Musical Style: Punk
Profession: Skater
Physical Attributes: 16 y/o solo female. small + belligerent.
Researching the Genre
Billie Eilish
I realised that there is already someone in the music industry who almost completely mirrors the traits of my artist- Billie Eilish. She released her first single at 16 and has traits of being moody and angsty, similarly to my character. I like her modern look and how all of her imagery appears to stay true to her image.
I can see my character having similar characteristics to Billie Eilish, including rarely smiling in photographs and having an air of teen angst.
Lizzie Armanto
To get an idea of what it means to be a professional skater, I looked into a couple of interviews with Birdhouse skater Lizzie Armento. They gave me a good insight into what it means to be a woman in a male dominated sport (like all sports). It also made me realise that skating has become a really big thing recently, especially for women. 2020 will be the first year skateboarding will be including in the olympic games.
She has a really laid back angsty attitude, which is how i imagine my character to be also- although Lizzie Armanto is 24 whereas my character is only 16.
"So you didn’t go to prom?
No. Everyone’s an idiot. Why would I want to spend money to try to be a part of this social scene I don’t give a sh*t about?"
No. Everyone’s an idiot. Why would I want to spend money to try to be a part of this social scene I don’t give a sh*t about?"
The Skate Scene and Social Media
There is a niche in social media at the moment of parodying the south london and nyc skate scene. It focuses on the laid back angsty attitudes of skaters. I think it would be fun to build a character who fits within this parody as it would be a challenge to make a female skater for this stereotype. The parody is created by people within the scene- it's all about making fun of yourself, which seems to be quite a big thing among skaters i know.
I think it could be fun to take away the professional side of the title and make it more of a tongue in cheek approach. She's 16, so maybe she's unemployed, but this is her life, so it's kind of her profession to her.
BUILDING A CHARACTER PROFILE
I have done some thinking both on my own and with friends about my character. I have asked lots of opinions to make her as broad as i can without making someone too easy for me to make up myself. This way I hope she will be more realistic.
Name: Thea Monty
Age: 16
Lives: New Cross, London, with her family.
Occupation: Says she wants to be a "professional skater". Tongue in cheek humour. Spends a lot of time skating with her friends/ watching them skate around peckham and new cross. (she is a parody of the south london skate scene). She does not come from a musical background. Her icon is Lizzie Armento.
Family: Lives with her mother and 2 siblings. Her baby sister, 3 years old, and her younger brother, 14 years old. She also has an older brother who is 23 years old who doesn't live with them anymore. A very normal family set up.
School: she attends a local sixth form in the area. Studies music, art, english and french at A Level. Is not massively interested in her studies. Plans to stop her studies to make her music.
Planning a shoot:
Below is a moodboard i created after looking at imagery from modern London punk bands and artists such as Billie Eilish. I like the concept of involving a lot of colour and an some edgy styling to make the the image fun and not too dark and serious. As my character is so young i think all the imagery should come across as playful and flirty instead of mature and serious.
I want to make these images useful for my own portfolio, so i am also incorporating my own laid back style- meaning nothing will be too polished. I think this reflects the character well too.
I was lucky enough to be offered the perfect model from Leni's Model Management. She has the perfect look for my shoot so I have arranged a shoot with her on Friday 26th April. I have decided to jump into planning a shoot quickly and work on the profile of my character in the meantime. I also plan to shoot again with another model from PRM to have some choice between the images.
I went walking around south london where there is a big street skating scene to look for a good location to shoot. I found this colourful wall in Copeland Park next to Bussey Building in Peckham Rye. I think this location suits my character well as I imagine her living locally in south london.
Call sheet:
Makeup and styling will be a big part of making this shoot come together. I'm thinking of this as the "after" shoot as the area has the potential to look quite edgy and punkish in the images. I created a makeup moodboard for my mua to follow. I didn't want any heavy makeup because i think it would take away from the carefree attitude of my character. I want it to look like she's done it herself.
Willy Vanderpere for Love Magazine
THE SHOOT 26/04
On the day of the shoot the weather wasn't great at all. It was raining, windy and cloudy AND sunny. So the conditions were really dynamic and the lighting was constantly changing. I decided to combat this on the day by using flash. The idea came to be after seeing Willy Vanderperre's editorial for Love magazine a few years ago, where he used flash and a red gel whilst shooting on location. (see above)
I shot on my canon 70d and kit lens. I wanted to keep it low key and not super hi res. I like how when you zoom into the pics theyre not all super clear.
