Since my project covers the theme of homosexuality I will attempt to use same sex models, preferably both males since the project is about my past dating life.
Since the project is about my past dating life, I will attempt to shoot in similar or the same places that these dates occurred in order to relate it back to my life.
Feeling
With my pictures I want to convey the feeling of intimacy and romance as well as confusion and revelation to some extent. For example, some images will portray the same sex models being quite intimate with each other and then some will have archival imagery that relates to a Bible quote that kept popping up in my head while in dates with the other guy.
Lighting
Inside: since some photographs will be shot inside a studio, I will make use of the lights of the room to create a more natural look to my images as they’re not meant to seem too artificial.
Locations
Since this project is based upon my personal experiences I will attempt to go back to the locations of where these “dates” occurred like a car (driving around), interior setting and more
Camera setting
I will set my camera to automatic mode so that it can automatically adjust settings like ISO.
In what way have Jim Goldberg and Carole Benitah represented youth and identity through their work?
‘I decided to explore the memories of my childhood to help me understand who I am and to define my current identity.‘
For my area of study, I have decided to explore the theme of identity, more specifically the ideas of childhood and adolescence, and how the environment around you can have a significant effect on how you grow up, as well as how childhood can shape you into the adult you become. I have chosen to document this theme because teenagers are often ostracised by older members of society, and have gained a ‘reckless’ and ‘troublemaking’ stereotype. My aim with this project is to show how teenagers deal with this issue, as well as other problems they may face, such as pressure from school or problems with their home life. One of the artists who I will be focusing on is Jim Goldberg. His project ‘Raised By Wolves’ (1985 – 1995), shed a spotlight on the shunned and rejected members of society who lived along Los Angeles’ Sunset Boulevard; ‘I wanted to look at those people who were outsiders, like I was.’ (Goldberg, 2018). I have chosen to analyse Goldberg’s work because it is a raw, uncensored look at a world most people will never get to see, and it incorporates real-life people and their stories. Goldberg allowed his audience to sympathise and somewhat relate with his subjects through his use of personal objects which varied from hand-written letters and drawings to police and medical reports. This allowed the viewers to feel as though they were immersed in the world of ‘Tweeky Dave’ and ‘Echo’, and to draw attention to the problems that they face. The second artist that I will be focusing on is Carolle Benitah. Her project ‘Photos Souvenirs’ (2016) involved Benitah reworking her old childhood photographs from her family albums through the use of embroidery and stitching as a way to show how she had developed and to help her understand who she was; ‘Those moments, fixed on paper, represented me, spoke about me and my family, told things about my identity, my place in the world, my family history and its secrets, the fears that constructed me, and many other things that contributed to who I am today.’ (Benitah). I have chosen to analyse Benitah’s work because it gives her audience an intimate and personal look at her life, and the fondness and sometimes disdain with which she holds the memories of her childhood and her family, which I feel that most people will be able to relate to. For my response to these artists, I plan to capture candid images of myself and my friends when we are together in order to convey the unfiltered approach that Goldberg demonstrates. Additionally, I will also be incorporating old childhood and family photographs as a way to show how we have changed and developed, and as a response to Benitah.
