Interaction

During Interaction, we have been given documentaries to write about and to discuss, however, due to the work load we have received many of us have struggled to complete each episode of the documentary series and have fallen behind in that respect.
I know that i have failed to complete each series, but i have also indulged myself in extra curricular activities, such as regularly visiting the Impressions Gallery and National Media Museum and writing about the exhibitions on this blog 'Robbie Cooper: Immersion', as well as attending a talk by John Hurt as part of the Bradford Film Festival.

I also watched documentaries at home and online and wrote about them on my blog e.g; 'Sue Johnston Shangri-La' and also short documentaries such as 'Kelly And Luke - 24 Hours', which i enjoyed as it linked back to our capture work, observing "A Day In The Life Of...".

I am also proud that my blog entries are quite long.

I do get carried away while typing up experiences and things that i have enjoyed and also not enjoyed watching.

At first some of my peers believed this blog to be a waste of time and quite irritating as we were on a creative and media course not a writing course, but I've thoroughly enjoyed writing on this blog. I'm a natural writer anyway and could write all the time, and don't find it awkward at all, but this blog has allowed me to channel my opinions so well that i was considering writing one for my A Level Art as you can look back and recall how you felt at that time, and it's better than writing in a sketch book how you feel you have done throughout the course of the subject, as you can seem to write and write.

Overall during this course of the unit, i believe I've worked well and overcome difficulties, noting them in this blog and hopefully showing the progression i have made through writing and through my work.

I am quite disappointed that i haven't managed to complete each blog about our documentaries we have watched together as a class, as i have taken extensive notes to write about it later, and then become sidetracked with the work load and priorities take over the weaker ones. I am submitting the handwritten notes into my folder, to show my work and to prove my intentions concerning the completion of the blog.

However, i am proud that i have realised that and tried to compensate by writing about my gallery and other experiences.

End Of Year Show

Last Thursday was the End Of Year Show 'premiere', and myself and my friend Libby were invited to take part as two characters from 'Alice In Wonderland' and feature in a set of the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.
We were very excited and couldn't wait to contribute.
We were promoting the Media Make-Up Department and we had our make-up and hair done by the students and staff.
It was very last minute, having been told in the morning of the show, but we couldn't wait, especially as our work was not going to be exhibited.

When we arrived at Media Make-Up, there were china tea-cups and buns displayed on a table, and our job was to talk around the college promoting their work.
I was dressed as Alice due to my blonde hair and Libby was the Queen of Hearts due to her darker hair.
We remarked that it was quite a role reversal for us as i'm a lot darker in make-up and character while Libby is very fresh-faced and innocent.

We got many strange looks and glances as people were unsure if we were part of the college or had turned up dressed as we were for fun. But it did provoke comments and we explained about the Media Make-Up and their special effects and exhibition.

It was a great night and I'm very glad that were agreed to take part.

Evaluation

I am now currently going through the checklist given to us and recording all of my work and placing it into my completed folder.
I only have a few areas in which i need to finish and place into my folder:

• PowerPoints - detailing the four groups we chose, in our case 2.
• Telephone records - I have currently lost my USB stick and so cannot locate our Call Logs, although we do have many e-mails corresponding with our community groups.
  
• Reflective Report - I am currently aiming to finish this today and tomorrow, by the deadline.
• Photographs - When we went for the meeting at Mind The Gap for our initial proposal, we took a camera and an EdiRoll but we were so engrossed with the place and looking around that we forgot, but we did take alot in camera wise, thinking of interesting shots as detailed in my location recee. I can also take clips from the MTG website and use them in a storyboard type piece for my folder, to show our ideas and where we could have placed things if we were to do it again.
• DVD - I also need to burn our video onto a DVD for completion and then to place it in my folder.
  

Those are the only things i need to do now are buy a new folder, a lever arch one because my current folder is going to break, organise my work inside and complete the tasks above, and i will be on target to hand in my folder by 4:30pm tomorrow.

I'm very proud of myself today as i came in dreading the completion of my work.
I first had to type out my whole Investigative Report due to having lost my USB stick, meaning that i couldn't quickly edit my work and start on my final report.
But i completed the Investigative Report by 12:30pm and then i have used the rest of my time to catch up on printing regarding e-mails with community groups and going through my checklist.

I believe that i can complete my final report 'Evaluative Report', tonight and tomorrow, giving me enough time at the end of the day to arrange my folder and double check everything that is in there.

Mind The Gap - Interaction Video

Myself and Ruby have completed our video for Mind The Gap.
Completing the video only took us Friday and Monday to do which I'm very proud of as we have been on a short deadline for this unit.
Today we are going to do the narration and music for our video and then our video will be complete, and we would like to showcase our video to Mind The Gap on Thursday 16th or Monday 20th June.
The editing of the video has gone quite smoothly, with only a few hitches with the editing program we are using not working properly.

We have completed the video well within our proposed production schedule because we knew where we wanted each clip to be placed.
On Friday, we edited our video into sequences, so when it came to putting the video together, it would be time efficient and we would have a clearer idea of where we would want our narration to fit in.

Mind The Gap - 7th & 8th June

Myself and Ruby agreed to film at Mind The Gap on the 7th and 8th June through Rio when she rang me up and confirmed our ideas and agreed to meet and allow us to film.

Ruby booked the equipment out for us to use on the Monday and Tuesday in advance so that we would be able to book the equipment out and use it; as the final end of year shows are happening at the moment in college, it would be difficult for us to book them out without doing so in advance.

FIRST DAY
We set off from college to Mind The Gap and had no problems getting there and settling in.
We arrived 15minutes early and settled down in the AllSpace area at Mind The Gap, where the actors sit and eat their lunch and socialise with each other. There is a kitchen area fully equipped with refreshment making facilities, which we were told to help ourselves to if we wanted.
We sat down with a coffee and awaited the arrival of the actors when they came out from their first session.

When they did come out, Rio introduced them to us as we stood up and then made our way around the actors, introducing ourselves and making them reassured with our filming and interaction with them for the interviews and filming in the studios and sessions.

As soon as we sat back down, some actors came over and started talking to us. We spent the whole of their lunch talking and asking them questions, and they didn't seem fazed that we were strangers with media equipment, just people who they could talk to and interact with.
Myself and Ruby felt very appreciated after their interaction with us, as we didn't want to intrude in their space and intimidate them.

We then planned out what we were going to do for each day that we were there in terms of filming so that we had a schedule we could stick to, and with the ideas fresh in our mind, we could complete the filming tasks with ease.

The camera work was split 50/50, with myself doing the intro shots and thinking of the ideas for how we could introduce ourselves in front of the camera.
I believe i have a knack for knowing what camera shots work, so i hope that the finished product looks very professional, after taking influence from news reports that i have seen and various other live and pre-produced television shows.

In Mind The Gap there are 3 studios, and in Studio 1 there is a balcony area above the floor where we set up the DV camera on the tripod and then left the camera for around half an hour so that we could capture lots of unconscious movement and then produce it in a way that would allow us to show a time lapse in the film, which i believe is a great effect in documentary style/fly on the wall filming.

