For my final year I want to focus my projects on dancing and began exploring the various types of dance from around the world. For the research project, I wanted to experiment a lot with film as I will hopefully go on to create a film in my Final Major Project. In second year, I made a film that was very experimental as I was using iMovie for the first time (see. Fig 1), I am using Pro Premier and After Effects for the first time in this project, so my films will be similar to the one I made in second year – quite abstract, glitchy and experimental. Therefore, since I didn’t know how my films would turn out I wanted to create a printed workbook alongside the films that would summarise my research. The workbook will be neat and clear and contain my visual research, artist research and some of my experimentation.
For AD394 I began researching various artists and filmmakers such as Vicki King and Luke Gilford who are both photographers, whose style and visuals are very similar to what I would like my Final Major Project film to look like. King’s photography is very intimate, and she uses similar colours throughout a shoot to make it flow (See fig. 3 & 4).
Since King’s aesthetic is very similar to the visuals I would like to have in my Final Major Project, I moved on to research more conceptual and experimental artists that would help me in my research module. I looked into the British artist, Elizabeth Price who won the Turner Prize in 2012 for her film piece titled ‘The Woolworths Choir of 1979’ and I loved the low-quality visuals of the film and the simple, yet effective editing. I also liked the modern effects that contrasted against old footage, such as the transitions between scenes and the sound effects. It was this low-quality, glitchy film look that led me onto discover artist Arthur Lipsett and his films ‘Very Nice, Very Nice’ and ‘Free Fall’ which was the exact type of film I was hoping to make in this research module (See Fig. 2). Brighton Film Festival has been on during the month of November and I have gone to see various exhibitions. The showing ‘South East Stories: New Film-making Talent’ consisted of 10 short films by ten different directors. From this I was able to see how much information can be relayed in 3, 5, 10- and 15-minute films and it also gave me a better idea of the size of a production team that I might need.
My main concern was if dancing would come across in the films, but I realised that my printed workbook was there to show my dance research and my films were there to show my experimentation with film. The question of why we like to dance became the main theme as I was working on my research project, however I don’t feel as though this theme is clearly present when looking at my work, so I would like to concentrate this research into my Final Major Project. I was hoping to interview a lot of people and ask them why they like to dance, and I was disappointed when I was unable to get good film footage and interviews of these questions being asked. To overcome this, I decided that those interviews and those footages could be present in my Final Major Project and the research project would be based around types of dance, the science behind why we like to dance and why I like to dance.
For my Final Major Project, I hope to make a 4-minute video or two to three shorter 1 to 2-minute videos continuing my research on why people like to dance. I would like the video to be a slightly humorous video guide with the title ‘How to Dance’ with four different stages; The first being place, the second being fashion style, the third being musicand the fourth being moves. Each of the stages will show about seven dancers showing how they use the four stages to suit them. Alongside the video, similar to my research module I hope to make either a work book or printed graphics that summarise my final film pieces. Since my research project was my first time using Premier Pro and After Effects it took me longer than I anticipated to understand how to use both programs. For my Final Major Project, and depending on the feedback my tutors give me, I want to ensure that I fully understand these programs as early on as possible. I would also like to collaborate with a film maker under graduate at the university or outside the university who can help me with the filming.
My aims for my Final Major Project are that I get to interview and film various people from different backgrounds to get an understanding as to why they like to dance. I don’t want to interview professionals; this project is about why normal people enjoy dancing whether that is in their room or in a club or whether it is to the sound of classical music or techno music. I am concerned that I may not get enough elements of fashion communication into my Final Major Project, so I would aim for a lot of my primary and secondary research to be based on what people wear when they dance, and I would also like to style some of the outfits in the video. A large part of my inspiration has come from observing people dancing back home in Belfast. Since when I was out in Brighton, I was unable to get the footage I was hoping for, I would like to get some footage and conduct a couple of interviews of people from Belfast.
