Styling Evaluation

The styling project has got to be one of the best projects ive ever done and also one of the projects I am most proud of! I have thoroughly enjoyed having free reign over everything and this has been a really fantastic opportunity to experiment with my interests as an individual. Through research I feel I have broadened my knowledge of paintings and discovered exactly what I like and don’t.

I think I have been successful in creating a challenge for myself as I chose a painting that was outdoors and had seven people in it. I have really enjoyed sourcing; being experimental and creative with resources as there was no budget. In total I spent £0.50 on a hat that I sourced at a car boot sale.

This project has enabled me to use and improve a variety of skills from photography to photoshop which has been a rather enjoyable challenge. I think my time planning has improved as I have had to work to a tight time scale and I think this is a really useful skill to have gained. The styling itself has been really fun and I can see myself doing more of this over the summer break. It has revealed that I would like to take on a supervising role next year to improve my CV and this project has been a great start into that field.

This part of the unit has really been more like fun rather than hard work and would recommend to anyone aspiring to be a designer this has been a thoroughly educating experience. 

Film Evaluation

SDP has by far been my favourite unit of the course so far. I have really enjoyed working independently and I have really surprised myself with my time planning. At the start of the project I made sure that I had made an extremely thorough time plan as a guide to follow religiously. I feel that I have been successful with this as I have found myself constantly busy and for once, on top of things!

This unit has been a great experience for me to work in film, something I have always wanted to do. The project was exactly as we were forewarned it would be. One minute you are stuck for things to do and the next minute rushed off your feet without enough hours in the day. This part of the ‘Painting for Inspiration’ project has been fantastic for my professional practice as it has really revealed that this is something I would love to pursue. Although independent throughout, the tutorials with Bunny have been a fantastic help and a great guide. I feel I have learnt a great deal more actively participating in the design process and seeing an entire project through.

Working alongside the Film course has been fantastic getting to know new faces and names. Everyone within Film is very friendly and approachable and I think I can speak for everyone within ‘PFI’ that we were warmly welcomed by them. There is a great sense of teamwork and everyone is willing to help each other out and open to suggestions to improve ideas and develop them. Everyone seems really passionate and extremely hard working which was really inspiring for me.

I was more than happy to have received the ‘Situation Group’ as my film as during the pitch there seemed to be a great team behind it with a lot of brilliant ideas. Working as a collaboration made me learn a lot about team work and it was really nice having another person to confirm things with and luckily Ruby and I worked as a really great team, having very similar ideas about what we wanted. I felt lucky that our director and producer were so welcoming as I have learnt that is not always the case! James was very clear with us throughout and I learned that communication is key, especially when we had so little time to pull it all together.  Working on set was a really exciting time, as we got to see all our hard work from pre production come together in front of us. We learned that patience is a very important part of film, but for me, it was all worth it in the end! Seeing a project through from start to finish has been a really rewarding feeling and I am extremely happy with the final outcome. This unit was a fantastic opportunity to see whether this is something I would like to do full time and has lead on to gaining some fantastic work experience working on a feature film in London this summer.  I can’t wait to see the Film when it is finished and I am really looking forward to hopefully working on the grad films next year. 

Styling Shoot

Overall I think the shoot went well, I am pleased with the final outcome. It was relativly easy on the day as I was able to get hold of most of the props and costume. Unfortunately I was unable to shoot the two boys in the river, as the water was too deep and the tide was down at the scheduled time of my shoot. I chose a spot of the river where there were no boats and there was a bouy that I attempted to position in the right place to represent one of the boys. The final edit is in my sketchbook and here it is up against Seurat, not edited:

The Shoot

Can't believe how quickly its been and gone! The shoot was a great experience and reassured me that film is something I want to pursue. 
It was clear on the day that our role was mainly pre production and everything that had been said about the Film project was true! There has been some waiting around and then all of a sudden a lot of work. The whole concept of 'The Situation Group' was a group of friends on film rather than actors so the atmosphere on set was great as everyone knew what there role was. The biggest lesson learnt was patience. I feel this is the key to working in film! Our job was mainly to keep up with continuity which I really enjoyed. I was expecting to have to drum into them that our role as Costume Designers is important and push to be heard but James was a great director as he always asked us our opinions and was open to suggestions which was a privilege I know I will rarely have in this job, so I really appreciated  how good he was. 

Overall, Ruby and I were really pleased with the outcome of the costumes, our hard work most definitely paid off when we were able to stand back and feel proud of the look we had achieved.
This project has really given me a confidence with working in film and has made me look forward to future experience! I also feel I have now made friends within the film course which will be great to expand next year when hopefully working on the grad films.

CozPlotProV

Today Ruby and I have been inputting all the info for our shoot which is tomorrow. I found it reletivly straight forward to get my head around having had a previous tutorial with Claire Collins. I think the programme is great but since we are only working on a 3 minute film we obviously did not need its full potential! 

