ITAP Part 2, Genius of Moving Image, Week 3

Week 3, Part 3 Genius of Moving Image

Q.1 How did Bjork and Chris collaborate on the All is full of love video?

   After discussing Bjork's requirements and concept for the overall aesthetics,

feel and look of the music video, explaining her theorem of erotic and 

compassionate themes to be included, and consideration for ideas of colour,

Cunningham devised a story board to illustrate his ideas to her.

   Bjork herself did not wish to be fully involved, allowing Cunningham to produce

and complete the video, showcasing the final outcome before the release. 

Q.2 What techniques were used on the portishead video to create the unusual slow motion effects?

   To create the idea of this fluid and slow motion movement, the subjects

within the video were recorded within a water tank and later Cunningham 

collaborated these scenes with a set of separate scenes, such as alleyways,

conjoining them together to create surrealist motion. To get such accurate

results, during post production air bubbles created during filming inside

the tank were digitally removed, giving flawless results.

Q.3 What other music video directors have gone on to direct feature films?

Name two and the feature films they have made:

Antoine Fuqua- Director Fuqua was mostly recognised for his work

directing the music videos:

• Gangsta’s Paradise, Coolio (1995)
• The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, Prince (1994)
• Citizen Soldier, 3 Doors Down (2007)

Fuqua has also worked on a series of feature films, his most popular and 

recognised work is the feature film: Training Day

Francis Lawrence- Lawrence's most popular work within the music video 

industry:

• I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, Aerosmith (1998)
• Cry Me A River, Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland (2003)
• Bad Romance, Lady Gaga (2009)

Furthermore, Lawrence has moved onto working as a film director for

feature length films, two of his most renowned pieces, are: 

Constantine (2005), I Am Legend (2007)

Q.4 Which famous sci - fi film did Chris Cunningham’s work on before he became a director?

   Before leaving to begin his career as a Director, Cunningham worked

with director Spielberg on the 2001 film Artificial Intelligence, or more commonly

refereed to and known as A.I

Q.5 What makes his work different or original compared to other similar directors?

   His influence is often spanned from his passion of mechanics and robots,

which allows his technical abilities to influence his ideas to become innovative, such as in

"All is Full of Love" thus co-ordinaring his thought process to think in this 

futuristic and original manner. 

   Cunningham does not chase an idea, he allows the ideas to chase him, 

enticing his mind as part of an exploration process, encouraging his thought process

through listening to music, allowing the ideas to emerge from the sounds, imaging 

his visuals from the influence.

   Furthermore, with his eclectic variety of skills, it sets him apart from other

directors because of his abilities to use visual effect, build and construct, his ability

within graphics to create intensity within his storyboards etc. 

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Moving Image, Week 2

Week 2, Part 2 Genius of Moving Image

Q.1 What is the role of the cinematographer in film making?

   The cinematographer is the director of the lighting and the camera,

having control over the technical decisions related to the overall image

generating the aesthetic of the film.

   Cinematographers work in co-ordination with directors, creating the allusive 

images that appear to be somewhat of realism to the audience, as they

are in control of the visual presentation of the film, creating the atmosphere

and emotion through lighting, so that this coincides with the directors 

decisions upon performance. Having the ability of being in control of the camera

the cinematographer also is in control of what the viewer sees,

and how their subconscious mind will relate to the realism of the film.

Q.2 Why did director Roman Polanski insist on using hand held camera in the film

Chinatown?

   Polanski enjoyed the idea of intimacy and spontaneity with this approach to

filming, it allowed off the cuff responses from the actors. This technique also

created a voyeur perspective, creating different angles, and shot which could 

not be achieved using most methods. It gives a first hand account experience 

and furthermore, with the close proximity of the camera to the actor it

emphasises the intimacy and intensity of the filming.

Q.3 Name two films which use colour in a very symbolic way, and describe what they

suggest?

Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo Navarro often uses blues and yellows within

his work as a cinematographer to generate atmosphere and emotion.