After filming, myself and Ruby walked to the bus stop with our equipment and saw some of the actors there waiting for the bus. It was nice to talk to them outside of their work, as obviously we didn't want to intrude while they worked, but they also spoke to us at breaks and lunch, so it was great to see their personal side and have great informal chat with them. We also got on the bus with them on the second day.

We had so much fun on the first day, even though we were only there for around 3 hours.
We were warmly welcomed in to their studio and impressed by the talent and charisma the actors have.


SECOND DAY
We arrived at MTG for 10 o'clock and settled in with a coffee while chatting to the actors.
They then had a dance session which we filmed. They have this around once a week, which is useful as the actors can use these techniques to be flexible and graceful while acting.

They then continued their Interchange work.
On Monday, the actors will be performing in the Interchange, staging a still motion scene during the working scene of the Interchange, which would be very interesting to film and see, but due to permission we would not be able to film this.

They then worked on their MediaBox work, where they are learning to work with cameras and to film each other, which is why we wanted to film them at this particular time so show them interacting with cameras as we film them.
We were also hoping to get them to use our cameras for a day but due to our ideas and visions we would be unable to feature the footage in our film as we have so much footage already.

However, we did interview some of the actors and find out why they like coming to Mind The Gap. We also got some candid footage of the actors messing around and performing for us a little bit, which was great to see them being very spontaneous and really at ease with us filming them.



The second day didn't have the same buzz as the first day did, but maybe thats because we settled in and the adrenaline had worn off, as on the first day we were busy brain storming ideas and figuring out what we were going to do, but the second we just got straight on with it.

We had a chat with the whole group at the end of the day and they thanked us for coming down to film them as we thanked them for letting us film a day in the life of one of the actors.
They also invited us back for a screening of our film when we have completed it, which we are looking forward to and we sure Mind The Gap are too.

Interaction: E-Mail of Ideas

I e-mailed Rio Ellis on 25 May 2010 19:25:27 to enquire about an activity we could possibly arrange for the actors and ourselves to interact with and to produce, as a piece of evidence for our interaction.
I suggested that we would arrange lots of Post-It notes on one of the walls and allow the actors to write on the stickers their feelings about Mind The Gap and why they enjoy attending.
However, we also took into consideration the actors who may not be literate and Rio also prompted this query in her response to my e-mail about this activity.
Myself and Ruby then suggested to ourselves that it could be possible for us to supply big sheets of paper and for the actors to draw on and to create a mind-map page of ideas and thoughts about Mind The Gap and the activities there.
We will correspond with Rio about these ideas and come to an agreement.

Interaction: Rio Ellis

I received a phone call on 20th May at 3:50pm from Rio Ellis, the theatre director at Mind The Gap.
She rang me after she received our e-mail explaining our dates and ideas for filming and after seeing the dates she gave us for availability.
We were hoping to pitch our ideas again to Rio as we did with Tim and Joyce but she rang me up to confirm everything and to get the ball rolling on filming and confirmation of dates.

She explained that we should come in on Monday 7th June 12:45 til 3 and Tuesday 8th June 9:30 til 3:30 as we would be able to get a feel of the place and see the dance workshop on Tuesday.
They would be doing the mediabox workshop and the actors have also been working with local schools on outreach work in the community.

She suggested that we would need about 30 permissions forms for the actors to fill in which would be great as written permissions for our folders.
She estimated that there would be 21 participants who we could work with, which is a great number especially as some of the other groups have had a small group and limited footage to work with, due to permissions.

If we had any queries before we started filming she was happy for us to ring her on Mind The Gaps number: 01274 487390 with her extension number being 212.

We can't wait to film now, after having conversing with Ben from MTG for at least a month.

The Big Plan

We were visited by a Bradford councillor the other day who propositioned us with an idea to create a short video formed with Voxpops about Bradford and people's opinions.
He explained that he wanted us to ask the public about their aspirations for the future, record the audio and footage and then that evidence would be used for Bradford council to see if they could change Bradford and adapt it so that the public can benefit from that.
He named it 'The Big Plan', and told us that the council wanted the public's opinion to see how they could change and make these changes beneficial to the district.

As myself and Ruby have not yet started our filming and have completed our paperwork, we were allowed to go into the centre of Bradford yesterday to take notes and photographs of potential areas where we could be stationed to complete these Voxpops.
We found some great places such as outside Kirkgate Market, Centenary Square and the main shopping streets; Darley Street and Bank Street.
All of these places have a very diverse range of age groups, ethnic groups and genders.
There doesn't seem to be a strong sense of one area being better than the other or worse, or even an obvious change in age etc as Bradford is a very diverse city and this is shown in every part.
It will be different to see the diversity when we complete the Voxpops in our own areas as where i live, it is a predominantly white neighbourhood with a good mix of ages but mostly over 50s.

Interaction: Rio Ellis

We have replied to Rio's email explaining which dates she was available and we have decided to attend the taster session for their mediabox day next Friday on the 28th May to get used to seeing everyone etc.

We have also decided to film on the 7th June for a half day and a whole day on the 8th, as things may be slow starting on the Monday.

We're really excited to start filming as it has taken a while to get the meetings sorted and the dates arranged.

Interaction: Corresponding w/ MTG

We had a meeting on the 17th May with Tim the artistic director and Joyce a theatre worker from Mind The Gap .

They seemed very enthusiastic as were we to work together and create this film.

We also had the clear on permissions and copyright of our video as Tim said there would be no problem distributing our video; which was a problem when we first began to converse with MTG through Ben Rothera, the marketing officer, as he shared his concerns about the distribution and we thought we may have been unable to place the video on our show reel for University etc.

We handed out our leaflets that I created and Tim & Joyce received them well as i gathered, as Tim read through it while we had a tour of the studios. We also presented our proposal to them on our slideshow although we did forget to record the conversation on our EdiRoll, although it did seem too informal to do so looking back.

Tim suggested that we contact Rio Ellis, theatre director at MTG, to arrange dates and times as she was more capable in that department.

We then e-mailed Rio when we came back from the meeting and got a reply on the 18th May suggested some dates to us.

However, the proposed filming date she gave us falls in the week beginning 7th June, which could be too late according to our diaries, but we hope to film asap and start our post production editing.

Rio also gave us a date for their taster session of their Create project on the 28th May which myself and Ruby hope to attend and get a feel for the place as well as interacting ourselves with the actors and the staff, to familiarise ourselves with everyone and allow them to become comfortable with us filming and being around them.

Interaction - MTG

I have just received a phone call from Rio who works alongside Ben at Mind The Gap.
She seemed very enthusiastic and we have arranged to meet at Mind The Gap studios on Monday at 1:00.
Myself and Ruby have researched our travel requirements and are ready for the journey to the studios.
We're very excited to finally be meeting our clients and working with them, and also showcasing our proposal to them and asking them on their thoughts.

We have decided to dress smartly as we would in a professional environment and take alongside us our notebooks for questions and the leaflets I have designed so that they can explore our ideas.

