In the first session of the module we looked at static and sequential imagery, for the project outcome we need to create both static and sequential work so this was a good introduction to the topic. Below are some notes I made from the seminar slides:
Our main task of the session was to explore the short film titled ‘Crows’ by Akira Kurosawa, made in 1990. Above are some notes I made while watching the film. It is about a man who goes to a gallery to view some Van Gogh paintings. He is then transported into the paintings and becomes immersed in the world. He meets Van Gogh and then goes on a journey through the paintings, with his surroundings becoming progressively more stylised. It ends with him back in the gallery looking at the paintings.
We responded to the film with a sequencing task. We were put into groups and given a set of screenshots from a part of the film. We had to reorder the static images to create a new sequence which gives the story a new meaning. These where the sequences that my group created:
This is a review of the sequences that all the groups made and what their focus was. I was in group 4 and we focused on editing as for the second sequences we made we chose to discard some of the images in order for our sequence to flow better. We were also guided by how we wanted the sequence to sound. For our first sequence we planned to have it paired with an intense, dramatic horror movie inspired audio. Some other aspects that other groups focused on were colour, composition, contrast and story arc. These are all ideas that I could apply to my sequential project work.
Here are some more notes I made from the session including some key terminology and ideas about photography in regard to sequence and messaging:
One of the photographs taken by David Octavius Hill:
Reflection: This was a really enjoyable session, I think it was a good introduction into the module and some of the key concepts we will be working with. After this session I have a stronger understanding of the terms static and sequence and how I’ll need to use these for the project. The task was fun as it got us thinking about how we can compose a sequence from a series of static images and how editing the sequence can give it a different meaning. I found physically having the sequence in front of me and being able to rearing the images very helpful. Also I really liked Kurosawa’s short film and plan to watch more of his work.
Samuel Green Illustration 