   The blue shows isolation, and a certain coldness to the film, during 

encounters within the Labyrinth. The Blue is also used to depict the time

of day, and create a visual mystery due to dark situations making them 

difficult to depict. The use of yellow within this film shows a certain warmth,

and the idea of hope, as well as creating an authentic appearance to suit

the period of time the film is based around, giving it almost a rustic effect.

The deep red/oranges are used as signs of endangerment, or are used to intensify

the idea of gore situated within the imagery complimentary to the blue filter.

Schindler's List - Within Schindler's List there are 4 areas within this black and white
film where colour has been used selectively as a representation of events. 
The over all aesthetic of the film, and the use of black and white is to produce an
aged feel, to relate to the time relation of the films setting, making it more
of an authenticated feel.
   The first area of colour used within the film and as the opening scene,
is during the celebration of Sabbath, where the Jewish have lit candles. The flame
represents as the Jewish faith, and as the film fades into black and white the flame
burns out, thus showing the extinguishing of this faith with the commencement
of the Shoah.
   The second colour scene, is the igniting of this flame that had previously burnt 
out. Schindler's Jews are allowed to celebrate the sabbath within the factory, as 
humans ashes fall from the sky, the colour of the flame represents the flames of
death apposed to that of life. The colour in this scene is significant because
it highlights and illuminates the continuation of life, despite all of the tragedies
of the Holocaust, this colour represents that of hope for Schindler's Jews, relighting
the flame as hope.
   The third scene, shows a girl wearing a red coat trying to escape and hide
during an evacuation as Schindler watches her from a distance. Later, Schindler 
finds the girl dead before she is to be burned, seeing the red coat once again. The
colour of this scene symbolises the significance of this one Jew as an individual
rather than collectively. The coat is a symbolism of purity, and also it symbolises 
death as though the young girl was prepared by wearing death shrouds.
   Finally, the fourth colour scene, it could be inferred that there is light at the end 
of the tunnel, and that there is potential for a happy ending. The colour also 
represents faith, just as the Jewish candle did during the first 2 colour scenes, 
bringing a sense of warmth that this is the end of the tragedy of the Holocaust.

Q.4 In the film Raging Bull why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?
   There was alteration between 24 fps and 48 fps throughout each individual fight,
this variation between frames per seconds was influenced by Life Magazine, 
which was mostly still life and flash photo style. The pace of the action captivates
the audiences attention and emotion through a particular stylisation of alteration
of frames, increasing the dramatics and the idea of the movements, increasing
of speed and once again slowing down when reaching the 'over crank's' 
ring side shots. 

Q.5 Who is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now, and what is his philosophy?
   The beliefs of the Cinematographer Vittorio Storara is that his line of work is
an art community, apposed to being a single art form much like painting, 
and writing, which is that of the medium of photography. 
   The ideology of working with the director as a leader, is only to be described
as a "group effort" with his addition of lighting. 

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Photography, Week 6

Week 6, Part 2 Genius of Photography

Q.1 How many photographs are taken in a year?

   This year 80 Billion photographs will be taken, not only has the medium of

 photography become worth fighting for, but has also become more 

a appreciated practice gaining more appreciation as a fine art, as well as 

snap shot memories for those ammeters.

Q.2 What is Gregory Crewdson’s modus operandi?

   His modus operandi is unmistakable and is easily recognisable due to his
unique design features which resemble that of a film set, working with a team
who come from film background. With the use of cinematic lighting to generate
that perfect shot, he is in full control of the surroundings. With his dislike for
holding the camera, and operating the camera, despite it being a necessary
instrument, he is still in full control of the final outcome of the finished
product which he is mostly interested in.

Q.3 Which prints command the highest price & what are they called?

   "Prints that command the highest price tags are usually the ones 

made the photographer themselves; closest to the times the actual

picture was taken. Like fine wines these prints are known as vintage."

Q.4 What is a Fake photograph? Give an example and explain how & why it is fake:

    A fake photograph is a reproduction of an original image that has been 

created after the death of the photographer to be sold as their original work,

therefore these can not be sold as a genuine piece but as a reprint.

These fake photographs that are considered to be "vintage" have been 

chemically manipulated and have had enhancers added to the image called 

Optical Brightness Agent (OBA's). 