Sourcing the Blazer

Today Ruby and I went to Boscombe charity shops to try and find a burgendy blazer that the boys had their hearts set on. Thankfully we found one that cost £10 which with our budget was not a problem. It is however a woman's size 12 but James was clear in saying that he wanted the blazers to be ill fitting anyway so we bought it! 

Second Meeting with Director and Producer

Today we brought James and Sam up to the Costume Store with us to show them what we got hold of. They absolutely loved what we had and the only thing missing that they would ideally like to have was a burgundy blazer. So tomorrows job is to go out sourcing!

Tutorial With Bunny

After meeting with James we went to see Bunny to tell her what James wants. As its fairly straight forward she told us to quirk it up as much as possible and keep to the colours.

First meeting with the Director

Meeting with the Director today, Ruby and I had a lot of questions for them, such as:

- Do you want to keep it Period?

- Do you need Footwear?

- What budget are we working with?

- Would you like to keep to the same colour palette?

- Would you like to keep the glasses in the painting?

- Red ties?

- Do you want to keep as close to the painting as possible?

- Will the Actors be playing the part of the Artist?

James was great and very clear about what he wanted and took the strain of us completely as he told us his take on the film.

 His answers:

- Actors will be fellow film students in his own close friendship group as he doesn't want the film to be 20 year olds playing 50 year olds. This will also be good for interaction as they already know each other.

- He would like to keep it contemporary with hints of its 60's origin.

- The photo should look as though his friends are meeting for graduation so smart/casual dress. 

- Keep to colour palette as much as possible.

- Actors will be able to provide alot of their own costume as he wants them to be as comfortable as possible

This is my Director James Davies

 This is my Producer Sam Osmond

Now that we have met with them I feel a lot better about the shoot and I'm really excited! I really approve of James' ideas and I think we have got a really good project ahead of us! Its a shame its going to quicky as Film is definitely something I am enjoying!

Costume Store

Bunny gave us the keys to the costume store to see what we could find. Luckily we were able to get 10 Blazers and a few trousers that were perfect for our painting. Here are some photos of what we got:

Results from the Film Pitch

I got 'The Situation Group' By Sylvia Sleigh which will be a collaborative project that I will do with Ruby Utley-Williams. 
Slightly mad today as our shoot is scheduled to be on Tuesday 24th April - one week from today! Luckily I was able to get hold of the directors number straight away and we have arranged to meet with him tomorrow morning to discuss costumes! 

Tutorial with Bunny

Today I met with the other filmies to hear the results from the Film Pitch. As it turns out there will now only be 7 films made and one will be a collaboration of two designers as there are 12 cast members. the ones that got picked are:


Francis Bacon
Girl with Dove
Dolly
Georges Seurat
Mondrian
The Situation Group
Memorial


Bunny then took note of our first, second and third choice. My choices were:
1. The Situation Group
2. Dolly
3. Mondrian


So heres hoping I get one of those!

FIlm Pitch

LONG DAY!
Had the Film Pitch in studio 2 today and it was really good to see what people came up with! Some of the ideas were really interesting and I was really impressed with what was pitched in such a short space of time. Having spoken to Bunny about the previous years pitches I was surprised that there were only 14 but we then thought that a lot more effort had gone into these ideas.
None of the costumes sounded impossible and most people had considered budget and time so that was comforting! I thought that the eight of us doing costume for film would all have favourites but we seem pretty neutral on all of them which is really good! Dates and groups are still yet to be confirmed which is stressful but until then all I can do is prepare as much as possible and look forward to finding out!


Here are some of the paintings people chose:

 Mondrian (surprised at this but was a really well thought out pitch!)

 Georges Seurat (Would go hand in hand with my styling which might be nice)

Kees van Dongen - 1912 Portrait of Dolly - (my favourite pitch, really nice story!)

Francis Bacon (one of my least favourites as it involved a ringleader, not a problem but not favourable!)

Visit to the Courtauld

Today was our first day back at Uni and our visit to the Courtauld Gallery in London. It was also our first meeting with the second year film students which at first was an obvious divide but we soon blended in! It was really nice to see some of the paintings we could potentially be working with and get an idea of the types of costumes we might have to source. 

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1881-2 by Edouard Manet

This was one of my favourite paintings in the Gallery. I was imaging potential stories myself
and I think this would make a really interesting story whatever direction it was taken in.
It was also really nice to see Mondrian in real life! I must have look at his work a hundred timesonline and in books but to see it was great, i was surprised with how small some of them were!
I'm not sure if anyone will choose any of his work unless they decided to do an abstract piece.

Location

The painting is set along Asnières which is an industrial suburb west of Paris on the River Seine. In terms of time I need a location that is easy to get to and relativly quiet so that I am able to shoot without others in the background. I walked along Christchurch Quay and found this spot that would be perfect as it even has a bridge in the distance and the boats are ideal.