Interaction

We hadn't heard from Ben from Mind The Gap for a few days as he was unsure of our goal as to the use of our video for our college work.
Myself and Ruby then began to search for local community groups in Bradford in case Mind The Gap decided to pull out of our proposal.
We needed to make contact fast so we found two groups that we felt would be suitable for our interaction work.
These were: The Parkinsons Society who were holding a fundraiser for the charity and Kirkgate Studios and Workshops, who do a variety of work with parents, children and youths, involving them in art and creative outlets.

Ben then replied to our e-mail and gave us a contact number of one of his colleagues to arrange a meeting and he also requested a permissions form for Mind The Gap to ensure our reliability and authenticity, which we sent.

We rang Rio, Ben's colleague, twice to try arrange a meeting asap. First we passed on a message for her to ring or e-mail us through her colleague as she was in a session, and the second time we left a voicemail explaining who we were, our aim and our contact details for her to get in touch.
Hopefully, we will have arrange a meeting by the end of the week as we are very anxious about timing and production as we need to film asap and produce our video, as we have around 3 weeks left.

Hopefully we should be able to finish on schedule as our ideas are simple and effective enabling us to shoot efficiently.

Robbie Cooper: Immersion

Robbie Cooper's exhibition 'Immersion' exhibits the disengagement society has from real life to video games and films. These virtual realities allow us to escape ordinary life and to immerse ourselves as our alter-egos, allowing us to become someone or something else.

I've been to the National Media Museum to see this exhibition and found it really interesting to see how Cooper has made this images quite harsh and simple. His style of photography reminds me of our Capture unit and the work we create for that, capturing a scene, scenario or person and to depict a story through the use of photography.

Cooper's use of long periods of filming allows the models to forget that they're being photographed and to allow Cooper to capture their natural moments of unguarded behaviour. I'm not sure if he uses photoshop to edit the images but the sharpness and clarity of them really allow his exhibition to stand out at Media Museum's gallery.

His work relates to our capture work; capturing a person or object in a day of their life. Although Cooper doesn't show us a full day of his subject, his photographs can depict a scenario and a sight into the subjects' lives.
For example, Cooper also photographed gamers and their alter-egos on screen in video games.

We can see here that these gamers create these alter-egos to escape reality and to become more powerful, stronger 'people'. These avatars could stand for a representation of the gamer's hidden personality or true feelings. By creating these personas in this way, the gamer's can be transformed into something that they believe they are not. They can have big muscles and longer hair, they can change their height and eye colour, but it's not real. They are simply immersing themselves into a virtual reality.
And it's really interesting to see how many people change their appearance on screen, to become another person.

But why do they do it?

They may feel under pressure to look a certain way, dress a certain way, or they could create these personalities to feel different; to start a fresh and show their true feelings, as many games now allow gamers to talk while playing on screen.

If i was able, i would create a series of photographs influenced by Cooper's work, to allow the photographs to show a person straight on, but then make the audience look deeper into the person behind the photograph, to find the personality and their story.

Tropic Of Cancer - Episode 1. Mexico to the Bahamas

In this new series by the BBC, TV presenter Simon Reeve travels on the Tropic Of Cancer, journeying through troubled countries such as Mexico, Libya and Mauritania.
In this first episode, Reeve travels from Mexico to the Bahamas, encountering difficulties with locals and experiencing what it's like to be part of Lucha Libre.

As we see in this episode, the climate is stiflingly hot and humid, so if we were to choose a career involving the likes of travelling Reeve is doing, then we would have to consider the protection we would need to take with us for the film equipment and ourselves.
We would need to ensure that our cameras, audio and film are able to withstand such temperatures and humidity, so as not to destroy or damage the film.
They would also need to take sufficient energy supplies for the cameras in case the climate causes the battery to run out, and also any back-up equipment we may need. As we see in this first episode, Reeve is travelling with approximately 1 or 2 other people; Reeve carries his own backpack and the camera is shot from a first person perspective, so from what we know there may only be 3 or 4 people included in the crew.

For these people, they would need to carry many tinned items for their food, or small packages to limit the amount of equipment they need to carry along with them. They would also need to carry masses of bottled water, due to the poor facilities in the countries they are visiting. The countries have poor water irrigation systems so taking bottled water would be the first step in trying to keep healthy on this journey. As the crew are travelling abroad to South America and Africa, they would need to ensure that they received their medication and injections before they set off on their journey, to protect themselves from insect bites and diseases.

I would also think that Reeve and his team would possibly have to train before they travelled so that they could cope with the heavy strain of their backpacks on their backs in the heat that they are travelling in. This would also reduce the risk of injury as well while on their journey, as they have prepare beforehand. You can really see the extent of what the crew have to go through even before they set off on their journey, as the facilities of the destinations they are travelling to simply do not cater for hardworking film crews in strange climates.

During the episode, we can also see that even locals are struggling just to live in the places Reeve is visiting. When Reeve visits Baja California resort in Mexico, we can clearly see the juxta positioning of the workers and the lifestyles of the rich and famous. The Mexican workers are employed to create beautiful villas for the rich, costing at least $8,000 per night. The workers then go home to their shanty villages just metres from the resort. It's really interesting to see how the workers can live in such conditions when the resort can churn over around hundreds of thousands of dollars a week, yet the workers get hardly any recognition for their work. It's almost exploitation of these workers, allowing them to create such buildings for the rich and famous to 'relax' in, while they then go back to their plywood homes, in fear of hurricanes and rain, as they would simply wash their houses away.

Reeve says that almost 20,000 workers live in the shanty town near the resort, and there are also 150, 000 migrant workers working in this area alone. To add insult to injury, the workers have also suffered much more due to the recession in the US; limiting the work that their companies have for these Mexican workers.

Reeve then travels to mainland Mexico, to find out about the Mexican gang culture.
They're going to the heart of the drug war in Mexico, so before they even set off they would need to consider the health and safety risks. He arrives in Culiacan, dubbed the 'Crown of Drug Trafficking' by his local guide Pepe. The night before Reeve arrived, Pepe explains that there was an assassination attempt against the local police chief. The film crew are constantly surrounded by danger; brought on mostly by the fact that they are foreigners and are easy targets for local thieves and gangs.
Pepe takes Reeve to a local cemetery, and you can clearly see the money that is funded and produced by these gangs, as we see beautiful mausoleums protecting these criminals after death. 90% of the bodies buried in the cemetery are linked to the drug trade and gangs, and we see many posters of young men posing with military style machinery and items linked to gun and drug warfare. The wealth is also seen through the luxury of these crypts and graves; many have air conditioning and furniture, some are as big as houses.
It's also quite strange to see these families brandishing their wealth through the narcotics industry in the cemetery; almost viewing their children who have died as martyrs of the drug trade, almost worthless now because of the wealth they have brought to their families.