Evaluation:
This shoot turned out different to how I expected because of the changing weather, but I am over all happy wiht the outcomes. I have many different outcomes from the shoot which is definitely a positive. This means I can work backwards from the outcomes I have in this shoot to create my "before" image. I like how the images against the coloured background look so perfectly styled, they are super soft and I think they really capture my character's teen moodiness. I think this image will appeal to a wide audience too. Whereas I also have the brightly contrasted flash images which are I think really impactful too. I think the flash images are a bit more niche and maybe wouldn't appeal straight away to a really wide audience, but I think these images are more arresting photographically.
Fashion Film research
I wanted to look into how different brands create interviews for their collections etc to inspire a creative way to execute the interview side of the project. I have little to no experience with film, and therefore i want to keep it very simple with a homemade feel as to not make it pretentious.
Below are some examples of what i found interesting:
This interview is conducted in a visually abstract way which i found really inspiring for my own work. I like how the crops are very close and you're not always sure what you are looking at.
I also like the idea of conducting the interview like a magazine would. Without audible recordings. I think there is something interesting and charming about seeing speech written down in words, with all the ums and buts and likes. After some research, i realised this has been done before by Glen Luchford and Gucci.
I find this film really arresting because of the abstract nature. Nothing distracts in this film, even the clothes do not distract from the essence of the film. I like the constant movement and fast paced feeling it has.
2ND SHOOT
I decided to shoot the before image in the same location to give the whole project a little bit of narrative. I think as the styling is changing so drastically it will be easier to follow if the location stays the same. I am shooting the same model, but changing up the styling and hair.
To create a transition i have decided to work backwards from the first shoot. I want to create something quite opposite to show her growth as an artist.
EVALUATION
To create this shoot I tried working backwards from the first shoot to create something that looks visually different but leaves the audience with the same feeling. I want them to know it is the same character, but I do want to present a transformation. I might use the images on the stairs for the final image because it is the most different from the first set of images. However, I think the close-ups are more powerful images, so I may experiment with printing a few and see which have the most impact in print.
before:
This is subtle in it's translation of Thea Monty. I like this because I believe it's very true to her character. She is not a caricature or a stereotype, she can be a chameleon and understands fashion is just an expression. It can change.
This is the more obvious choice for the "before" image. I think this translates more obviously than the image above, but this image doesn't have the same power and impact as the one above. I like the idea of complexifying my character so that she does not fit stereotypes as much. I think this image is quite obvious and therefore it becomes boring.
after:
I think this image has a lot of impact because of the low angle, wind and use of flash. For this reason i think it would be an effective album cover. I think it also works well as theres no distraction. The instant grunge look makes it clear what genre Thea is part of and I think the image would stand out as unique against other CD covers/ on itunes and spotify. I like how this image doesn't try too hard. I have had criticism of the abundance of "vaguely urban" background from Matthew, however I believe the background is a key part of the image as it provides a stark contrast, splitting the image into two elements which allows it to stand out.
This is my other choice for a album cover/ after picture. I think this image is more conforming and expected. The colours match well and it is very thought out. I used flash here again but because the background is so similar in colour to the subject it has a different impact. This image has a flatness to it that I'm unsure about. However, I like the image because it's easy to read and will be agreeable to a wider audience. I think this image has more of a pop throw away feel than the one above.
Creating a script
I made a script out of my head after putting myself in the character's shoes. I just wrote down whatever came to my head using Matthew's questions as a prompt.
1. What’s your name and how old are you?
2. Where are you from?
3. What do you do for a living?
4. Why do you want to win this talent competition?
5. What appeals to you about your chosen musical style?
6. How do you think it will change your life?
7. What would you buy with the prize money?
I didn't use all of the questions because i don't feel that they all apply to my character. I wrote in a kind of automatic writing style where i wrote whatever came into my head.
Doing this helped me understand my character better before creating the video too.
Creating the video
To keep in theme with Thea Monty's edgy and laid back attitude, I decided to keep the video a bit homemade and rough. I created it on iMovie so this feeling is authentic. I filmed all the clips during my two days of shooting. I shot hand-held using my dslr and kit lens. The same set up i used to shoot the stills. I think it is important for this all to link visually.
Above are the first and final clips of the video. I tried to start and end on powerful one liners. I want her unique cheeky personality to come through this way. I used the Debbie Harry reference as a subtle nod to Thea's interest in 80s and 90s music. It also gives context to her punk fashion styling.
