Since I'm in a never ending creative rut, I thought i would just put lots of different things that inspire me together so that I can hopefully gain some themes.

Music/ Music Videos
I feel quite inspired by music on a daily basis. I love just listening to music in my room & staring out of the window getting lost. I also love watching the weather & the clouds while I get lost. I think this is why a lot of inspiring music to me is quite mellow, even though I love all kinds of music.

The Staves -
My Dad showed me this video over Christmas, and there's something about the harmonies & environment with which they are singing that makes me just want to create. It just takes me to a calmer place.

Birdy - Shelter
I've always liked this video for the atmosphere & colours.

Florence & The Machine - What Kind of Man & Lover to Lover
I feel like I like these videos for similar reasons. Florence is my favourite musician, and I think it's because her songs feel quite powerful & very feminine. I love the soft but large sound she has, and I like these two videos because again the colours, but they just feel like short poetic stories that capture the songs well. I also love the dancing in What Kind of Man.


London Grammar - Nightcall


Lorde - Yellow Flicker Beat


Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans


Ralfe Band - Big Head

I've been wanting to make a film around this song for a long time, & I feel almost happy to try & obtain some kind of copyright as I have met the writer so I feel like it's somehow easier? But I find this piece of music really inspiring. If I don't use it, it will be an inspiration for a potential to make my own music, or try to find composers/existing music.

Documentaries 










Films/TV
Pride
Cucumber/Banana/Tofu



For my insomnia idea, I am really wanting to use natural light and or create the look of natural light. 
The idea is really a love for natural light & sound, so I have taken a couple of photos to try & get some of my visions out of my head basically!








I will keep updating this post as I collect old photos i used to take, because I got into a habit of taking photos of the sunrises when I used to stay up all night. It was kind of like a token of being able to stay up all night, and it's really where this idea has come from. I would also like to create more of a moodboard/soundscape. 


So, i'm going to try & maintain my focus through the process of smaller projects so that I don't get overwhelmed, focus on smaller stages rather than the bigger picture, & have a range of finished products for my portfolio.
In August 2013, I made a video everyday for a month. This helped me to constantly not question what I was making, and just decide to make. I feel like this is a good way for me to be able to produce work, and I have decided to try & focus on a project a week. This helps me to create bigger projects then the August time, but also give me a time frame to work with & also a structure.
If this doesn't work, then I will try to do them in two weeks, & focus more on a few projects but for now, I am going to try the week.

Project Ideas/Starting points for weekly projects:


Anxiety -
I feel like I should really make something related to Anxiety. I've explored this before & I feel like it is important to shine a light on mental illness as well as being able to project personal experiences of my own onto the screen. I don't want it to be too sorrowful, and I actually have multiple ideas associated with mental illness and anxiety, so I have a few options. 
Portrait -
A fragmented narrative exploring the personal experience of having a mental illness.
Experimental piece, possibly for installation.

Documentary
Piano

This idea is to do with the pianos that are sat in St Pancras & Brighton Station. This idea was discussed with my mum as she commutes to Brighton & says about how much the pianos give a nice atmosphere to the station. I had an idea to document this as I like the fact that it can bring out creative abilities in people that you would have otherwise just walked past. I also like that it shows a nicer side to the usual boring commute.
Since having this idea, i've since found out about a bigger project called Play Me, I'm Yours which is a project all over the world placing pianos into different locations. There are already documentaries on pianos in different areas which did put me off for a while, but i still think that if i did this project, I could bring my own interpretation on it.
My only concern about this is the fact that it would require a crew and also a bit more preparation than the smaller projects. I feel like this could actually work as a main project, but I am just not sure about committing to this, since I am having such a lack of confidence lately. I do like the idea though. 

Short Film/Piece
I have all the ideas I had at the beginning of this year, and I still like them but i keep being swayed more by atmospheric pieces rather than the more conventional narrative. I want to project feelings more than statementing my intent with dialogue. I also don't feel so confident writing dialogue, so                                                             i think this is where it stems from.
At the moment, I have themes rather than ideas. I keep picturing a kind of slow motion dancing to a record scenario with a era attached to it. Kind of a care free attitude/young summery dancing like you                            just don't care attitude. I want to do something related to that. 

I also have an idea about insomnia. It's mostly to do with the silence of the night, and the calmness of sunrise that I always used to enjoy when I couldn't sleep. My brain would be so busy. I'd spend the entire night on my laptop, watching things, dancing, feeling like my brain just wouldn't stop, and then the sun would rise & i'd feel this sense of calmness. So I had a picture in my mind to explore this with an actress, using sound & light to tell the story (i know that sounds strange.)


Dance
I've been interested lately in dance. I think this is partly to do with not doing a dance piece in the second year, and also it fits quite well with my ideas mostly being about themes or feelings. I don't have too many ideas on the dance front, but it is something I am interested in. Especially if I involved                                                     myself in a more musical project. 
Ballet - There's a potential for a ballet dancer thanks to Edrei. If I come up with a concept to go with                                                           this, i'd be really interested. 

