Storyboard Workshop

             Another interesting workshop which I attended was the Storyboard workshop with Deborah Truck again. Here are some of the tips which I acknowledged from these sessions:

• ·         Drawing is not the most important skill when you have to create a storyboard although most people think likewise. Far more valuable could be some initial filmmaking, av and photography knowledge which would enrich the creator’s imagination for shot setting.
• ·         The drawing skills which are required from a storyboard artist are only basic and could be developed by drawing more and more storyboards.
• ·         Storyboards usually do not include details of the interior since their main role is to illustrate the type of shot, not the props list. The drawings also do not include parts of the script, only abbreviation of the type of shot used (MS – medium shot) and the transition from the previous shot (cut to).
• ·         However an exception could be if you’re a filmmaker who is responsible for most of the key roles of his video (storyboard, filming, audio, etc). In this case you could add some information to the storyboard, such as notes, audio used, second for a shot, text, included in the shot, etc. in order order to schedule your vision for the different components of the final project and to safe time.

Guest Speaker: Photographer Pal Hansen

              One of the guest speakers during the first term was the NTU graduated photographer Pal Hansen. He is now a professional photographer who works mostly for magazines like The New Review. He presented some of his series of photographs on the topics Rasta people, Village people, Jewish family, Teen parents, Oslo to Utøya journey, etc (Not sure if I’m mentioning them with the official names of the projects, but the way he stated them during presentation).

               Anyway, the greatest part of the lecture included his recent work for magazines which was quite impressive. He revealed part of his muse comes from the idea to present  ordinary objects in an off-beat way punctuating the model’s personality. Besides, I was impressed by the way he is collaborating clothes, background patterns and art object in his photographs. 
               Due to my active assistance in some student photography projects, I noticed that these artist are usually building their desire impact by adding drama with black and white photography. Unlike the Bulgarian photographs’ I’ve been working with, Pal Hansen’s attitude about bright color possession in photography is bold and considered as an accent. Here I’m posting a small comparison of two photographs on the same topics (Portraits involving objects of interest). One is made by Pal Hansen and the model is Sir Peter Blake and the other is made by Kristina Kantcheva (Bulgarian photographer and a good friend of mine) while I’m modeling. 

References:

Hansen, P., 2012. n.d. [digital image]. Paul Hansen. Available at: http://www.palhansen.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=26&limit=15&limitstart=75 [Accessed 07.01.2014]

Camera Workshop

                    One of our first workshops in the university was the camera workshop with Deborah Truck. During this 3 week adventure we passed through a basic introduction of the camera functions and terms in filmmaking.

                    During this workshop our special focus was on the specifics of interview shooting. Here an illustration of the typical positions of the interviewer and the interviewee. Usually, the interviewee looks in the interviewer who is left out of the shot.

                     Another essential part of interview shooting is the choice of moving images, picture illustrations expressing the questions or the answers which are called cutaways.  For example a cutaway could be a shot of the interviewee who is running in the street while he is answering a question about ho he keeps in fit. These images and videos could also cover some gaffes if they appear on the background or with the interviewee without the voice answer to be interrupted.
                     However, yet another valuable part of the interview’s impact is the choice of the background. It should be interesting, related to the topic, but at the same time to not capture observers’ attention too much in order to follow the interviewee’s thoughts. The background should also be carefully collaborated with the interviewee’s clothes. Mostly, it’s not recommendable the clothes to be black unless the background is bright enough for them to stand out. Here’s a good example of an exception of this rule where the black clothes are forming a great collaboration with the background.

 

                      The development of appropriate questions for your interview is also very important while creating the perfect interview. They should be open in order to require the interviewee to be more wordy. The preparation for the interview should also include a talk with the interview and his integration in the topics of the prepared questions but it’s avoidable to reveal the concrete question before the interview. Though, his answered would be planned and unspontaneous. The interviewee is also most likely required to include the question in the answer. This saves some time for adding cutaways instead of the text of the questions on the one-color background which is quite boring.

                      All things considered, our group of students filmed an interview which I hope I’ll find out soon and add some comments about our mistakes during it.

