Sarah Jenneson Visiting Speaker HSAD

I cannot believe I didn’t see the connection between the use of balloons and the word ‘POP’ in the opening clip from March 28th visiting speaker session for Hull School of Art and Design. The film for Nokia advertised the built-in camera using kite-aerial photography; the final image was the word POP spelled out in carefully arranged colour coordinated balloons, on top of an abandoned warehouse roof in Canary Wharf, London.

Sarah Jenneson is an Art Director who graduated in Fine Art at Leeds University in 1999. After graduating she transferred to London and worked at an art supplies shop in Islington. Whilst there she made a point of creating ties with the entire customer base and through continuous enquiry secured a position as a prop maker for children’s programme Hoobs. This is the first indication of Sarah’s persistence and tenacity that will drive her career forward and in the next ten years, see her working on major/ground breaking campaigns with some of the biggest brands in advertising.

This idea was key throughout today’s lecture. As a post-graduate it can be hard to visualise yourself in your chosen field. Wherever it is you start out from, be that journalism, film or fine art as it was with Sarah, may have no bearing on the position you find yourself working in, ten years later. Sarah stated that she is more likely to remember those who have followed up initial job enquiries with more emails and phone calls ‘…you have to be persistent, take the knock backs and keep hassling people for jobs.’

Sarah explained her job as Art Director is predominantly about problem solving, whether it’s working out how to simultaneously release thousands of helium balloons on a rainy day in London for Nokia ‘Push’ (Dir. D.A.R.Y.L.) or building LED jackets for Samsung ‘LED Sheep’ (Dir. James Rouse) This film featuring the Welsh farmers and their flock’s night-time antics would go on to become one of the most successful viral ads of the decade.

By using on screen diagrams created on presentations tool Prezzi Sarah showed the different roles and responsibilities she has as Art Director from Client to Shoot. She showed how each person/team fitted together and something of the Management chain of command, in terms of budgeting, design and delivery. With the balloon project for Nokia, the first idea to use a steel frame mechanism to release the balloons wasn’t going to work, due to material costs, weight of the steel and difficult access to site. Sarah and the team managed to come up with a cheaper, lightweight solution to keep the shoot on schedule and meet the needs of the client and director.

Sarah spoke highly of the F.D.I. (Film Design International) Draughting and Art Directing course at Pinewood Studios run by Terry Ackland Snow. The knowledge learned there would aid her when coming up with set design and set layout solutions for Samsung ‘Mirror’ (Dir. Ed Robinson). This ad. features a vanishing handset that somehow manages to continue filming, thus posing a how did they do that question for the viewer. Sarah shared the secret with us in the room, but it wouldn’t be right to reveal it here.

I asked during the Q & A about whether there was a need to go to London to get ahead: highlighting the issue of retaining skills in the city, Sarah commented that it wasn’t key to move to London suggesting that Bristol, Manchester and Leeds would all be places where you could make headway. She couldn’t say whether Hull had a film industry; and apart from the corporate films for Public and Private Sectors and the growing number of Shorts screened each year at Glimmer, neither could I. Has Hull even got a working film studio?

http://www.sarahjenneson.com/

Word Comprehension Survey

Please partake in my word comprehension survey about words used in reports on the economy. Any feedback about how you felt when taking the survey or how I could make the survey better would be gratefully received. Thank you. Click for Survey Here

Degree Show 2011 Press Release

Hull School of Art and Design Presents The Degree Show

The 2011 Degree Show takes place over four days within bespoke studio spaces within Hull School of Art and Design. Every year graduating students from both the FD (Foundation Degree) and BA Honour courses celebrate this milestone by showcasing work with a dynamic educational multimedia exhibition.

Photography – Portraiture

The brief was to take three pictures of a subject using different techiniques to convey different effects. Also to produce a self portrait that conveys something about you. Finally through research to choose a photographer and reproduce an example of their work with particular attention to subject lighting mood approach.

I looked at lighting and attempted two light Ruth in the images below from the side, from below and with the light shining directly on the face. In all cases the camera is close to her face so that she fills the viewfinder thus paying attention to having a point of interest at each intersection.  

I found lighting the subject from the side caused a full shadow to cover the opposite side of the face to that which is lit. This created a kind of thining effect of the face and something that suggested a hidden aspect something secretive mysterious about the image.

