Project Brief

Our project brief is to create a short video about our right “if children have a right to be protected from conflict, cruelty, exploitation and neglect, then they also have a responsibility not to bully or harm each other,” – “ Safety around others,” using Photoshop. We chose this right because we could relate it to knife crime in Hackney, as this is to do with safety.

http://www.unicef.org.uk/campaigns/index.asp

By using Terry Gilliam and Rodchenko and Popova, our aim is to create a short animation using humour to get our point across. We chose to use humour because it enables us to present our audience with an important message without making it too heavy and hard- hitting.

Terry Gilliam and Rodchenko and Popova inspire our animation since they both have similar styles such as “montage”- a collage- using still images.

Terry Gilliam uses his animations or humour and entertainment whereas Rodchenko uses his for propaganda.

Terry Gilliam

Terry Gilliam is an American British writer, filmmaker, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several well-regarded films including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Fisher King (1991), and 12 Monkeys (1995). He is the only "Python" not born in Britain, but gained British citizenship in 1968.

Gilliam was a part of Monty Python's Flying Circus since its outset, at first credited as an animator (his name was listed separately after the other five in the closing credits), later as a full member. His cartoons linked the show's sketches together, and defined the group's visual language in other media (such as LP and book covers, and the title sequences of their films).

Terry’s top 10 animations

Pinocchio - 1940

Red Hot Riding Hood - 1943

The Mascot - 1934

Out of the Inkwell - 1938

Death Breath - 1964

Les Jeux des Agnes - 1964

Dimensions of Dialogue - 1982

Street of Crocodiles - 1986

KinckKnack - 1989

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut - 1999

Terry Gilliam’s style

Gilliam's surreal animations for Monty Python have a distinctive style. He mixed his own art, characterized by soft gradients and odd, bulbous shapes, with backgrounds and moving cutouts from antique photographs, mostly from the Victorian era.

These are some of Gilliam’s animations, which show his distinct surreal style.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1BKtrG7qxQ&feature=PlayList&p=B7156EDEAB625351&index=2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXCpYgd338U&feature=related

This is a still image shot from the link above: “T.V is bad for your eyes.” You can see his use of bulbous shapes and soft pastel tones in his animations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhVod-29QRk

Work Experience

For work experience (2nd February- 13th February) I had the privilege of working at MTV Base. For Diploma we had to make sure that our work placement was something to do with media or textiles. My placement was based around Media. This helped me a lot because I was able to see how life is in the media industry and how it works. I was able to watch various interviews which I found very interesting because I was able to see how they set up with the lights and the camera and the sound. I found these skills transferable and have found them very useful when we film in Media. I also was allowed to sit in the editing room and watch the process that they go through to create a programme. This was very good because the programme that they used was Final Cut Pro, and this is the programme that we use in class so I was able to learn a few skills from there.

Media- Work Week

In Media, we were asked to create a film for Work Week. We had to produce a video that explained to year four's how maths and literacy is used at work. Our job was a Travel Agent. We had to interview a travel agent and then get them to do a demonstration to show how they use Literacy.
The filming went very well and we got a range of shots. However, the editing part was very difficult. We had chosen to use Final Cut Pro to edit our film with rather than iMovie because it offers more diversity and allows you to use more effects. Although it has more options than iMovie, it is a lot more difficult and requires more concentration and skill. This proved a challenge for us but fortunately, one of our group members was very familiar with how Final Cut Pro worked, so this made it easier for us.
We only had a few weeks to complete our film and as we didn't have that many lessons in one week this proved a major problem. However, our team worked effectively together and tried as hard as we could to finish it on time. Unfortunately with only a few days left we still weren't finished. We were also encountering a lot of problems. This meant that our film had to be started all over again. But even so, it was finished on time and we were able to present it to Inspire.
I think that this project went very well. Although we encountered a few problems and had to do our film all over again, I still learnt many new skills such as how to communicate in a group effectively and I also learnt how to use Final Cut Pro, something that I found very hard to do before. Also, I think our presentation went very well because it was delivered with a very clear presentation and the film itself was easy to follow and consisted of big, bold lettering which would make it easy for young children to follow.

Prince's Drawing School

On the 27th of February, myself and 4 other students from our Dimploma class were chosen to attend the Prince's Drawing School- a weekly programme that will help us to improve our drawing skills and use of different techniques. I was very excited about this as I feel that I need to work on my drawings and my use of proportion.

Once we arrived (45 minutes late due to the fact that we got lost) we were shown up to the 4th floor and introduced to Henry, who would be our teacher. We then sat in a circle with the other 5 students who were also there. Unlike us though, they were A level students who were there mainly to update their portfolio's. After we introduced ourselves and discussed why we were here, we set up oour easels and got to work. We had to draw a model who posed for us in the middle of the room. After attempting this task, I found that sometimes when drawing it is easier to just let go rather than trying to pay great attention to detail, that way the drawing is more likely to come out better. I also learnt that I need to work on my proportion a lot more if I want my pictures to get better. I hope to gain that skill out of this experience.

Clay Sculptures

Last week in Art we started to create our clay sculptures.

• First we took a wooden stand.
• Then we wrapped paper around it to create a head and neck shape. We then used tape to secure it.
• Once we had done that, we added peelets of clay to create a basic form of a head. The clay we used was red caly, otherwise known as Terracotta.
• Once the basic structure was formed, we were able to add in details such as chine, nose and eyes, whilst still thinking about proportion.

Once we finish this stage and are happy with the way it looks, we can the either cast or fire the finished sculpture.

Casting means that you make a plaster mould and then pouring bronze (a liquid metal) into it.

Firing involves placing the piece into a kiln. A kiln is basically an oven which goes up to 1000 degrees unlike household ones. The paper inside the sculpture is the burnt away and you are left with a strong piece of work.

But there are also saftey factors to consider when making clay sculptures:

You have to make sure that the clay is cleared away properly, as the dust from the clay can actually be very fatal and if inhaled can eventually cause lung cancer. Making a clay sculpture differs from making a 2D painting in that it is more realistic and you are able to pay more attention to detail.

Using Photoshop in Art

A few weeks ago in art we went to the media suite to recreate our photos that we recently took (using the 3 point lighting system), into a Francis Bacon style. We used various tools to blur our photos and to change the texture of them. Francis Bacon smudges his paintings so we used the duplicating tool to create the same effect. After we had experimented with a few different pictures, we created a final picture and printed it out. We also experimented with various types of Bacon paintings, such as triptychs, and used them to try and create our own. I found this particularly hard to do as it was difficult to create the smudged effect on a computerized programmed. I still feel that my photos came out quite well though, considering.

After we printed it out we had to stick them in our books and explain what effect we were going for.

Edward Scissorhands!

On the 14th of January 2009, our dilpoma class went to see the production 'Edward Scissorhands' at the venue Sadler's Wells. This was a dance production about a man who was created by a man who had lost his son 'Edward'. The only thing was, he gave him scissors for hands. Edward was soon discovered by a family who took him in and eventually, most of the town grew to like and accept him.

The show was performed through dance which I found interesting at first because I thought that it would be very hard to tell a story using dance only. Fortunately though, the story was portrayed in a very clear and interesting way by using big bold movements, and funky or calm music, depending on the mood. I think that this was effective because it meant that the audience had to think about what was going on rather than have all the information told to them. We had to listen to the music and interpret it into what we thought it meant.

As part of the course, we will need to write a review on the show using the skills that we learnt at our last trip to Sadler's Wells.