I think this exhibition was very useful and acts as a key piece of research for my project because of the intricate details behind the set design, which is something I am interested in. They think carefully about the color and the styling, as well as the expressions that they direct the model to make. Their work sometimes include showing the construction of the set, and this is something I can learn from for my own project: it makes it obvious that the set is made up, playing with the idea that the audience knows it is a temporary manufactured setting made for the shoot. 

“I really wanted to have the idea of invading Somerset House,” Moon says of how she approached the task of showing at this institution of art and culture. Its halls echo with predominantly white history, making the fact that two burgeoning Asian photographers now are showing here, for three months, monumental. It’s a fact not lost on either of them, despite Moon’s initial reservations. Admitting she had “mixed feelings” receiving the brief, her Ai Weiwei-esque fuck-you-to-the-establishment attitude softened through the support of curator Shonagh Marshall and the team effort of putting the new exhibition together.

The pair often face such issues with a sense of humour: like the often absurd preconceived notions of who they are, coming from South Korea and Hong Kong respectively, which they find amusing. Both have stories to tell where they’ve been mistaken for hairstylists on set, only for people to change the way they treat them when they find out they’re actually the photographer. For Moon, with her Western-sounding original South Korean name, people have been thrown by her ethnicity on more than one occasion. The pair largely laugh these microaggressions off: “You just have to work that to your advantage,” says Ng.

Hanna: Our mutual feeling of being “lost in translation” is definitely one! It’s quite literal. When I first moved here there were a lot of things that I would interpret differently to how they were meant to be.It doesn’t just come down to language, though; it can apply to everything. You always understand things in your own way. For example, how I take or understand British culture might be different to what British culture actually is.
It’s a positive thing though: I think that having worked in the fashion industry with our backgrounds has given us the ability to create something close to chemical reactions, to be able to bring together diverse references and to make magic happen. We’re mixing all these elements through us to create a body of work. We don’t necessarily know what we’re trying to say, we’re just showing ourselves. We’re the ones “lost in translation”, and it’s a quality that allows us unlimited possibilities for creativity: we have no idea of what the result of bringing all of these elements together will be.
Joyce: It’s how we approach image-making. It’s part of who we are: we still, sometimes, use the wrong words, or the way we use English might be a bit off-the-mark. It affects the way you think and interpret things, as well as the way you work. -https://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/2019/02/04/english-second-language-exhibition/ 

Carroll began photographing busts of mannequins with domestic objects like a head of lettuce or a frying pan placed in front of their faces so that their identity was reduced to a servile activity. Then, after her niece joined the US Marines and went to Iraq on the first sortie following 9/11, Carroll began to think about all the women whose homes were being destroyed and the project took on a new dimension.“At the time I was trying to create a mythical perfect home,” Carroll recalls, describing her experiences renovating her former Indiana ranch house to its perfect 1950s charm. The irony was not lost on Carroll, and began to find its way into her art, transforming stresses and fears of everyone who has ever run a house.  

 Patty Carroll's work makes me think about the aesthetic I might want to achieve with my work as I am always leaning towards a more theatrical style in my set designs. I also want my sets to be near a domestic setting because I think (for most people) a lot of our own learning comes from inside a home, and the people who understand us most are intimate families or close friends. She uses a lot of colouring her work, and blends the models/dolls into the background, hiding their identity. I like the idea of involving our surroundings and making that the main feature of of a photograph even though the model brings a 3d element and a touch of action into the shoot.

My tutor recommended Wes Anderson as a filmmaker to research as she though this style would be one that I would be interested in. Originally, I wanted to watch it at Prince Charles Cinema but the marathon is during the end of April which is after the project submission. I watched his two most recent films as a starting point; The Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom. 

