Improvements November 25, 2008

During the process of shooting the amount of new ideas that arises can be very surprising.  One idea i had that I would have developed if i had thought about it during planning, was to shoot a double image of the subject under the effect of alcohol and a copy of the same subject clear and in focus watching themselves in the act.  The subject in the act would be out of focus and blurred. 

This idea derived from being in practice and trying out shots which then made me think of ways of improvement as you do when your directing.  I remember watching a music video of the White Strips ‘Dead leaves And The Dirty Ground’ by Michel Gondry this is the easiest way to describe my idea of improvement. I like the way screenings were used to represent what went on before, this gives me clear recognition towards memory, I would use this as inspiration to achieve a very effective memory piece if was to develop my artefact further.

Here is the video by Michel Gondry:

The artefacts i produced have no sound, i thought about recording sounds that you would hear throughout the given situation or wind like sounds which is common in many memory films. I also wanted to add a soundtrack to my piece but thought sound would take away the effect of the artefact in terms of photography.  The uploading onto video player in my opinion limited the effectiveness of photography because it started to look like an advert, initially i wanted to create a virtual book slide show of my images that turn over image by image and page by page.  This was my minds picture for presenting my work however i didn’t know the means of producing it in this way thus settle for the video player because the images still flick through automatically and this was something i wanted to achieve.

Working Out November 25, 2008

During the process of photographing new ideas aroused and felt the my selection of photos didn’t portray my message of memory to well so i thought about how can it relate more to memory.  I played around with angles more shots out of focus and point of view shots.  I also thought about alcohol’s effect on memory with putting things in wrong places a not remembering where you put it until the morning.  I took and out of focus point of view shot putting keys in the fridge. 

I’m proud of this photo because i like the way the fridge is in focus and my hand and keys are out of focus.  This technique is something i’ve always wanted to achieve, i feel this first attempted of it looks like a good start for me.  I would like to construct more photography like this in the future and through development i will create meanings around it.

Here is the whole sequence:

 

 

Overall this sequence of images was my initial idea on portraying memory, which i felt i had difficulty with the lighting and shots i wanted to achieve.  I’m still not convinced that it depicts enough memory so i decided to attempt it again including more point of view shots as it gives the viewer the real perception of the subjects memory through limited vision due to alcohol.  This will be reinforced by the excessive use of blurred and out of focus shots which give of this truth vivid picture of the memory i would like to depict.

Process November 14, 2008

This work of Paul Smith inspired me to go through with the alcohol idea and i also tried to attempt being in the image as he did in his work.  I feel this technique is beneficial because only ‘you’ the photographer know what you want to achieve so will perform accurate in the photograph.  I obviously got someone to press the shutter but some shots i set it on a timer and got into position.

Here are just two of a selection photos i attempted on my own. I wanted to create this dark effect from a high angle and far distance showing the a sense of atmosphere and establishment.  It also came across as us the viewer are watching in on the memory of the subject from a drunken night out.

The next image is suppose to show the next step from this point of what a person would do.  The lighting is much brighter so its clear of the subjects actions, i tried to portray a dark feel throughout every image but at times the light was just too dark and I was unable to depict what was in shot. Due to this I had to use light to show the difficulties and embarrassment someone takes to perform usual task i.e walking up the stairs and only us the audience are perceiving this memory. I chose the stairs as a key focal point i just like the ways the light lit up the edges of the leading up to the door. The pictures depicts a metaphor of the stairway to heaven with the bright light at the top of the stairs. It can relate to the subject needing to follow the light to get past the obstacle of the stairs because of alcohol’s effects.

Inspiration November 13, 2008

My basic idea stemmed from the work of Paul Smith where he focused on multiple images of being a lad, getting drunk, doing other attributes of drunk behaviour, he called this sequence ‘Make My Night’.  This then kept alcohol in mind and i linked it together with memory which created my idea. I thought if Paul’s work through photography portraying the issue of alcohol worked very well. 

 

My idea bought to mind the advert on drinking where you wouldn’t start you night out drunk so don’t end it drunk. It plays on that fact you are aware when your sober but not when your drunk, you don’t have the memory and cannot recall or have the awareness to look good.

Chosen Area November 13, 2008

Chosen Area

With the issue of alcohol being my focal point i looked into the other affects of alcohol as opposed to blackouts.  This was dizziness, blurred vision, slurring, slowed reaction and judgement, clumsiness, nausea, vomiting, abstract thinking, exaggerated emotions, violent and aggressive behaviour and sexual inhibition.  I thought through brainstorming the effects i might be able to show them literally through photography.