Creatives Guide to Nottngham - some critics

           Creatives Guide to Nottingham was our first collaborative projects set during our welcome week in Nottingham Trent University. Our groups designed a small guide brochure. Not only was our idea to present our observations and inspirations through the city but to navigate other people which have decided to come to Nottingham. We also outlined a target audience which was young creative and artistic individuals. My participation included the writing of the introduction text  and the creation of the PowerPoint presentation on the project.Here is the final variation which we printed and presented in front of our colleagues.

          In the very beginning I decide not to add a post about this project and to wait a few months after the start of my MA. Thus, I’d be able to add a more critical review of our work. And here are some of corrections which I would add:

·               It could be more specific – In our attempts to cover as large territory as possible we’d lost our intersection with the target audience.  Our categories in the guide are Introduction, Art and Culture, Bookshops, Coffee House, Local Fashion and Nottingham Dialect which turns it into a normal guide for the mass audience. We’ve added few information for various niches instead of developing one concrete conception. Now, as I’m already involved in our target audience surroundings , I would propose the guide to be based on only on placed which young creative could observe but some activities which they could really be involved in. Though a better idea is our guide to propose 10 places or events where people could do workshops or ask for a practice period. This would have also made our exploration a lot more useful.

·               Another part of the guide which could be more refined and extraordinary is the outlook of the brochure. The fold is quite typical and the only colorful tool of impact is the text which in my opinion isn’t enough to capture the artists’ attention. However, the illustration on the front is interesting and creative and I can congratulate one of our colleagues for drawing it.

·               Finally, the chosen words for the title and text inside were also a little weak. The whole idea of branding the creative part of Nottingham cannot reach the audience without a names which could immediately grab their sight. And the “Creatives Guide to Nottingham” text could act as a smaller interpretation sentence.

Carcass - knowledge acquired

       Carcass was a 4-week long project which enabled us to get up to speed for our main project during our MA phase of education. Although it was considered only as a starter, during this period I managed to gain much useful knowledge in the pre-production field which I’ll try to sum up in the next few paragraphs:

        During the project we were required to draw the set which was essential while acquiring our initial draughting skills. Draughting sets as a part of the designer’s work could be improved mainly by many practice on illustrating different rooms and halls. The more you draught, the better you become. A key role to the white paper work is also added by the knowing of some key terms.

·            The elevation is a drawing which shows the look of the walls in the different sets. For a normal square room the extended elevation would look like a rectangular from the four continuously running walls with separated with a line on each corner. There could be different elevations depending on the complexity of the shapes which are illustrated on each wall. There should be no furniture and any items on the elevations unless its part of the walls. Elevations could be from one side, front, extended or section in terms of which enable the designers idea to be understood more easily. One example for that could be if the walls are covered by one color, striped or simple shaped wallpapers. In this case an extended elevation is enough to illustrate their outlook. On the other hand, if there is a complicated shape or drawing on the walls there should be separated zoomed elevation for this particular wall in order to allow the depict even the smallest details.

·             The set plans represents the sets looked from the top. There are two types of set plan – with and without furniture. The set plan without furniture is drawn on the same sheet as the elevation because  the walls on the set plan are marked with the same letters on the elevation. And the other set plans with furniture are drawn on the studio plan. While draughting a set plan it’s important to think of the possible camera position and to leave enough space for cameras (3 squared meters). Plans always include door, which has to be drawn open in order to mark the space they will take. It’s also very important every piece of paper to include a box with the name of the production, name of the company, the location, director’s name, designer’s name and contacts, the scale and the drawing title (examples : “Studio plan Pinewood D”, “Jim’s flat – set plan and elevations”, etc.)

