Breaking down the Brief & Research Material

I find that sometimes when I am writing, I lose track of the point I am trying to make, so its really important to me, that I understand the brief completely and break it down into a simplified version to follow easily, step by step of what I need to include and in what particular order.
Here you can see I have taken key important parts from the brief and highlighted parts I need to factor in first and make sure I understand what is expected.
I have included notes from the lecture that focused on the who, what, where, when and why. I found this very important to follow and benefited me to know what information I should include about the subject matter. It helped me develop a deeper understanding into the subject and made me more interested in my chosen subject for the essay as well as my major project.

This method showed that my chosen image, W magazine's fashion editorial 'spellbound', didn't have much, in fact very little, critical debate written about it, other than the fashion garments used and a tagline of 'falls bewitching fashion'. Due to this, I continued my search for something of similar theme but with much critical analysis, and came across Nick Knight's fashion series 'Aquelarre'. Knight has his own website, SHOWstudio, where he posts work as well as many other creatives, and writes about what happened, who was involved, where it took place, why they created the piece, and when it took place. With such a wealth of information, I found the research part very interesting and found out a lot of facts about witchcraft in history. This information benefits making my final major project brief more realistic, as I can take the information I have learnt and turn it into my unique portrayal with aspects taken from my research. Practitioners, books and websites that has been used and benefited my research for the essay and my major project research are:

• How to Write Better Essays - Bryan Greetham - I never directly used any quotes or anything in the essay. The book was used to help me understand how to structure the essay tighter combined with the notes and help provided by the tutors and handbook. 
• The Language of Film - Robert Edgar, John Marland, Steven Rawle - From this book, I took out direct quotes. I looked at the sections relevant to my essay, which was focusing on semiotics, music and sound. I found the information insightful and helpful to back up my argument and question.
• Audio, Vision, Sound on Screen - Michel Chion - I didn't end up using any direct quotes from this book. However, it did give me an insight into the relationship between sound and image. This helped set out further research into sound and how it separates film and photography on the greater impact of emotional response.  
• Sound Theory Sound Practice - Rick Altman - This book looked really technically at the relationship of sound in film. I didn't use any quotes, but I read very briefly, quotes included in the book to see what other people have described sound and its importance. Although I found it helpful, I didn't find it relevant to my argument enough to include in my essay. 
• Photography - Stephen Bull - I used direct quotes from this book and found it very beneficial and relevant to my argument on fashion photography and its point of creation. I used the section about 'photographs in fashion', and the way it is portrayed. I found this very useful and further backed up my point about the true purpose of fashion photography and what reaction it is trying to get from the viewer.
•  Image, Sound & Story - The Art of Telling in Film - Cherry Potter - I used direct quotes from this book. This book was the biggest influence used, backing up my argument on sound being the primary factor on emotional impact between video and photography. I used this in my conclusion and talked about the third dimension being created which creates a sort of reality between the viewer and the video. Photography works on visuals alone, so relies heavily on creating an emotion with subject matter, whereas film entices your attention with both sound and visuals. I found this book to be very interesting also, and has taught me new things about the importance of sound and now, have a greater appreciation for its impact. 
• The Roots of Witchcraft - Michael Harrison - I used direct quotes from this book, as well as developing further knowledge about the history of witches and the portrayal of the goat figure in both a good and dark light. It has taught me a lot about religious reign and how their dominance controlled people and their view of the unknown. It is easy to see how people thought it was unusual and evil and thus lead to rumours and prosecution. This book helped back up my historical understanding of the inspiration used by Knight from Wikipedia. It further explained the meaning of the video and the symbolism used to portray witchcraft. 
• An Illustrated History of Witchcraft - Peter Haining - I used this book to further back up the inspiration used by Knight on the portrayal of witch gatherings. I used direct quotes, explaining what the goat symbolised and understand what actually took place at the assemblies. It helped give a semiotic meaning on how Knight has used colours and props to represent aspects of the gatherings, in a surreal and haunting fashion. This helped me understand what potential meanings Knight was portraying, backed up by his foreword on the project.  
• http://showstudio.com/project/aquelarre - This is the website, in which I found the video in the first place. This is Knight's website, where practitioners in the fashion world, can come and display their projects and share them with other creatives for feedback and acknowledgement. His unique and interesting series mainly portraying the theme of witchcraft, caught my attention as it shares the same theme for my major project. Although it is focusing on a different act of witchcraft then I am, the haunted aspect and unusual technique I found to be fascinating and wanted to explore the project further, for the focus of this essay. After looking through all the videos in the series (14 in total), I picked a video, untitled, that takes inspiration from the Wikipedia page 'Akelarre (witchcraft)'. Knight spoke about how he feels photography can't convey emotion as effectively as moving image, which sparked my interest. I don't personally agree with this statement entirely, so my aim was to prove what differentiates them and what elements makes them different in creating an emotional impact. I took direct quotes from Knight for the essay, discussing his views on why he created the project and why he wanted to create something different from the usual fashion editorial. 
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akelarre - I took direct quotes from this page, to allow the reader to understand where Knight drew his inspiration for the creation of his video. Knight used this as the theme for the styling and showed witchcraft in a satanic form. This is because 'Akelarre' was deemed by religious authority as a 'he goat' that comes to the gatherings as a physical form of the Devil. Heavy horror stories circulated and caused a multitude of deaths, with people accusing people of being a witch, especially if you attended a gathering in a succeeded woodland area. This helped develop further understanding of what Knight was considering when he was thinking about styling his video. 
• http://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/steven-meisel-enchanted-fashion-ss/all - This was my original chosen image I was going to analyse as the main piece for the essay. However, as there was not anything written about it, I decided to use it as a comparison to Knight's video on the portrayal of fashion photography and its creation on emotional reactions. Both share the theme of witchcraft, but are portraying them on the opposite ends of the spectrum; Knight's in a horror and Meisel's in a romantic way. Although they are portraying witchcraft differently, the principal on explaining why fashion editorials are created for a different aim then that of an effective emotional reaction, is important as an argument point on not all variations of photography can be ruled out on achieving an 'effective emotional punch', as Knight said. Little description of the editorial was quoted from the blog, http://fashioncow.com/2012/08/steven-meisel-calls-on-the-spirits-of-inspiration-in-spellbound-for-w-magazine/, to further describe the styling of the image. 
• http://www.inspectorinsight.com/semiotics/the-meaning-of-red-the-colour-of-passion/ - I used this web source with direct quotes taken to further back up the semiotic meaning of the colour red. This colour was the only one used in Knight's piece, so I used this to show potential meanings and symbolism. This plays a big part on creating mood and emotion, which works effectively in both photography and video, and further backed up my argument on creating emotions depending on how the art is portrayed and how it is used. 
• http://garagemag.com/cover-archive/ - Knight created the work to show case through 'augmented reality', a new media technique produced by Garage magazine. The series features front covers and most of its content to come to life, through the Garage magazine app. They collaborated with http://www.themill.com/millchannel/276/garage-magazine%27s-augmented-reality-app, a visual effects production company, based in London. Knight wanted to transform photography and make something different, and this new media platform fulfilled his desire. 
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5V1o2G4xY0 - For a final comparison, I included a film excerpt, taken from The Crucible, specifically the witch gathering scene. It shows a group of women gathered around a pot on a fire, in a wooded area. They all bring natural herbs and throw them into the pot, casting a wish for their true love to be theirs. The witch doctor chants and the girls dance and laugh to her rhythm. One girl becomes to indulged in the ceremony and drinks the blood from the sacrifice, in return, the girls scream frantically and start to lose control as they scream, dance and take off their clothes, also being submerged by the moment. They see a figure approaching, a man from the village. They scream and run away, scared of the consequences of doing something which is unknown and 'unholy'. The scene was selected for having a similar approach to witch gatherings as Knight. It was also selected to show the impact sound has on gripping the viewer into the visuals, as the screams grow louder, the more panicked I felt, waiting for something sinister to happen. This is where I mentioned about 'the third dimension' and concluded my essay on sound being the extra key element to convey an effective emotional response to still imagery alone, whilst mentioning what the purpose of the image or video is created for. 