When lighting the subject from below I found that this put the whole face in shadow and divided the face from the neck making it appear detatched and somewhat disproportianate to the body.

When lighting the subject from the front with the light shining directly at the face I found I could create shadows that moved across the face from right to left. This created something of a cartoonish or painted face.

During the editing process I found that increasing red tone generated warmth to the picture but could look unatural. Increasing blue tones leant a distinctly cold feel that lacked humanity. Sepia tones can be used to age a photo and lend it a historic romanticism, by mimicing the limited printing techniques of yesteryear of adding a pigment, originally from cuttle fish ink, during the printing.

Robert Redwood suggests that , “True Sepia tones must be monochrome in that it only contain shades of brown just like in a black and white picture , the image only contains shades of grey. In this picture  the subject is wearing what could be described as clothes from a bygone era. Although being a picture I took just a few years ago it could be an image from much earlier.

A portrait does not have to include the whole face or even any of the face. You could do a portrait of Sherlock Holmes with just a pipe and a few wisps of smoke next to a large magnifying glass and perhaps the Dear stalker hat to complete the picture. To indicate something of the person you just need to take something that is associated with the subject and shoot that. Another example would be a portrait of Churchill  represented by the famous cigars and a government war time dossier. Chaplin by his bowler and a walking stick, Gene Kelly by the umbrella and his tap shoes.It is interesting these are all personages from history, often at the top of their particular field. This suggests that they have reached such a level as to not need their face in the picture,  they have become more than their face.

My self portrait is an idea I have been toying with for a while. The idea is to represent me as I believe others see me. The idea of being neither female nor male; one side of the face is made up with an obviously feminine hair style and clothing on view, the other is side of the face is left untouched with a dark item of clothing. I also think that the image conveys the idea of being at odds with society and the world in general. The line dividing the face in two, looks brutal and harsh which represents society’s dictatorial desire to make the world gender specific. The photograph shows a flash of anger in my eyes something I hadn’t realised I was showing.

Irving Penn – A Brief Exploration of his Practice 

　 

Irving Penn was considered as the “last exponent of the aristocratic concept of fashion photography,”

because his pictures were considerate and attentive. Penn had a flair for creating a narrative behind an image. He used dynamic poses with the subjects holding items pertaining to the story, His command of light was ground-breaking and use of stark backgrounds thus bringing the image right to the fore. He worked with the notion that the representation of fashion was subordinate to his own personal viewpoint. It was a secondary consideration to his art. These techniques and approaches all helped him create an impact on the viewer and the world of advertising as a whole.

Penn himself claims part of his approach to fashion photography was borne out of ignorance he simply didn’t know what candelabra or sideboard or period wallpaper went with which dress. It was when faced with these questions that the beauty and simplicity of the white paper background presented itself. 

Irving has simplicity at the heart of his compositions. The outlines of the figure, the interaction between lines and shapes created by the gown or pose (he also did nudes and covered figures) and finally the relationship between empty and filled spaces, are all critical to understanding why the images had such a visual impact that has endured. 

By taking on the mantle of a painter he was able to disassociate himself from fashion photographers of the past who Beaton described as having a “recklessness of style…” 

Penn’s image Joan Miro and his Daughter Dolores is a good example of his painter’s slant being that it is in part a homage to the original by Balthus. 

　 

Penn’s fashion pictures engendered a huge shift from previous fashion photography where a story would be told with the model, the outfit, the setting and props (almost certainly lighting arrangements too) all playing a part. Penn did away with all the frippery and decadence leaving just the outfit to make the statement. Even the model endures a certain sense of anonymity as her features are bleached out to produce the minimalist monochrome image that complimented the outfits of Parisienne fashion houses. These images were printed for use on the front cover of Vogue and became iconic images of the sophisticated fifties woman. 

　 

In some of his early portrait pictures, Penn deliberately leaves in the katunda of the studio, such as electric cables or the ragged edge of a backdrop. This underlines the idea that the sitter is in a studio space; a created space; a space where others have sat for Penn in his place of work. Importantly there is no indication of the subject’s occupation or some created notion for the subject to respond or play up to…no wistful gazes or pensive superiority. 