Interviewing the Public
I've always expressed an interest in this, and this kind of applies for the piano idea. I just like exploring the lives and ideas of every person on this earth. I feel like everyone has something powerful to say, and using film to be able to show this would be really exciting for me. This was kind of inspired a little of the project I did in the first year involving interviewing the public about London. It made me realise that you can get such interesting insights into the public, whereas usually you                      would never know anything about them. They all had such interesting stories.


Nature
As I always like making films involving nature both for the course & in my spare time, I think it would be good for me to continue this theme. I like making pretty picturesque atmosphere films, and I have the idea of making 'Postcards' of different places depending on where I can go. Either it will be places that I am close with/have memories of, or I will want to visit places I haven't been to before. This includes the Lake District & Isle of Arran (where my Dad has just moved to). Obviously this would involve more planning, but I thought it would be nice as I have wanted to explore more anyway & i think it fits both my interests & one of the paths i'd like to take (doing nature/landscape style filmmaking). 

Installation
Me & Edrei discussed this one. Basically, a two screen installation/film involving landscapes & macro. This came from a discussion about my macro photography & how it's interesting that so much is going on when you really look. The idea is to have one screen just focused on the landscape, & the other on a very small macro percentage looking into the living world beneath. 


I make little videos like this a lot, just montage with music, as i find it to be an easy process to play with composition & editing.


Also took a few photos over the past few months.

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There's a few more on my flickr, and I usually have more on my computer too. I just put my personal favourites online.


After the discussion, I felt a lot more focused on what I need to achieve & what would work best for me. I realized that maybe it would be better to do lots of pilots of all the ideas I have, so that I can have a better understanding of them and then I can reflect on them and decide whether I want to pursue on a bigger scale. Then if I don't create them on a bigger scale, I at least have something to show for myself.
I also have some questions about See You Soon which me and Kathleen discussed, and i'm sure these will be further discussed through Kathleen, Rosie and my group. I need to really focus on what it is I am doing within the group, and just make sure that I am being directed properly because otherwise I feel more stressed and that's never good!


I wrote a lot of reflective notes during the discussion, I feel that it's good to write down what I feel when I feel it, because it's harder for me to think of my approach afterwards quite a lot. I also think it helps me feel more focused. Also in these notes are reflections on projects we were shown. A couple of them gave me little ideas for projects or concepts I like so wrote them down. 
Here are these notes (once again they are broken down because I usually work in short sentences.) -

See You Soon - 
Need to focus more on emotion of the film.
Rehearse before the film, like a play?
Running Machine?
House needs to be thought of element by element.

Personal -
Multi-screen could show my post production skills. Possibly do small versions of all my ideas so that I can focus on it more. 
So - Indecisiveness - me & just me with visuals. 
Nature - do the dawn light one morning.
& Depersonalisation.
Try to do each week/a small amount of time like the everyday vids because I sit on projects & doubt myself. If I make them & they don't feel right to do bigger, I would at least have the smaller projects done. So basically, create & don't sit on it. 
Also start with photography & decide if it's worth it.

if I am creating, it also gives me time to think about what I want. 

Could also do the soundscapes too.
Have done by Dec/Christmas.

Instead of worrying about what I come out with, just create & then evaluate what works for me. Not just uni for my portfolio, can make anything while I can.
So could even re-create stuff I did in the past if it would help.
Starlings could really be pushed to be more beautiful - sound, long shots. 
Think of more aspects of me for film and photos. Reflect on my life? My interests? My morals?

Learning Agreement - Analysing how I will achieve my goals.
If doing my own little projects, find out how much paperwork I will need - risk assessment etc. 
If doing small projects, do need research but will be developing alongside the practical so that I can sculpt a well rounded project.

What does my work mean to other people?

Could think of stylistic stories - Record Player, I love eras, memory of objects.
A room with sounds to show memories?
So instead of a montage, have a flowing story, like the competition. Inspired by the work in the V&A (need the name of it)
Grandma? Or someone to that degree.
Could consider music video or doing a piece to music I have composed.

Still would loveto do something era based, but simple because of the time I have & being on my own (could ask for help if anyone available) - Pride etc.
If historically based, it would be interesting to study.
Would give more relevence to the audience, but depends on what it is and how simple it would be.

Documentary can mean based on true events.

For See You Soon it would be good to be in contact with Jacob. But also do individual tests such as lighting - natural, how women's features look, inside etc. 
This means I would have things to show & add to my own body of work. 

Film on Autism, interviews with dodgy visuals. But good concepts. Works well as it is an interesting subject so just needed better visuals which I would focus on. (this is in reflection to my ideas based on interviews or conversations)



I found the assessment to be a lot more calming then most of us. I have got quite used to presenting, even though i'm never perfect at it. I think it's because I know everyone & we're a pretty little group. I also know that I have a good relationship with my tutors, so will usually know what they are going to say before I present so try to make sure I fulfill everything I need to do.
I felt that the See You Soon presentation went better than the Individual, but this is purely because the See You Soon felt more academic. The individual was just me going on about my own doubt and thought processes. But I felt that I did a good job, and now I need to focus on the future.

