FINAL EVALUATION

I have found the whole process of Self Directed Project really interesting as I feel that I have had the most freedom I have ever had on a project. Painting for Inspiration grabbed me as I have always had an interest in Fine Art and furthermore, it has been a time to try out different things that I have never done before; working on a film and doing some styling. Which makes this project completely unique in itself for me.

Part 1 : Styling

The first half of the project was the Styling Project. Styling is something that I have always been interested in trying out and this really helped me see what it would be like. When choosing a painting from The National Gallery I had a very clear idea of what I wanted to achieve. For me the styling project was not about taking a painting and re-creating it exactly the same. I didn’t want to make a copy I wanted to make a modern alternative. Therefore when looking around I found myself drawn to paintings that had the potential to look great in the 20th and 21st Century. I learnt a lot about the way I work as a practitioner through this process. I think that my strengths lie in the research, I always have a very strong idea of how I want something  to look and this is most definitely important as a designer.

From styling and directing a photoshoot I learnt a lot. Organisation was key for this to work and I had a few things against me which put me back time wise. One of my models dropped out last minute and therefore the photographer had to model for the piece and I had to learn how to use high-tech camera equipment!  I was perhaps not as organised as i thought as it took a lot longer to dress my models than I planned. The weather was absolutely awful and I felt quite rushed to try and achieve something in a short space of time. Nevertheless, this is all something to take on board as experience and something that I can learn from. Limiting myself to such a short space of time to get a piece done, is not something I would like to do again however the industry works very fast and there will be times where I have to work under bad circumstances and become very multi-skilled. Nevertheless, I am really pleased with the final outcome of the project. I think that although the portrait is not posed in exactly the same way and it is missing a few props, I’m actually not too bothered about the accuracy, because i feel that it encompasses what I was trying to achieve. And that is a modern remake of a very old painting with a humorous twist.  

Part 2: Film

In the second half of the project I got to explore the opportunity of designing and sourcing the costume for the 2nd year Film students at AUCB. They also had to pick a Painting for Inspiration from the Courtauld Gallery in London. We were able to sit in on the film pitches which is an experience none of us have had before, which really gave me an insight into how the creative side of the film industry works. I did a collaboration with fellow designer Fliss. From when we were given the film we were working on to the shoot date, there was six days, so we had to learn how to move quite fast in terms of research, and also sourcing. Working collaboratively with someone was great as we could talk to each other endlessly about what we wanted to achieve and bounce ideas off each other.
Our film was quite different from all the others, it was an improvised piece, there was absolutely no script, no call sheet, no shooting schedule (hence why our film file is so small), for the director and producer it was very much a case of everyone just turning up on the day at the same time and seeing what feels natural. This was very much the case with the costume and I struggled to get used to this very relaxed mentality because for me, when I work on a design or an idea I like to know exactly what is going on and who is wearing what and deciding the look down the last detail. Whereas for this film the actual costumes themselves transformed to characters to a smarter look than usual it wasn’t a fixed idea that had to stay the same, and working like this really helped to loosen me up a little!

All in all working in Film has been a fantastic experience, and I think that it has helped me feel more prepared for Level 6 as I know that film and T.V. is definitely a pathway that I want to explore more of.

Assisting Mondrian Shoot

As me an Fliss did a collaboration, we actually weren't able to assist anyone. However Grace Noble had a huge task as she had to make her costumes for her project. Felicity and I helped her put together the three coloured costumes and also adapted some of the black costumes. We also assisted a bit on the day of the shoot with dressing, which was a fun experience. It looked amazing!

The Shoot

The shoot has been and gone. It was a really interesting day. Part of doing costume for film is most definatley learning to be patient! As our role is mostly in pre-production I did throughout the day feel a little at a loss. The whole concept of the film was that it was a group of friends just going to get their photo taken. There was a lot of laughter and fun on set however, the role for us as supervisors for the day didn't necessarily play a huge part in the filming, as they were wearing a lot of their own clothes. It was mainly just the blazers and ties that we had to keep an eye on for continuity. Furthermore as it was all improvised there was not a lot of character work that we had to get into.

However saying that I was hugely pleased with the overall effect of the costumes that we provided and being part of the film process I feel as if I have definatley learnt a lot about how the film industry works (and some new lingo!) and I feel that this will help me a lot in the transition into third year and the film industry. Furthermore i have learnt how to work very quickly and become resourceful.

And, that's a wrap!

Sourcing in Boscombe

Yesterday me and Fliss went to Boscombe to the charity shops in search of a Burgundy velvet blazer. We thankfully found a great one. Although it was a womens size 12 it didn't look to effeminate. And James had said that he wanted sue of the outfits to be ill fitting so we bought it!

Only tomorrow until the shoot now, although we have everything pretty prepared!

2nd Meeting with Director & Producer

Yesterday me and Fliss showed James and Sam what we had pulled from the costume store. They were extremely happy with our choices and what got. The next step was to find the burgundy velvet blazer as they were really keen on having that.


Furthermore, after a discussion in the previous meeting in which they said they didn't want the red ties, they changed their minds so me and Fliss pulled a selection from the costume store for the shoot.

The Director posted this video to give us an inside as to what he wanted to achieve on the shoot:


Černý Petr - taneční zábava (1.část)

The Costume Store

We went into the costume store all guns blazing and were pleasantly surprised by the amount of things that we found. Our priority was tweed blazers and blazers that stayed in the colour pallet and we found loads and had to narrow down our choices. Here are some photos:

D E S I G N S

Here are a few of my designs, as we only have a week to do everything they are just very quick pen drawings with some ink. I did a quick paint copy of the background of the original painting. Furthermore unlike my normal designs, we don't have actor/character names yet, so they have no names on them. nevertheless, it is a learning curb as a designer/practitioner as i'm sure in the future their will be some projects where I will have to get design source and create costumes in a very short space of time and I feel  being able to portray my visions in a quick design way is a useful skill to have.