Well Hello..

This is the first time I've managed visit my blog in the last 3 months or so. How shameful, the shallow thinking set in almost as soon as I felt the summer breeze.The summer has been eventful and like always instead of keeping up with all the things I want to talk about on my blog, Ive left it all to pile up....so this could take a while!

First I'm thinking my Blog needs a complete face lift to start the College year off to a good one.

When I started this 'blogging thing' I wasn't confident and was slightly unsure about what to share and how to share the things I like with everyone who was interested, in an interesting way....but now I think I'm ready.

GoldSnapped

I always seem to come across something that interests me when I'm least expecting it. This time I came across some really, really nice Photography of Alison Goldfrapp, who is the singer and songwriter for Goldfrapp.


I really love the colours in all these photographs and they are all so pure, and surreal , thats what I love about them.

Elective: Illusration and Visualization

I had a love hate relationship with my Elective. What I expected was far from what I was about to experience. There were exercises like cutting and pasting, and drawing round shapes to create something visually interesting?! (Yes, you heard me) was this what I was spending my half term doing?!
At the start of the week I hated it but by the end I was enjoying the exercise far too much and actually ended up with some really good visual illustrations. This elective taught me how to relax whilst I worked, as I'm so used to working neatly and to guidelines. Instead just going with the flow and seeing what happened worked for me. I really enjoyed the whole experience and would recommend it to others. : )




Exercise one:use a cartoon character to develop repetitive images/patterns.






Exercise two: Choose something to cut out within a magazine and create other images.



I chose to cut out random body parts

Cutting images of body parts out of magazines became boring after the first attempt. So I decided to stick the cut-outs back into the magazine and stick the pages of the magazine together to create several layered images. These are my favourite.




Exercise Three: create a storyboard of an existing movie using the techniques already learnt.



I chose Kill Bill Vol.1 Scene 1


















This elective was good because it forced me out of my comfort zone and made me think and work in ways which I weren't used to. I'm glad Iv learnt these techniques/processes because I can now apply them to my future works. However I never, ever, ever want to be an Illustrator and so it was good for helping me make my mind up about that too.

Oh my God!!

Today was the official opening of the Vis com Film reel exhibition in which I did a documentary about inequality in the work place. It just so happens the same kind of documentary is on tonight as well on BBC2 9pm By Jane Simon The trouble with working Women.
Taken from the website
"Gosh, it’s 2009. Are we still talking about glass ceilings and equal pay for women? Did we not get that one sorted out yet? Apparently not"

Its a new series and Great timing on my behalf, At least I'm working with the times..... My version is obviously a lot shorter, and with less budget you can see it's flaws but it even contained the same music! : ) Ive been comparing my ideas with the documentary as I've been watching it and I think I did quite well comparing it to professional standard...Although my editing skills could be much better : )

Adding more material to my documentary

I have decided to bring what the media says on inequality into my documentary, I might take a more serious example like the lights of Alan Sugar and his view's, or I might add a light hearted joke from a comedy strip.

Here's some that Iv looked at

Taken from dailymail.co.uk-Sir Alan Sugar warned last night that equal opportunity laws have made it harder for a woman to get a job.
Employers are not allowed to ask women about having children - so they would just not employ them, he said.
The self-made millionaire and star of BBC TVs The Apprentice added: "Everything has gone too far. We have maternity laws where people are entitled to too much. He said: "That's the bottom line, you're not allowed to ask so it's easy - just don't employ them.
"It will get harder to get a job as a woman."

I know the Ali G, and Sean Lock videos are intended to be light hearted jokes but this is the exact point I'm trying to make, It's not a direct hit at the comedian its just an example of how so many people see this issue.

I decided to use the Sean Lock as my example although I wish I'd of used the Alan Sugar one instead, because now I feel it highlights the problem in a serious way. Everyone laughed at the Sean Lock example when I asked my audience their opinion, but then said it was also thought provoking afterwards because of the following statistics about women getting paid 17%less, they then questioned why they were laughing.

