The concept of our project was the manipulation of light and shadow and how it can create an atmosphere reminiscent of children’s night-time stories. The use of primary colors became central in our idea because we wanted to emphasize the simplicity of tales that are told to children. Our most challenging issue in creating the set was experimenting with the light source and the distance from which the projected objects needed to be in order to induce appropriately sharp shadows and dimness of light. This project was especially helpful in demonstrating to us the affect of light shining through different sized apertures (simply holes cut into black card board) and how this can change the shadow contrast and sharpness. We originally began this project working with shadows cast onto the books, as well as how aluminum foil reflected on surfaces. In the end we decided to our concept of shadow manipulation gave for a stronger meaning, but we do wish we could have incorporated reflection in some way as well.
It might be the quality of light (or the fact that I just looked at Danielle & Michelle’s project), but I do not see the primary colors coming across very strongly in the photographs shot closer to the books. The children’s story theme seems to get a little lost when focusing in the darkness/shadows cast by the aluminum figures. It might be interested to try to achieve the same primary color effect using color filters. The constructed objects and positioning of props definitely lends a whimsical feel to the whole scene, which I feel would be made explicit with more light.
a-1
b-2
c-2
I personally really loved this project. I was intrigued about it ever since I saw you work with all the acrobatic lighting. Your persistent exploration of light resulted in many interesting effects and it definitely showed in the photos, which definitely reminded me of fairytales. The shadows of figures and the choice of old books and primary colors conveyed a narrative/historic/reminiscent quality. Very successful, although I do not yet know how I feel about the tinfoil elements. For now, they don’t seem to fit with the rest.
A-3
B-2
C-3
Initially, when I first saw the books, my approach to them was that they looked mystified and it was almost like they were to be revered. I think the reason why I felt that initially was how they were arranged and the way the light was set up. But I think you guys went a step further to express creative renditions of the use of light, and I must commend you guys on that and say that Da and I got our inspiration of complex lightening techniques from you. I liked your approach of telling the story, it was very creative, authentic and very dramatic. More than the fact that you wanted to“emphasize the simplicity of tales that are told to children” , you guys created more than that. You went a step further and actually made a “photographic animation” of the story and brought them to life. I personally liked the way you used light in creating the shadows as they were very vividly expressed and displayed. They created a strong impact in the compositions. I think you guys did a great job and your final images were on point.
During the class sessions, I was intrigued by your idea of using shadows to create the atmosphere of children’s bedtime stories. It reminded me of some visual aspects of Indonesian shadow puppetry. The casting of the complex shadows was well done, but the composition of the photographs is static and lacks the rich quality invoked by children’s tales. The use of primary colors and the books as a stage needs further development. Could colored gel filters or the inner pages of the books have been used in some way? I feel awful about this evaluation, because the shadows had potential to add dynamic elements to the project.
Evaluation:
A. 2/3
B. 1/3
C. 1/3
D. 2/2
E. 1/2
F. 2/2
* assessment adjust after discovering rubric!
A- 3
B- 1
C- 2
D- 1
E- 1
F- 2
I posted my grading post on your “Reflection” post, therefore I’ll leave my individual post comment here….Based on the work I have seen of yours in the past, and now this project, I am concluding that your work sets a dark, ominous tone, often suggesting a suspensful moment is about to happen. I really like the vibe I get from your work, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with for this semester’s final project!
A.3
B.3
C.3
D.2
E.2
F.2