Georges Seurat

Here are some more of Georges Seurat's Paintings that I have been inspired by: 

Choosing my Painting

Having revisited the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery I began looking at George Seurat's work. I really loved the painting 'Bathers at Asnières' that is in the National Gallery. I was inspired by this painting as I love the colours and textures. I think Seurat has a fantastic way of painting such delicate scenery and I would really like to try and capture this within my styling of the photoshoot. 

Time Plan: Updated

This is my updated Time Plan for the upcoming weeks until my shoot dates have been confirmed:

Date	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
12.03.12	10 – 11 Year Group Meeting	13.30 – 14.30 Filmies Tutorial	FREE
13.03.12	9.30 – 12.30 POP BRIEFING	Library – research previous styling projects	Travel to Guildford
14.03.12	LONDON: National Portrait Gallery	LONDON: National Gallery	Travel back to Bournemouth
15.03.12	FREE	Library: look at selected pictures obtained from galleries and blog about them.	Begin sketchbook, stick in research
16.03.12	Library: Create Time Plan	Library: Start Learning Agreement	FREE
17.03.12	WORK: 12 – 7.30	WORK: 12 – 7.30	FREE
18.03.12	WORK: 8.30 - 4	WORK: 8.30 - 4	HOME FOR MOTHERS DAY Blog about up coming week
19.03.12	Library: Decide on picture to style	Plan styling: Write a list of things required	FREE
20.03.12	9.30 – 12.30 POP – Matt Fletcher	Library: Begin POP research	Create POP Question
21.03.11	Library: LEARNING AGREEMENT	Library: LEARNING AGREEMENT	FREE
22.03.12	11.30 – 12 Hand in learning agreement	Styling: Update sketchbook, Plan photo shoot	Update BLOG
23.03.12	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS
24.03.12	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS
25.03.12	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS
26.03.12	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS	CENTRE PARCS
27.03.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	WORK: 6 – 9.15
28.03.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
29.03.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
30.03.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
31.03.12	WORK: 12 – 7.30	WORK: 12 – 7.30	FREE
01.04.12	WORK: 8 - 3	WORK: 8 - 3	FREE
02.04.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
03.04.12	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
04.04.12	Decide on essay question and email to Will	Choose Painting from National Gallery	WORK 6 – 9.15
05.04.12	Print Choices of Painting, Stick in sketchbook and write about them	Print Choices of Painting, Stick in sketchbook and write about them	FREE
06.04.12	WORK: 8 - 3	WORK 8- 3	Update Blog
07.04.12	WORK 8 - 3	WORK 8 - 3	FREE
08.04.12	EASTER SUNDAY	EASTER SUNDAY	EASTER SUNDAY
09.04.12	WORK 8 - 3	WORK 8 - 3	FREE
10.04.12	LONDON: Visit to Courtauld Gallery Leave: 8am	LONDON: Visit to Courtauld Gallery	LONDON: Visit to Courtauld Gallery Return 9pm
11.04.12	Update Blog on Visit to Cortauld	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
12.04.12	SIGN UP TUTORIALS	3.15 Tutorial with Bunny	FREE
13.04.12	UH001: FILMIES PITCH	UH001: FILMIES PITCH	UH001: FILMIES PITCH
14.04.12	WORK 10 – 6.30	WORK 10- 6.30	SKETCHBOOK/ RESEARCH
15.04.12	WORK 12 – 7.30	WORK 12 – 7.30	Update Blog on upcoming week
16.04.12	FREE	1.30 Meet with Bunny and other filmies. 2pm FILM MEETING. DISCUSS CREW AND SHOOTS	PLAN TIME FOR SHOOT AND COSTUME SOURCING
17.04.12	POP: UH001: 10.15-13.30 Gest Speakers	1.30 – 4.30 TUTORIALS	ESSAY.
18.04.12
19.04.12	21st BIRTHDAY	21ST BIRTHDAY	21ST BIRTHDAY
20.04.12	CHICHISTER EXHIBITION	CHICHISTER EXHIBITION	CHICHISTER EXHIBITION
21.04.12			MY 21ST PARTY
22.04.12	FREE	FREE	FREE
23.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
24.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
25.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
26.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
27.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
28.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
29.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
30.04.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
01.05.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
02.05.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
03.05.12	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)	SHOOTING DATES (TBC)
04.05.12
05.05.12
06.05.12
07.05.12
08.05.12
09.05.12
10.05.12		13.30-16.30: FILMIES TUTORIALS
11.05.12
12.05.12
13.05.12
14.05.12
15.05.12	11.30-12: HAND IN POP
16.05.12	SEE FILM: WRITE REFLECTION	SEE FILM: WRITE REFLECTION	SEE FILM: WRITE REFLECTION
17.05.12		12.30-16.30: PRESENTATIONS
18.05.12
19.05.12
20.05.12
21.05.12	11.30-12: SDP: HAND IN
22.05.12
23.05.12	FEEDBACK	FEEDBACK	FEEDBACK