·              Another obtained skill during this short project concern the script breackdown.  This process basically includes the coloring of the script paper while marking the different elements. The elements include parts of the day of each scene (night scenes in one color, day scenes in other), all the props in a different color, names of the characters in another color, etc. Thus, a script also could give an idea of some of the required props for a production and their type. Which the active props (involved in the characters actions),the dress props (part of the background) and the prop makes (which should be made especially for the production) would be. The other props which aren’t mentioned in the scenery should be written in a piece of paper divided into the rooms they’d be possessed
                 As a part of our educational enrichment were also some initial product design skills, acquired while drawing our own ideas for prop makes (*different types of props were also some of the new terms). In the beginning I had missed to add dimension but afterwards in my feedback I met  the their requirement.
                  Finally, another useful outcome of this project was that we came across some computer programmes which could be very useful in the field of set design such as AutoCad, 3D max, ect, which we could start to build our skills on.

Some mini-book pages

           The mini book which is planned to be part of my portfolio is now still a draft, because some of the visuals still don't look quite professional. During the working process, I plan to replace the hand-made set plans with some with are made on Autocad, to develop the visuals on Photoshop and add dimensions and more angles on the prop makes. Anyway, here I'm posting some of the draft pages of the book to present the main outlook which I'll follow.

The Cover

As I already mention, I designed a whole visual frame of Carcass story which will be converted into a mini-book, including all analysis and work made by me during this project. Here's the cover on which you can see the logo, the author of the script. In order to imitate a real film cover I've also added my name for the different roles of the step-by-step process.

Design - Carcass

              "Carcass" added much knowledge to my CV collaborating product design, set design, fine art, film knowledge and even architecture. That first bigger project for the student year was such an adventure that inspired me to come up with a unique visual frame which once again tested my Photoshop skills and took me hours of standing in front of the PC. I decided to write a bit more precisely revealing the steps some of the visuals are create in order to make the articles more educational. Thus, as an advertiser I know that the most important part of each product creation is its visual equivalent - the logo.

                  This is the logo. The bright blue Carcass inscription is the main logo of the screenplay and the other inscription - Step-by-Step - marks the working process which I'd passed through. The main logo represents a pulse extending the letters. That pulse is actually the spirit of the main character - Lucy - which haven't given up to search for nature and spirituality although the artificial technical world she lives in. So the main idea of the logo spreads the two main sides of the confrontation in the script - the dead body (carcass) and the sparkling pulse, surviving in it. While creating it in Photoshop I used 2 different layers - one for the inscription "Carcass" and the other on which made a line imitating pulse with the Line tool. Afterwards. I merged the layer and then added this specific effect from Filter/Stylize/Wind.
Here you can watch a tutorial for creating a similar effect:

Sketches/ Visuals of interior sets

             The colored sketches of sets are very important in terms of representing an actual concept of designer's perception. Unfortunately due to my limited ability to draw and stain on computer programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator, the following images have been drawn on a piece of paper by pencil and afterwards colored with crayons. Each picture will include a short comment about the solutions taken during the drawing process.

The Stimulation bar              

The description of stimulation bar includes- "riot of muted colors'',"simply, soft, ...furnishings", "mahogany table". It is really easy to imagine from that drawing but my Stimulation bar is actually a very dark place based on the concept of stimulation.Two of the opposite walls are painted with soft dark brown and the other two are blue, stimulating an imaginary space into which each "table" is representing a different planet by an inserted in the walls sofas and music sounds. Characters have chosen to sits on the table which actually which stimulates The Earth which matches with the idea of "the low tones of the sea washing up against a beach". The bar is also stimulated of its built in the wall form and the lack of space for bar tenders. There's just a great form of a glass made from lights (one proper solution could be tubes painted with lighting paint because they will look more muted than directly using fluorescent lamps). The floor will illustrate the "riot of muted colors" with moving outlines of psychedelic forms on a brown background. The restricted light coming from the stars and planets on the walls as well as few small lamps on the bar wall will allow these moving objects to bulge as a focus in the hall.

Lucy's Flat

Lucy's flat is a small but arty space due to our group conclusion during the discussions of the project. As you will later see on the set plans, it is a half dome which costs some restrictions in teems of furniture possession. For that reason I decided to mix the presence of a bed, a sofa and a table by adding a convertible sofa and hole on the floor from which a table would come out if possible. On the script there's no process which requires a table in the scenes in Lucy's apartment so it is just an "in case" addition. However, here comes the "arty" part of the set which include the bright sofa color and the futuristic painting on the wall. One of the possible solutions for the painting material is also using fluorescent lamps in order to look enough futuristic.