What stuck out to me most about the Grand Budapest Hotel was the colour palette in every scene which relates to my project outcomes especially in the moving images. Each location was set up in a symmetrical matter, and the detail was incredibly satisfying to the eye; colour was sued to bring attention to certain props, and to also symbolise certain  themes such as the colour purple linking to royalty. This will help me a lot with my outcomes as colour as a large component of my work as I think it's one of the most significant ways in portraying motion and setting a narrative. Furthermore, the Grand Budapest Hotel often creates settings that are storybook/theatrical , and I think this is an intriguing approach to filmmaking as it lets the audience settle into a nostalgic dreamlike feeling. 

 Above is a screenshot of one of the scenes that stood out to me in particular because its a technique that I can learn from; whilst the main character is narrating into a more sombre part of his past, the lighting shifts,  similar to the sun setting in a room as the spotlight shifts in the room. 

Another element that I admire of Wes Anderson's films is that he likes to zoom in onto characters from a distance away, as if the audience just put on binoculars and can seen far away. It helps the viewer to focus even more on a specific scene. I also like the creativity behind his panning technique because it shows the space of the room and the camera frame cuts it off. As the camera moves from one conversation or group or people to another, it allows us to see the whole setting, and makes us feel we are in the middle of the actions taking place. 

The projection and aspect ratio is so important to the film in fact that Anderson delivered the film with a letter instructing projectionists to change their set-up for brightness, audio, framing, and fader settings before the film could even be shown. The importance and complication of this projection is so obviously indicative of the meticulous nature and absolute importance of the aesthetics in this film. Fortunately, this extensive projection set-up doesn't go unnoticed. The aspect ratio of each story adds to the authenticity of the era it's representing on-screen and the film itself is projected at a slight angle, almost looking as if it's being projected off an old-timey over-head projector-https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/art-direction-in-the-grand-budapest-hotel-140

Dripping in fantastic pastel colours, Budapest looks like a vintage, almost childlike, work of art. Pink, yellows, blues and reds accentuate our protagonists and the titular hotel, all the while being contrasted with the shrouded deep-black menace of the antagonists. The colour choice is very Film Aesthetics 101 but that's the point; the innocent naivete of the film makes it a joke that the baddies are dressed in all black and the goodies are all in blue - it's borderline cartoonish. The costumes and sets are the next thing you'll notice: the striking hotel itself is awe-inspiring. While The Hobbit might have massive vistas and Avatar might have the CGI spectacle totally nailed, nothing comes close to the effortlessly authentic Grand Budapest Hotel. It's a setting that feels lived in, that has a history, and that - most importantly - has loads and loads of character.  -https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/art-direction-in-the-grand-budapest-hotel-140

I saw Babak Ganjei's exhibition in Atom's Gallery. One of the works that stood out to me is the above image which shows a piece of text in the middle of a beach. I think it is interesting to put typography in  the outside world as a way of communication, especially on a piece of fabric as it doesn't interact with it's surroundings but stands on its own.  Although it might not influence my work, it makes me think about how I can push a narrative without using spoken narrative and subtitles, but using visual text with the imagery,  

I first saw Betty Tompikins works at Frieze back in 2017, and I looked back onto it as one of her works popped up on social media. One of the key information that I can take from her work is the text on top of her images; I want to use a similar type of layout in my own work because I don't want to make my images seem too chaotic so I have to think about the font I want to use. Her layout is not messy, and adds detail to her already very intricate drawings and this is something to think about for a publication. I find it difficult to layer text on image because I never the right font or colour, but this will help me a lot when I try to make more publications to accompany my video. 

'This kind of aggressive, intensely sexual display is largely given to male artists who are then lauded for it, like Andy Warhol’s ‘Sex Parts’ or the perversity of Paul McCarthy (though Marlene Dumas and Celia Hempton have produced their share of brilliant erotically-charged paintings). It’s thrilling to see a woman claiming this space with such graphic art. Betty is still making the ‘Fuck Paintings’ today and there’s a mix of old and new on show here (the more recent capturing a shocking lack of pubic hair).The genitals are slightly out of focus, as though seen through a vaseline-smeared camera lens. Though it’s described as ‘photorealistic’, they play with abstraction, forcing you to look – really look – at the sexual organs in front of you. '-https://www.timeout.com/london/art/betty-tompkins-fuck-paintings-etc-review 

PHOTOGRAPHERS GALLERY 

Silver Lake Drive is a series of photographs that showcases dark human events and drama through vivid cinematic like imagery; she infuses her work with a saturated palette for an emphasised sense of energy.  

