PRACTICAL WORK: This term you have 6 weeks to complete all work, including essay and photobook or film. This include all relevant blog posts demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of: RESEARCH > ANALYSIS > PLANNING > RECORDING, EXPERIMENTATION > PRESENTATION > EVALUATION.
DEADLINE: MUST complete final photo-shoots/ moving image recordings by end of January 2021.
ESSAY: We will continue to spend 1 lesson a week every Wednesdays on CONTEXTUAL STUDIES where you will be learning about critical theory, photo history and contemporary practice as well as developing academic study skills to help you writing your essay. However, it is essential that you are organising your time effectively and setting aside time outside of lessons to read, study and write.
DEADLINE: Essay MUST be handed in Fri 29 Jan 2021
PHOTOBOOK / FILM: Returning after Christmas we will be spending the whole month of January developing, designing and printing the photobook which will include your essay and somewhere between 40-60 images sequenced to tell a story. For those making a film you will spend January editing moving images and sound in Premiere.
MOCK EXAM: 5 – 11 Feb 2021. 3 days controlled test (15 hours)
Groups:
FINAL DEADLINE: Completion of photobook/ film with final essay Thurs 11 Feb 2021 .
EXAM (ESA): Exam Paper and preparation begins Fri 12 Feb 2021.
EXAM (ESA): Controlled Conditions
4 – 5 – 6 May and 12 – 13 – 14 May 2021.
Week 16: 4 – 10 Jan
Essay writing: Academic study skills
Contextual Study: Decoding Photography
MON: Academic Sources
- Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, Youtube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
- Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
- It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different pints of view – not only your own.
- Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages
- Write down page number, author, year, title, publisher, place of publication so you can list source in a bibliography
Bibliography
List all the sources that you have identified above as literary sources. Where there are two or more works by one author in the same year distinguish them as 1988a, 1988b etc. Arrange literature in alphabetical order by author, or where no author is named, by the name of the museum or other organisation which produced the text. Apart from listing literature you must also list all other sources in alphabetical order e.g. websites/online sources, Youtube/ DVD/TV.
Quotation and Referencing:
Why should you reference?
- To add academic support for your work
- To support or disprove your argument
- To show evidence of reading
- To help readers locate your sources
- To show respect for other people’s work
- To avoid plagiarism
- To achieve higher marks
What should you reference?
- Anything that is based on a piece of information or idea that is not entirely your own.
- That includes, direct quotes, paraphrasing or summarising of an idea, theory or concept, definitions, images, tables, graphs, maps or anything else obtained from a source
How should you reference?
Use Harvard System of Referencing…see Powerpoint: harvard system of referencing for further details on how to use it.
Here is an full guide on how to use Harvard System of Referencing including online sources, such as websites etc.
TUE: Essay Question
- Think of a hypothesis and list possible essay questions
- Below is a list of possible essay questions that may help you to formulate your own.
Some examples of Personal Study essays from previous students
To what extent can we trust documentary photography to tell the truth about reality?
How does Jeff Wal’s Tableaux approach depict a seemingly photojournalistic approach?
Compare how Cindy Sherman and Phoebe Jane Barrett challenge gender stereotypes.
How can something that doesn’t physically exist be represented through photography?
How does the work of Darren Harvey-Regan explore abstraction as an intention and process?
WED 6 JAN: CONTEXTUAL STUDIES
Decoding Photography
• Select one of the questions listed
• Read text in detail, make notes and identify 3 quotes
• Select one image from examples mentioned in text and apply your own interpretation of the photograph by applying theory and critical thinking
• Incorporate the 3 quotes above into your interpretation of the image and make sure you comment on the quotes.
Go to Blogpost here for more details
THUR: Essay Plan
Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure
- Essay question:
- Opening quote
- Introduction (250-500 words): What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?
- Pg 1 (500 words): Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian.
- Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
- Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
- Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
- Bibliography: List all relevant sources used
FRI: Essay Introduction
In this lesson you will write a 45 mins draft essay introduction following these steps:
- Open a new Word document > SAVE AS: Essay draft
- Copy essay question into Essay title: Hypothesis > if you don’t have one yet, make one!
- Copy your essay introduction (from Essay Plan) which will give you a framework to build upon and also copy your Statement of Intent.
- Identify 2 quotes from sources identified in an earlier task using Harvard System of Referencing.
- Use one quote as an opening quote: Choose a quote from either one of your photographers or critics. It has to be something that relates to your investigation.
- Add sources to Bibliograpphy > if by now you don’t have any sources, use S. Sontag. On Photography Ch1
- Begin to write a paragraph (250-500 words) answering the following questions below.
- You got 45 mins to write and upload to the blog!
- Think about an opening that will draw your reader in e.g. you can use an opening quote that sets the scene. Or think more philosophically about the nature of photography and and feeble relationship with reality.
- You should include in your introduction an outline of your intention of your study e.g.
- What are you going to investigate.
- How does this area/ work interest you?
- What are you trying to prove/challenge, argument/ counter-argument?
- Whose work (artists/photographers) are you analysing and why?
- What historical or theoretical context is the work situated within. Include 1 or 2 quotes for or against.
- What links are there with your previous studies?
- What have you explored so far in your Coursework or what are you going to photograph?
- How did or will your work develop.
