Sequence 5

Over the weekend, I brainstormed some more and reshot my photographs. I decided to shoot on campus in front of a plain wall that makes the colors of my costume stand out and is not distracting. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful and I found the perfect lighting. I set up my tripod and it all went well. I love the way the photographs came out and the movements that can be seen between them. However, I took way too many photographs and had some difficulty selecting the sequence I wanted to include in my book. I still need to edit my photographs but I first want to ensure that they will be compatible with my format and story idea. Now, I am working on fixing the format to make the flip book flow much smoother.

Book draft4.2-11wnldu

Sequence 4

This weekend, I took various photographs of myself dancing. I decided to convert my book into purely self-portraits and I am very excited about it! I did struggle slowing my movements down so that there was not too much motion blur while also being consistent and fluent with my moves. It was quite interesting. I have also never photographed myself dance before so that was a different experience. Since these pictures flowed better than the past ones, my book was much easier to put together. However, I am still struggling with figuring out the pages for the flip book. I have placed them all on one side so that it is easier to visualize but I am working on properly formatting it. I may take out “Getting Ready” and solely focus on the dance. I wish I could have worked on this project over the break but I unfortunately do not own InDesign. I also need to work on my fonts.

Contact Sheet

Book draft3-20rqesa

Sequence 4

After brainstorming and drafting my book, I began to take photographs. Luckily, or at least I thought, I had my recital approaching and I thought I could use that to take all of my photographs for my project. I planned to take photographs of my friends doing their hair and makeup and then using a tripod and timer to take continuous pictures of the performance. However, it did not work out that way. Unfortunately, the day turned stressful very quickly. Many problems lead me to become behind in getting ready. Quickly, I tried to take pictures of others while I tried to take pictures myself. As I attempted to take continuous pictures, she kept stopping trying to help me to the pictures but interrupting the continuity. Furthermore, because of the time constraint, I was unable to set up my tripod and camera so I asked a friend for help. I was able to get a few photographs, but not what I had in mind. Therefore, I intend to attempt to retake these photographs at home over the break.

Now for printing, I have not yet attempted but I anticipate encountering some struggles with printing one sided to create a flip book. I must be careful so that all of my images are printed only on the right side of the page/book.

Sequence: Thumbnails

Drafting my book in InDesign was a lot simpler than I first imagined. Even without my pictures, it was easy for me to visualize the sequence of my book. However, I struggled with truly knowing the number of pages dedicated to each sequence; therefore, the number of pages in this draft is very tentative. Since I am actually photographing the recital and also performing, I worry about be able to dedicate enough time to my photographs so that I may have enough for my project. Luckily, I am able to take more photographs with the group after the performance. I still have more ideas which I did not include in this draft because I believe it will be easier to visualize physically. Such ideas are making my cover pages and sequence divisions a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch larger than the other pages and using thicker paper for these pages. For my entire book, I chose the dimension 5×5 because I believe a smaller book may be easier to flip. I may need to convert to a rectangular shape over a square to make it easy to flip. I believe I will keep my text white or black since it will be placed over photographs. Dance is something I am extremely passionate about and I am very excited to portray this through my project!

Sequence 2

Unfortunately, my initial idea for my final book did not fit the criteria. This led me to be even more confused than I originally was. Therefore, I did more research and a lot more brainstorming. Finally I was inspired with another idea! I would like to create a book depicting a dancer prepping for a recital, performing, and after the recital. I have a few different ideas for the ways I want to put my book together. One idea is a flip book showing her movements throughout the process. This displays sequence because it shows a before, during, and after the performance. Plus, her movements would all flow together. I also plan to show changes in the time of day. If I do a flip book, I may decide to just display her dancing. This would show sequence through her movements, because they would only make sense if put together. Next week, my dance team and I will be having a performance. I planned to use this time to take as many photographs as I can and start piecing together the assignment. I will not be performing all of the dances and plan to use that time to take pictures of those dances. I am very excited for this idea!

