Secondary Research - Film&Photography

7thMarch2014
After the first peer crit I managed to take a lot of useful notes and turn them into potential ideas. It was made clear to me that my starting point had not excelled quick enough and I was realistically still at my research stage. I was advised to start looking at artists and photographers that interested me, and to start watching films that were boxing related to hopefully gain ideas for interesting imagery. There were suggestions of 'The fighter' starring Christian Bale, 'When we were Kings' directed by Leon Gast. These were all fantastic suggestions, and i went home to watch some of them straight away. It took about a week in total to watch all these suggested films, some interested me more than others based on story line and plot. But the two films that had the most interest to me where the older films such as 'Rocky1', 'When we were Kings' and 'Raging Bull'. Raging Bull took a particular interest to me, due to the alternative approach to the way it was filmed. I took loads of notes during this film based mainly on camera angles, composition, portrayal of characters, contrast and fashion. These are important aspects to me because I aim to produce my own film as a final outcome, so gaining stimulating and thought-provoking ideas is really key to help me produce a successful piece.

 (Youtube, Clip from Ranging Bull)

I have recently watched the film Raging Bull which is about an emotionally self -destructive boxer's journey though life  as the violence and temper leads him to the top of the ring,  it meanwhile destroys his life outside it. Director, Scorsese made it clear during filming that he did not appreciate the traditional way in which fight films show fights from a spectators' view. He insisted that one camera operated by the Director of Photography, Michael Chapman, would be placed inside the ring and he would play the role of an opponent keeping out of the way of other fighters so that viewers could see the emotions of the fighters, including those of Jake LaMotta. I like the reasoning behind the way in which the scenes are directed but what I was mostly interested in was the extremely high contrast black and white filter the film is shot in. The really dark black shades really emphasise the harsh and gritty reality of boxing by highlighting muscle structure or wounds and darkening the brow area creating a really intense gaze. I took loads of notes about camera angle, personas, stereotypes, fashion etc… But it really overwhelmed me with ideas which brought my creative thought process to a stand still, I had no idea where I wanted to take my project. It took me a while to work out what it was I really liked about the film, although the camera angles were interesting and unique, I think using them in my own work would come across quite cheesy and obvious. What Ive noticed while looking into boxing is that most imagery based around it is in black and white with a really strong contrast. I decided that this idea would be ideal to experiment with, which brought me onto researching artists that worked in high contrast, and are focused on capturing lifestyle and personality. 

10thMarch2014

(Adekokan, Adde. Collection of Triptychs)

I came across the  Germany-based street photographer Adde Adesokan, his photos series ’Triptychs of Strangers’ depicts photographs of strangers that capture wonderful images including the portrayal of the stranger’s personality… The black and white images depict the subjects features using a cropped frame and fairly high contrast filter. The background is very out of focus which draws your attention entirely to the model. I think the images are beautifully thought out and put together, revealing subtle amounts of a personality. The main aspect of these images that I like is the composition of the portraits, I think that the unusual framing of them intensifies the eyes and if blown up to a big scale the images would be really captivating. Because my project is about boxing I feel like the use of a triptych in this way would not be necessary to experiment with.

(Enriquez, Sebastian. Collage of photographers imagery from series Postcard from Perut)

Sebastiån Enriquez is a freelance documentary photographer and storyteller based in Lima, Peru. One of his most famous series of images link perfectly to my project - Postcard from Peru; Boxing for a dream. The series consists of images taken in Rojitas boxing gym in Peru. When Enriquez began this project on boxers he was curious about what motivated so many young people to get into a ring and get punched. "Why not play soccer or dance?" In the ghettos of Callao - the main port and one of the most dangerous places in Peru - has a special niche for boxing. This sport has always been a window of opportunity for young people, especially in a place where many of them must learn how to leave their problems in a ring and find a future by the gloves. Most of the children are disadvantaged and fighting to get out of poverty, drugs and crime. The ring becomes a subliminal space where the violence they face every day is tamed. Enriques series of photographs shows the workouts and training sessions in "Rojita" boxing school, the most important generator of boxing talent in Peru, which brings together teenage parents, young workers, colleagues and above all children. 