I centred around the first few effects i mentioned above and thought my images could take the form of a drunk person’s perception while under the influence of alcohol.  Thus creating blurred shots, double vision however taking the action of a person coming home from a night out.

Here are a few of images i tested to get the effect i needed:

  

I practised with the camera before i started the piece because i wanted to get the correct shots that were intended.  To achieve the shots above i set a low shutter speed moved the camera as i took the picture so this notion of blurred vision can be depicted.

I believe the blurred effect can create an immaculate way of portraying the message i want to portray.  It also makes the image striking which stands out to viewers showing the story in a creative way.  The limitations of this is that i feel I’m focusing on alcohol issue too much and stemming away from memory which is what i want to shine out in my piece.

I started to think how i will show this obviously, i found a video on you tube which pin pointed what i needed in my piece that added to the memory topic. The part that say seen missing stood out to me because is a metaphor for a not remembering in a film like style.  I felt i would show this by presenting my images in a ordered sequence where there will be a blackout to change to a next scene of the story to show this memory loss.

Research on Alcohol and Drugs November 13, 2008

Research on Alcohol and Drugs

Here is a video explaining the effects of drugs and points out the deterioration of the brain from the effects of alcohol over a long time.  Our brain is our bodily function with it we cannot do anything thus cannot developed memories, therefore the breakdown of the brain may lead to the breakdown of memory.

Explaining My Diagram November 13, 2008

Explaining My Diagram

This diagram clearly points out five brief reasons why I think we don’t remember something.  The first is ‘Trauma’, this is a common reason, trauma is a sensitive issue therefore people are either in shock from the trauma so they can’t remember due to the shock, sometimes people recall it as a blur because the matter is so unbelievable.  The two underlining reasons related to trauma is repression and forgetting.

 -Repression:

Sigmund Freud say we ‘Repress’ push away our traumatic memories into our unconscious mind because they are too hard to deal with. 

-Forgetting:

Forgetting can occur due to the way the information is stored and whether there are clear interference getting in the way of this memory.  This then leads me on to my next point to why we don’t remember…

-Interference

My diagrams mentions smell,sound and dreams. I know our senses help us remember things however, sometimes this smell or sound may act as a distraction to our memory.  Have you ever tried remembering something and you can’t pin point the memory only a smell may trigger aspects or music or sounds may be blocking out the main memory.  I mention dreams because this is a prime example or not being able to remembering. i know that if I’m dreaming and i hear a loud noise as part of my dream but later realise its my alarm going off in reality i try recalling my dream and can only remember this part of it, its the interference of noise in this case as to why i couldn’t remember.  There are also many other factors to why we don’t remember especially in relation to dreams because it’s been explained by psychologist that we are unconscious during dreams where our conscious mind has no control of as this part of the brain isn’t working at that moment.

-Disorders

Memory loss or memory malfunction is common in most brain disorders.  Amnesia is the loss of consciousness however short termly, usually contracted from a serious accident like for example in The Bourne Identity film. Alzheimer’s is where there is a loss of short term memory, usually in those of old age, 85% of over 50 year old however retain portions of their long term memory.  The other disorders are some which affect the brain and ability to perform everyday normal activities in terms of movement, and social communication skills.

 I mentioned the disorder Viral Encephalitis because i found a surreal article on a girl who forgot 18 years of her life to the extent where she couldn’t remember how to eat an apple, she didn’t know she smoked and what her friends looked like.  This disease effected the brain causing it to swell resulting in a seizure and collapsing into a coma for three weeks. I felt this story was so unreal and made me as a reader understand the importance of memory and how it actually makes us who we are.

-Alcohol/Drugs

The exsessive use of alcohol can cause temporal blackouts, which effects our memory temporarily, we do it to ourselves for relaxation or to elevate stress. Blackouts can be very troubling in terms of memory because the most unforgettable occurrence are almost impossible to recall. However cannabis and other hard drugs have a long lasting effect on memory through time. 

-Age

During the stages of development from a child to an adult, we can analyse development from a young age.  Memories form from an early age however a child’s ability to remember to do things may be very limited as opposed to an adults. A child is not able to remember things that predate their ability to put into language, memories need to be encoded into language before a child can remember.  Memories in adults can deteriorate over time, it’s common in many old people, they tend to forget things more often this could be down to the brains functions slowing down.

All of the above our factors i think lead us to not remembering things I looked I have decided to focus on one factor I feel I could portray in my artefact through photography to represent an aspect of memory. I believe the alcohol idea will be the simplest yet stronger idea to produce in photography thus I will research around the ideas of alcohol and how i could create meaning depicting it through photography.