Jim Goldberg’s Raised By Wolves uses a primarily documentary-style type of photography as a way of capturing an unfiltered look at the life of his subjects. Documentary photography found its roots as a way to record and accurately describe unknown, hidden, or difficult to access places, such as the ruins of Ancient Egypt or the undiscovered American wilderness in the nineteenth century. During the 1930s, the Great Depression brought about a new wind of change for documentary photography, both in urban and rural locations. Photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and Russell Lee are generally credited for adapting the style into what it is today; accuracy mixed with empathy, and with the main goal of encouraging the public to engage in social change. Conversely, whilst Goldberg works with fairly recent images, Benitah uses a different approach. By reworking and adapting her old family photographs as a way to reflect who she is now, Benitah utilises various techniques such as embroidery and stitching. Although embroidery is now practiced all over the world, its origin can be traced back to the Middle East during the Cro-Magnon days, around 30,000 B.C.. Elaborately embroidered clothing, religious objects, and household items served as symbols of wealth and status in many cultures including Persia, Japan, the Byzantine Empire, and Europe. The discipline can also be affiliated with the impressionist art movement, which took place in the nineteenth century. Impressionism is characterised by its use of bright colours as opposed to darker, muted ones, and thin, barely visible brush strokes as a way of conveying the changing qualities of both light and movement. It could be argued that embroidery is therefore a by-product of this movement and vice versa, as the two areas of speciality have corresponding attributes and components. Moreover, if embroidery can be compared to impressionism, then therefore documentary photography can be connected to realism. Realism is defined as ‘the faithful representation of reality’, and is focused on showing an unfiltered look at everyday life. The movement rejected traditional forms of art, literature, and social hierarchy, and was inspired by the new way of thinking which was sparked by the Industrial Revolution in the mid eighteenth century. This shift in art style brought about an elevation of the working class as the main subjects of many artist’s paintings, as it coincided heavily with many new social philosophies, including Pierre Proudhon’s System of Economic Contradictions, or The Philosophy of Poverty (1846) and Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto (1848). Documentary photography therefore shares many affinities with this art movement, which can be explicitly seen in Jim Goldberg’s work.
USA. California. Dave in Car. From Raised by Wolves
These two images, taken from Goldberg’s Raised By Wolves, give the viewer an intimate and profound look at the relationship that Goldberg had with the people he photographed, and specifically this subject, ‘Dave’. It is constantly argued whether documentary photography is a reliable source of information, as one can often feel like an outsider looking in to a world which they will never understand. As the photographer spends time with their subjects, they will inevitably form a kinship of some kind, which can lead to their images shifting from the stoic, detached report that is expected, into a deeply touching and sympathetic anecdote of their time spent together. In his review of Goldberg, Adam Wray states that, ‘[Goldberg] formed relationships with the runaways he began tailing around LA, becoming enmeshed in their lives. He provided his subjects both material assistance and friendship.’ (Wray 2018). This shows that the relationships Goldberg formed with his subjects are clearly conveyed throughout his work, and that it affects the way in which people will view it. In the two images above, it is clear to see that Goldberg and his subject have become close friends, and that they regard each other with a certain fondness which would not have occurred if not for the compassion and fragility with which Goldberg treated their lives as his subject matter. It could, therefore, be argued that Goldberg’s intention with this project was to not only draw attention to the lives of the homeless running amuck in California, but to also allow his audience to sympathise and appreciate their struggles in the hopes that the public’s attitude towards them will change. Goldberg treated them not as subjects, but as people who were just like him, which shows in his work as every person’s story was given equal attention, and he respected each person’s identity and did his best to portray them in a way which was truthful and real. The concept of identity is one which Goldberg explores heavily in Raised By Wolves, and can be seen by his choice to include various personal objects of his subjects in the project, ranging from notes and hand-drawn pictures, to medical and police reports and even items of clothing. This adds another layer to his subjects, and helps the audience identify them as not just people in pictures, but as individuals with different personalities and ways of expressing themselves. Additionally, this helps Goldberg in his attempt to break away from the traditionally stereotypical opinion and view that the public has about homeless and disadvantaged people.
Les cafards (the cockroaches), from the series Photos Souvenirs, Carolle Benitah
Carolle Benitah explores various different themes throughout her project Photos Souvenirs, including the concept of childhood, and how this stage in one’s life has a significant effect on the adult that they grow to become. Additionally, Benitah delves into the sometimes traumatising effect that this period can have on a person’s mental health, which she represents through stitching and embroidery. In his review of Bentiah, Laurence Cornet states, ‘As the years progress, people disappear from the pictures, leaving her alone, submerged in thought in a photograph in in front of the ocean, about to be engulfed by a needlepoint wave.’ (Cornet, 2014). Benitah utilises a bold red thread in order to represent her feelings of pain and nostalgia, which juxtaposes the seemingly happy experiences she is having in the photographs. In the image above, Benitah tells her audience a story which is only possible through her newly-changed mindset in regards to her childhood. Benitah transforms her old photographs into fairy tales, each one filled with memories and emotion, both old and new. Benitah herself describes this process likeable to an exorcism; ‘With each stitch I make a hole with a needle. Each hole is a putting to death of my demons. It’s like an exorcism. I make holes in paper until I am not hurting any more.’ (Benitah). The many reworked photographs speak heavily on Bentiah’s desire for love and attention as a young child, and her feelings now as an adult looking back on that time in her life. Additionally, the use of embroidery is viewed as a ‘feminine activity’ by Benitah, which adds another layer of depth as to why she chose to include this medium in her work; it expresses the pressures and expectations not only Benitah, but also every young woman, faces during their childhood, such as the burden of being a perfect child, a submissive partner, and a loving but distant mother.