As they travel into Mexico, they come across a disagreement in a petrol station with a taxi driver who claims that Reeve needs to pay him for damaging his car.
Reeve and Pepe believe this guy to be in the wrong so they call the local police to deal with the situation.
As they wait, more taxi drivers and their cabs surround them in this station, Reeve becomes nervous.
Pepe tries to calm the drivers down but they won't resist.
I believe that the taxi drivers are trying to scam Reeve and the crew out of money, using their foreign status to mistake them for idiots.
The police arrive and the crew are told to come to an agreement with the drivers; so they pay them and are on their way.
It's really disheartening to see the police act is such a flippant way; maybe they feel as though the public control them, they feel worthless or even as though they have no power. They acted as though this wasn't a big deal and the only way to settle it was by money. It seems as though everything is settled by money, money is what people want and need, money is what makes the narcotics and gun crime circulate, but money is the one thing sparsely seen funded into homing and welfare of the people.

Mexico seems to be controlled by outside powers; Reeve visits a gold mine in the hills of Mexico, and one man fears for his own life after local workers attacked him.
Reeve interacts with the local communities to gain their side of the story and how they have been treated.
He creates this juxta position of the wealthy and the needy, the true workers and the ones who exploit.
The Mexicans also seem to have lost faith in their country and government. There is a Saint that criminals pray to, to ask for protection and guidance while they commit these crimes. Obviously they wouldn't be able to go to church and confess, so they find help within this Saint.
It's almost as though they have their own country, their own set-up and their own policies, as though what they're doing is fine.

Reeve also travels with the local police team; who try and target the drug safe houses.
Reeves would need to seek permission from the Mexican police to allow him to travel with them; but the fact that he did travel with them in this drug trafficking capital shows me that the police seem somewhat really relaxed about protection.

Reeve travels along the tropic to Havana in Cuba. In contrast to Mexico, officials have been impressed by Cuba's healthcare and education system but there is also another development Reeve is interested in.
There has been a regrowth of the community after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Allotments were provided for the villages, previously sites of cement factories etc.
They grow cabbages, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and mint, all grown organically. They provide Havana with over 90% of their produce.
It's inspiring to see these communities be part of this regrowth, but such a shame that even though one country is making an effort, others such as Mexico aren't.
The allotments produce over 1 million tonnes of food each year, and have been praised by the WWF for their efforts.

It's an interesting honest documentary and i look forward to watching to rest.

Tracey Emin - Strangeland

I recently purchased and have already read Strangeland by Tracey Emin.

After viewing her interview with Mark Rawson, i became enthralled with her life and her story, so i bought her book and began to read.

This semi-autobiographical book recalls Emin's memories of being a child, growing up in Margate with her mother and brother, her dad here and there as he also had his other family.

The more i read of this book, the more i didn't want her story to end.

The relationships she describes in this book are different from the ones i have come into contact with, but it's seeing this miraculous turn around of her life that i have more respect for her.

At times in the book, you don't know wether the recollections she is having are real or not, dreaming or living in the real world. But it does give and insight into the troubled mind she may have suffered from, and her experiences during those times.

The sheer frankness and honesty in this book is something that drew me in right away, and the scribbles of Emin's handwriting grace the pages from time to time, showing the personality behind the artist and her true feelings as she wrote them.

They say you can look into alot in handwriting, so maybe that's why Emin chose to have the notes printed into this book; to show her personality through her art rather that printed letters.

She may have just included the notes as another one of her art forms; as well as her collections of drawings.

Her book is very effective and fascinating but for me it didn't pull on my heart strings and beg for my sympathy. It gave me the information honestly. I like that in a book. I prefer autobiographies and hard hitting novels. I prefer brutal honesty and raw emotional tales of life.

That's exactly what Emin delivers in this book.

While reading this book, you see how Emin has become the strong woman she is today. Her candid recollections of her childhood; sex, drinking, dancing...all those hardships she experienced, especially with sex and men.
It seems as though Emin has always been a strong character. In her book it seems as though her memories remind her of how she got to where she is today; she's always fended for herself, stood on her own two feet while her father was away and her mother worked to support her children.
Then she discovers men, and alcohol. But she doesn't become trapped in a vicious cycle, she stands up for herself and stays ona somewhat right path.
Although the drink becomes a problem later on, i believe she used it as a tool to block out the past, the sense of unwant and abandonment. As she says in the first page of her book " But at the moment of my birth into this world, I somehow felt a mistake had been made".
Emin says "My soul had been floating along when, somehow, i got caught up in his (her brother Paul's) conception".
Again this immediate sense of undesirement as soon as she is born sets as a backdrop throughout this book, with her father having other families, wives, children and her use of men, and their use of her, for sex. Just sex.

The book seems to be compiled of exerts from Emin's memory, so the information doesn't flow smoothly, but this is the beauty of how the book has been written.

It takes you into a dreamy state, reminiscent from your own childhood where you recollect memories at different stages.

Usually the memories you remember are sometimes the more vivid and important ones, and that could be why Emin has inserted these memories to show an overview of her childhood, the most dramatic stories and the most touching.

Overall i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and am in the process of reading it again, picking up on things that i missed the first time around.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Tracey Emin, art and life.

Interaction: Mind The Gap E-Mail

We have just returned from our half term and i have received no e-mails as of yet from Ben Rothera, marketing officer at Mind The Gap.

We were going to send a responding e-mail to catch up on his thoughts and ideas about our proposal, but then decided that it would be much more direct to telephone him and come to a conclusion, because if he were not interested in interacting with our group, then would would hastily need to find a new community group and connect with them by e-mail and telephone.

Myself and Ruby drew up a 'script' for our telephone call, listing the main points we would like to go over with him over the phone.

The discussion went quite well, Ruby said that he sounded interested in our ideas but the only setback was that MTG were uncertain and would not allow us to distribute the video after it's production.

We understand their concern and have decided to draw up a contract with MTG that we will only use the video for our topic and the only people who will see it are our college peers, our tutors and the exam board.

As it is a video piece, we do need to film the community group, but we are willing to comply with their decisions as we admire this group for the work that they do, and are really interested in working with them.

After the telephone call, we reported back to our tutor and came up with the idea of arranging a meeting at MTG. They have meeting rooms available with projected screens and CD/DVD use. From this information, we are currently planning a proposal which we will show to MTG at a meeting.

This way we can outline our ideas and then receive feedback directly from the administrators there, and work on the problems directly if we feel that there are any.

We can also approach them with the contract to say that the video will only be used for our educational purposes on the day, showing our professionalism and assertion that we would like to work with this group.

We are currently waiting for a call back from Ben Rothera after he said that he would discuss our ideas with his manager.

Interaction: Mind The Gap E-Mail

We received an email back from Ben Rothera, marketing officer at Mind The Gap.

He explained that he was away on annual leave but would get back in touch when he was back in the office.

It was quite disappointing as we are really geared up to start arranging meetings and phone calls about our proposal for this company.

However, he didn't say no and that's always a plus, so we will keep our fingers crossed that he will reply once he is back in the office.

Interaction

Today my group wrote up a list of points to include in our e-mail that we would send to our chosen community group, Mind The Gap.
Mind the Gap are an experienced touring theatre company based in Bradford, Yorkshire, who perform around the UK and internationally.