When I first walked int to the room at the gallery, I noticed the first artwork which was 'Susie and Friends'. It consists of a chic blonde woman(Susie) surrounded by companions, yet the camera focuses only on her, bringing attention to the reflection off her hair and her hand holding the cigarette to her mouth. Her expression seems indifferent to the scenario she was in, and her hand sits idly on her friends' leg. The audience would bring their attention towards Susie, as do the girls that surround her in the photo; when the viewer gazes at the photo, they are contributing to Susie's increasing discomfort in her current state. I found it intriguing as Susie seems to be the only one dressed in pale blue whereas the rest are in darker colours, and this is probably to single out her from the rest of the girls she is with. This photo makes me wonder why Susie was closed off from the people she was with, and it also make me think about the times I have also felt disconnected from those around me. Her colourful attire and overall appearance makes me realise that the feeling of isolation can be expressed through vibrant designsrather than the bland monochrome set up. This is something I would like to experiment with as I often associate the negative with darker colours rather than the overwhelming multicolour scheme.

Through Alex Prager's work, I have also noted the significance of casting for a photoshoot/film, and that styling and the models you put into your work can improve the appearance and composition of an image. I learnt that casting has a large impact on the narrative you want to show your viewers  andalso because the model is in front of the camera and she is the first thing the viewer will see. (But more important, the model can inspire the photographer and when this happens, magic will enter the set!-https://thefashioncamera.com/lets-talk-model-casting/).

Alex Pager also directed Face in The Crowd. From my perspective, I think it is about a young woman eager to find her place out in the world as she often looks out her window, her expressions exploding with excitement , longing and nervousness. The film  often cuts back and forth from scenes at an overcrowded beach, other woman struggling in hectic public places, and mostly disgust as they push past other strangers. When the protagonist finally joints the rest of the bustling crowd, the audience sees her from inside the house, and notices her slowly moving past everyone, with a smile lingering on her face. Soon, you see the protagonist's grapple to balance out the desire to interact with others but also to simultaneously protect her safety. Again, I feel like this work is something I could relate to; I often want to connect with others and let them understand who I am on the inside rather than the facade I hide behind, but there is uncertainty in the risk in doing so (this is symbolised by the scene when the crowd stops except for the protagonist, indicating her need for a pause).  

Similar to her photographic works, it focuses on an individual throughout the short film, and she keeps this method even as she pans the video across three screens to allow the audience experience panoramic visuals. I am particularly interested in this methodology because it can create a 3d effect to your work, simultaneously immersing the audience with a film/image, allowing them to take in as much possible , whilst also limiting them to seeing every detail.It's as if telling the viewer that you choose in what you see and not everything will be as obviously visible to you as something else. 

“What makes cinema so attractive, so fascinating is that it’s not just a one plus one process. It’s a chemistry between sounds, words, ideas and image.” -Wong Kar Wai 

Wong Kar Wai also dedicates his films to change in relationships and circumstances, and rather than creating an entire history of the characters, he only includes the parts in which the adjustments are taking place, often creating two short narratives that are dominant in beauty.

Wong is a Hong Kong director that is renowned for his signature storyline of his set of protagonists crossing paths who coincidentally live within a close proximity among visually stunning catastrophes of urbanity but fail to meet. In his films, during the journey to find their loved one at the right time, the audience often find themselves facing themes of loneliness, isolation and melancholy which are portrayed through his special filmmaking techniques and use of drenching colours and tone into the films aesthetic. His works include characters that don’t show their roots or personal history, coercing them into creating their own story to show their ever-changing transitions, and it emphasises his own perspective of Hong Kong citizens; the individuals are on a constant search for their validity and struggle to piece together their fallen identities. 

