Evaluation

I have found The FMP quite different from all the previous projects we have been set during Foundation, I believe this is due mainly to its six week span.  Due to this I was able to conduct more extensive research into my area than in previous projects.  This was beneficial as I was able to truly comprehend the subject, including its context, as well as manipulate it more effectively for the development of my project.  My research began with reading a number of books, watching documentaries, films and visited galleries to absorb as much varied information as possible and help generate ideas.  Sources such as The Brothers Grimm were crucial to my primary research and lead me to areas I had not anticipated in my bibliography.   It turns out that my most invaluable research was the questionnaire I conducted in the projects first week.  The answers I received from the public gave me new inspiration and pushed forward my material exploration. I didn’t anticipate the amount of influence it would have on my work in general or my final piece.  

My action plan consisted of three main stages: research, material and concept experimentation, and project realisation.  I feel I stuck to these guidelines effectively and for this reason my plan was very beneficial.  However I realised that like life a project is unpredictable.  After failing to create my first practical piece of work due to actors schedule conflicts, I was forced to experiment with my filming and not work from a plan.  I stepped outside my comfort zone and undertake an unplanned project that was unexpected and more natural which turned out to be the most important step in my development and the bases for a lot of my later work.

Towards the final weeks of the project, I started to experiment more with photography, typography and illustration as although the techniques I was using, mainly film, were effective communicators I thought I needed to widen my basis to truly progress. However I reverted back to film in the end. 

My reflective journal has been key in my development of this project, by documenting my processes online I was able to organize my thoughts, ideas and feedback in a way that I could reflect back on, while saving time, as the computer took care of my issue with being a perfectionist.  It was also where I recorded feedback from tutors and fellow student, helping me progress my project past primary and research stages and lead me down unexpected paths.  

In my proposal I wrote that my aim was to “communicate creatively and visually personal fears; as well as the origins, manifestations and overcoming of said fears”. When I wrote this I never thought it would be possible to combine all of the influences, areas and my thoughts into one final piece.  However through a combination of my research questionnaire and process exploration I was able to achieve this.  Due to The Final Major Project I now feel more confident when set a brief as I have more knowledge of the project processes as a whole due to having to write my own, and I hope to take away with me everything I have learned throughout this project.

A Short Film About Fears, Phobias and Nightmares

This is my final piece for my Final Major Project,  as you can see i added in the questions between the different films.  Combining the films was harder than i had thought as i could only move the footage over and not the music so i had to redo all the music and sound effects which took a lot longer than i thought it would and was annoying because i had already done it.  But i really like the overall effect of the film and considering all the hard work that went into it i can't believe it is only 6 minutes, you could think of it this way a minute a week!!

Irrational Fears

For my final piece i decided to combine the movies i had made before but as i had only made four i needed to make one more.  I realised when faced with this that i had already done two nightmare films and two fear films and that if i made my last film about phobias like my questionnaire they would be to similar and not cover the subject as broadly so i decided to rewrite the question to be about irrational fears.  After talking to a few people, mainly girls, i discovered that since moving to london they have become paranoid about being followed/mugged.  So i made a short film on this idea.

Nightmare Book

I wanted to use the artist book i had made in the workshop in my FMP and as i hadn't represented many of the answers to my questionnaire only the ones through film, i decided it would be a perfect medium to do so.  I started by focusing on the answers to the nightmare questions and picking those that had the most potential for a illustration.  I surmised an order based on how the images would look next to each other and to create a progression i gave each page a letter and as whole the letters spelled out Nightmare State.

I really like the way that the book turned out, especially as all the pictures are very similar in style and with the descriptions of said persons nightmare bellow i think a zig zag book was the perfect way to go.

Spider

To continue my phobia project i made a life size model of a tarantula using wire, mesh, moulding clay, acrylic and steel wool.  In order to communicate the idea that it creates fear in me i played around with typography and came up with this.  To make the web i used a glue gun which once dried i was able to peel off and move around.  I really liked the idea of using typography mixed with demonstrative photography that i continued with it and did the same for several other fears that people had written in my questionnaire.


I focused on fears that i would be able to represent visually, which were Fear of the dark, fear of drowning, fear of heights fear of blood, fear of doctors, claustrophobia and fear of death.

 

Above is the final photographs for fear of doctors, which is tablets with the word fear printed on them in a prescription bottle,  i really like the effect the bottle had on the light in this photo and the reflections created.  The other photo is for fear of the dark, originally i wanted to have the words fear shown as a shadow but it was almost imposable for me to photograph so instead i created this. 

This is one of the image i made to represent a fear of heights,  what i like most about it is the positioning of the hand in relation the the staircase and the way the viewers eye is directed to the centre of the staircase which looks never ending amplifying the appearance of height.  The other heights image i created consisted of the word fear written in bird poo, actually acrylic and glue, and placed on my windowsill, i photographed it with a view of below to give the intended appearance of  height.  

Making Books

We learned how to make Artist Books in a workshop,  this is my homemade book.  I don't know if i will use it in my FMP but anyway its a useful skill to know which i will most definitely use at some point.

Phobias

From my questionnaire i found that the majority of people who had a phobias it was of spiders, however people also had fears of snakes, the dark, drowning, rats, clowns and fish skin!   My personal phobia is Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders, i cant even look at them without shivering.  So i tried a combination of flooding and systematic desensitisation techniques to try and concur my fear.  My drawing below was the second part to my desensitisation therapy, drawing a spider.  The first was looking at photos!  

