taylerrrrr07

[taylerrrrr07]

53. 

MAJOR PROJECT PROPOSAL

This should be a clear, focussed and coherent proposal for the major project that you intend to produce in Semester 2 and should give the reader a clear sense of what the project will involve when read alongside the pilot project.

Please extend boxes as required (500-1000wds)

Name Tayler Robinson

Project Title (or working title)

The life of a Phoenix

Subject / Concept (What the project is about?)

The project is about my little brother Phoenix, and the process and struggles he’s had in his life and his transition to be a man. I want to be able to get a better understanding of my brother as the two of us aren’t very close, we never have been really but more so now, and be able to understand how difficult but also rewarding his choices have been and how his process of these choices have formed and become who he is. Ill try to tell a story through things he’s said and done, potentially looking at notes and letters he has wrote and also try to explore the unspoken side of things, things that up until now he hasn’t been comfortable or able to say before, things that other people might not know, even myself or other people in my family and be able to get a sense of who my brother really is, and how his bravery has helped me to become a better person and also become more of myself.

Aims (What do you want to achieve?)

I want to achieve a heartfelt and powerful series of images. By the end of the project, id like to be able to say comfortably that I know my brother. That I no longer feel in a way estranged to him and that I can 100% understand the struggles he’s bee through. It’s a subject that never really gets brought up in my family, especially around my brother, so id like for it to make my whole family come together and really understand him and his life. I’d also like to achieve acknowledgment in a way from other people about the struggles people go through, not just mentally but also physically, and how their experiences, no matter how different they are can be understood and relatable and can be sympathised with.

Context / Audience (Where will it be seen / who is it for?)

The project will be for everyone. Families, individuals, people who understand and have gone through similar things but also people that haven’t. I want this project to really affect people, so I think limiting the audience isn’t the correct thing to do. It will obviously largely be for my brother. To show him that our relationship hasn’t been affecting in anyway by him, and that he is still just as important to me as anyone in my family. My family haven’t seen any of my projects before, at least not on display and I think this project will be vital and really important for them to see. To help them also gain that larger understanding of my brother and his identity, and also maybe help them to understand other people, myself included.

Proposed form, medium, presentation (How will you execute it and present it?)

I plan on using different formats for this project. I want to include images of my brother, myself and potentially other family members. I’ll use a digital camera for the images as I don’t think film would benefit the project in anyway. I plan on mounting them on either card or foam as just using images on a wall doesn’t feel as professional and doesn’t look professional either. The sizing of the images might differ depending on the importance of each one or the meaning of them.

I want to also include the written word in some capacity, include things such as notes and thoughts and letters by my brother and or other people in my family or that know my brother. This could include previous notes that he has written or I could get him and others to write in a notebook or journal of some kind to accompany the project to try and help give some context and feeling to each of the images and a further understanding of why and how this came to be. For these I will look at using plinths or potentially a light box, depending on the significance of each piece, its importance to the project, as well as if it’s something I want to be interacted with.

[taylerrrrr07]

52.

RESEARCH REPORT

 This should be a summary of and a critical reflection on your research process so far. You should try to give the reader a sense of the process you have been through - your journey, your thoughts and decisions along the way and what has informed the choices you’ve made. Try to be as honest and as critically reflective as you can.

 Please extend boxes as required (length 1000-2000 words)

 Name                                                    

Tayler Robinson

 Major Project Title

(Or working title - how and why did this title develop?)

 The life of a Phoenix

 This working title developed in a few different ways. As this project is going to focus on my family, specifically my brother, I wanted the title to be meaningful and relate specifically to my brother. The reason the working title is the life of a phoenix is because it’s both metaphorical and real. A phoenix is a fictional character that essentially lives forever. Once it comes to the end of its life cycle it bursts into flames, and from the ashes, a new phoenix is born. I like the symbolism and meaning behind this, as in a way its similar to my brothers’ story, having to ‘kill’ or ‘die’ from his old life, the person he was, to be reborn and become the newer and real him. His name is also Phoenix so it links directly to him and his story and can inform the audience of who this is about.

  Research Methods

(What methods have you used during this phase of the project and how have they helped you develop your ideas and inform your major project proposal?)

 During this phase of the project I focused a lot on magazines and books to get my inspiration. My project idea has shifted massively since the beginning of the semester, starting as being a potential fashion inspired portraiture series to now being a series about identity and family. Although the original research I had done, such as looking through vogue and GQ magazines for example hasn’t directly helped develop my work now, it gave me some ideas. There were some pages and shoots in the magazines that played on the typical masculine and feminine colour schemes and used the identities of the models in playful ways which I quite liked.