Sequence #1

Title Page

Entrance

Campus Map

Fleck

Dedication/foreword

Initially, I was extremely confused about this assignment and struggled with understanding it. After communicating with classmates, my TA, and professors I   came to an understanding and soon ideas began to flow. For my book, I am going to show the treasures found around campus. Personally, I love campus and feel at home here. One of my favorite activities is to walk around campus with my camera and try my best to capture the beauty around me. St. Edward’s never fails to impress me; therefore, I want to try to put photographs of all of my favorite places in a book. As of now, my book is titled “St. Edward’s Treasures” but that it a work in progress. The second page of my book will include a very short dedication/foreword. On the next two pages, I will include a map of the entire campus, while highlighting the spots I will focus on in my book. I will begin with the entrance and work my way into the heart of campus, showing sequence by following the paths. My locations are Fleck, Munday Library, Trustee, the Chapel, a view of the Austin skyline from the hilltop, Main Building, the waterfall, Jo’s, and the courtyard outside of Moody. These are all significant places for me. For now, I plan to dedicate two pages to each location. Depending on the location, I want to incorporate fold-outs, pop-outs, and similar interactive features. For example, I may have a photograph of the outside of a building and then the reason it is my “treasure” underneath a fold. Also, for the skyline, I plan to take a photography during the day and then at night or a gradient. I also plan to use a mix of film and digital photographs, however I am unsure of how I will specifically do that. I have some ideas but I do not know if they will work with the feel of the entire book. At the end, I have six more pages. I plan to use them but I will leave them blank for now. Just in case I am inspired while I am working.

Pre-Sequence

The film I decided to watch was Run Lola Run, a foreign thriller about crime. At the beginning of the film I was very confused about the message, plot, and the cuts to future events. Even though this confused me, I also became increasingly intrigued as the film continued. After Lola was killed the first time and started her day over again, I suddenly connected the scenes and understood what was occurring. The film was showing how one small event can change the chain of events that make up your life. The film emphasized the importance of chronology. For example, there was a boy on a bike asking Lola if she wanted it to buy it during the first time she experiences that day. After she denied him, he was mugged and badly injured, but that led him to find the love of his life. When he asked her during another encounter, she denied him and he went on to make decisions which caused him to become homeless. Another example is the lady Lola runs into when she rushes around the corner. During one encounter, the lady becomes so angry she makes decisions which ruin her life. However towards the end, Lola avoids hitting her and the lady is no longer upset. This causes her to make good choices and she becomes a nun. I really enjoyed seeing the different paths everyone’s lives took depending on their decisions. It was extremely thought provoking. Apart from chronology, another important element of the film were the transitions, especially the scene-to-scene transitions with Lola and Manni. The screen was split into three, displaying shots of Lola running, Manni preparing to rob the store, and the clock ticking down to 12. Along with the music, the tempo of the scene, and the acting, these transitions made the scenes more powerful and truly conveyed the feelings of desperation both characters were feeling. Overall, I believe this film was a powerful example of sequences. It assisted me in putting the lesson into perspective in an entertaining manner.

Harmony 3: Analog & Digital

When I was starting this section of the project, I did not know what I was going to do. I came up with many ideas but I was not satisfied with them. After a while, I looked on Pinterest and found some inspiration yet I was not sure where to start. So I decided to open Photoshop and begin to create something. Once I began working on my ideas, I found myself starting over many times. I struggled with selecting the correct shapes and colors to compliment each other. Eventually I settled on the idea of creating a puzzle with my shoes and cuts. Although I struggled the most with this project, I believe this may have been my favorite project yet. I do need more practice on working with abstract art and finding shapes and colors which compliment each other.

Harmony 2: Digital

This portion of the project was the most interesting and fun for me! At first, I struggled with figuring out where to start and how I wanted to create my collages. I wanted to start simple and work with circles; after a few failed attempt, I finally found the material I wanted to work with. Suddenly it all began to flow. I began to create circles using lines from circular chairs. For my second collage, I wanted to reconstruct a mural of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I decided to separate the elements and then group them together in a totally different form. I really appreciate that the essence of the mural is still evident in the reconstruction. I thought this was a truly educational and entertaining project. This is definitely something I want to continue working on.

Harmony 1

My first attempt of this assignment was interesting, although I do not know how successful it was. As I walked through South Congress looking around for interesting objects, I could not decide where I wanted this project to go. For a street filled with objects, I had a difficult time finding objects for my project. I was thinking too much about it. I picked up the Austin Chronicle and looked inside, I was instantly filled with ideas on how I could use certain images. I continued gathering objects, such as receipts, a shopping bag, a cup, lid, and straw. Once I began scanning and cutting, my idea for the project changed and I was inspired to make Texas and the Austin skyline. My favorite part of my finished collages, is that almost everything in the Austin skyline collage is from Austin or symbolizes Austin. I am extremely proud of my work, as crafts are not my specialty, but I did realize I accidentally left out some of my material from the Gestalt project. I was confused with the instructions but I will definitely make sure those photographs are included in my next phase of the project. This project was enjoyable and very educational!