 

As I discover more about Penn and his methods of working I find this idea of a two way process being central to his portrait work. Lionel Tiger wrote The act became a duet…I was a performer not even of my own self , but in the context of something new to me. He goes on to say I recall the sense of giving more than I had…” 

Penn was very concerned with creating a wordless conversation between himself and the sitter to achieve this he removed all evidence of the studio, nothing of his place of work or environment for the viewer to place the subject in. 

From the later portrait images you can see he is getting right on top of his subject; close up and personal – even in this example, a self portrait. It is said that using a wide angle he would come literally, inches away from the face of the sitter and shoot. Thus by capturing all the nuances, imperfections and shadow he attempted to deconstruct the subject and reveal something of the sitter’s personality that they didn’t give up voluntarily as with Tennessee Williams below. 

 

Why I chose Irving Penn 

I chose Irving Penn because I like the idea of a conversation between photographer and sitter. In my own work I have oft fallen foul of taking shots that appear too contrived and forced; not achieving my aim which is to bring a level of honesty and something genuine to my work. Something that is more than just a flat image but a picture that begins to speak to the viewer. 

I also like Penn’s practice of arriving unencumbered to his sitter’s abode for a shoot in order to take away all the confusion and stress of carrying studio equipment and bustling about of setting up. If I could incorporate any of that quiet measured approach employed by Penn, my work would benefit considerably. 

I like the cleanness of the images, the minimalist background and the veil of monochrome hiding imperfections as seen in the early fashion work. Again this appeals to me and is somewhat aspirational for one who’s life contains chaos in both the fore and background and juggles the contradiction of being centre stage and simultaneously shying away from the glare of the spotlight I also particularly like the below image. Having tried before to take shots through drinking glasses and achieved very little, I’d like to have a go at reproducing .this image It speaks volumes to me. (pun intended) 

In my attempt at reproducing, Irving Penns’ “Girl behind bottle” I encountered a number of problems. Namely lighting. I didn’t have nearly enough light on my subject or on the back wall to create the bleaching out effect which renders his subject almost a shadow. I am aware that the clothing is incorrect and the furniture and the second subject’s hand is missing however I do think I have managed to recreate the essence of “girl behind bottle” idea. My subject can indeed be seen through the glass of the half filled bottle. This was achieved through a process of trial and error moving the bottle towards away from the subject and the camera varying distances and angles from the bottle.

Researched from the following sources:

http://www.chrisgilbertdesign.com  Blog by Chris Gilbert

The Introduction to Irving Penn by John Szarkowski (1984)

http://seattlephotographer.wordpress.com Blog by Daniel Sheehan

New History of Photography by Michael Frizot (1998)

http://www.photography-collection.com

Robert Redwood

http://www.easyelements.com/what-is-sepia.html

Three min film proposal

Preparation for three minute doc. 

Proposal 

 

I have chosen the Truelove heads situated on a metal post about ten metres from the river bank. Having visited the area a number of times and seen the structure I always wanted to find out more about them. I had a few ideas about them: 

Obviously a love story 

Possibly they were married 

Possibly there was a connection to the slave trade (the heads looked vaguely African) 

I also thought they were old at least 100 yrs or more. 

I toyed with the idea they might have been used to tie up ships I could imagine mooring ropes around them. 

Recently there was a story on bbc about the life in this part of town. It focussed on ships carrying passengers to the new world. 

Speaking to the artist Tom Hackett about his use of heads in his latest art installation I found out about the Hull Time Based Arts commission. On hearing this news I was dismayed I really wanted them to be archaic rather than a contemporary work. 

 

Going down to the riverside to take some initial photos and footage I am faced with the following issues: 

Distance between subject and camera filming is difficult. 

Lighting outside 

Placing the work in its environment. 

How much of the history to include how to depict this. Separate images? 

Copyrights of those images. 

Having done some research I have found entries about the work on the museum site and the artist’s blog. So I have some background on the piece but I now need to decide the best way to tell the story. 

I’d like to film in the museum and also do a brief bit to camera with someone who was involved in the commission. And contact the artist himself to see if I can gain anymore new information. 

I need to write a script to go with the footage. This to be done in conjunction when choosing the shots to go in the finished piece. 

Filming in the museum issues.