 When my idea changed books and websites were my sole form of research. I looked at a lot of different series of work, many not being very helpful but a lot of them helping me to understand what would be best to not include in my series and what could potentially be an interesting subject matter. The images helped me to solidify the idea as well, as I had some confusion when I shifted project ideas as to what would and wouldn’t be a good project, so they helped me to understand that I need some emotion and meaning behind my work, not just something that looks nice and I think it has definitely benefited me.

  Pilot Project

(What have you achieved through the development of your pilot project/s? What have you learned from the process? Identify the main concepts that might direct or drive your major project.)

 Through the development of my project I think I’ve been able to get a better understand of how I want to present my work, and the work I think I should be presenting. Before the start of this project I would focus on what I thought looked nice and try to create something like that and backtrack and create a meaning and context afterwards, but for this project I’ve done the opposite. I knew I want to focus on people, and their identities, but I wanted to do something meaningful. Something that I can look at and feel a real and powerful connection with. Making sure the project looks nice is obviously something I need to be doing, but if I’m not 100% convinced that what I’m doing is something I really connect with then I no longer want to be doing it.

That’s the main reason my pilot project has changed so much since the start of the semester. I was trying to create something based around what I like to see, and the lack of meaning and reasoning behind it was causing a mental block and I would be struggling with it. For my pilot project and now major project idea I started with my ideas, and researched after, I’m still not clear completely on how it will look or certain specifics within it, but I feel passionately about it that I know it will fall into place.

 I’ve learned now that meaning is everything. Without it, it feels empty, and forced and insincere, which isn’t work I want to produce. I tried a set of images using a sitter and asked him to in a way perform emotions, and they didn’t look right. You could tell there was something off, something fake about it and it made me realise how much I need the meaning behind it. The work I’m trying to produce for this project is very personal to me and my family, so if it looks forced and empty then I’m not doing the right work.

 The main drive for the project is identity. For me it’s something I have a little issue with, not really knowing how I want to be or struggling to be who I am, and in the past in school for example I have been bullied about it. It caused a lot of mental blocks for me and has made me struggle to communicate with people on many occasions. For me, focusing on identity, especially in a way that is so close to home has already helped me to become more comfortable and more myself with my friends and family, and allowed me to shrug off the comments I used to hear. Feeling as though I had different identities that wanted to come out or felt more like me than what I’m trying to show people was difficult, but no way near in comparison to my brother, whose had t go through so much more.  The main reason my brother is so important to me, as well as the project, is because as much as he has already gone through a lot to become who he is, I can tell that he still isn’t completely comfortable. There are moments where he is so much quieter than I remember and you can see that he’s really struggling, so the project doesn’t just become about me creating work, it becomes a way, at least I hope, for him to be him, and be happy and comfortable and know how much the people around him care about him.

 Audience and Context

(Has a consideration of Context and Audience made you think about your project in a particular way? Have you been aware of the histories, conventions and audience expectations of particular contexts? Have you considered different contexts and how have you responded to them?)

 A consideration of the context and the audience of my pilot project has made me think about the project in a specific way. Firstly its made me understand that it’s a very delicate subject, not just for my family but for other people to, so I know that I cannot be doing this project in an exploitative way, a way in which it just looks like an in conceived idea to look edgy or creative in some way. I know that I need to be careful with this, and not be trying to hard to convince people about the work. it needs to be subtle and powerful at the same time. I also know that there will be a lot of people who might like the project, but also a lot of people who might not and disagree with it due to the subject matter. Because of this I know that I have to be careful with the images I’m showing and the meaning I want people to get from it, so that there cannot be issues completely one way or the other. I want people to be able to look at the work, and whether they like it or not, or agree with it or not, be able to understand it and respect it.

 Production and Presentation

(Discuss the production methods you have been exploring through your pilot project. What effects do these different approaches/ visual strategies have on the work?  What choices have you made in the refinement of your visual approach and why? Is the approach you have chosen effective in communicating your ideas to the identified audience?)

 For the presentation of my work I’ve looked at a lot of different methods. I thought about the idea of using a video for my work, but personally I don’t think I’m comfortable enough doing a video project, but I also don’t think a video is necessary. I wouldn’t want my work to be too documentary in nature and I think that is the only way that a project that I’m creating could be done and its not a way id like.  