All of these books and websites, helped me have a further understanding on the impact of sound and helped me decide that I wanted to create a short video for my final major project. Although I did not agree with Knight's opinion of photography not being able to achieve a greater emotional impact as video does, I do however think it applies in terms of drawing fear. I think I will achieve a more fearful reaction from the viewer in my video, as I play on the use of sound and make sinister and surreal sounds to create tension and suspense in the viewer. With the book I'm creating, I want the images to be haunting and having a magical element to them, both of understanding the herbal woman wrongly accused of practicing and cursing the forest. They have helped enrich my own practice in understanding the facts and fiction of witchcraft and taking inspiration on styling, colours, composition, props, location and narrative structure. 

Research Materials - Changing ideas

Originally, I wanted to write my essay about my favourite photographer, Tim Walker. Analysing his image, 'Alice Gibb in spiders web, Englingham Hall, Northumberland, 2008' taken from his 2012 book 'Storyteller', I decided that I no longer wanted to use this image as the basis for my essay. This is because the theme of the image does not relate to my chosen concept for my final major project for PHVP 3409. I wanted it to be similar in style and research so it could strengthen my knowledge on witch history and gain ideas and inspiration based on composition and mise-en-scene for my video and photography projects. This image however, helped me practice critically analysing a photograph and investigating deeper into potential meanings. I compared my ideas with another student and it was an interesting exercise to see what someone else saw compared to my own thoughts. This helped through my essay, deconstructing the chosen video and speculating potential meanings whilst backing them up with facts and critical debate. 

I moved on, researching into witchcraft themed photography and came across fine art photographer, Alex Stoddard. In 2014, he created a series called 'tiny fluttering wings' that was about a witch luring a child into the woods and stealing her youth. I thought this was such a great concept and inspired me on colour, location, lighting and composition. Unfortunately, Stoddards work is not widely known and there is very little written about his work. To gain more knowledge and put in my research for 3409, I emailed Stoddard to ask about the project and he replied, giving me insight into what it was all about, what worked, what didn't and inspiration. As well as this, a short film was made to represent the photographic series with the same name, edited by Devin Schiro. He also emailed me back, telling me all about the project throughout production and how it never was finished which is why they didn't push it out for review. This series really inspired my research and styling and although it did not benefit my essay, it was a great discovery that inspired my own practice. 

I then decided to look more into fashion photography and the way they portray witchcraft. I chose this because I like how fashion can transform a theme and make it lavish and beautiful, engaging the audience to buy the product. It really works!! I found an editorial series in W magazine, photographed by renowned fashion photographer, Steven Meisel. The series, entitled 'Spellbound', for fall 2012. the image showed a group of witches gathering around a fire with a male goat leering over as if controlling the women in a trance. It really captivated my attention, and furthered my research into a greater historical background knowledge on witches, their activities and how religious authority at the time of the witch trails, convicted and prosecuted many people, especially women.

It also inspired my practice in composition, colour, location and the gloomy atmosphere. I took elements of both the horror side and the innocent nature in my own practice, whilst keeping my piece more realistic and periodically correct, as apposed to a fashion portrayal. I chose not to use this image as the focus for my critical essay, as there is little written about it critically, only from fashion blogs. I did however, use it as an example of witchcraft fashion photography in my essay, to show how it is portrayed in fashion editorials. Meisel, I found in my research, is known for never talking about his fashion editorial projects. This is because there is one aim and that is to sell the garments whilst displaying them in an exciting themed location and connecting the viewer with popular current fads. Witchcraft seems very popular in fashion, especially richer around halloween. It fades in and out of fashion but has been very popular since the 90's and remains to this day. another fashion portrayal of witchcraft was shown in the fall/winter 2007 runway of designer Alexander McQueen. 'A 45 ft inverted black pyramid suspended over a blood red pentagram, traced in black sand, set the stage for a collection that combined the religious persecution meted out by seventeenth-century Puritans with ancient Egyptian paganism', as stated on the V&A museum about the show. The collection was entitiled,  'In loving memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692'. This was because McQueen discovered his relative Elizabeth Howe was tried and convicted during the witch trails in 1692 and this fascinated and inspired him to create and dedicate a collection to witchcraft. 