General feedback/notes I took after -

See You Soon - Don't focus as much on sound, get someone else to focus on it?
If this happens, can focus on another project/personal.

They like depersonalisation, but could do in a beautiful way.
Could even do project on being indecisive - interview, abstract. Writing etc.
The struggles of anxiety and being a creative.
Discuss with Nathan/collab? (my housemate came up with a similar idea on not being able to come up with ideas)
Think of any other projects I can do, if possible. 
Speak to Alex about what I am doing and when. 
Contexualise photos more.

Now I need to focus on how my year will look, and then can reflect on this to decide how big my personal projects can be. I am interested in some other projects, but I want to be able to know what it is, how it will benefit me, and whether i can realistically do it while doing See You Soon.
I will contact the other people on the course that need crew and try and gain information from them. I also need to make sure that they are reliable & can work well with me.
I want to have a range of work, so some projects I am apprehensive about, but I will try to evaluate this when contacting them/sorting out everything.

While I am doing this, I will be focusing on my dissertation, and also trying to do little projects here and there. I do a lot of little bits of filming for Youtube, and after a quick chat post assessment with Rosie & Kathleen, I think producing little experiments will help me have a clearer view on what I might want to focus on in a personal project.
I also need to organise what & when I am photographing, if it is focusing on Christmas. I have desires to go back to Lincoln for the Christmas Fair, because I have personal connections, but it all depends on time management and why exactly I plan on going.
If i do this, I will contact the organisers of the fair just to make sure it is ok for me to photograph, and maybe even see if I can be part of the publicity (i can also do this for other events, I have a possible Charity Shop connection to this too)


We started our set build on 27th, firstly bringing the set panels into B32, and then attaching it to the wall by drilling pieces of wood so it could rest against the wall of the studio.
We went back to mine & Edrei's house to saw the wood (as we didn't want to cover the studio in dust), and we went to homebase to pick the colour of paint.
We then went back to the studio to fully paint the walls, firstly adding the tape to smooth out the gaps.











Part 2
Unfortunately, our set was taken down by Kathleen & Vicky before our shoot. The ripping of the wall didn't cause too much damage but the ink wouldn't come off, and the fact that we were already pushed for time made it really improbable that we could finish the project. It was still a very good learning experience, and showed that we could produce work to a strict deadline (even if we didn't submit)












I approached Al to be involved in the project mostly because I had an idea involving asking the public to give their opinions, and even be in the film. It would be a simple view on country life in britain, a quaint view with all the typical views such as pubs, tea etc. I wanted someone that could easily approach these people and be in a more directoral role. I myself have gained more confidence with the general public, but i still feel like i need more help when it comes to solo projects with the public. 
Al came to my house & we discussed possible ideas. We ended up changing the idea up into a more photographic view on Britain. It would explore a child's idea of Britain on a day out. Firstly it involved the countryside, but next I thought it might be better to be more direct in the location so I picked Brighton as I know that area the most & I have been there as a child so know more about what would be interesting there. Al would involve his sister in the project, interviewing her by presenting her with the photos I had taken, and then this would be the voiceover to a one take shot going from one photo to the next & eventually panning out to reveal the child. 

We also started to involve Edrei, because with our photo idea, we had an idea to use a studio, as it would give us more access to a bigger scale, so would be easier to move around + equipment etc.
He is interested in set building/designing so we thought this would fit him well.


We really pushed forward with the project, I brainstormed places I could visit/places that would be good for a storyline, Al developed the production pack & Edrei designed the sets. 

We had a meeting with Rosie to discuss the set build & equipment that we would need to do the project. She seemed interested in us perusing and outisde project, and it all flowed pretty well. 
I did get a little stressed from time to time but I think this was because it felt a little rushed & it was during all the other developments so i felt it was cutting it so short!

On 22nd October, I got up ridiculously early, and headed to Brighton.
I spent around 12 hours walking around trying to take as many photos as possible. 

(ADD PHOTOS)

I felt like it was a good experience, but I did find it a little stressful due to the fact that it all happened so quickly. I joked saying that I didn't realise I was going to Brighton until I had been in Brighton for 2 hours but it felt like that. It was fun, and I think i got most of the shots I needed, but i knew that it would have been improved if the little girl was there. 



I have followed the website 'Genero' for some time. They post briefs onto their website, usually for music videos, and then ask the public to make videos for the brief, potentially winning the chance to have their video as a campaign, or the artist's official video + money. 
I saw that they had a competition for a representation of Britain. I felt that this was a little bit different from their usual briefs, and something I felt was actually probable. I wanted to make something simple but effective to fit the brief. I also felt it was a good opportunity as there was a lot of chances to win money, which i wanted to put forward for my own projects so i could develop them more.

http://genero.tv/greatbritain/

Countryside Quant. 




Borelli Yard
Queens Head, Farnham


Surrey Hills:
Shere

White Horse Pub







Kinghams Restaurant 
The Dabbling Duck