They are a professional theatre company that help people with learning disabilities become professional actors, and helps actors with learning disabilities achieve their potential.

We are hopeful to work with them as we believe it would enhance their experience of interaction as well as our own.
We have proposed an idea to them; to arrange for them to perform in one of our college halls, to publicise and make students aware of this group.

These are the points we included in our e-mail:
• Talk about who we are
• What we would like to do- course details
• If they would be interested in taking part
• Why they would benefit from this project
• Events coming up
• Interested in our proposal
• Our contact details
• We would like them to get involved
• Where would be best for them to meet
• College/Tutor details

We also included our free time slots in which we are able to meet up with them and discuss our ideas.

We really hope that the group will be co-operative and eager to work with us, and we think it's such a great opportunity and experience for us all.


www.mind-the-gap.org.uk

Interaction

Today, two of our members have not turned up to class.
We have heard that one of the members will be off tomorrow as well and that the other has left the course.
This means that myself and our other team member have now to do the reports for the missing members' groups, and we will have to continue with our presentation as a pair on Thursday, if our remaining team member doesn't appear due to consequences outside of college.

However, me and my other team member feel good as a pair, and that we would successfully get on with the remaining work as we will only have to respond and communicate with one another, which will be much easier than 4.
We may need help while filming however, to be able to carry equipment to and from our location.
We will then need to get our team member up to date with our group, which could be an issue, as we have worked successfully as a pair so far.

Today, we had a meeting between us and noted down some points and problems on how we will overcome this situation.
We know what we need to do now; we have chosen a group to focus on and now we need to make contact and arrange a meeting after half term. We will write a script together so that we know what to ask them when we telephone them, or we may e-mail them beforehand and ask to call them when we return over the holidays.

I still need to get lots more personal research for my folder and check that i have done my research logs and data collecting.
I need to print out my contact e-mails to the community groups i contacted, and also my plans; brainstorms, notes, leaflets etc.

Mark Lawson Talks To; Tracey Emin

'Tracey Emin:
- Provocative British art
- 1999 Turner Prize Nomination; My Bed
- Book; Strangeland
- Part of the YBA (Young British Artists)

In this BBC Four programme, journalist and broadcaster Mark Lawson interviews British artist Tracey Emin, most notably known for her work; My Bed.
The interview reveals Emin's thoughts of politics, art, her personal life and the media.

This candid interview completely changed my opinion of Tracey Emin.
At first I thought she was this wild, crazy, pompous artist, only famous for this mess that she exhibited as a bed.
But during the programme, I became so engrossed in her life and Emin herself, and my opinion completely changed.

Emin says in the interview that she wanted to create art for the people. People in hopsitals, prisons and court houses. This was different from my first opinion of her care-free, flippant attitude towards creating art.
She obtained an MA in painting at the Royal College of Art, and with that came the prejudice of a typical art student.
She then studied philosophy at University of London, after describing her times at RCoA as a negative experience, and also destroying her early paintings.

Emin's most famous piece is her work entitled "My Bed".
The exhibit attracted an array of media fury, particularly over the fact that the bedsheets were stained with body secretions and the floor had items from the artists' room (such as condoms, a pair of knickers with menstrual period stains, other organic matter, and functional, everyday objects, including a pair of slippers).
Emin presented the bed as it had been when she woke one day to find the mess she had been living in, although she does say that she did edit the bed and did not present it just as it was. She says she took care in it and censored some of it.
Emin explains the story behind the bed; saying that she was in a bad place and awoke to find the horror she was living in. She knew she had to change and the way of doing this was to present it as an art form, to show others how she was living.

"I make art that is really personal", she says, and she believes that people felt that they could criticise her for her work, because it was so different from their own lives, and they didn't want to see something so raw and uncensored.

She also spoke of her other exhibit. In 1997, she created 'Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963 - 1995', a tent appliquéd with names of the people she had slept with; sexually and non-sexually.

She says she took a lot of care into that tent, making it for personal use, stitching every single stitch in that tent for around 6months. She said that she also practically lived in the tent while creating it.

I found this interview so fulfilling to learn from Emin's experiences and to understand her art now that i have understood her childhood and her life.

Tracey Emin - Top Spot

In this "loosely autobiographical" film, Tracey Emin explores the experiences of 6 teenage girls living in Margate. This documentary-style film captures Emin's experiences and showcases the culture at the time.

Top Spot, named from the sexual interaction at the point of which a man's penis reaches the top of the vagina, is visually a documentary, but can also be interpreted as an art form.

In the beginning of the film, Emin plays the role as an interviewer and talks to the girls as they sit opposite her and open up about their experiences, quite flippantly too.

This technique of filming the girls so frontally and with amateur lighting highlights the fact that they are just children still, yet they contrast to the sexual experiences they speak about.

There are semiotics in this scene; the school uniform, no make-up, which shows the naivety of the girls and how vulnerable they are.

It's refreshing to see stereotypical promiscuous girls being so down played and naive, instead of the fully made-up girls we see today, who we would stereotype as promiscuous.

There are a lot of visual signs to reference the location of the documentary, such as the scenes of seagulls flying, public walking on the pier, and periods of stillness as the camera films the sea.

These shots often come between scenes in this documentary, to separate the stories and to re-enforce that element of freedom; the fact that these girls seem trapped in this lifestyle yet the ocean is there, and it's vast and free, just like the seagulls, a visual symbol of escapism. Almost a paradoxical situation between freedom and impoundment.

There is a scene in which the 6 girls each take a turn in a photo booth.

I found this scene quite interesting as photo booths show who a person really is. The harsh lighting captures the 'real you', and because we're not allowed to smile or wear hats, we become uniform; all becoming a part of one thing, just like the girls in this documentary too, they wear uniforms for the majority of the film.
I believe Emin chose for them to wear the uniform while they took the photos so that again they would all be regimented and organised; made to look the same through the same technique of photography (stark photo booth) and dress code (uniform; everyone is equal).

Another scene features one of the girls running through a connection of tunnels and passage ways, chasing a large cat. It seems to symbolise the confusion and anxiety brought from their experiences. The cat may also be a symbol of what the girl wants to be, what she wants to become, rather than this trapped shell.
In Puritan times, cats were associated with dark, demonic forces. They were hailed as familiars to people who had sold their soul to the devil. This link of demonisation is personified in the girls, as they battle between their innocence and the lives that they are leading; these dark, unholy situations that they are accustomed to.
Animals in dreams usually appear as part of ourselves. Cats may represent you or an aspect of you. So in this scene where the girl in trying to find the cat, chasing it through the series of tunnels, she may be chasing herself, chasing herself to catch up and stop her from what she in doing. Or the cat may represent the lost freedom the girl has, and she is trying to capture it.
Cats are also often associated with women and sexuality. In women, it's a sign that they're in charge of their sexuality.
I like how Emin has really picked up on this to allow us to think and wonder why she has placed this scene in her film, why she directed and wrote this scene in.

Again, a seaside shot is screened before one of the girls is sat eating an ice cream, with a cenotaph in the background. I believe Emin used this as a sexual connotation, using this as a theme for oral sex and promiscuous behaviour.