   An original image is one that the photographer had printed from the

negatives themselves.

   A Prime example of an image that has been sold as a fake, is the piece

"The Power House Mechanic". This piece was detected to been a fake since

the OBA chemicals were found within the print. These chemicals had started

to have been used in the printing of imagery in 1955. However, the artist

Lewis Hine died in 1940, therefore this imagery containing OBA's could not

have been an original or vintage piece, as the chemicals were discovered

after his death. This fake image along with so many others sold, was to make

profit because of the marketing margin and demand for these images.

Q.5 Who are Li Zhensheng and what is he famous for?

   Li Zhensheng began to take photojournalistic images of the cultural revolution

within Japan as a Red Army Solider during the 1960's and 70's. 

   These images were later banned in Japan, because of their 

content containing images of brutality, and the true nature of Red Army. However,

New York wished to promote these images, and became successful in America,

and hidden reality to the Japanese citizens.

Q.6 What is the photographers “holy of holies”?

   Martin Parr joined Magnum Agency, which was renowned for its reputation

of photographers. Parr had a distinctive approach to photojournalism, 

and had to fight a battle to be categorised within the "Holy of Holies".

Q.7 How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls photography? 

   Lewis saw Wall's work as an emulation of 19th century paintings, where
everything is constructed and has purpose and meaning. Lewis observed
Wall's work as being this constructed art form that portrayed contemporary
theatrical concerns, such as racial stereotypes, and gender.

Q.8 Which famous photograph was taken by “Frank Mustard”?
   "The River France" was originally thought to have been taken by French
photographer Camille Silvy, this however was not the case. The manipulation
by the addition of the clouds within the sky and the arrangement
of the people situated within a hierarchy was organised by Silvy, but the imagery
itself was taken by photographer Frank Mustard.

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Photography, Week 5

Week 5, Part 2 Genius of Photography

Q.1 Who said “ The camera gave me the license to strip away what you want people to know about you, to reveal what you can’t help people knowing about you”, and when was it said?
   This statement was made in 1960 by Dianne Arbus to express
the power of photography.


Q.2 Do photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people?
   Photographers prey on those that are vulnerable people to exploit and
often expose the nature of their faces and lives.


Q.3 Who is Colin Wood?
   Colin Wood was one of Dianne Arbus's subjects, the photograph was
taken in Central Park in 1962. The imagery expresses the humours side
of childhood for 7 year olds such as Colin, showing curiosity and playfulness
in the serious of images Arbus took of Colin. The intention of the imagery was
to be as a reflection of herself and turned more into a revelation and reflection
of the war, this is due to the nature of how the child in holding a toy grenade,
and showing a certain level of animalistic character in the way his body language
is composed and exploiting the intensity of his facial expression, whilst 
being playful, as through full of rage and violence. 
   This imagery out of the series Arbus took of Colin that day is the most 
recognisable pieces.

Q.4 Why do you think Diane Arbus committed suicide?
   Due to insecurities, and repressed emotions, feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied
with her life, Arbus became dependent upon photography and her subjects
to work as her placebo of life. Since her photographic subjects were considered
to be often referred to as freaks, and abnormal she found a certain
injustice in society and culture, as she believed these people were considered
to be aristocrats since they had passed their test in life. From the sudden
realisation of this unjust behaviour of society, this prejudice, and obnoxious
behaviour, she felt she had exposed herself through these people and therefore
making herself vulnerable, therefore wanting so
"desperately to be anybody but herself".

Q.5 Why and how did Larry Clark shoot “Tulsa”? 
   Being within the drug culture Clark was within easy access to witness such
obscene occurrences, these series of images were dedicated to expose
his own lifestyle. This series of images created a documentation with 
a photojournalistic quality which could be related to a visual diary of his own 
lifestyle and his friends lifestyle, consisting of drugs, sex and guns.  
This exposure of his lifestyle acted as a personal confession piece but is
fitted more so into the category of impolite genre. 