Wong Kar Wai portrays the isolation of the characters through a technique called step printing, that can be describes a visual motif that combines the relationship between love, timing and solitude. Step printing involves filming scenes at lower frame rates and editing them at normal rates but duplicating them to project at normal speeds. For example, Wong makes his actors move slowly while filming at a speed lower than the regular 24fps, then editing it so the scene is built on the time-elapsed blurring of various people moving at a faster speed than the actors, whether on the foreground or in the background.The step printing techniques is a unique way of showing a restless city rushing with vibrance constantly developing, yet the focus subject is often in slow motion; it can exaggerate the detachment between the subject and the rest of the city, emphasising on the importance of the matter and the protagonist can be seen as yearning for company, distraction and attention. I don't think I will use any technical tricks in my film, but this is useful information if I ever want to experiment with it. 

 Furthermore, Wong Kar Wai emphasises language of colour throughout his films, and each movie follows a particular theme; Chungking Express is saturated in bright daytime cool colours, whereas Fallen Angels takes place in the night time, hence embodying a grunge and neon theme, and In the Mood For Love captures a sultry red hue as it’s main focus is desire and lush. However, it is the ability of being able to blend colours together to interact with the music, increase the life of landscapes, the feelings behind  a memory that adds to the narrative’s mood. He either dominates a scene with one singular colour or uses contrasting colours to create an aesthetic that also comments on the struggle of the characters.One infamous scene is from Chungking Express(1994)was shot in tones of yellow and red with a melancholic background score, the entire scene aimed to simultaneously illustrate love and loss and succeeded without overdoing it.  This is something I would want to consider as colours can really make it obvious for an audience in which emotion that should feel, and pushes a certain atmosphere to a scene. 

https://readingsounds.net/subtitles-as-art/ -

Most of the film’s subtitles are standard and unobtrusive: pop-on style, bottom-centered alignment, white letters, sans serif typeface. But in a number of key places, the subtitles come alive, blending form and content in innovative ways. When the subtitles become dynamic and responsive, meaning is conveyed not simply through the words themselves but in how the words are visually presented — what they are made to do, how they dynamically move and transform, how they visually support the narrative. 

Night Watch is a film that  involves subtitles into the actual scene, and making it interact with the characters. For example, the first gif shows how the red subtitles turn transform into a nosebleed, giving us a narrative/ dialogue as well as acting as a visual imagery. At the top of the screen, it tells us how the dialogue is spoke, making it clearer for the viewer to understand what is being said, and which emotions to feel about it. I think this is one of my favourite uses of subtitles because it is a really creative way of showing typography on the screen without it being too disruptive. The second gif also shows the narration disappearing as the frame is panned out, and it contrasts the flies that come into the screen. This is also another good way of using text as it lets us focus on the new actions taking place. I am not confident in using animation, especially for text, so I don't think I will follow down a similar route this film has taken, but it does make me aware of how to make text interesting on image.

wildlife

2001:space odyssey

submarine

american psycho

https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/arts/art-on-the-underground-reveals-fried-egg-art-installation-at-gloucester-road-a3857621.html

I saw this installation at Gloucester Road by accident, and I could tell it bought a lot of attention to itself as it was a vast design with a lot of coloured visuals and a row of screens. I am influenced by those for my 'putting out in the real world' segment of my project because this is a good example of showing artwork to the a popular place for a wide variety of people. 

For part 2, I researched about guerrilla advertising and I went back to look at more examples because I think it is a good method of advertising effectively. The two images below are the ones I find most effective because they perfectly described to the audience their message, through interaction and in everyday normal places. It involves the surroundings around the adverts and also takes into account interaction with objects.