One of the girls has a French pen-pal that she seems to have fallen for. The camera cuts to dusty Egypt, showing a tower block with a sign which reads; 'Dreamland'.
The fairground in Margate was called Dreamland, where the girls went and hung out together. This juxta position of the two places shows the differences in each place; one is a fun place, where the girls can relax, the other looks seedy and derelict.
Her thoughts of this boy could also purely be a dream; a blatent sign of Dreamland showing the dreams and aspirations this girl has to travel and visit new places.
However, there is an audio clip of a man saying: "So i need to speak French fluently?".
This could be a sordid attempt of child trafficking that Emin has picked up on. The fact that these girls can end up in abusive situations far from home.
It shows naivety and again the child-like personalities the girls still have. They could be fooled by anyone, even though they may feel mature because they are sexually active.

The music in this documentary is quite abstract for the genre of film this is. Eurythmics, Shirley And Company and the song "Last Christmas" feature in the film, yet they don't seem to go well with the imagery. It's quite weird as you then become detached from the film, I was really into it yet felt pointless when the music was aired. The audio seems to be awkwardly attached to the visual imagery, which I believe Emin produced on purpose, to make the audience feel uncomfortable while watching, as the girls may have felt uncomfortable trying to balance their lives.

There is a scene where one of the girl's is dancing in a ballroom, with the Shirley And The Company song "Shame On You" playing in the background. The song title may be a bold, obvious reference to the fact that these girls should be ashamed, but the tempo and feel of the music allows the piece to be upbeat and disattached to the film, yet it is.
There's a sepia tone and a blurred effect, insinuating the use of drugs and alcohol Emin and her friends used to abuse.
The blurred, disorientated effect may also be a reference to the euphoric sense of requirement and love the girls feel while endulging in sexual intercourse with strangers, a sense of want, imitating the point during intercourse in which the 'top spot' is reached.

In one of the final scenes, one of the girls in sat in her bathroom, kicking the door gently and holding her stomach.
We then cut to her in the bath, a razor blade at the side and red colouring in the water.
She was pregnant, and she killed herself.
It's one of the most harsh moments in the film, showing the downfall of her experiences.
The scene is quite harsh and upfront; blatently showing that she was unhappy and she didn't want to suffer with this child. I believe Emin filmed this scene as she did because she wanted abortion to be a social conversation, and not to be a taboo as it happens more often than you think. In my opinion she tried to highlight this suffering so that people talk about it, and more help is offered for those in this situation, as the girl in the film didn't even tell her mum or her friends.
Emin also had an abortion, and openly talks about the experience in an interview with Mark Rawson.
The fact that she filmed an abortion scene shows her passion towards the cause and her emotions from her own personal experience.

The final music clip is "I'm A Believer" by The Monkees. It's an uplifting scene, where the girls sit together and paint each one of their thumbnails; reinforcing that sense of uniform and the girls' bond.
The song may also be a reference to the belief that they will change and life will get better for them.

Emin used some techniques during the film such as the Super 8 Film camera to capture that old-style of filming, circa 1920s-50s. It's nostalgic and reminiscent, and shows that this film is an art form by using art techniques rather than a simple DV style of filming.
The way the film is shot mimics a dream like state; the 'real' present day, the good times.
The blurred, staggered captured effect mimics a virtual world, a perfect world far from the raw, clean image the DV style of filming picked up on.

There are some fairly weird moments in the film, such as the air raid siren and Emin featuring in the film at the end.
But overall I enjoyed the film, it was different to others as it wasn't set in a genre.
It was personal and from the heart and it really opened my eyes to see Emin in this creative light, far from the crazy, partying stereotype set to her.

Interaction: Development

Team: Myself, Ruby, Ben, Adam

Today, we have been told to do presentations on a group within our chosen community group.
I have chosen to do my presentation on Childcare for young parents.
Myself and Ruby also held a minute meeting where we discussed which community group we would choose to present to the other groups from all the communities we have looked at.
We have decided to focus on the disabled community, hopefully working with a theatre company called 'Mind The Gap'.
Based in Bradford, the theatre company works with disabled people to produce plays for the community.
They're a really interesting group to work with, and we hope that we will work with them in the future.

Ben e-mailed Mind The Gap who sent him a booklet with information of their work.
Because Ben and Adam aren't here, and because myself and Ruby have not yet received their Investigative Reports, we have had to research their groups by ourselves, and tried to work together to bring the information as a collective report.
I have had to e-mail Mind The Gap to request an information booklet so that we can work with the information and present a proposal to the class as to why we should work with this community group.

Today, we also discussed TV shows which would be of interest to us to base our filming on. We came up with four ideas: Dancing On Wheels, Sports Relief, Secret Millionaire and Masterchef.
Each have their own characteristics in which we can compile ideas and techniques from and use them in our work.

Dancing On Wheels: showcases people with disabilities performing dance routines while in their wheel-chairs. It contains stories of the contestants and how their disabilities will not stop them. Hopefully, we could collect information from the Mind The Gap students to create a profile of each actor.

Sports Relief: During this programme, there are clips of the charitable fundraising by celebrities and the public. Then, the camera cuts to the presenters who then introduce us to footage of the people in which the donations will help. We can create a similar theme, using narration to talk about the work that 'Mind The Gap' do, then record clips or rehearsals of the actors at their workshops.

Secret Millionaire: In this show, a millionaire is told to live on benefits under disguise. They have to work with local groups and find people who they are willing to help by donating them a sum of money.
We could produce a similar situation in which one of ourselves takes part in the theatre group, working with the actors and producing a play, then discussing their experience on camera. Almost like "A Day In The Life Of...", we could possibly swap roles for a day, with one of the actors changing places with one of us to become a producer for the day.

Masterchef: We chose Masterchef because of the camera transitions throughout the programme and the journey of the contestants.
Each contestant is given a brief profile and clips of them cooking. We could follow suit and do this with each actor at 'Mind The Gap'.

We have made quite good progress to say that there is only 2 of us at the moment, but hopefully we will complete our work to a good standard.

A Band for Britain: Episode 1

In this series, Sue Perkins attempts to rebuild the Dinnington Colliery Band.
She visits the band and tries to encourage them to re-invent themselves and to recruit new members, to breathe new life into the brass band over 4 episodes.
This programme shows the interaction between a community band, formed from the coal mine workers which has now deteriorated into what it is today. It also shows the community engaging with a creative and media activity.

This show is a good example of how we can interact with our community groups, and how we can work with that group; in this programme Perkin's tries to reinvent the group, we could do something similar with ours.

Tony Earnshaw: In Conversation with John Hurt

On Saturday 20th March, I went to the National Media Museum in Bradford, to listen to a conversation with John Hurt as part of the 16th Annual Bradford International Film Festival.
I was very anxious but excited as i sat in my seat, but began to ease as Hurt began to talk, his voice being one of my favourites after David Attenborough's.
It was a great opportunity to meet the actor and hear of his career, and how he sees this industry.
He came across as a very laid-back, approachable, grounded man; which was refreshing to see as so many actors are taken up by the lifestyle and culture and become lost in their career.