Q.6 Try to explain the concept of “confessional photography”, and what is the “impolite genre”?
   Confessional photography is the abrupt realisation of truth, exposing
an intimate side of your life to be depicted almost as though it is a visual
diary that can be summarised through imagery apposed to words. The life
you lead behind closed doors is no longer private through confessional
photography, and often becomes a subjective view into a hidden lifestyle that 
is often a mystery to others.
   Impolite Genre, is also a form of confessional, however the visuals expose images
of a crude, violent, sexual or disturbing nature. These images give a shock
factor to viewers, and often leaving them to feel uncomfortable and unnerved, this is 
due to the imagery being very dramatic due to the bold and being of
emphasis upon descriptive content.


Q.7 What will Araki not photograph, and why?
   Potentially for sentimental purposes, Araki photographs pieces which 
he wishes to keep as part of a memory. Prime examples of typical
images he has collected over the years include images of his wife, 
intimate scenarios and parts of his daily life. This preference to take photographs
of things he wishes to remember has refrained Araki from taking
photographs of things he does not wish to remember, making his decisions
more channeled. 

Q.8 What is the premise of Postmodernism?
   Postmodernism is that we now live in a culture so saturated with media
 imagery and media models of how people live, which is now one of the
key influencers of how we as consumers live our lives, instigating dramatic
influence of aspects upon human life. The myth of media controls the idea
of how life should be lived, therefore the rationale of reality is only from 
our interpretations of what the meaning of existence and the world 
means to us on an individual level. 

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Photography, Week 4

Week 4, Part 2 Genius of Photography

Q.1 Why did Garry Winogrand take photographs?

   His rationale for taking photographic imagery was:

"to see what the world looked like photographed" this was also

a statement and rationale that many other photographers used to describe

their purpose for the use of this particular medium. 

Q.2 Why did “citizens evolve from blurs to solid flesh”?

   The medium of photography was perfect for photographing architecture,

and landscape imagery due to the lack of movement from the subject matter,

however, when photographing people they appeared to give ghostly results.

   Since the evolution of the camera, the exposure time was not fast enough

to share the clarity of moving figures, instead it produced fleshy movements,

this was until the technology evolved over time to allow shutter speeds to

be increased to freeze movement within time, executing extreme detail.

Q.3 What was/is the “much misunderstood theory”?

   The decisive moment theory developed by Henri Cartier Bresson, 

was the ideology of taking imagery within a fraction of time to generate

imagery that was revolutionary, and unexpected from the searching of 
these moments, however this was misunderstood by other practitioners. 

   From the clear misunderstanding, apposed to photographers searching for

the unexpected moment, where they can make their decisive moments, 

they began to situate themselves in places of importance to capture events, 

in expectance that particular occurrences would be available.

Q.4 Who was the godfather of street photography in the USA?

   Gary Winogrand, the "Godfather" of street photography, appeared

to coincidentally be around action constantly whenever he was upon the

streets, making it almost surreal that this was possible to continuously 

occur at his presence. Other photographers state that his

particular energy when photographing gave his subjects a transferable energy

to make them respond in a photogenic manner.

Q.5 Who was Paul Martin and what did he do?
   Martin was a British photographer, who in 1896 captured the essence of
the Victorian leisure of those who were at the seaside. The images
that he captured with his camera that had been disguised as a brown parcel,
show cased the magic of the beach, exposed those moments that would have
been missed by the untrained eye, capturing those moments that were
unguarded.

Q. 6 Who said “When I was growing up photographers were either nerds or pornographers”?
   Edward Ruscha was the photographer who made this statement upon their
beliefs of what they saw, believing the that he was exposed to
saw no social value when viewing this imagery, from this experience he began
to create a typology of petrol stations as a depiction of objects apposed
to imagery of people in relation to souls, focusing more upon the surface of
inanimate objects.

Q.7 Why does William Eggleston photograph in colour?
   The use of colour gives purpose and meaning to his photographs, changing
the logic, and the influence of the content through his colour choice, 
manipulating the content of the imagery. 
   Admittedly, Eggleston believes that some of his images with the use of 
colour, make the images appear to be nothing and unreadable, 
therefore the use of "real" colour does not always gives a certain authentication
to the imagery, as often Eggleston believed.