I then went to The Tropical Museum in Syon Park in London to see a real live Tarantula.  This was where i went onto the flooding technique of getting over my fear,  before i went i had decided that i was going to hold a tarantula and document it through film.  I almost backed out at the last minute, in fact i did but then my friend convinced me.  The particular spider i held was a Chilean Rose Tarantula or specifically a Grammostola Rosea. 

This video is still a work in progress!

                        

Nightmares

I thought this answer by Sean was very interesting and different from the usual answers to this question about nightmares.   It was simple yet i imagined quite visually effective.  So i went about trying to create it through film.

              

Nightmares

Another common theme with answers to my questionnaire is falling:

"Yes, falling off a cliff. Free falling then waking up" RALPH

"the ground opened and i fell down" REBECCA

"I keep falling from tall buildings and didn't stop. Like falling into a black hole" KATIE

I decided to create a short video based on the concept of falling.  My source was footage i have of when i went sky diving in Australia.  As i wanted to make the film more general i used manly clips of downward shots and parachute shots so it could be anyone falling.  I decided to add a small clip of myself, for one thing to make the video a bit longer and make it a bit personal.

  

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phlSVg0Cf0A

This is an example of a fear of heights as nightmares stem from what we fear.

The concept of falling nightmares ties in with another possible direction my research could head, adrenaline junkies.  Adrenaline junkies are people who seek out a natural high from physical thrills for example mountain climbing, white water rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding and skydiving.  127 hours is a film based on a true story about a mountain climber who had to resort on amputating his own arm after becoming trapped by a bolder during canyoning in Utah.

Nightmares

From the research questionnaire i conducted i got a lot of interesting answers particularly to the questions about nightmares,  they were all very individual in the specifics however they all seemed to contain similar themes particularly at a younger age.  These included nightmares about dinosaurs, evil unicorns, aliens, space, dark woods, murderers and grim reapers, witches and family members dying.

I felt this particular answer had a lot of potential as a lot of people have nightmares about death of family members and i personally have always thought little girl ghosts were majorly creepy!

 

This is the first film i have made using moving images so it took along time for me to get down a rhythm, but i think the overall effect is very similar to how i intended it to appear.  I merged images of a 'child ghost' and 'witchcraft' with 'dark woods' in order to combine more than just the one answer, but give it the feel of childhood nightmares in general. 

Fairy Tales and Folklore

One of the places i started my research was within the area of fairytales and folklore, in particular the Brothers Grimm tales as they originate from folklore and are timeless and even though they were officially documented in the 1800's they are still in use today.  Another source i drew inspiration from was Bruno Bettelheim's book The Uses of Enchantment, the meaning and importance of fairytales.  Fairytales such as the Brothers Grimm are quite controversial, modern parents perceive them as to dark for children,  however it is documented in Bettelheim's book that they are beneficial to a child's development.


I visited Kensington Palace as they had put on an exhibition called the Enchanted Palace documenting the lives of the princesses who have lived there but put into the context of fairytales.  it was a very visually appealing display combining fashion, storytelling, sculpture, and video.  unfortunately you weren't able to take photographs in the palace!

I think fairytales are important as they tell the child about perceiving dangers thus they tie in with my brief as it is on this knowledge as a child that we first start to develop fears.  Most fairytales work as cautionary tales for example a child could take from snow white and little red cap the dangers of talking to strangers.

Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is an example of the use of fairy tales in a modern setting,  the film is described as being a fairytale for adults and personally i think it is quite a dark fantasy.  As an young adult i find it quite a disturbing film,  this could come from the fact that it conjures memories of when i was younger and similar fantastical fears i had or the creatures depicted in the film that are so creepy and are classic nightmare fiends.  del Toro said that the inspiration for the film came from a lucid dream he had as a child.  For this reason i think the film is so effective, by using personal experience rather that generic influences.

Final Major Project Proposal

This is my project proposal, I have decided on the title of Creative Visual Solutions to Facing Fears,  I feel this is only a working title and may change it at a later date to fit better with my project:

Progress and achievement

Foundation has really helped me to be able to have numerous ideas when given little information which has definitely boosted my confidence when faced with a brief.  I also have a much clearer understanding of design and its many aspects, and how to think in a more visual way compared to when I start the course.

Context

What first drew me to Visual communications was the wide range of work that could and was being produced and its individuality and cleverness.  When in this rotation I felt that my work showed more potential and personality than at other times and that what I was doing was challenging, stimulating and interesting.  Initially some of the set briefs I found very difficult but by overcoming these problems I grew in confidence and skill.  In general I was pleased with the outcomes however although I tried to access a wide range of aspects of this area I seemed to find a lot of my work had a typographical element to it,  so in the future i would want to focus on the full spectrum.

ProjectProposal Aims, Method and Realization

The aim of my project is to communicate creatively and visually personal fears; as well as the origin, manifestation and overcoming of said fears.  In order to achieve my brief I will research into the psychological side of fear,  how other artists have represented not only fear but other mental emotions and the origin of a persons fear.  I will conduct questionnaires for initial information and in order to personalise my research I will face my personal fear, arachnophobia, in a physical way and document it.  I will try to make a natural progression towards my final piece and focus strongly on the experimentation and development aspects of this project.  Throughout the development of the project I intend to experiment with many methods including film, in both a documentary and fictional way as well as photography,  while incorporating a typographical element.

Evaluation

I aim to follow my action plan time table as closely as possible therefor I will be able to judge my development and time management effectively. I will also be keeping a reflective journal as continual evaluation throughout this project which will document the decisions and the actions I have taken and feedback I have received from tutors and peers in a detailed way.