He started his career in 1962, making his debut in 'The Wild and the Willing" directed by Ralph Thomas. And from then on, he starred in notable films such as "Alien" - 1979, the "Harry Potter" series - 2001, 2010 and he is most noted for his portrayal of Joseph Merrick, dubbed the "Elephant Man" because of his congenital disorder which caused bodily disfigurements.


















The make-up for Hurt's portrayal of Merrick took 12 hours to apply. Hurt said in his interview: "If i were to come out of the make-up room and the crew laughed, or if i heard the slightest giggle, that was it. But i was met with stunned silence".

I enjoyed the interview and found myself admiring Hurt even more, because of his personality and remarkable career.
One thing i was disappointed with was interviewer Tony Earnshaw.
I found his demeanour to be very abrasive and through his voice felt that he himself felt somewhat superior to Hurt. I believe in being professional while working but thought that the interview could have been more light-hearted and comedic from Earnshaw's point of view.

Overall it was a great evening, and I'm glad that i had the opportunity to attend the event. I am looking forward to next year's festival and seeing the conversations that will take place then.

The Virtual Revolution- 2. The Enemy Of The State?

In this episode, Dr Aleks Krotoski tells us how the web is trying to forge a new brand of politics.
The web is collapsing the distance between countries; they're now communicating through the web, party policies posted on YouTube and even politicians signing up to social networking sites such as Twitter.
So is it ironic that the internet was invented to protect the most powerful countries?
Now, policies are being spread between nations worldwide, sharing information and confidential talks.
Parties have even posted policies online through videos, sharing them worldwide and also competing with other parties' videos.
The power of information has become very valuable; with the simple movement of a mouse click information can be transported within seconds.

However, this episode wasn't promising. Again her monotonous voice and lack of presentational skills deterred from the point of the episode, and another note i picked up on was the interviews.
There are clips from interviews with Stephen Fry and the founders of sites such as YouTube and Amazon. Although their opinions are good and valuable, the structure of the programme does not allow these interviews to have any input or relevance. They seem to be quite off topic and don't give any valuable quotes or key points that we could note down. They also speak too fast for you to take notice, and then the subject moves back to Krotoski and her lapsed information.

Interaction

We've been put into groups to research community groups in our local area of Bradford, and if I'm honest I have found it quite difficult to start with.
I'm a very independent person and do not trust people or rely on others for information that is valuable to contributing to group work.
It's also very hard to demand work from your peers, as you know they won't listen to you because you're not an authoritative figure in this college.
It's just hard working with others who you don't trust.

It's a different way of working for me and I suppose I'll have to adapt to it and make it work.
One of our team members has not been in for a few of our sessions and so we have had to work around that and divide the research between the three of us left.
I have been off ill the past couple of days but I did e-mail my reports to 2 of my team members whose emails addresses I had.
I then received another member's reports so we now both have one-another's reports.
Now we will have to research the absent members' work by ourselves and write our essays after we have collated all our information.

I think it would have been better to start this module by ourselves; I think it's created too much stress for some people, I know that it has for me.
Although the aim at the start of the topic was for everyone to contribute to the group work and to make an effort, and spread the research out carefully, it has not happened at all.
Me and a team member are now forced to research 2 community groups which our other members were meant to research. But because of their absence, we have to do the work.
I would have been much happier and more efficient in doing this module by myself.
We've ended up taking on more research than needed at the start of the topic, which angers me as I would have made a better job of it if this was an individual assignment.

I obviously understand the need to work with one-another and encourage one-another to work and contribute, but I cant do it. Not when the other members either don't get along with me or have no interest in this field.

I have started to have feelings of isolation while on this course. I feel that some of the students have no interest or passion for the media or careers within this field.
I could be wrong, but at the moment I feel that something needs to change.
There's also been a split change in the class.
At times I feel out sided from others, and have even heard that someone has sent an e-mail to me explaining something along the lines of me being disrespectful to them.
However, I honestly feel as though I have never disrespected anyone's work. If I have laughed for some reason, I have got caught up in a running joke with a friend or laughing at something that they're doing.
Because of these feelings, my passion for this work has begun to subside, and now I'm beginning to dislike this course, purely because of who is studying it. I feel as though I shouldn't put the work in if others don't, and as though I'm wasting my effort.
I just hope that next year there are students who want to be on this course and that we can work well.

Fashion Photography - A History Of The Genre

As I researched fashion photography as part of my research into photography for my project "A Day In The Life Of...", I found this slide show particularly interesting as I could compare and contrast the images shown to the ones I had researched, and also the ones I had chosen to base my test shots on for my personal research.
Fashion photography is commercial; meaning that it is an enterprise created to make money. It is used to promote, inform and the theme is "more beauty than reality".
It is a parallel to reality, showing us fashion that we wouldn't normally wear on a day-to-day basis and forming this virtual reality in which clothing is idolised and receives prime place in the media. It's a lifestyle to idolise in which clothing is something to aspire to. There is also a hierarchy associated with clothing ranges and labels; the more expensive the clothing the more respected someone becomes, and labels have begun to take over, with companies such as Primark and Topshop recreating catwalk designs for a cheaper price; making high-end fashion designs available to the public.

However, fashion photography first started back in 1913. Baron Adolphe de Meyer was hired by Conde Nast to take some experimental photographs for Vogue magazine. Photography was also used to take photographs of high society individuals, aristocrats and actresses wearing their own clothes to display their wealth and power. This was the first example of fashion photography; although the individuals do not intend to use the images for publication, they are wearing their own clothing and it stands out in this regal and exhibitionist way. They were largely seen in mannequin style poses but those poses re-inforced the levels of society in the early 1900's and boasts that they are wealthy enough to own such posessions.

In the 1960's there was a social change. Fashion photography came to the foreground with the uprising of mass production, the economic boom and a prosperous industry. There was a birth of teenagers with money, eager to buy produce and the civil rights movement allowed the government to accept that no-one was inferior. People questioned the movement and they also began to explore new ideas; ethics, the pill, liberation. More people were becoming more open-minded and questioning the laws enforced on them from their own government. It was different to the lifestyle their parent's had, and they loved it.
Photography stood out in this time as it was a way of communicating on a broad scale. People also relied on magazines and radio as they didnt have televisions which could broadcast the news immediately.
As teenagers had their own money to spend, there was also an uprise in interest of pop-culture. This was the beginning of "The cult of celebrity".
With the growth of mass print media, it made magazines and newspapers cheaper to produce and far more easier to distribute. There was also a boost of national pride and a raise in global interest in British art, music, style and fashion. The union jack became a cultural symbol; boasting prosperity, camaraderie and a signature for the popular culture of teen life and individuality. 60's photographs epitomised the sexually liberated and the fashionable figures within the elite group of individuals.

Lesley Hornby, aka Twiggy, was named the “The Face of 1966” by the Daily Express and was photographed in 1964 by Cecil Beaton. Her natural "skinny frame" caused controversy, as does the deabte about size zero does now, as the 60's believed that a woman should be curvy, and not have a boyish frame.