Am I a feminist?

I have been asked this question whilst doing this project because I think people believe if your willing to fight for a cause like this then you must hate men and want justice. I don't think I'm a feminist at all. When I start a family I think I will be more than happy to be an old fashioned wife to a certain extent, and I will be happy to be the back bone of my family, but my career is a different ball game. I'm not sure its my dream to reach the top and run my own business and I think I will be happy to work for someone else if that happens to be a man so be it, but if there is even a whiff of me being treat unequal to anyone else I will make sure I do something about it. That doesn't make me a feminist.

Final Project Advert and statistics research

Final project: Advert and Video research

I found an advert on youtube whilst doing my research. I think its a clever advert and Is a dramatized version of what really happens in today's society. There is hardly any support from the government for women who want to stay at home and be mothers, and there is hardly any support for mothers in the work place either.

So many women are in such a difficult position. Having a baby is supposed to be the happiest time of a woman and mans life, but how can you enjoy it when there are worries of losing your job, or being forced back into work simply because you cant afford to be off.

The Fawcett society believe over 30,000 women lose there job for being pregnant.

Pay mothers to stay at home, urges Conservative think-tank. This was the headline of the telegraph.co.uk website. David Cameron one of the Tory leaders had recommended for there to be radical changes to the tax and benefits systems which would enable parents to stay at home for the first 3 years of their child's life.

Iain Duncan Smith also said " We need to level the financial playing field for parents. Society is paying a high price for the quick fix of getting mothers back to work so soon after birth"

A cabinet office study found that if money was no object, only 5% of mothers would opt to work full time, three quarters of them opting for part time allowing them to spend more time at home with their children.

Major Project

Final Project RESEARCH

Brief

Context

Produce a body of work using documentation and reportage techniques to draw attention upon the latest statistics, which show inequality in the workplace still exists.

The purpose of this brief is to shed a light on the things that take place in the workplace that shouldn't. The statistics still show that women still get paid 17% less than men, but women are also more likely to be victims of sexual harassment, and other sexual discriminatory acts. As women are more likely to be the ones who take responsibility at home for all the major things cooking, cleaning, child bearing definitely. The attitudes about women and their capabilities have never seemed to changed from this to something more modern. Most women probably wouldn't argue with the roles in the home because I think we are naturally made to want to do this for our families (although we all have our boundaries), but when in a professional environment I think they expect to be treat as an equal.

As I really enjoyed filming and editing in my last project Designing for Audiences, Iv decided to pick video for my Major project too. I never thought Id ever say this but I have found myself overwhelmingly interested in this area of work. Films have never been a big interest to me, but I have always loved watching documentaries/reality programs on T.V. My favourite types are Hells Kitchen, Gordan Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, and Come Dine with me. They all do have a link Food which I think is one reason why I love them, but I also so love them because most of the events that happen in these documentary type programs are unplanned, funny and thought provoking especially if your looking for recipes or dining ideas.

I also like more Intellectual types of documentaries like the Louis Theroux ones. He challenges different issues such as, racial, political, Religious etc. These types of documentaries to me are the best I could sit and watch them all day, I admire how he challenges his interviewee's and anyone else who is unlucky enough to cross his path, it makes good T.V.

I think basing my documentary on a real life issue that is important to the times will provoke my own thoughts or the audiences' on the issues raised.

As part of my research for my introduction to my documentary I looked at the suffragette movement as this is where women started to fight for there rights. Although I didn't have much time to research into this movement in depth, Its definitely something I would like to look at, at a later time.

The suffragettes had a horrible time and it was the one thing which brought all kinds of women together from all classes which was very unusually for the times. They eventually got the right to vote something we take for granted these days.

The suffragettes also appear in the Hovis advert where a young boy is running through the streets with his Hovis loaf. He passes all the important events that happened in Britain. I like this advert : )