A book could be an interesting way to present the work, it would feel like a kind of diary but I’m not so sure that could work as a full project. If I were to use some form of book it would probably be a way to accompany the work, but not as the main project. I’ve also created a book before and it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped so it might not be the best way to present the work if I don’t think it’s the best work I can make.

The best way to present and produce the work in my opinion would be a series of prints, the sizing is still something I am unsure about. Depending on the work, the images and what I want to portray through the images will affect the size. In previous projects I haven’t really done any prints any larger than a4 size so for the most part id want them to be larger than that but if the series doesn’t work being that size ill have to rethink and adjust the work.

 Visual References / Bibliography

(List the key visual and critical references you have explored during the research process. Discuss how useful these references were for the project and what you learned from them).

  Asa Johanneson- Portraits of him and the boy and the twins

 These references were very useful for my project as it allowed me to look at my chosen subject specifically, and in a different way. Portraits of him contrasts the soft colours of the background, to the situation of the people trying to be as male as possible. Its very simplistic but that’s all it needs to be, anything other would be too much. The subject matter is also very personal to Asa, so it creates the link with the audience and her work in more than just nice images, there’s a real meaning behind the work and it creates a sense of understanding and self-reflection that I like.  The series the boy and the twins focuses on the femininity and masculinity in people and explores the concept of being a boy or a girl. This project is again very useful as its playing and exploring the way people act and can be perceived, and how everything isn’t just black and white. For my project I want to focus on something very similar and something that can explore these things in a way that is thoughtful and respectful to the subjects, which I think Asa does here.

 Zanele Muholi – hail the dark lioness

 For the series Muholi uses herself, not a model, in some strange and in some cases uncomfortable looking situations to try and confront the politics of race and representation and questioning the way in which black people and their bodies are shown and perceived by others. it’s a very powerful series, and having looked through the photobook, its meaning is very evident. it’s interesting to see a series be so personal and powerful yet in ways be very subtle and simple in how it’s being viewed. The thought of using myself in the images was one I hadn’t really thought about but there is so much passion and emotions in the work that could only be done by using herself, so using myself in the series to help explore emotions and feeling as well as different perceptions might work quite well.

 Ana Oliveria – identities

 Oliveria focuses on the identities of her subjects and how they change physically over time. I liked the comparisons in the images but its not something that I think would work in my project. It feels to insensitive to include side by side images of a person being who they are and who they no longer want to be. Although I don’t want to directly compare the two, I like the idea of using old images as a way to try and tell a bit of a story, maybe in a form of a notebook or scrap book of some kind to accompany the project that would give a bit more context to the series and help the audience understand what they are seeing a bit more.

 Tomado Sawada – Recruit

This series by Sawada is about the malleability of identity through physical appearances. Like Muholi’s series they are all self-portraits that explore identity in a different way. I like the simplistic nature of the series but it’s not something I think I can now use as reference material. It doesn’t feel real enough, especially in comparison to my chosen subject matter. I like the idea and could incorporate some explorations of mine or my brother’s identity into the series but as a direct comparison wouldn’t work.

[taylerrrrr07]

51.

Technical/logistical information

Technical

Through my project research I know I want to use digital equipment, and a studio setup. The reason I want to use digital rather than film is because I can get out work quicker and go through the editing process faster and in a way that will make it easier for me to know how and what to change. It’ll make reshoots a lot simpler as well, as it will be a faster way of doing it and will make the buying of extra resources a lot cheaper. I want to use a studio set up as well as I prefer to have the control over the shoot. The lighting, the model and the set up become a lot easier for me to handle, as well as being able to communicate what I want more from the model I’m shooting.

Using a soft box would be my chosen lighting as well, meaning outdoor shoots become very difficult. I like the softness and overall balance of lighting a soft box gives me, but I can choose to add more lights if needed. The way the soft box lights up the entire subject in a soft and steady light looks a lot better than if I were to use three or four lights to try and balance out the lighting of the subject. I would still need to use extra lights to help with shadows surrounding the subject, but the soft box helps fix that issue for the most part.

 Logistical

The logistics of the project will be quite easy I think and simple. The only issue will be the studio availability as I will need to book out studios based around other people’s timetables and my own, making shooting the subjects difficult. I do however have my own studio lighting set up so I could potentially use that for the shoots, meaning that it’d be a lot simpler and I could be a lot more flexible when it comes to shoots. I haven’t used the lights as of now, but I will test them soon to see how they work, and if they are good enough, they will be my backup in case I need them. The setup also comes with a few backdrops, but not a great selection of colours, therefore I might need to go out and buy a few more just as a precaution.