Jim's Flat

As a comparison to Lucy's, Jim's look quite "grey" and toneless. The used colors are brown and grey. The floor with a very thin flat carpet. The wall are covered by metal tile which can be turned into a window mode. The shape consists of two oval and two straight angles because it's inside of a lot bigger dome and is on the lower floors of it. The size and form of the room allow furniture so I decided to add one commode and a shelf on the angle. The commode isn't actually required because most of the object are screen and 3D projected but at least is a space where the character could put his devices. I've also added a cup on the table to bring a little vitality to the room. 

Exterior location and adaptation

            One of the requirements for the project was a photo of exterior location which could be famous or local (taken by us). I chose the Armadillo (The Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow) for a couple of reasons. 

Anon., n.d., n.d. [digital image].
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow

• It has a similar shape to a dome so it fits to my concept of the story;
•  The construction looks very stable. It may not be approved as Martian building after careful consideration of architects but the building has the look which could convince the unacquainted observer eye of its safety;
•  The night lights in front of The Armadillo which actually make it looks quite Martian had already mislead me that the building is perfect for my exterior location.

Adaptation

             

                    Normally, as part of a production, each exterior location has to be adapted in order to play an appropriate role in the scene. As I already mentioned, in my opinion that building already looks quite Martian in my eyes so the main part of my adaptation includes green screen which would be put behind it. In addition, to fit in the scenery its front windows will be covered with metal plane due to the fact that my story draws a world which do not include windows. All the view from inside have been replaced with screen simulations (as the script also suggest by using the term "window mode"). Here I'm posting a drawn variation of the already adapted Clyde Auditorium. The sketch also presents my view of possible advertising forms on part which includes sign which moving commercial videos and 3D projections of moving images of promoters holding the advertised products.

Prop design - Perscom

The device has been inspired by new technology mobile phones. It is simple, one shaped because of the low evolution level which I already mention but at the same time its irregular form attaches a futuristic  effect. Thus, my imaginary Perscom represents 5 same 6-angle flat parts connected in one device, each of which performs a different 3D image. The image comes from the top angle where there is a small hole. I’ve drawn a variation of the screen look when it is turned on with a butterfly on it. The different part can also be divided so that the character easily to play each of the images. Again posting some influenced pictures previously found on the internet.

WDCore Editorial [pseud], 2011,
Blackberry Empathy Concept [digital image]. n.d. Available at:
 http://www.webdesigncore.com/2011/07/18/30-futuristic-phones-we-wish-were-real/
[Accessed 18 July 2011]

reproductive orphan [pseud], 2012, Dual Touchscreen [digital image],
n.d. Available at: http://listsalad.com/objects/5-greatest-futuristic-smartphones/
[Accessed 18 December 2012]

Thus, this is my idea of Perscom, shown in one part, upper and down sides, and outspread:

Prop design - Silver key

          The Silver key is actually part of Lucy’s imagination so I decided to use a collaboration of styles to illustrate it. Its nozzle (similar to a USB device) is a sign of the technological world in which the characters are living because Lucy may be imagining beyond the reality but at the same time she’s part of it. The screws are inspired by steam punk stylistics – the forms and curves are elaborated. Besides they often are reminding of a surreal and fantastic but at the same time of something old and already experienced. The two added holders on the left and on the right also refer to the old classical vintage key shapes. In brief the key model is a mix of futuristic, oldschool futuristic and vintage. Here I’ve posted some of the models I was using during the creation process of my silver key. 

Rose, L., 2009. Futuristic key - maybe makes you able to fly?
[digital image]. n.d. Available at:
http://www.fashion-illustration.eu/2009/11/key-o

f-space-and-time.html
[Accessed 30 November 2009 ]

Luxury, N., n.d. Futuristic key [digital image]. Getty Images. Available at:
 http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/futuristic-key-royalty-free-image/96251971
[Accessed n.d.]

n.d., n.d. Power Key - DrPanda Survivor ORG Wiki [digital image]. n.d.
Available at: http://dict.space.4goo.net/dict?q=key
[Accessed n.d.]

