I was really thrilled about working on this assignment because before the assignment was handed to us, my mind was already brimming with ideas! Most of them are of the horror genre, partly because my hair is really long so it’s convenient to make me the ghost and partly because I’ve watched way too many horror movies!
Photo Assignment Draft 1
My first photo story is about a guy who had supernatural experiences in a lift. The first frame shows him pressing for the lift. The second frame shows him entering the lift at level one. Following which, after he enters the lift, he presses the button to go to the 3rd storey, but when the door reopens, he’s on level 444! Bewildered, he looks out and he sees nothing but smoke. And when he returns to the lift, there is actually a ghost behind him.
The story is deliberately left hanging because you’re supposed to wonder what happens to him after the door closes…
During the critique session, my peers gave me feedback about how I can improve on the photo story. One of the suggestions was to include another frame after pressing the 3rd storey button. I could include a frame with closed doors to show that the protagonist is in the lift. The closed doors will also make my next frame (door opening to reveal level 444) clearer.
A New Idea
After the critique session, I experimented with the other storylines that I had in mind to see how the photos will turn out. I wanted to try a storyline where I can have lots of fun experimenting with the different camera angles.
Here’s the storyboard of the idea I finally chose to present. It’s titled A Nightmare May Not be Just a Dream. Put simply, it’s another story of the horror genre that involves a protagonist see a ghost. Terrified, he sat up on bed only to find the room empty. Thinking it was just a nightmare, he went back to sleep feeling relieved, but the ghost is actually really there! :O
Conveniently, I’m the long-haired ghost again. For each frame, I experimented with many different camera angles. Many of the chosen frames are of the canted angle. I learned in lectures that the canted angle adds some horror factor to the portrayal because of the unfamiliar angle it is shot in. I also set the final photo series in greyscale to give it an eerie feel.
The Final Photo Series
I hope you can tell the story by looking at the photo series!
Reflection
I was really disappointed with the prints because although the images look fine on the computer screen, most of the photos seem way too dark when printed on paper. Also, in low light conditions like these, the photographs may appear grainy (especially the close-up of the protagonist shocked face).
I also picked up some photography tips online that are especially useful for creating photo series. One of which is to include part of a subject that was in the previous frame, stashed at the side or in a corner. For example, in the first two frame, the main focus was the slightly opened door. Although the main focus of the third frame is the sleeping protagonist on the bed, part of the door is also included in the frame to give the sense that the bed you’re seeing now is actually in the room after you pushed open the door.
It is also important to ensure that the protagonist is sleeping in a somewhat similar position from frames 3-5 to give greater continuity and flow in the photo series (although in reality we may toss and turn in our sleep).
I wish all assignments are about taking photo series of different genres because after this assignment, I can’t stop thinking about how I can take photos to present photo series!