Overall, these two artists showcase the two themes of youth and identity thoroughly throughout their respective work and projects. In the case of Benitah, her use of archival childhood photographs is used as a form of self-expression, and as a way to show her audience how her identity and her concept of self-understanding has shifted over the years. Additionally, Photos Souvenirs showcases Benitah’s transition from child to adult in a unique and new way, and is a thought provoking project which will be somewhat relatable to her audience, due to her feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. Goldberg, however, showcases identity through his use of personal objects belonging to his subjects, such as items of clothing, drawings, and even police reports detailing their behaviour. The theme of his project has a more intense focus on identity as opposed to youth, however he does include stories from his subjects’ childhood, and how these events have shaped them into the people they have become, much like when Benitah says ‘I decided to explore the memories of my childhood to help me understand who I am and to define my current identity’. These two artists have inspired me to take a unique and different approach to my project, by breaking away from the traditional means of including strictly new images in my photobook, but instead incorporating old family photographs and personal objects to break up the images and give a more interesting narrative and concept for my audience to enjoy.
Bibliography
Cornet, L. (22 April 2014). Carolle Bénitah: Photos-Souvenirs. photograph. (https://photographmag.com/articles/carolle-benitah-photos-souvenirs/) Accessed on 29 Jan 2022.
Morris, J. (May 2009). History of Embroidery. Fibre2Fashion. (https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/4135/history-of-embroidery) Accessed on 10 January 2022.
Rosen, M. (2 June 2021). Fingerprint: Tracing the Roots of Jim Goldberg’s Raised by Wolves. Magnum Photos (https://www.magnumphotos.com/theory-and-practice/fingerprint-tracing-roots-jim-goldbergs-raised-by-wolves/) Accessed 28 Jan 2022.
Wikipedia. (25 October 2021). Documentary Photography. Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_photography) Accessed on 27 January 2022.
Wikipedia. (31 January 2022). Impressionism. Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism) Accessed on 26 January 2022.
Wikipedia. (7 November 2021). Realism (arts). Wikipedia. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realism_(arts)) Accessed on 25 January 2022.
Wray, A. (5 May 2018). A Completely True Work of Fiction: Jim Goldberg’s Raised By Wolves. Magnum Photos (https://www.magnumphotos.com/arts-culture/art/jim-goldberg-raised-by-wolves/) Accessed on 29 Jan 2022.
How do the films ‘Chef’ (2014) Jon Favreau’ and ‘JUICE (2017) Neeraj Ghaywan explore cultural identities through the use of cinematography and mise-en-scene?
PHOTOGRAPHS OF FOOD ARE RARELY JUST ABOUT FOOD. THEY HOLD OUR LIVES AND TIME UP TO THE LIGHT.
Bright, S. Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography (2017)
When exploring culture, food often can be the key to discovering cultural differences and similarities. The way food is cooked, served, eaten and enjoyed is interesting and can offer a real insight into specific cultures that other explorative devices cannot offer. ‘Chef’ and ‘Juice’ both provide an understanding of food culture in the US and India respectively. The food culture that both the films represent have deeper underlying links to cultural issues in both countries. Chef brings to light issues on familial and romantic relationships as well as workplace security. In Juice, it explores the systematic oppression of women. In art, food has been used to investigate culture and identity for millenniums with examples of food art being found in paintings such as “Fresco Depicting a Woman Holding a Dish” estimated to have been created between 1-79 AD, 2000 years ago. Food has always been used in art as an allegory for other substance, often being taboo subjects such as sex and pleasure but more often being used to signify power and wealth such as the commodification of the pineapple fruit to show status that only the richest in society could achieve. Photographer, Martin Parr is renowned for photographs of people and food that impart an incredibly intimate insight into different people’s cultures as well as providing historically significant simulacrum to educate years after his photography is taken, seen in work such as ‘Anniversary Tea’ and ‘Steep Lane Baptist’.