And this is my imaginary silver key, drawn following the rules of product design with real dimension - upper, down and sided view:

Storyboard - analysis and drawing

             The Storyboard drawing was one of my favourite parts. Due to my previous experience in terms of shot marking and script analyzes I managed to create one good standart (except the drawing level)12 shots storyboard on a 3A format sketch book which needed couple of small corrections . The storyboard is illustrating the conversation between Lucy and Jim in Jim’s flat which I classified as the fifth scene of the screenplay after Lucy’s dream, Lucy’s waking up, the exterior scene with the key and the Communication booth scene. I chose that scene in particular because of its importance of the whole story. Before that fifth action the contradictions of the main character had been only cursorily hinted behind the signs of the lively dream, the tear and the silver key. By way of contrast, on the storyboarded scene the female character for first time shows her inner conflict by involving the other main character – Jim in it. Thus, here we have 2 opposite sides of life. Jim who lives in peace with the similar recurring forms of reality, using every time the few possible clips which are the options and on the other hand, there is the burning rebel heart of Lucy who wants to leave beyond the framed same old reality. In fact, this part of the story delineates a whimsical portrait of the characters and an everlasting context of each epoch. However, in this scene in this there could also be noticed a collision of three very strong feelings – passion, anxiety and apathy outlining a absorbing collaboration which could be shown in the movement of the characters and their look in front of the camera.

Constructions

Novak, M., 2007. n.d. [digital image]. Blogspot. available at:
http://paleo-future.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/mars-and-beyond-1957.html
[Accessed 28 February 2007]

               After illustrating my people's daily life on the red planet, on of the first task which suddenly appeared was their possible construction of building. This forms will be essential during the technical draughting of the sets. However, most of the research for future living constructions on Mars include multi-box flat structures, domes and some go a lot further beyond the imagination drawing high narrow buildings made of mixed oval and square shapes with sharp tops. I led my decision choosing domes, despite their disadvantages in terms of fitting furniture in oval halls, to the fact that they are very typical and even with their simple shapes they often automatically linked in observers associative mind with either Eskimos or spacecrafts. Thus, multi-box structures aren't quite representative and are often often used for most of the buildings on Earth. On the other hand,the third variation seems way too complicated in evolution level which is inappropriate because action encompass the first years of human settlement on Mars.

Bruce, W., 2010. n.d. [digital image]. Blogspot. Available at:
http://appliedimpossibilies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/building-first-generation-of-buildings.html
[Accessed 28 October 2010]

Infinite3dfx [pseud.], n.d.. Martian City [digital image]. Turbosquid. Available at:http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/284415

[Accessed 2 Novermber 2005]

The story

       
           The Carcass screenplay at first seemed a bit unclear to me so as an artist I decided to add some narration to the story which could explain characters’ behavior. I researched some Science fiction subgenres while concluding which direction is the most appropriate in my point of view. The main idea was to present the story in way similar to our current presence but at the same time as a part of a totally different reality. For that reason, I decide to exaggerate some current fears about the futuristic computer society by sending my characters on a Mars and creating their “robot” society there with a total lack of nature. Later on, I found out that there’s already much information about eventual Mars human settlement one of which is planned for year 2023 and there are already more than 200 000 applicants for it. This massive project is sponsored  by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp and proposes some structures and possible solutions which were quite useful, but this will take part in the next post. However, I decided to include this story in the background as a unsuccessful despite the high interest and in my opinion it’s most likely to turn into a failure for two main reasons. First of all, it’s part of people’s behavior to lose interest after they get what they wanted. Now it may sound as the highest possible point of an adventure, but later when they alight on the red planet, everything would look completely different. On the other hand, if you imagine just for a second having the same old view while looking through the windows wherever you are, won’t be quite hard to realize how monotonous would it actually be. Though, my story starts after the flop of this first expedition when the characters has been sent as part a special second expedition which does not consist of so transparent action. People have been secretly injected a liquid which cost their loss of memory and are enabled to express any complaints and organize riots about their eventual returning to Earth. Thus, this prevent step is taken to avoid any other unsuccessful expedition which had already cost a great financial losses.