Q.8 What is William Eggleston about?
   Eggleston, like Windogram, was categorised as a street photographer,
producing images he considered to be democratic. Since he believed
that he was at war with the obvious he began to rationalise his work
by making the statement “It’s all about photographing life today”.

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Photography, Week 3

Week 3, Part 2 Genius of Photography

Q.1 What is described as “One of the most familiar concepts in photography”?

   The decisive moment was Henri Cartier Bresson's discovery in Paris in the 

1950's. The prodigy of shooting style has become one of the most familiar concepts

now within the medium of photography, and is a universal technique 

used by artists, transforming and adapting the style and manner in which

photographers now shoot and select imagery.

Q.2 Should you trust a photograph? (1.8m G3)

   “Trusting photographs was a huge mistake right from the beginning” – 

Art critic Arthur De Danto. Despite photography being believed to be the most

accurate representation of past events, documenting previous occurrences,

such as war, the depression etc, it is believed that these personal photographs

taken during personal experiences are not as much of an accurate representation

as first believed.

   Due to modern day technologies images are able to be

manipulated to suit press and government propaganda pieces to show 

to the nation. However this was also possible through photo-montage during

Stalin's reign, so evidence suggests that imagery has always had potential

to be manipulated. Imagery is seen through different perspectives, 

what may have been factual upon the photographers account during the time

they shot the imagery, each individual viewer will visualise a different perspective

upon the piece. 

Q.3 What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?

   It was the first, lightweight compact camera which was more practical due to its

portability, and was more revolutionary because of its advancing of lenses.

Q.4 What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?

   “I would exchange every painting of Christ for one snapshot” reverting to the
idea of the entrustment people had within photography, believing that it would be
more factual. 

Q.5 Why were Tony Vaccaros’ negatives destroyed by the army censors? 

   The content of the imagery obtained within the 10 rolls of films displayed 
imagery of Dead GI's. Due to the obscene content, these rolls were confiscated
as officials believed the world was not ready to accept this nature of reality.

Q.6 Who was Henryk Ross and what was his job?
   Ross was a Jewish photographer, who was appointed as a documentary
photographer by the ghettos department of statistics, his role was to record
life upon a daily basis within the ghetto. 
   Due to agency members of the "Red Cross" distributing these images,
to demonstrate the humane treatment of the Jewish community 
situated within the ghettos, this imagery was developed from documentary
photography into the category of propaganda.
   Aside from his duties of documenting life of the Jewish community, he
was also appointed to photograph imagery for identification cards, 
and as a graphic designer to promote and advertise the produce that was being
made within the ghetto.

Q.7 Which show was a “sticking plaster for the wounds of the war”, how many people saw it and what “cliché” did it end on?
   New York 1955 'The Family of Man' was exhibited, exposing the work of
273 different, both ammeter and professional works of photographers, displaying
a collection of 500 photographic pieces. By 1964, the exhibition was experienced
by that of 9 million different visitors, the experience shared with those visitors
expressed the notions of that of photojournalism, and documentary photography
and how its medium is so powerful, highlighting the occurrences throughout
the history of the wars, "creating a sticking plaster for the wounds of the war",
since these photographs clearly depict and represent the importance of
the medium.
The show still concludes with an optimistic cliché about “sentimental journey through life”

Q.8 Why did Joel Meyerowitz photograph ground zero in colour?
   This imagery that was taken of the remainder of the ruins of the tragedy
9/11, Meyerowitz decided that he would use colour photography to photograph
this site, this is due to his beliefs that the use of black and white would
"keep this imagery as a tragedy".
   The use of colour photography would also envisage the extreme details
so that this imagery is kept as a visual historical record for future reference,
due to the removal of ground zero in time, giving a clear representation
of the damage and the destruction that this had upon the site.

ITAP Part 2, Genius of Photography, Week 2

Week 2, Part 2 Genius of Photography

Q1. What Are Typologies?

