Assignment
Aim
On completion of this activity, you will have generated a Visual Project Map to communicate your direction and research intentions for your MA project.
Objective
During this activity, you will employ a range of individual visual communication skills to devise and present a Visual Project Map.
Duration
The suggested time allocation for this activity is 5 hours.
Guide
I would now like you to consider the visual communication of your MA project intentions. You are now asked to develop a Visual Project Map. The approach to this activity is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your creativity and visual skills by taking an individual and innovative approach to the communication of your project.
Your Visual Project Map should provide a clear illustration and explanation of your project intentions, with reference to each of the programme modules and semester timeline. It should include your planned areas of research, identified debates, articulation of context, expected innovation and output that you intend to explore during your postgraduate study.
Your map may be developed using any combination of creative techniques, and may focus on those relevant to your own specialist subject area but may also be experimental and progressive. The resulting Visual Project Map may be a size of your choice, created as a single layout or series of pages in a linear or other sequence.
To accompany your Visual Project Map, I would like you to write a short (500 words approximately) written statement. This statement will provide a clear description of the map and the content contained within.
Upload
I would like you to upload your developing Visual Project Map and short statement for tutor review and comment.
Guide: Framing – Defining Elements
1. Project Title – This may be a temporary or “working title”, to be developed, adjusted or modified at a later date as the focus is sharpened.
2. Project Introduction – This should be a brief summary of the main purpose of the project, setting out the main catalyst and the intentions.
3. Project Scope – The task or problem to be solved. This should contain statements of fact about the problem. This may itemise or list exactly what is required, like a detailed scope of works, or simply contain a general outline of what needs to be produced.
4. Project Client – Who would commission such a project and who would fund the work to be carried out? This is of course hypothetical but it informs the differing interests of the various parties involved.
5. Project Audience – Who are the intended users or audience? Who is the output, product or service actually for and how are there requirements and needs identified, and their views to be gathered?
6. Project Context – The story behind the problem, including the narrative and history. Is the location relevant? Is the problem specific to a place? There may be archived information, market research, brand standards or published data which is relevant to the project. This may include a review of competitors, innovation, current design topics and relevant trends.
7. Project Manifesto – The underpinning creative mission or statement of intent, manifesto or vision. This should be aspirational and an inspirational statement which generates both engagement and motivation.
8. Project Aspiration – This might be a philosophical discussion about what the finished design should achieve and the reasons why the project should be tackled in a specific way. What does the designer wish to achieve? What might the client want to gain from the project? This may also contain references to inspiration and influences through selected imagery.
9. Project Outcome – This is a more detailed list, identifying the exact items to be produced at the specified stages of the project.
10. Project Timeline – It is essential in any professional project to have clarity on timescale and completion dates. There may be interim deadlines, sign-off meetings and key dates for individual tasks prior to a final completion date. The brief should highlight the key dates and deadlines to be achieved.Realisation
Realisation: Framing – Defining Elements
-
Project Title
A Berlin Odyssey
-
Project Introduction
The project would use Homer’s Odyssey as a framework on which to hang an episodic journey through Berlin, much in the same way that James Joyce used the epic poem as the framework on which to hang his novel “Ulysses”, set in Dublin.
There would be an emphases on the “Hero”, as yet still to be developed.
It would be presented primarily as an online exhibition, a complete website, individual images could be collected in a book.
The episodic adventure would be in the form of separate 360° photo-spheres, each at specific locations, as per Google Street View.
These photo-spheres would be photoshopped in such a way as to incorporate other images in the form of a virtual gallery or installation, which the viewer could then investigate by navigating around the photo-sphere.
The galleries and/or installations would be many images depicting and combined in such a way as to enhance the story.
The photo-spheres would be linked together to form a journey.
Photo-sphere example:
Photoshopped example:
https://blog.chromographix.com/test
In essence the project would be an extremely involved Pecha Kucha, but in 3D, and its realisation wholly dependant on good organisation.
https://blog.chromographix.com/pecha-kucha-berlin
Wearing a virtual reality headset, each photo-sphere would offer an immersive experience.
-
Project Scope
- The project would require photo-spheres from specific locations around Berlin – I am a qualified, registered Google Street View photographer, and can easily capture the required photo-spheres.
- Some installations, frames and galleries would have to be constructed and photoshopped into the location photo-spheres – I have more than adequate skills as a furniture maker to construct these and photograph them accurately.
- My photoshop skills are adequate enough to construct photo montages of the required photo-spheres etc. to generate the illusion, that they are real.
- I have sufficient WordPress, CSS and HTML programming skills to easily construct a suitable website.
-
Project Client
In the real world:
Client is the ICI, University of Hertfordshire.
The university is awarding the MA, and so this academic title can therefore be seen as payment received for completion of the project – if the project isn’t finished to a satisfactory standard, the MA will simply not be awarded.
With this in mind, it’s extremely important to satisfy the scope of this extremely vague brief.
In an alternative reality:
Client could be the city of Berlin, or a gallery in Berlin, maybe even become part of the EMOP itself – European Month Of Photography
-
Project Audience
- The primary audience would be online, and therefore global, and from my research COVID-19 is here to stay, new forms of viewer participation will therefore have to be developed. Any views and opinions could be gathered digitally, built into the website
- Any spinoff book project would be largely national.
- Any real-world spinoff real-world constructions and exhibitions would be local.
-
Project Context
This is a project that I’ve wanted to tackle since listening to an unexpectedly interesting episode of “In Our Time” on Radio 4 with Melvyn Bragg.
It concerned James Joyces novel, “Ulysses”, and having an interest in Homer and Greek mythology, I found that I could relate to it, and the idea instantly occurred to me, that it should be possible to use the same device, and make a street-photography project out of it.
However, this proved to be almost impossible, as street photography relies mainly on spontaneous, un-choreographed events, with an ever-changing cast of characters, and such an Odyssey would require some form of stable protagonist and location, not forgetting capturing an almost specific series of images to underscore the narrative.
Which is where the visit to the recent Foam Talent 2020 exhibition solved one of the main problems, the artist Gao Shang:
showed me that it’s possible to evoke a strong sense of narration using just images themselves.
But how to exhibit it all?
Because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic ‘If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain‘
I could exhibit digitally on a website and bring the exhibition to the people.
But how to make it more like a real gallery? One that has to be navigated around?
Which is where the idea of the photo-spheres suddenly came from, and the photo-spheres themselves could be the actual locations of the various adventures, with virtual but highly realistic galleries photoshopped into them.
Another problem solved, and my dream of creating “a Berlin Odyssey” project suddenly looks to have huge potential.
The project requires meticulous planning, and waste amounts of creativity, but there are no real unsolvable problems left.
-
Project Manifesto
A journey through Berlin, an Odyssey of discovery.
-
Project Aspiration
This would be an experiment in presentation, to ascertain whether a digital 3D virtual gallery were more immersive and therefore offered a more compelling experience for the viewer.
But above all, the project should raise my profile and show any prospective clients what I’m capable of.
-
Project Outcome
Required elements include:
- Story, plot and narrative written
- Website design and construction
- Photo sphere captured
- Instillations and galleries constructed
- Photo series for the individual photo-sphere galleries captured
- Photoshop to merge and digitally construct the different required final elements
- Advertising
-
Project Timeline
This still has to be worked out
Visual Project Map
Mind map of a project
Mind map of the creative process
Timeline of proposed project