Planning
intro- talk about history of food and art- introduction to central ideas of both films
chef- ideas of food porn- sexuality and food, food tourism, food in the western world- multiculturalism, culinary tourism
juice- systemic oppression of women, patriarchal society, food as allegory for freedom
conclusion- talk about ho0w own film connects and then reaffirm points
bibliography
Visual Feast: Contemporary Food Photography and Styling: Contemporary Food Staging and Photography by Gestalten
Re-contextualising the Spectacle of Online Gastronomy: A Studio Investigation into Contemporary Food Imaging by Nathan Taylor BFA (Hons) School of Creative Arts
From around the 1990s, the chef as celebrity or celebrity chef was born. As such, food media took on another dimension of cross-platform branded style marketing. Chefs, like Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, have their own range of books, television shows and cookware, stimulating another surge in the recent saturation of food imaging. Jamie Oliver is a pertinent example of how brand-based marketing is commonplace within food media and directly impacts consumer activities.
Women do not have to necessarily absolve themselves of traditional duties to feel equal, all they need is to feel and act as equals in both responsibilities and privileges.- Hindustan Times Nov 26, 2017
Chef is most engaging when it shows Carl at work, in scenes supervised by Roy Choi, who worked at Manhattan’s posh Le Bernardin restaurant before wowing L.A. with his Kogi BBQ Taco Truck. Carl will duplicate Choi’s success when he acquires a battered truck in Miami Beach and takes it on the road home through New Orleans and Austin.- time magazine BY RICHARD CORLISS MAY 8, 2014 10:30 AM EDT
Bright, S. Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography
martin parr anniversary tea-1978, steep lane baptist 1976
It looked greasy, satisfying, and deceptively simple – which is reason enough to try a recipe. Learn To Be Considerate And Forgiving With Italian Nonnas And Stanley Tucci – Entertainment News, Firstpost By Judy J. Beasley Last updated Jan 23, 2022
After finishing all of my shoots, I began to edit my film together using the adobe premiere software. I cut out a lot of unnecessary pauses, ums and ars as well as irrelevant pieces of conversation that did not tie in as well as other more applicable and consistent parts. This cutting created a fast paced and interesting piece of work and kept it to just about my time constraints. I ordered each interview to create variety having a young person and then an old person interviewed in order to follow Neale’s genre theory by not keeping everything the same, creating differences to keep audiences intrigued
In order to introduce each culture I began each interview with an image of each nation/regions flag to create a visual preface into each ethnology. To augment this I included a segment of a stereotypical non-diegetic piece of music indicative of each culture. This included traditional bagpipe playing for Scotland, Jersey’s anthem ‘Beautiful Jersey’ sung in our traditional language jerriais, ‘La Bamba’ for Mexico and a Lancashire folk song for Yorkshire, for which I sampled the part with the thickest accent in order to enhance the verisimilitude of the film.
I decided not to edit the colour palate instead opting for a more natural amateurish feel with quality reminiscent of early louis Theroux interviews
Mood board
I include my mood board to remind me of my initial idea for the direction I wish for my film to go, providing a firm link between the dishes and the cultures that they belong to.
Due to camera difficulties including shakiness, blurriness and the accidental inclusion of the books used in lieu of a tripod, some clips, specifically from the interview about Yorkshire is not visually appealing and is in some cases virtually unusable. To fix this I plan to use an J cut technique to allow a voiceover to continue the linear narrative but overcut with archival footage relating to the relevant culture/dish or alternatively just something being discussed.
When reediting my film after publishing the first draft I gathered archival images to add over the film and hide imperfections such a camera shakes and blurriness
I also replaced the flags with more real looking flags with visible movement in order to keep all regions the same as well as adding a sense of verisimilitude.