Al Khan, M., 2014. "Dubai resident shortlisted from more than 20,000 people for Mars One mission"[online] Available at: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/science/dubai-resident-shortlisted-from-more-than-20-000-people-for-mars-one-mission [Accessed 5th Jan 2014]

Design For Carcass

            Our first designer student work includes a set design for the short film script "Carcass". The greatest advantage of the whole project is our freedom of creativity. The lack of frame in terms of period and style requirements of the design gives us the freedom to rely on our own imagination. The only point we should follow is to present the narration in a futuristic way.  Looking through the script in depth I decided to create my own schedule during the design process departing it to 4 week paths.

           1^st Week: Developing a story for the story; Storyboarding & initial script work
The characters of the story are expressing strong feelings and emotions which differs them from each other but nowhere does the author mention details about the world around them and their reason to behave the way they do. I decided to come up with a background story to order the missing pieces of the puzzle while at the same time clearing my own attitude about the characters. In addition, some basic script work was done too.

           2^nd Week:  Research and Prop visuals

Through the second week I focused my research on constructions, forms and shapes suitable for the appended narration. The analyzed information was also vital for my first drawing work on some prop visualizations.

           3^rd Week:  Draughting, Drawing and again Draughting

This third path was the most exhausting part of the whole process. Draughting different sketch plans and imagining the cameras movement has to be quite precise which makes it usually taking hours in front of the paper or on the computer.  Visual drawings of some parts of the sets are also essential because of the required details for that illustrations. Basically, this period compassed most of the technical part of set designer’s job - drawing working sketches, sketch elevations and some set visuals.
           4^th Week:  Design for a Book, a Presentation and a White model.

Last week passed through a Photoshop trainings . A work-in-progress book was required so designing its templates took quite a lot of time. Thus, creating and formatting the final PowerPoint presentation of the whole process and a white model of a set which was also some activities left for the final stage.

Volunteering for Embody Art Performance

The dance performer which was broadcasted on a large screen installation.

              Practice is an important part of every educational process, especially when we talk about creative courses in the field of photography, design, film, etc. While books and articles teach you some essential rules already delineated by the best professionals before you, the real involvement in a production could not only combine and maximize your scope of theoretical knowledge but also underpin the bases of your own style and its influence on the contemporary forms of art. For this reason, as a design student, the first thing on my MA activity list was to take action. This happened to be my volunteering period in Embody - an MA student collaboration with Dance4, part of the October dance festival. Producers of this event were Ali Northcott who is a current MA student and Becky Bailey, assistant producer in Dance 4. The performance consisted of dark 3 rooms through which the observer should pass through by taking off his shoes on the entrance. One of the rooms was completely dark, the second one had a big screen built on one of the walls and the third one had lamps. On the screen was projected the dance of the artist from the picture above and there was an female actor which participated in the action from the third room. There was one participant allowed in each performance and afterwards it was repeated with again with the next guest. This performance stimulated the participant to experience a unique connection between an artist and art forms.
             Throughout my assistance in that performance I was still far from  determining my future contribution to the design scene but I managed to gather some initial tips which could be useful for every future artist without experience while planning a similar low budget event:

1.              1. The team consists of 3 groups of people –producers, technicians and volunteers. Producers (can be one or more) are responsible for the whole performance and how it should look like which basically includes everything – idea, set design, order, stage costume, performance schedule, etc. They are the bosses and they conduct the rules starting from the writing and inventing of the scenery and end with the realization. Technicians build the set structure – lighting, installations and stage or in other words all the technical work. And finally volunteers which can play a very essential role during the realization and the presentation of the story. They are most often students who are taking a related subject at the university so they need to acquire experience before they could apply for future job, so they desperately need to get involved in anything practical enriching their CVs. On the other hand, volunteers can be more helpful than a producer would expect. In my case we did technicians assist, acting in the performance, cutting and sewing some props, shopping, cleaning and many roles as part of the backstage support.