Carrying forward I want to as quickly as possible create a draft very basic video so that I can properly know how to use the video editing programmes and so that I can also start planning my video layout. I also really enjoyed taking pictures on film during summer this year and would like to continue throughout my Final Major Project taking film pictures to put in my workbook as visual research (See Fig. 5). As well as image visual research I would like to carry forward the idea of my own video visual research so by the end of my Final Major Project I will have a mixture of both. I have also enjoyed making collages/mood boards, in my research module I made about 10 and want to develop these further into my Final Major Project. I was also unable to travel to London to see some exhibitions before AD394 hand-in. I have already organised to go up to London before we break for Christmas, so I can start over the holidays researching the exhibitions I’ve been to and also start looking up new artists.
Timeline for Final Major Project
(DATES MAY CHANGE SLIGHTLY DEPENDING ON REQUIREMENTS OF FINAL MAJOR PROJECT, WILL KNOW MORE PRECISE DATES AFTER I HAVE RECEIVED THE FINAL MAJOR PROJECT BRIEF)
| DATE | DURING THIS PERIOD | OUTCOME AT END OF TIME PERIOD |
| 11TH-17TH DECEMBER 2018 | · Analyse brief and alter timeline if need be. | Will have altered timeline if required. |
| OVER CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS
(14th December 2018 -11th January 2018)
(Date may extend to 18th of January depending on dissertation) |
· Start to gather visual research (images and video clips) on multiple formats film, iPhone, video cameras etc.
· Start to look at artist research · Will have attended some exhibitions (See bibliography for upcoming exhibitions). · Will look into expanding my skills and ability of iMovie, After Effects and Pro Premier. |
By 11th January 2018 will have started sketchbook which will include visual research, artist research and exhibition research. I will be more adept at using iMovie, After Effects and Pro Premier and will have any questions and queries prepared so I can ask tutors when I get back from Christmas break. |
| 11th January – 4thFebruary 2019 | · Will continue research and sketchbook work and will start to create collages, mood boards and graphics to reflect research.
· Will continue with expanding my skills in iMovie, After Effects and Pro Premier and will start to create first visual research video. |
Will have created 3 collages, 3 mood boards and 3 graphic pages and will have created a short (1 minute) visual research video. |
| Monday 4th February – Friday 1st March | · Will begin to plan Final Major Project video and put first draft of video layout in sketchbook (this will include contents of video, what each scene will look like and general sequence of video).
· Will start to talk to and reach out to dancers for video. · Will continue research as stated above. |
By the beginning of March, I hope to have a clear plan of my video – what it will look like, what each scene will be and who I will be filming.
I will also continue with sketchbook work and continue to gather and arrange content for my printed final work book. |
| MARCH | · Will during March source out locations for shooting and will do a draft video, where I decipher the right cameras to use and what lighting is best etc.
· Will concentrate March on getting as much of my printed workbook done as possible. |
By the end of March, I hope to have a basic draft video completed so I know exactly what my filming schedule for April is. I will also have a finished draft of my work book completed. |
| APRIL | · Will spend all of April filming and editing after shoots are finished. I plan on interviewing/ filming minimum 4 people and maximum 7 people so will aim to do two shoots a week. I will try and film as many people as possible at the beginning of the month so that towards the end there is time for any extra filming that needs to be done.
· Will continue edit work book. |
By the end of April, I will have all the footage I need to create video filmed and will have edited most of the shoots so that in May I just need to assemble clips together.
My printed workbook will also be completed.
|
| MAY – 17th May 2019 | · Will continue to edit my final video.
· Will start to plan how my work will be displayed at Degree Show and at Graduate Fashion Week. · Will be printing work book and other parts of project to make sure that they are printed properly and bond properly. |
Will have completed both elements of my final major project (work book and video) and will have plan for set up of work at Degree Show and Graduate Fashion Week. |
| Friday 17th May – Monday 27th May 2019 | Extra time to fix anything if need be and finalise final major project such as finish printing. | FINISHED |
| JUNE | Graduate Fashion Week
Degree Show |
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The work I hope to have produced by the end of my Final Major Project is:
- My final film ‘How to Dance’
- My final workbook
- Sketchbook(s)
- 2 short (1 minute each) visual research videos
- A possible second workbook that will contain my film photography which will be visual research, behind the scenes of video shoots etc.