Windows On The World Project 3
What have you learnt about how light can be used to create atmosphere? (How does lighting contribute to creating an illusion of space?)
I think lighting was the most important element when I took my pictures because, from a straight point of view, the images would have less shadows which did not portray the suggestive atmosphere that I was aiming to create. When I would point the light at extreme angles such as on the right and left I achieved much better results as the shadows would show more, and the light hitting the paper would create enough depth to make the viewer think that the scene was bigger than a shoe box. By manipulating the light I was also able to create shadows that made the images look more visually compelling, as in my opinion the viewer would be able to look at the details of the images and find the composition more interesting.
How successful have your experiments with creating an immersive environment been?
I think my experiments have been very successful today - as I only used paper, coloured acetate and light I think I was able to create an immersive space because the shadows and the vibrant colours were gripping to look at. I think being able to manipulate the light and shadows and find different ways of doing so was the task that I experimented the most of: I tried hanging paper shapes and cutting circles on the shoe box to let the light in and see how the hanging shape would create shadows which was more successful with colour than without as the colour added vibrancy to the space. I think next time I would probably play more with experimenting with creating depth in the box instead of just focusing on how the space looked like. This would enable me to try out different ways of creating a space which may help me choose the best method.
Describe how you have used the following to begin to create a believable world:
- Camera Angle and Cropping
At the start of the exercise I set up my space with some paper and different shapes just to create something to work on before starting to take some pictures. In the first few pictures the viewer can see that this is not a believable world but that it's just paper stuck inside a shoe box. This is because the camera angle I shot at shows the surroundings of the box which give away the illusion that the space is much bigger than that. Instead of focusing on the cropping of the image I think I focused too much on the light and on trying to experiment with the shadows. Looking back at the images I noticed the flaws it had and was able to take better pictures this time:
Although the viewer is still able to see the carton of the box in this image, I think that this picture looks much more believable than the first one. By cropping most of the paper I hung and just focusing one main subject in the picture I think I did a more effective job than the first image. I feel like if someone would look at this without any context they would be more likely to debate whether it is just a piece of paper or a much bigger sculpture that could fit in a room.
- Point of view and Depth of Field
The point of view and depth of field when taking my photographs were two elements very important that I tried to keep in mind. I tried creating some kind of depth of field by cropping the images and also by placing the main 'subject' of the photographs in front of the rest so that the depth of field could be much stronger. As I shot my images with my phone, it was difficult to manage the aperture of the camera which is why I don't think that the depth of field is as shallow as I would like it to be. As I noticed this when I looked back at my images, I tried to improve my work by adding a stronger contrast and stronger shadows so that the main subject could be much more lit than the rest of the elements in the frame.
By using different colours and one light source I think my images were effective as the geometric shapes of the paper add a layer of depth to the image by not making it look too 'flat'. This is something that I have learnt by experimenting today with the different elements of photography. When creating my own box I would like to experiment more with the different points of view that I could use when photographing my box and creating a narrative using light and shadows. I think these are the main elements that I learned how to use today that I will also use in the future when creating my box.
Final Outcome & Reflection
For my final outcome I decided to put together a short video where I mainly played with the light and the different colours of my box.
From the feedback that I received after the crit I think, in order to improve my work furthermore, I should probably experiment more with zooming into some of the features in the video to show them better and perhaps experiment more with the cropping and point of view. I think that was one of the biggest struggles when creating the stop-motion animation. I think next time I would like to try and make my animation look less 'flat' and more dynamic by experimenting way more with the point of view but also with the depth of field. I think for this project I mainly focused on the lighting because, when doing my research, light was one of the elements that stuck with me the most and it was something I wanted to explore furthermore.
Nonetheless I do think that this was a good project that I enjoyed because it reminded me to focus always on the most important elements of photography: the composition, colours and depth of field. I really enjoyed creating this imaginary world and I am looking forward to experimenting more with film and photography in the next few weeks. I think, as it was my first time creating a stop motion animation, I really pushed myself out of my comfort zone by creating something like this. I would not consider this one of my strongest outcomes so far but I recognise that I have learnt a lot and that, if I had the time to refine it, I would probably make it more dynamic and eye-catching.