Sam Harris was born in London. As a teenager he taught himself photography, turning his bedroom into a darkroom. During the 90’s Sam has photographed portraits and done illustrations for a range of British artists. He has also collaborated as a photographer for magazines such as The Sunday Times Magazine, The Telegraph Magazine and Dazed & Confused. Today, Sam Harris creates covers for artists’ books, directs and shoots films, leads workshops in Australia and of course continues to take photographs. The book I have chosen from this artist is called The middle of somewhere. The middle of somewhere is an A4 book portrait. The book is about 100 pages including a travelogue, the images are all in colour. The cover it’s an beautiful green with some and an yellow fun draw pattern , it creates texture it. It’s an hard, perfect binding cover. There also a long white tape which the title is written on. At first view it seems like a diary or an album photo which symbolise that the book is personal. While doing my research on the book I realized that the cover had a lot of meaning and sense since the photographer Sam Harris explains his pictures is like his family diary. The book revolves around his two daughters, Uma and Yali growing up. After Sam Harris left his my photographic career behind in London in 2002, Sam Harris and his family passed several nomadic years before settling down in Australia where his series began. His work is a celebration of childhood, family life, love and their simplistic lifestyle surrounding their environment. As he witness his daughters’ transformation he urge to preserve something of their time living together. We also sometimes find dates and a travelogue to follow their story. In his album we can see fights between sisters, arguments between parents, laughs… We also find daily objects like little notes from his children, everyday brushes, creams, to do lists which reinforces the idea of a diary. Sam Harris has exhibited over several countries like Spain, Greece, Argentina , Portugal and France. His photobook ‘The Middle of Somewhere’ won a Lucie Award in 2015.
In ‘Chef’ Jon Favreau explores parental roles and the impact of social media on job security, set to a backdrop of a culinary road trip across the US as main character Carl, played by Favreau, rediscovers his passion for cooking after a career destroying social media meltdown. The beautiful cinematography and extensive mise-en-scene of Chef is what solidified it’s status as a cult film and helped to adequately explore the vibrancy of Latin-American cooking and culture. The beginning of the film see’s Carl fall victim to cancel culture as he serves a popular but boring and overused menu to a food critic who gives a negative review which sparks Carl to respond with abuse on twitter, this exchange being familiar to contemporary audiences where cancel culture is a common occurrence that many celebrities falling victim to. By using film to deep dive into food culture, Favreau effectively brings a new medium to the phenomenon of food porn. One scene in particular stands out as displaying an erotic side of cookery as Carl prepares a dish of ‘Aglio e olio’ for love interest Molly. The simple dish shows off the sensual nature of Italian cooking and culture and the scene is now iconic for the way it does this. This scene reiterates the zeitgeist of food as a love language, as the dishes mimic the characters personalities and storylines. A scene where Carl makes a grilled cheese for his son Percy shows the beginning of Percy’s own culinary journey as the grilled cheese connotes an all American and childlike personality which is juxtaposed by a later scene where father and son bond over making Cubanos. Initially Percy asks why so much effort has gone into making the meat for the sandwiches, remarking “You could’ve just bought this at the store” but soon changes his tune begging to try the dish and helping his dad run the food truck, in turn putting him more in touch with his Latin heritage showing how food has brought people together “Cooking is all about people. Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together. No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.1” Carl’s identity as a white male forces audiences to read the film with a postcolonial lens, as he is effectively taking from other countries cultures and profiting from it. In an era of food tourism this cultural appropriation can often be misconstrued as appreciation as epi-curious, gastronomes endeavour to boost their cultural capital, especially considering that for many Latin immigrants in North America, a food truck is their livelihood and a way to share their culture with the public whilst for Carl this is a brief fixation that will ultimately bring him back to suburban life in middle-class Las Angeles as a top chef. The film utilises overhead shots when filming cooking scenes which help to bring more attention to the dishes being made. Lots of colour is used when creating the food, making it look more appealing but also more exotic to show Carl’s peregrination from the samey and traditional menu enforced at Gauloises where he was completely restricted in his ability to create anything contemporary, to the opening of his own restaurant with the freedom to experiment. In cooking scenes with multiple chefs’, actors were instructed to improvise a majority of their lines in order to emulate kitchen banter which effectively elevated the verisimilitude of the film. ‘Chef’ heavily relies on its score to enhance to atmosphere of the film, using iconic and nostalgic music by artists such as Gente De Zono, Pete Rodriguez and Perico Hernando’s whose Lain heritage and mariachi style deepen the roots and tone of the film.