Analysis November 11, 2008

Analysis

Initially i wanted to develop my ideas in relation to the senses however couldn’t think of a way i would produce and artefact on it, thus i focused on memory and the remembering and not remember process.

We remember through rehearsal, and retrieval; recalling and recognising something through cues or a  presentation of information. However we go through a phase of deletion where there is a decay or interference in the memory we have encoded.  Emotional factors is another issue that could lead to why we don’t remember something because we repress our feelings into a stage of repression.

Through this i have made my own diagram where i feel i used the factors and issues of why we don’t remember something.

 

Other Ways of Remembering November 11, 2008

Other Ways of Remembering

I looked closely at senses, because if we couldn’t see, hear, smell, touch, and taste how would we have any memory.  Think back to a memory you have, and think to yourself why did you just remember that. Ever smell something and it reminds you of someone or something.  We know what food we like because we REMEMBER the taste of that particular dish.

Moving on i found some interesting facts on our senses and memory. The most strongest sense in relation to memory is the sense of smell.  This is because olfactory receptors for smell stimulate impulses to the directly to the brain.  Smell has been proved to be more long lasting in relation to memory as opposed to sight because smell is long term and has long lasting impressions, this is why smell links to memory.

In addition to this i found that women recall smells more than men:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1796447.stm

Memory Artefact Research November 9, 2008

Memory Artefact Research

There are certain aspects of memory I want to focus closely on in relation to the memory project topic.
This can be the structures of memory including the particular types, whether it’s sensory, short-term and long-term memory.  Referring back to a particular diagram i found it describes how we remember through declarative, procedural, semantic and episodic memory. This then lead me to look into the thought of WHY WE DON’T REMEMBER because it focused on the ways in which we remember.

Thoughts November 9, 2008

Thoughts

Moving on from the techniques of portraying memory in an artefact i feel to construct an idea i need to research further in to memory itself, focusing on the types of memory or causes of memory.  I believe this would be a significant way for me to compile ideas for my memory artefact.

Example November 5, 2008

Example

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL7TEKbBnCU

This video shows the dead people through faint imagery appearing like smoke which is a evident technique which could represent memory as it does in this advert, representing the memory of those teenagers who didn’t look and crossed the road ending in a fatality.

Photography November 5, 2008

Photography

I was happy on the thought of producing my work through photography because feel a photograph is memory within itself, people remember their birthday party 4 years ago through the pictures that were taken on the day, people can also remember their night out when they got drunk, their wedding, when they were on holiday, when they were young and the list goes on.  A photograph captures that memory and is used as a tool to remember. 

This leads me to think about how i will produce my artefact, i would like the outcome to relate to finding out something when you put the set of images together like making the memory make sense, maybe taking images in a backward motion then the viewer can understand the piece once they are at the end of the sequence.  Its like movies when they show your the end before the beginning.

This is just a basic idea, some initials thought on how i want it to look.  An example of what the images could consist of is a family happy having lots of fun with many and people friends and as the sequence of images progresses the person is left alone taking away each person maybe showing the memory of someone has aged and they have now lost everything in their life and people eventually die around them.  This can link into the saying in loving memory, we all remember the dead in this way and is quite a strong aspect of our memory and key to our lives.
This is just a quick idea i feel it may seem too much like an advert, especially the cancer and think advertisement warning of people to be careful on the roads and not smoke as it causes cancer etc.  Although it reminds me of this its good because it gets me thinking about other forms of media that use memory and these adverts are significant to this topic they way it uses memory and death.

 

Thought Process November 5, 2008

Thought Process

Constructing an idea around the them memory seemed to be one of the hardest for me because memory was something that has been done, in film is evident in document and to create an image of it for me seem hard to grasp and and audio piece on memory never even made a light bulb switch on in my head.

From looking closely at photography in class with Paul Smith’s digital photography work, i started weighing up the possible topics or issues in relation to memory i could easily depict in a set of images over two weeks as opposed to video or audio.  The Herbert Gallery inspired me to do photography especially looking closely at Nan Goldin’s work with the image of transsexuals on a bicycle.  I also took into the account that her images linked to her life experiences, where she had been on the road a lot and bumped into the different kinds of people and saw this as the moment to document something quite controversial where she captured sexuality, drugs and grunge which this in turn acts a vivid piece of her memory life.

 

Jimmy Paulette on David Armstrong’s bike, New York City