   Typologies are a means of comparison or reference of photographic evidence
of existence and change, therefore creating records and documenting

the characteristics of common objects that have resemblance of previous 

found objects. Typologies consist of subject matters based around;

medicine, criminology, astronomy, material culture, architecture

and even food, therefore the vast analytical study of such areas creates 

an archive for future reference. 
   Each individual photographer will have their own interpretation upon a
 study and analysis of what they are wishing to photograph, making their collection
personalised and unique to their style and preferences, creating their own
constraints for content and completion.

   The images which have been collected over a period of time may often retain 
the appearance of repetition, however, the differences which have been

documented are more obvious when displayed as a series of images.

Bernd and Hilla Becher

   These two artists are prime examples of creatives who have produced  

a typology. However, as a unique approach these two artists have formed a duo

to produce collaborative typologies based upon structures, and buildings during

the decline of industry within Germany, documenting their existence before the 

disappearance and removal of such structures and buildings. 

Q2. What is "The Face of Times"?

   August Sander created a book produced from the collection of images formed 

from his human typologies in which he had been collecting of people 

living in German. Each person used within this published piece had been divided 

into one of seven different categorisations devised by Sander's himself, 

and each category contained sub areas for each individual.

   From each of these segments it documented social classes, 

relationships of the people in which he had photographed, as well as

documenting German society during the years of the war.

   The images do not fully describe the the characteristics of the person 

who has been introduced into this particular typology, however it is showing more

of how the subject wishes to be seen because everything else is hidden.

Q3. What magazine did Rodchenko design?

   Rodchenko designed the magazine entitled "USSR in Construction", 
which displays political propaganda, which glorified the achievements of the
Soviet system. The magazine consisted of cutting edge graphics,
and series of Photo-Montages which manipulated the reality of the raw images
which were issued within the magazine.

Q4. What is a Photo-Montage?
   A photo-montage is the conjoining of two or more images to generate 
a continuation of image which create a sequence, in order to create an 
illusion and trickery of reality. A photo-montage can consist of digital manipulation, 
photographic manipulation and scrap-book collaging.
   Photographs can be treated as raw material enabling editing, manipulating, 
and combing of various images together to change the intention and meaning 

of the original imagery, creating an alternate reality and deception of the 

truth and history through simplistic methods of cutting and pasting.

Peter Kennard

Peter Kennard produces photo-motages, based upon political issues publishing his 

opinions through the photographic medium to create campaigns. 

   Through the manipulation of imagery Kennard has addressed

issues such as war, and nuclear disarmament, displaying his work as pieces

of petition, altering the nature of reality of current/previous occurrences, 

and amplifying and intensifying the original raw photography to produce

imagery which is more striking and powerful as well as persuasive to encourage

his beliefs, and approaches.

Q.5.Why did Eugene Atget use albumen prints in the 1920’s?

   With dream like qualities of brightness attained within his photographic imagery and 
profound shadows, his ability lacked in using modern methods and 
materials for the medium of photographing, despite this Atget produced images 
with intense clarity and precision. Due to his methods being acquired from that
of an older generation it was easier for him to use the Albumen process,
since his knowledge upon other processes was minimal, although his
knowledge of other processes was not extensive, he was very skilful
in this area of expertise.

Q.6 What is Solarisation and how was it discovered?

   Solarisation is the reversing of the tone, creating an alternate reality of surrealism.

The subjects within the photographs appear metallic, robotic and almost

solid due to the appearance the reflectivity creating the effect of aluminium.

   Solarisation was discovered in the late 1920's by Man Ray, his curiosity

of using the camera as a form of instrument to explore his dreams was what bought
his exploration of the medium to this discovery.  

Q.7 What was the relationship between Bernice Abbott and Eugene Atget?
   After Man-Ray's assistant Abbott, became familiar with Atget's work,
discovering his documentary pieces of "Old Paris" which could only be explained 
as an extreme piece of art work, Abbott began to pursue purchasing Atget's work.
   Through this pursuit it began to expose his work, making Atget's photographic 
pieces more widely renowned as well as gaining world wide recognition, exposing
the genius of his photography.

Q.8 Why was Walker Evans fired from the FSA?

  Since Walker Evans refused to fulfil the requests of the government for propaganda

purposes he was fired from the FSA, showing a different perspective upon 

the situation of the Great Depression.