‘Juice’ an independently produced Hindi language film by Neeraj Ghaywan, explores gender roles in India through a dinner party hosted by housewife Manju. There is a clear divide between the men and women from the start as the husbands enjoy themselves chatting and eating whilst Manju serves them, and the rest of the wives stay in the hot kitchen cooking and cleaning, becoming domestic caregivers in lieu of guests. While gorging themselves on chicken, the men gossip (a traditional feminine activity) about the ineptitude of a female superior at work treating one of them men as a subordinate and making him send unnecessary emails. The men show little knowledge on the topic they are discussing but that does not stop them from blathering on, another man asking, “do you have a problem with the email or the female?” illustrating male entitlement and a general distain for women who are viewed to be inferior and better suited to domestic roles like their wives in the kitchen. Gender roles in India are seen to be defined in childhood as a young girl playing video games is told “Food is ready come and serve your brothers” Manju looks on disgusted by this example of systemic sexism, like much of this short film she prefers to communicate with actions and facial expressions rather than words which makes her look of antipathy much more meaningful and crucial in driving the narrative as audiences begin to see her resentment towards the patriciate that demands girls to become slaves to men before even maturing into young women. This theme of children is repeated later when a wife suggests that having children is the key to marriage “If there no excitement in a marriage just get a baby” reinforcing the idea that a child, especially one that is female, is merely a versatile tool. This links with another line “But which book of law states this that either you can raise kids or pursue a career?” as Manju questions why the hegemony has created a dominant ideology that women cannot balance life in both the workplace and the home. After burning her finger whilst cooking and being subjected to an onslaught of verbal abuse as the men become increasingly impatient in their wait for additional food, Manju takes a stand by pouring a glass of juice, dragging a chair into the living room, and sitting, sipping her drink and relaxing with the cool breeze of the fan. She then engages in a pseudo staring contest with her husband who loses when he awkwardly looks away, allowing Manju to assert her dominance over the situation and empower the rest of the wives who have gathered to watch this spectacle. As Manju goes the grab the juice the whole atmosphere changes, with a non-diegetic crescendo of dramatic music increasing tension and the diegetic quieting of background noise as the house guests are shocked into silence upon witnessing Manju’s defiance. The prop of electric fans adds drastically to the mise-en-scene and as a narrative device, effectively showing the gender segregation and discrimination between the men and women. Despite arduously working in the incommodious and uncomfortable kitchen, the women are left with a broken fan that does nothing to alleviate the wife’s malaise, whilst the men who lounge around doing nothing have the amenity of the large working fan that allows them to relax. The contrast of this scene shows a paradoxical subversion of expectations as, by western standards, women sit and gossip and men do physical handiwork such as the attempted repairing of the faulty fan. Manju disrupts this convention when she moves her chair in front of the good fan to give herself a break from the harsh conditions she has been subjected to, displaying the power of female rage which she uses to dismantle the patriarchy in the microcosm of her home as seen in the quote “In anger, I have lived more fully, freely, intensely, sensitively, and politically. If ever there was a time not to silence yourself, to channel your anger into healthy places and choices, this is it” ‘Juice’ displays perfectly bell hook’s theory of intersectionality, in an age of 3rd wave feminism many people in the west believe that women are now equal to men and that feminists have achieved all that they set out for however hooks acknowledged that women of colour are excluded from this narrative and face adversity from both the feminist movement and the hegemony especially outside of the western world in countries such as India where women are still discriminated against and treated as inferiors, saying “As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realised”3
I have a clear idea for how I want my personal study to come out. I have researched many documentaries such as ‘heavenly bites’ a Mexican food documentary, as well as several short YouTube videos focusing on themes of ‘food around the world’ to educate myself on specific food cultures as well as gain inspiration for my own film. To manage time within the film itself I have set a 10 minute timeframe in which to present to present each culture. To give each culture enough airtime I aim to explore 4 different areas with around 2 and a had minutes of airtime each. The cultures I am going to explore are from Yorkshire, Jersey, Mexico and Scotland, which is very scaled down compared to the initial 8 cultures I wanted to investigate. I chose to do this because I felt that the film would be more fulfilling if each culture had the ability to be explored in depth rather than many cultures with limited information because of insufficient allotment of time.