- What camera skills, techniques or digital processes in Photoshop have or are you going to experiment with?
Week 17: 11 – 17 Jan
Essay: write paragraph 1
Photobook/ Film: Editing images/ footage
ESSAY: Lesson time (Wed)
- Use information you gathered in Art Movements & Isms sheet as a starting point for your paragraphs
- Use 500 words blog post you produced before Christmas in relation to Art Movement and Isms as a basis for this paragraph
- Select at least two qoutes from your literary sources (see list below) that you can incorporate into your paragraph.
- Your paragraph must include visual examples of artists making work within that art movement that is relevant to your Personal Study.
- Complete Paragraph 1 and upload to the blog at the end of lesson
Paragraph 1 Structure (500 words) : Use subheading. This paragraph covers the first thing you said in your introduction that you would address. The first sentence introduces the main idea of the paragraph. Other sentences develop the subject of the paragraph.
Content: you could look at the following…exemplify your hypothesis within a historical and theoretical context. Write about how your area of study and own work is linked to a specific art movement/ ism. Research and read key text and articles from critics, historians and artists associated with the movement/ism. Use quotes from sources to make a point, back it up with evidence or an example (a photograph), explain how the image supports the point made or how your interpretation of the work may disapprove. How does the photograph compare or contrast with others made by the same photographer, or to other images made in the same period or of the same genre by other artists. How does the photograph relate to visual representation in general, and in particularly to the history and theory of photography, arts and culture.
Include relevant examples, illustrations, details, quotations, and references showing evidence of reading, knowledge and understanding of history, theory and context!
How Did Pictorialism Shape Photography and Photographers ?
Realism vs Pictorialism: A Civil War in Photography History
Movements: Straight Photography
Modernism and Postmodernism History
For more help and guidance with writing your essay go to blog post below.
PHOTOBOOK: Lesson time (Mon, Tue, Thurs & Fri)
RECORDING: Bring images from new photo-shoots to lessons and follow these instructions
EDITING:
- Save shoots in folder and import into Lightroom
- Organisation: Create a new Collection from each new shoot inside Collection Set: PHOTOBOOK
- Editing: select 8-12 images from each shoot.
- Experimenting: Adjust images in Develop, both as Colour and B&W images appropriate to your intentions
- Export images as JPGS (1000 pixels) and save in a folder: BLOG
- Create a Blogpost with edited images and an evaluation; explaining what you focused on in each shoot and how you intend to develop your next photoshoot.
- Make references to artists references, previous work, experiments, inspiration etc.
- Prep for photobook design: Make a rough selection of your 40-50 best pictures from all shoots. Make sure you have adjusted and standardised all the pictures in terms of exposure, colour balance.
EXPERIMENTING: - Export same set of images from Lightroom as TIFF (4000 pixels)
- Experimentation: demonstrate further creativity using Photoshop to make composite/ montage/ typology/ grids/ diptych/triptych, text/ typology etc appropriate to your intentions
- Design: Begin to explore different layout options using InDesign and make some page spreads for our newspaper
(format: 280.5 (h) x 420 mm (w) - Alternatively design a photo-zine. Set up new document as A5 page sizes. This is trying out ideas before you begin designing photobook.
- Make sure you annotate process and techniques used and evaluate each experiment
EVALUATING: Upon completion of photoshoot and experimentation, make sure you evaluate and reflect on your next step of development. Comment on the following:
- How successful was your photoshoot and experimentation?
- What references did you make to artists references? – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual?
- How are you going to develop your project from here? – comment on research, planning, recording, experimenting.
- What are you going to do next? – what, why, how, when, where?
FILM: (Lesson time (Mon, Tue, Thurs & Fri)
RECORDING: Produce a number of photographic response to your Personal Study and bring footage from video/ audio recordings to lessons:
EDITING:
• Save media in folder on local V:Data Drive
• Organisation: Create a new project in Premiere
• Editing: begin editing video/ audio clips on the timeline
• Adjusting: recordings in Colour / B&W appropriate to your intentions.
EXPERIMENTING:
• Video: experimenting with sequencing using relevant transitions and effects
• Sound: consider how audio can add depth to your film, such as ambient sound, sound fx, voice-over, interview, musical score etc. • Title and credits: Consider typography/ graphics/ styles etc. For more creative possibilities make title page in Photoshop (format: 1280 x 720 pixels) and import as a Psd file into your project folder on the V-Data drive.
EVALUATING: Write an evaluation on the blog that reflects on your artistic intentions, film-editing process and collaboration. Include screen-prints from Premiere and a few ‘behind the scenes’ images of the shooting/ production for further annotation. Comment on the following:
- How successful was your photoshoot and experimentation?
- What references did you make to artists references? – comment on technical, visual, contextual, conceptual?
- How are you going to develop your project from here? – comment on research, planning, recording, experimenting.
- What are you going to do next? – what, why, how, when, where?
THURS/FRI: 14 – 15 Jan
PRESENTATION – Work-in-Progress
PRESENTING: Prepare a 3-5 mins presentation on something that you are working on right now in your project. For example:
An idea
An image
A photo-shoot
An experiment
An inspiration
New research
New development
Use blog posts to present in class. As a class we will give constructive feedback on how each student can develop their work and projec