Choosing the music
Originally I wanted to use a mid 80s/ 90s punk song to keep in the proper theme of Thea's style. I just found the majority were too distracting or didn't fit the tempo of the video properly which really affected the impact of the video. I thought about using this 1988 Blondie remix, as Thea loves Blondie, but I found the lyrics were too loud and clear, and I couldn't find a instrumental version.
I chose this song to use in the background as I wanted something that didn't have loud lyrics that would distract from the subtitles. Although there's lyrics, they're quite subdued and fuzzy, so when watching the video the viewer is more likely to pay attention to the visual rather than the sound. Although it's not punk it seems to fit Thea's mood very well. I found this through looking up music in fashion films, and this piece is by the same artist used in the Gucci campaign above. The two choices are really different, but in the end I think the more subdued nature of the Black Marble piece works better with the tempo of my video.
I have not uploaded the MP4 of the video here as it will get taken down for copyright.
Video Evaluation
This is my first time creating an edited film. for this reason I kept things simple and kept it very true to the stye of my character. As Thea Monty is known for being angsty, difficult and belligerent I imagine she would not allow much time, or be very cooperative, when filming. This is why we filmed very simply and without fuss. I chose to not use any specialist equipment. I filmed hand held with the same camera I used to shoot. This way everything is at the same level of quality and matches up nicely. I like how because of this there is a level of consistency flowing throughout this project. I chose the yellow subtitles partly to stand out against the background, but also as a nod to visual subtitles on TV. As I imagine Thea would not be happy to give a formal interview, I imagine this interview was given without recording, as the shoot was happening. She would not be willing to cooperate to take time for an interview so "the team" collected info as the shoot took place. This was noted down and put into the film. I tried to keep the script subtly humorous without being too tongue-in-cheek. I don't want it to look like a comedy, but the intension of the film is not entirely serious.
GOING TO PRINT
At first I wasnt sure how to present my photographs. I realise that some images look best surrounded with white border padding, but as my images have a lot of impact already due to the use of flash I wasn't sure if it would dampen them a little bit. I decided to test it out in in-design before committing to print to save money.
After testing I've decided that the white borders don't seem to do much for my images. I think this is due to the fact that the white doesn't match anything inside the image. It could look better with a pink or red border, but I don't this will add anything to the image necessarily. I will instead print without the border and present full-bleed images.
I decided to print 3 out of the 4 images. I have not printed the image on the stairs because I don't think it has enough visual impact. I don't want to present a boring photograph.
Below are the two prints I am presenting for hand-in. I chose to print full bleed on jet satin paper. This paper has a slight glossy sheen which enhances the contrast in the second image, helping it look less flat. It enhances the first image by making the glossy makeup look extra shiny and gives an editorial feel.
I decided to use this after image instead of the other one because I feel this one is better suited to the client. It is generally more agreeable and easy to read. I think it gives a good air of teenage rebellion while the punk attitudes come through in the styling. Her facial expression reads well as moody but soft.
Evaluation
This project has taught me how to appropriately respond to a client brief. I feel I've learnt a lot about how in these situations, other people's opinions come before your own. For example, if it were up to me, I would of used the other image as my "after" photo, but I understand that this one is such more approachable, fun, and generally more agreeable than the other one. Meaning that it's more likely that this image will appeal to a wider audience and make more sales. The other image is more niche, and therefore may not attract as many new listeners to the client's music.
I found the project really difficult at times. I found that budget was an issue. I feel that if I'd had budget for props and styling I would have been able to create a more authentic skater character. However I think I did okay on £0 budget, but it means the translation of my character has had to be subtle. To work with my low budget issue I have moulded my character around what was already there. For example, the model self-styled the shoot, as it was too short notice to find a stylist. I decided to just work with her own styling and make that Thea Monty's style. It is true that not ALL skaters dress the same. Especially in 2019 more niche corners are creeping into subcultures, meaning that a lot of new looks are being created. My character has basically been built to defy stereotypes.
One of the hardest thing about this project was the time frame we were given. I found it was really difficult to get enough material on such little research when I was shooting. I usually prefer to do a lot more thorough research before I begin shooting for a project. This is where I think my project potentially falls flat.
I found it a very new experience to shoot video. I haven't ever actually shot moving image and edited it myself, so it was a big learning curve for me. I think the decision of keeping the video low-key was a good one, because it meant I could focus more on the artistic outcome of the video than stress over technicalities that did not fit into our timeframe.
To conclude I found that this project did progress me as a photographer. It continued my learning in working with a client and knowing what a client wants. As I am very into creative direction, it was difficult to balance my own opinions with the imaginary opinions of my client, but in the end I think the project has rounded off well.