Fashion Galore - Isabella Blow

"Photograph of Self portrait on napkin, by Isabella Blow"

Fashion Galore at Somerset house show cases the life and inspirations of the late Isabella Blow. From the discovery of major style icons Phillip Treacy and Alexander McQueen to the relics of an old family estate which greatly influenced the majority of her work. Blow had a "traditionally edwardian" childhood, with parents who were high society, glamorous and mysterious, yet the exhibition reveals that her upbringing was decidedly unglamorous. Though her family had money for generations, her gambling grandfather lost most of it. When Isabella’s father died, she and her sisters were left only £5000 each. Isabella inherited her grandfather’s careless ways, and spent far too much on things she could never afford: a “very Bond” silver BMW, the most expensive hotel rooms in the world, and, of course, clothes—an infinite variety of clothes, many of which, “no matter how expensive, would frequently end up on the floor, ripped and covered in stains.” After working menial jobs around London, she gained entry into the fashion world by interning for Anna Wintour at US Vogue.

"Photograph of shoes from exhibition, shoes by Frizon, Maud,"

The exhibition is retrospective, nonetheless Blow's fearless, eccentric, provocative, humorous and almost impossible to miss style shines through with vigour. Exhibited, are selected garments from her very own wardrobe as well as memoirs disguised as jigsaws, piecing every aspect of her life together. Here show's an odd pair of Maud Frizon shoes worn by Blow, as she was soon promoted to stylist at VOGUE, working on fashion shoots by day and partying at night, she was spotted by Andy Warhol at a gathering wearing this pair of mismatched shoes… And the rest is history !

Then, in 1992, Isabella's attention was caught by another young designer; Alexander McQueen. She bought his postgraduate collection for ₤5,000 (which was paid in weekly instalments of ₤100 and delivered in bin bags) and set McQueen up in the same London flat so she could nurture him, too. By this time, she was working at British Vogue where she championed other up-and-coming designers, like Julien Macdonald, Hussein Chalayan and John Galliano. She also helped launch the modelling careers of Honor Fraser, Stella Tennant and Sophie Dahl

"SS/08 Collection, La Dame Bleue Phillip Treacy for Alexander McQueen."

Blow married at Gloucester Cathedral in 1989, dressed in a velvet gown and a gold headdress designed by Philip Treacy… This is when she discovered the Irish milliners talents. She offered him his own flat in London to design hats and would personally advertise his designs wherever she went, rarely leaving the house without one of his masterpieces placed on her head. "I'm a walking billboard," she declared. "That's my pleasure." Later in 1992, Isabella’s attention was drawn to another young designer; Alexander McQueen. She set McQueen up in the same London flat after purchasing his postgraduate collection for £5,000. - which she couldn’t actually afford, so she payed him in £100 instalments every week - And soon enough she was the middle man of his sale to Gucci, creating his own label there.

Taking inspiration from the exhibition we were asked to create and shoot a three page editorial using clothing which is currently available on the high street for a style magazine of our choice. The final editorial had to represent our chosen masthead as much as possible, we had to consider everything from type face to layout and imagery to fashion. I started by taking inspiration from the Fashion Galore exhibition and creating some mood boards based on the work produced by blow that I was most fascinated by. At first I felt slightly daunted by the brief, because Blow is such a fashion legend with a completely unique style, but as i started to combine my initial inspiration with a renowned magazine masthead, ideas started to piece together naturally.

The Collage of images above [from left to right] show photo shoots produced by Blow and editorial photo shoots I found in the magazine Dazed&Confused. The shoot "London Babes" styled and produced by Isabella, with models Honor Fraser, Bella Freud, Plum Sykes, and Stella Tennant evokes a sense of sassiness. The realness and casual nature of the photo shoot make the images personal and easier as an audience to relate to, the images do not just "celebrate" the clothes trying to be promoted but the lifestyle that the clothes live by. I found some images in the magazine Dazed&Confused that also depicted a believable concept, the images seem unedited and genuine which i personally think is more effective than staged imagery.

This set of images show the eccentric side of Blow's exhibition that I wanted to include in my editorial, and the more achievable option to portraying this. I took great interest in all the headwear designed by Phillip Treacy that was exhibited, but not having any skill in making headwear or many interesting materials to work with in under a week, I decided to simplify and merge the designs into a more practical idea - HAIRSTYLES ! 
On the left I have created a concept board which demonstrates how I would like the hair and makeup to look in my editorial shoot… Bold, eccentric hair styles with subtle, understated makeup. The hair will relate strongly to Blows dreamy, unconventional style, whilst the makeup will stay natural and realistic in order to stay relevant to my audience.

In order to remain fashion conscious and be current and up to date I referred bak to the trustworthy fashion forecasting website, WGSN. Here I found next seasons trends: trapeze-shaped coats, sportswear, oversized boxy t-shirts etc… With all this information I felt ready to start collecting clothes and choose my models…