I was going to use this as an extra argument factor as how witchcraft is portrayed in fashion. As this is a live show, and the runway is to showcase the witchcraft inspired clothing, the imagery for it is a typical runway snap to see the outfit. However, there was a video playing overhead, with cryptic sounds and whispers, haunting the atmosphere and creating the tension of magic and evil. This created such a captivating enticement to his collection, as the viewer is engaged by the theme and understanding the lust for the magical world even though it was such a taboo subject. As my research developed, I didn't use this as part of my essay argument. I didn't have enough space to use it, as well as the other portrayals I used to back up my reason and answer the question within the word count. However, this did benefit my research for my PHVP 3409 module, as it helped give me inspiration styling, the cryptic sounds and unusual display of exhibition.
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I watched the film 'The Crucible', 1996, and took inspiration from the scene where the women come together in the woods to give offering to the witch to create a love potion to attract their desired man. This portrayal of witch gatherings, shows the historical setting of the witch trail era in 1692, Salem. It gave me greater inspiration in understanding how religious authority at the time ruled and banished any acts that were considered unholy and branded as 'worshipping the devil'. This included women dancing naked in a forest and gathering together, making any potions and herbal remedies. Wise women who practiced with these mixtures, were considered a witch, accusing them of making potions of evil result and cursing villagers, cattle and crop. This film heavily inspired both my research and development for my critical essay and final major project, in developing a further understanding of witchcraft accusations and prosecutions. As well as this, I took inspiration on costume, location, props and language to make my piece periodically correct as much as possible.

It helped my critical essay argument, in understanding the difference between film and photography and how it entices the audience in on an emotional level. With further research and back up from sound theory books in film, it helped me determine the key elements that divide the media platforms and how this works differently through stills and video, with sound being a primary factor. I learnt through this, the 'third dimension', where Ingmar Bergman suggests the primary factor is the image, the secondary factor is the sound, and both of them together creates the third dimension. He is referring to how film creates another world, that the audience can familiarise with and captivate them in, as if it was a real life situation in a new time and space. I found this research very fascinating and incredibly helpful in developing my own practice. I am creating a video for my final major project, as well as a series of images that will be presented in a book. This research of the importance of sound on an emotional impact and connection with the viewer is what I found inspiring, as I want to create a horror, and to achieve the fear factor I now have a new found appreciation for the significance of sound (though I already knew how important it was!).

I finally came across a series called, Aquelarre, by fashion photographer, Nick Knight. This series instantly caught my attention, as their was rich context about how and why it was created and the aims and understanding of why he wanted to come away from doing the usual beauty driven fashion editorial, and create something unnerving and surreal which he is not used to making. My question arose from when reading Knight's synopsis of the project, where he mentioned that photography is not as effective when aiming for an emotional punch from the audience. I disagree with this statement, because I believe the emotional impact stems from the purpose and content of the image on how it will make you feel. For example, documentary photography aims to make you feel emotionally connected with the image, as the viewer can understand what the circumstance is and know that it has happened in real life. Fashion photography does not aim to make the audience emotionally aware, as it aims to sell the product. So, in this sense Knight's statement in my opinion is false, as it seems, he didn't take into account the many styles of photography and their purpose of emotional response. However, I do agree with the power of video creates the fear factor that I want to create with the theme of witchcraft, that my still imagery won't capture. I think this is because the power of sound is timed to create suspense and this impacts and heightens more then one sense like my book would not achieve in that emotional reaction. Although Knight's piece is not exploring the same area of witchcraft as my project for 3409, the way in which his video has been edited and the sound used has been very inspirational to my own practice and helped inform and enrich my research and development. As well as this, the composition, styling and where he drew inspiration from has helped my research into witchcraft history and enabled me to discover further about the accusations and convictions of being accused as a witch. This is what my final piece is about, so the research that helped inform my essay has strengthened my piece and investigate into folk tales and real history which has benefited my project in both aspects of understanding my chosen subject in detail and applying that information into my own practice and unique portrayal of witchcraft.