2.           2. Don’t reject any help. As I already mentioned – there is quite a lot of work to be done so never reject some assist from volunteer, especially for the backstage support. It’s hard to calculate exactly how many people will be needed before the very last minute. Our team consisted of around 7-8 people including the producers, but always keep in mind that unpredicted circumstances can occur.

         3.Avoid confusing the observer. Producers should always imagine how an observer will see their performance, in particular when it requires the spectator to be in an active role (so he becomes a participant). The more objects you use, the harder it gets for him to use them  especially when you expect him to do it in a current way. So, my point is that a producer should always use signs to display how he is expecting his project to be performed. I can depict this rule with an example from Embody. The final room of the performance had 3 doors  and some of the people were opening the wrong one and entered the backstage which was quite awkward for all of us. It probably wouldn’t have happened if there was a sign showing the way out. However, these circumstances could rarely be predicted and sometimes it’s hard to illustrate participant’s desired movement using signs compatible with the interior design and the atmosphere of the presentation.

My role as an assistant

• I was responsible for the initial shopping of props including safety pins, flannels, towels,etc.
• Preparation of the art space (The Bohunk Gallery) for the performance - cleaning, building the sets.
• During the performance I took the position of a curtain manager. My work was to hold the curtain while the actor passes through them (4 or 5 times for each participant) without revealing anything from the backstage.

Some comments about The DreamWorks effect article

          The article about DreamWorks discusses the opportunities represented by one of the late 1990s digital post-production techniques - computed-generated imagery (CGI). Except the innovation method of creating artificial reality, it also allows the budget limitations to be concealed by creating great attention on set details without the demand of high-priced décor tools. So basically that technique supports one of the points considered as most significant through my project – modern technologies could obliterate the obvious contrast between the financial resources of two productions.  Though, this method looks like a good strategy to improve some of the smallest costume details in terms of contemporary design technique and could be used for production which require clothing from other historical periods which have their elements such as collars, buttons, corsets, laces, etc.

           The significance of television and film media which differs that type of performance from the other such as concert, exhibition, etc, is the higher budget. Even the low budget movies, tv programmes and commercials have to have a lot higher financial investment than for example a low budget concert.  This innovational computer application could allow even individual graphic designer to work with it in home conditions. Actually, CGI reveals some new understandings about budget as a part production design and its amount restrictions.

Anon., 2013. Computer-generated imagery. Wikipedia [online] available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-generated_imagery

A Reflective Diary

Everything starts with an introduction, so:
        Hi! I'm Salina Popova and I plan to base this blog on the main project supporting my MA programme at Nottingham Trent University. I've already succeed in a graduation process so at least I could try to repeat that with a shorter annual cycle of studies. First of all, I can't skip mentioning my daily passions which (most of them) are strongly related to my future plans and the creating of this piece of work. I hope by managing to combine them to achieve some interesting and useful outcome.

         Fashion has been taking an essential part of my heart since I was a little child. It continued its development during the rebellion teenage years while Sex Pistols posters were hanging on the walls and Vivienne Westwood was the inspiration. Under the sound of punk rock I formed my own fashion atittude trying to design unique clothing with save pins, boots, needles and scissors. Through the years by growing up I displaced my focus more on styling and and exploring clothing than design it.

          Event activity is immutable part of my daily routine. I believe that people should meet each other and communicate in the street, in concert, coffee shops, galleries libraries and even in the supermarkets despite online with artificial gestures. My underground music taste led to my attendance of many many many events in the past 10 years, and even before it I was still seeing every live opportunity as a remarkable adventure. This activity is just part of my nature. That’s one of the reasons I succeed in organizing tourist events during one of my part time jobs. I showed up as one of the best party tourist guide and our guests loved me. It was quite a great experience!

           My advertising knowledge was the other tool in my hand of progress. After 3 years of my life dedicated to this ”science” I’ve learnt quite a lot for business development and effective credibitily. Wanted or not, I finally also managed to understood some of the points of internet communication and its helpfulness.  That happened especially during the last university year when we were focused mainly on interactive media and creation of integrated campaigns including apps.