well after the last meeting we decided to go back to basics as none of us really had much of an idea what was going on and where to start. i said the idea of using multi race models was a good one but the direction we had initially taken it in had snowballed to the point that we lost the whole point of the project.
sooooooo we took it back to basics and decided to keep things that way. we are still going to use the multi race model idea to reflectt the B&W of the dominos. we decided to include a still life shot (or at least shoot one and see what the combinations look like) and also shoot in the studio and on a location using the natural lighting available on the day - which in this part of the country means grey skies and rain for the most part. but we have to make this work for us or pray for a sunny day.
so far me and jess have put out a casting call on net-portfolio for models and we are scouting around people we know and around campus etc to find the kind of people we are after. we are aimign for a high fashion look with some full length and some closer shots to give a variety in the final collection of images.
so now we have the ideas for the shoot ive been thinking about looking for models. im not the type to go an wander the streets and ask random people if they want to model for me, but i have however joined netrworking sites such as model mayhem and net-portfolio so ive been looking on there and through facebook.
with the idea we are going for and to make it work we need both male and female, black and white models as we are taking the black and white from the dominos and using that theme throughout the shoot. we also want to have a narrative running through the images so we need models who could express the emotions of the story. were not 100% sure which way around we want the models whether we want a white female and a black male or the other way aorund.
meeting up again to discuss more this week so we can get it all prepped for the shoot
so seeign as this is a fashion shoot, i thought id include some fashion in this blog some where....
at the start i had the idea of dressing in black and white, and that then developed into using black and white backdrops, black and white models and shoot in black and white. we also had the idea of using acessories rather than actual fashions, so as not to clutter the images and keep with the simpleness of the shoot.
the idea of not using clothes is obviously a big step as we need to cover the models somehow so as not to make the shoot into a FHM 'glamour' style shoot. so i googled and came up with a few ideas:
i like the idea of wrapping them in sheets or having them hold sheets to them to cover up, however the underwear could be easier and look better with the type of image we are going for.
2nd group meeting next week to make final decisions, so we will see................
so after the first meeting we decided we'd go for a black and white theme, based on the black and white of our dominoes....
i found this above image of the white against black and visa versa and liked it as it was so opposite and the colour difference is so obvious, and this is a look we are going for. this is also an image we are trying to include in our series, as it is a different crop to some of the usual fashion photography you see.
this image is again a very obvious contrast between the black and the white and illustrates the difference between the colours very clearly.
Contrast
we have also decided we want very contrasted images such as the one below:
grainy and grungey
we also want a very grainy grungey look to the images, which depending on time could be shot on a low speed film. or in digital, a low ISO number....
Such gatherings, festivities of Carnival, were paralleled from the 15th century by increasingly elaborate allegorical Entries, pageants and triumphal processions celebrating marriages and other dynastic events of late medieval court life. Masquerade balls were extended into costumed public festivities in Italy during the 16th century Renaissance (Italian, maschera). They were generally elaborate dances held for members of the upper classes, and were particularly popular in Venice. They have been associated with the tradition of the Venetian Carnival. With the fall of the Venetian Republic at the end of the 18th century, the use and tradition of masks gradually began to decline, until they disappeared altogether.
we had the idea of taking away the models identity almost by havign them wear a mask through the shoot. we would have a pale coloured mask on the black models and a darker mask on the white models, to contrast against the skin colours, and back up the black and white link we are making through to the dominoes......
sooooo at our first group meeting we came up with a few ideas based on our object - DOMINOES:
1. we could use a maze of larger, child size dominoes and get the models to stand inbetween them. 2. we could shoot in black and white 3. we could dress them in spots or black and white
all of these we felt were too literal and too obvious. we then thought about adding a narrative and how we could use fashion to make a more intersting shoot thats not sooo obvious as black and white.
we then came up with a few more ideas, and as we all dicussed them they developed well into what i think will make a great series of images, with a bit of depth to them, given by the narrative we will include.
we want to use a number of models and have a sort of love story running through the images so they all link in an obvious way and the viewer can see the stages of the building relationship. we are sticking tot he black and white idea we had at the very start, by shooting against black and white, using black and white models, and shooting IN black and white.
we also wanted a very contrasty, grungey, grainy feel to the imagery which made me instantly think of the madonna video for "Give it to me" ft pharell williams.
all through the video she is wearing black and white, and there is one point where she against a white background and its soo contrasted that you cant really see the white of her skin and it seems like its a face with a body and boots dancing against the white. i dont think we would use contrast in such an obvious way as it is in this video, as we would lose the details which we want to keep.
we also had the idea of focussing on accessories, and also covering the models faces with masks, like the ventian ones they wear at masked balls in venice. this also made me think about the video by Gareth Gates for "Anyone of us" where he is in venice and at the end he is surrounded by people dancing at a masked ball.
by shooting in black and white we would need to have high detail as the colours will not be important, so i feel the masks would add to this.
as part of the group get together last week we thought we could use the black and white colours of most dominos as our starting point. we then brainstormed a few ideas about shooting in black and white, using more than one model and both black and white models. we also thought we could add a narrative and create some contraversial undertones to the images.
from there i thought of looking at th benetton adverts which i had studied at college. they always caused shock and created alot of contraversy when they were released for their grafic images and use of male and female, black and white models in the campaigns. they targeted alot of the issues within society at their time of release into the public eye and 90% of the time they questioned the viewers opppinions about these issues.
so we all got our final rpject in mondays class - found object (or in fancier terms 'Object Trouve). again we need to work in groups so for a change and to work with other people for doffernt styles and opinions i swapped from my usual group to people i knew but never worked with. so the group being - ME and MARK as the photographers and then JESS and SACHA as the two stylists. once we had our groups we went up and picked a 'found object' - ours was a box of dominos - the actualy dominos, not the pizza type!
so i brainstormed a little bit and came up with a few ideas :
the literal being that doninos are mostly black and white. so i thought we could just dress the models in black and white or dress them in colour and shoot in black and white. these two ideas were of course evry literal and didnt have much depth to them, but i thought they could be improved on and developed into somehting stronger.
another idea was to set up a maze of doninos (perhaps the super size little kiddy ones) and get the models to stand inbetween them. or even knock them over to get some movement in the shot.
anyways after a group meeting we came up with some good ideas which i think would give a really strong set of images especialy with the time available for us to build upon them. so lets get cracking!!!