Name
Culture
Food
Date
notes
Erin Middleton
Scotland
Irn-Bru, Shortbread, Caramel wafer
29/12/21
tartan hairband
Margaret Williams
Jersey
Bean crock (les pais au fou)
10/12/21
bring extra light as environment is dark
Carmen Kirchner
Mexico
Guacamole, Micheladas, Elotes
27/01/22
Bring gluten free beer for michelada
Glyn Williams
Yorkshire
Yorkshire pudding
28/01/22
bring extra light as environment is dark
Timesheet for filming shoots
To add to the mise-en-scene and create a atmosphere relating to the specific cultures I plan to create backdrops with specifically stereotypical decoration, subtle enough to blend in with the rest of the scenery. Speaking from hindsight this did not happen as decorations felt gaudy and offensive to cultures represented, instead background indicitive of the subjects homes where used as they gave a more personal representation of how each culture lives.
To prepare for filming I created a storyboard. Despite making a documentary and not having specific scenes to storyboard I felt that this was the best way to visualise my idea and plan my frames.
what? First shoot: what stereotype do I often see on the media, My Mise en scene : First shoot – Mexican Drunk ; Second- Mango ; Third shoot- Angry Mother and final shoot – Luchador.
how? Mimic those stereotypes like Cindy Sherman or Martine Gutierrez. Pay attention to details like the clothes, the accessories, make-up, background, lights, the mood… to create the Mise en scene.
when? I’ll start to do my shoots during Christmas holidays.
where? I want each photo to be a different story so for me it would be more suitable if I do each photo in a distinct location, They mostly be in house but I want to be spontaneous so anywhere that reminds of Mexico or I think is a perfect place for one of my stories would be great.
First selection:
Editing test
The challenge for my shoot was to create an advertisement poster, I used the Mango to aid in this process and therefore mimic the work of Martine Gutierrez, who uses this technique to convey the numerous messages in her work: (white wash, cover girl, go go boots). I began the poster by experimenting with various shades of brightness and contrast. I decided to do to make it darker. I played with the vibrancy/saturation. To create texture on the image you must first unlock the image, then you have to press the blend option. You then press the option texture, I chose grass effect for image. I then looked for an old Mexican fruit brand to put on my image. After having chosen my brand, I use the quick selection tool that helps you select what you want more easily. Copy, paste on my image and I repeated the same process that I did to create texture on my image. Finally I decided to name the brand ”Rico Mango” which means delicious mango. I’m wearing a sombrero and a poncho which is stereotypical items of clothing of Mexico. The outfit is very colourful, that’s what you notice first on the picture. The photo is staged the light is also artificial.
Before taking my final images, I did a practice photoshoot in order to find out which kind of lighting I need to use to create delicate shadows and soft highlights.
This screenshot shows the process of choosing which images I want to reject and keep based on first glance. The images I want to keep have a white flag in the corner and the rejected images are faded to a grey colour.
I used the star rating system to select how much I like the images from a 1-5 rating. The images with 5 stars underneath show the images I like the best, and Images with a lower star rating I still like but aren’t quite successful as the others.
I cut down the view of my images to only the images that were flagged in order to see them in a clearer view. I also used the colour system of highlighting my favourite images in green and those I am still unsure about in yellow.
As I start to edit my images in Lightroom, I duplicate the image I want to edit to see how it looks in black and white to compared to the image in colour. I also edited the exposure, highlights and tint of the image to make it look almost worn and weathered as to make the image seem as if it had been taken years ago.
After editing my images and choosing between whether I want the images in black or white or an altered coloured edit, I used the colour system again to decide which final images I liked the most and wanted to keep.