Another very famous fashion photographer is David Bailey.

"The first half of the century belongs to Picasso and the second half belongs to photography"


He was famous in the 60's for his fashino photography, music and film, and also for photographing the Kray Brothers.
Bailey also had notorious temptuous relationships with women. He would often use these women as his 'muse' for a period of time. They were known as Bailey's Babes.

The 80's centered on consumption, acquisition and the visible demonsration of wealth supported by fashion.
80's styles stressed an individual's wealth and power. It was called power-dressing; shoulder pads, jewels and big hair defined this fashion period.
There was the idea of being aspirational; the idea of power in the workplace over-ruled the idea of starting a family.
Shows such as Dallas and Dynasty also helped to fund the craze over power; prints, acid colours, cheap materials and chrome displayed confidence and power.


Fashion photography then changed slightly.
The cult of celebs was in the forefront of the media; models became celebrities and vice versa.
Modern publications began to cover fashion and celebrity gossip.
Fashion photography became an art form, than a advertising industry, with the continuation of the merge with portraiture (circa 1913).

Steven Klein is a photographer known for his contemporary work and the merge of celebrities with fashion. He uses unusual angles but doesnt use aspirational scenarios.
He was also the official photographer for Madonna.

Corinne Day is a photographer and former model famous for her work with Kate Moss and the close friendship she has with her models.
She was prolific in the 90's, her photographs were informal, confrontational and confessional.
It was a contrast to the 80's glamour seen previously.
She used androgynous models to debate against stereotypes and conformity.
She was noted for starting the trend of 'shabby chic' after her Freedom Child shoot for Vogue UK in February 2002.


The phrase 'heroin chic' also began to circulate; describing the new wave of waif-like figures in squalid surroundings.



This reportage style of photography was thought to make this lifestyle desirable and aspirational; obviously controversial by then and today's standards. There was a moral panic around these taboo subjects in the fashion world; the media exaggerated though and made something out of nothing. But it was all about creating the perfect environment, constructing this make-believe place where worries and thoughts are long gone.
However, Klein and Day were against the whole staged phase in photography. They wanted the raw emotions to translate through the photograph, not to creep out from behind props and layered make-up.
Steven Meisel was Klein's predecessor; he photographed Madonna for her 1992 book; Sex.
Like Klein, Meisel works in a very strong way; his photographs are well structured and poised, and definately sell the products the models are wearing. Buzz words were invented in the 60's. They are words given to photographers to inspire them while they work. Here are a few personal examples of buzz words i thought of for this photograph by Steven Meisel: STRUCTURED, PLASTIC, MANUFACTURED, MANNEQUIN, GLOSSY, STYLISED.

Rankin.
Rankin is a British portrait and fashion photographer.
He founded 'Dazed + Confused' magazine in 1992. He also publishes several magazines including 'Another Magazine'.
Rankin is controversial but commerically popular; having previously photographed for Bailey's, Nike and Oxfam, on a charity campaign.




You can see from these images that Rankin has a very strong style and approach to photography. He captures the celebrities in such a powerful way that the photograph is the only thing you concentrate on, it fixates you to really take in every detail and line you see.
He's definitely a photographer that i will refer to for a project, as his style is so admirable and consistent.

Sue Johnston: Shangri-La

I watched this documentary by Sue Johnston on BBC1 , and was amazed at how engaging she was as a presenter rather than focusing on her career as an actor. In this documentary she looks to find 'Shangri-La', a utopia she read about when she was a young girl in 1959. She watched the movie Lost Horizon with her mother but the film was based on a book written by Englishman James Hilton in 1933. She then became fascinated with the Orient and Far-East. It was a very peaceful documentary, as it is filmed in Far-East, the music is very soothing and tranquil as is the photography, as the camera regular sweeps over vast valleys and luscious green land. The music echoes the sounds associated with China; the bells, the windchimes and the woodwind instruments that create a hollow, euphoric sound. Johnston's voice and demeanour suits the programme perfectly, as she seems to be a gentle, grounded soul. We usually see her as Barbara, the wife of Jim in 'The Royle Family'; dressed in scraggly clothing and a washed-out look, it's a far cry from we see her in this documented journey.
She has a serene quality about her, like having the auntie you never had who you can confide in, and because of this we are easily transported on this journey with her, through emotional and sensitive times.
She attended a ceremonial ritual, where she is moved by their dedication, and she explains that it moved her in a spiritual way; a feeling she had never felt before.
While watching this you do feel a sense of calm and reassurance, so it is quite fascinating to see how a programme can effect the audience and also the presenter who films it.

She travels through south-west China and Tibet, and ultimately on horseback to her final destination, the sacred mountain of Kawarkapo and the isolated village of Yipung - on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and the basis for James Hilton's novel. As she stands on the pathway, she sees the Shangri-La described in Hilton's novel. There is no narration for a few minutes which adds the the euphoric sense of acheivement and enlightenment that Johnston has taking during this documentary. It releases closure and fulfillment, both for Johnston and the audience. It is one of the best documentaries i have seen; both for it's production and presentational value, it encapsulates the audience and it becomes your search for Shangri-La.

Newswipe - Charlie Brooker

We watched this documentary hosted by Charlie Brooker on bias news in the media.
I like his honesty in this programme as it's good to see a journalist/presenter in the spotlight poking fun at our society and media where others would join the bandwagon and partake in the jostling of frantic journalists and politicians.
He interviewed Dan Gardner, a Canadian journalist who says that fear plays a big part in the media; fueling dramatic stories and rumours. Gardner says that the media loves dramatic catchphrases and headlines that will shock the public and convince them that "this" will happen or that you "need to do something or else".
He states that people will die more from having diabetes than tornadoes and terrorist attacks, ever.
There was also a virus and a civil war in Africa. The Western media decided to run the virus situation as the civil didn't fit in with Western storylines, so there is no interest.
When the public believe the stories are more related to them, they are more palatable to run and convince the public.

The recent snow epidemic has also gained thousands on column inches in the past couple of months.
This is again due to the media installing fear and irrationality into the public; people started to bulk-buy and shops ran out of food.
Because of media headlines and news coverage, people became scared of going outside.
The media basically exaggerated the situation by magnifying the problems and going to press with them.

As this programme is hosted by a comedian, it sheds light at the subject and humours the media in a sly way.
His sarcastic comments and facial gestures mimic those of the public; the ones who don't believe the hype anyway, and it's refreshing to see a T.V personality doing this.
Throughout the programme clips of the weather conditions and numerous traffic jams are shown, and it almost imitates the news coverage.
He replicates the newsreaders' speech and heightened fear in their voice, which we laugh at as an audience because we aren't easily fooled, and we've seen those gestures acted out on news programmes ourselves.

Generally I'm not a fan of Brooker, but the way he presented this show was admirable, as i warm to those who share the same views as I do; which he showed as he mocked the news.
Overall it was a good documentary piece; it also made us feel comfortable while watching and it said what we were all thinking about the media.