Location wise will depend on who I am shooting. For the self portraits it’ll be very easy as I can take the photographs wherever I will be, and not have to worry about other people and where they are, but for the images of my brother or potentially family members ill need to either go to where they are, or bring them to me. The issue there is ensuring I have the correct equipment when I travel, which could cause to be expensive or dangerous. It will also cost a lot of money in travel expenses as ill need to be paying for either my transport or their transport, so ill need to take that into consideration.

Accessibility for me will not be too difficult. I have all the equipment and locations I’ll need, as well as the subjects, so its just a matter of time planning and ensuring that I can work the most efficiently in the time frame I have set for myself. I wont really need to buy camera equipment as I have everything I need so concerning myself with loaning out a camera or buying film, along with the price and time constraints around that are not an issue.

[taylerrrrr07]

budget for major project

50.

[taylerrrrr07]

49.

Major Project Time Plan

 February

·       Begin planning out specifics

·       Talk more with my brother about the project and his input into the ideas

·       Start to get together the necessary materials for the project

·       Go over the ideas again, and narrow down specifics

·       Talk to people I want to include in the shoot and how I will incorporate them

·       Start shooting

 March

·       Continue shooting

·       Begin to edit the images

·       Print them out and look through them together to get rid of images and plan new ones

·       Shoot more

·       Continue to edit the shoots

·       Start to print the images in the way I want them to be displayed, to get a better physical understanding of the shoot

·       Start getting extra materials for mounting or making plinths if needed

 April

·       Try and wrap up shooting

·       Start the final editing process and bringing the project together

·       Going through the final ideas with my brother

·       Begin mounting the images

·       Potentially create a book or diary of some kind using some of the work that doesn’t fit into the series or extra ideas to give context

·       Finish the mounting

·       Retake or reprint images if there are any issues

·       Finalize the series and all the components needed

 May

·       Put all the work together ready for displaying

·       Plan out the best way to put the display together

·       Finish making all the display pieces needed

·       Display the project

[taylerrrrr07]

48.

6/1/20

final image

a3 satin paper

I'm really happy with how this image came out, the colours are exactly as I wanted and the change back to a print with a slight shine is one I definitely prefer. 

[taylerrrrr07]

47.

6/1/20

matt finish a3

I really like the size of this image, but the colours changed a little with the difference in the paper, and the outcome is not one I liked, so ill print again using satin and hopefully that'll be my final image

[taylerrrrr07]

46.

6/1/20

a4 test print

I started off with an a4 satin sheet and really liked the look of it but decided I definitely wanted a larger image.

I want to also try using a matt finish paper to see if the difference is one I like

[taylerrrrr07]

45.

5/1/20

final image

I lightened the image again, as I remembered the last time printing digitally the images coming out a little darker after printing so in order to compensate I have lightened it.

I also sharpened up the image a little bit as it looked a little too soft in places.

the next step is to start printing the image.

[taylerrrrr07]

44.

4/1/20

further edits

I wanted to tone down the contrast between the images so that there would be one main figure along with the other identities with it. the first image felt a little too dark so I lightened the image and was a lot happier with it. 

[taylerrrrr07]

43.

3/1/20

out of these images I prefer the second one.

I like the way it portrays an inner struggle more than the first and gives off more emotion.

the only issue is that I think it needs a little work when it comes to the layering of the images as they blend together a little too much and makes it difficult to really understand

[taylerrrrr07]

42.

3/1/20

second edit

[taylerrrrr07]

41.

2/1/20

first edit

[taylerrrrr07]

40.

30/12/19

these are the two images I will be using as a kind of reference for my final image for this pilot project.

I like the use of the different faces of the subject in the images, to me, it looks as though its in a way a split personality in the second image, and in the first as a kind of inner struggle. 

my plan is to make the images appear like the inner struggle, inspired by my brother, but using myself as the subject to explore my own identity and the struggles that a lot of people have with their identity. 

[taylerrrrr07]

39.

29/12/19

I won't be able to do another shoot for this due to time constraints and the lateness of my idea, so i will have to use the photos from the previous shoot for this

[taylerrrrr07]

pilot project final image

38.

28/12/19

having spent time over Christmas with my brother, discussing more about his emotions and feelings I want to express that within the images more. the main thing I took from him was the concept of having struggles within oneself. not really knowing who to be and what to do, which in some ways I agree with. I want to try and replicate that in my pilot project image.

[taylerrrrr07]

37.

20/12/19

first edits