- A circular narrative is one that ends where it began. This can be demonstrated through setting, theme and dialogue.
Examples of a circular narrative include:
Film
The Wizard of Oz
- Starts and finishes in Kansas
- Starts in black and white, goes to technicolour and finishes in black and white.
Fight Club
- Starts and finishes with the scene of the skyscraper just before the bombs detonate.
Pan's Labyrinth
- Starts and finishes with the scene of Ofelia dying in the Labyrinth.
Literature
Jack and the Beanstalk
- Starts and finishes with Jack returning to reality away from the beanstalk
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass
- Starts and finishes with Alice in reality returning from her 'dreamland'
Given photograph to start a narrative with.
*Preliminary Ideas/themes:
- A series of images showing a journey as reflections on the car window. I would use photoshop to impose the reflections in. eg car light trails of a busy city.
- A series of images showing a guy picking up a hooker. View from looking onto road. view of car leaning out of car etc.
- A series of images showing someone picking up a hitchhiker. Could be a psychopath!
Brassai
Brassai photographed the Parisian nightlife during the 1930's. While doing this he not only captured the seedier side to Paris but also portrayed scenes from the city's high society. His photographers show how he mastered light shadow and atmosphere.
*I have now decided that I need to concentrate on a subject which is a little more light-hearted.
Erwin Wurm
How to be politically incorrect - in this series of work Wurm taps into international fears and paranoias and prescribed codes of behaviour. He uses humour to tackle serious underlying issues.
I feel this series of photographs works really well. I like how he uses humour to seduce people into looking closer at the image and thinking about something deeper. I plan to use Wurm's theme of the socially absurd in my own work.
Transactions
Marysa Dowling
I have looked at this series of work because it concentrates on a transaction of an object and I plan to base my work on a transaction that happens through a car door.
The movement of an object
"During 2007 Marysa Dowling photographed 30 people with a plastic bag. The bag been passed to the participant to someone who was at least 10 years older or younger than them. Then, after the photograph had been taken, the bag was passed on again to another participant with the same age difference."
Idea
band on tour, slapstick style. attempting to pack all of the band members/equipment/instruments/booze into one car. Documenting their journey to and from a gig.
Shows what it is like for a unsigned band. Hard to make it on their own, commercial bands have everything done for them.
The Monkees
The series follows the adventures of 4 young men trying to make a name of themselves as rock n roll singers.
This intro shows them lugging their equipment around/gigging/ going about daily life. This aspect of 'touring life' is what I am going to show in my narrative.
John McMurtrie
His book 'On board light 666' provides an exclusive insight into what it's really like on tour with one of the world's leading rock bands. It covers 2 world tours and spans over 4 years.
Iron Maiden carry a world wide status so therefore carry the production values to go with it. This is the opposite to the type of band I will be showing in my work.
Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney provides a close insight into the life of The Beatles both on and off stage and the stresses they encountered.
I like the intimacy which is seen in this work. To me, it is like Linda is a 5th member of the Beatles.
A feature film focusing on Beatlemania and the band's hectic touring lifestyle.
Rob sheridan has worked as created director for the band Nine Inch Nails for the past 11 years, and has, in such, documented their journey as a band.
Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts 1-1V
Accompanying each version of the album Ghosts 1-1V Rob Sheridan produced a 40 page PDF to come with it. This featured a photograph to every track.
I really like the use of depth of focus, exposure and lighting in these photographs. I also like how he has included close-up details.
Storyboard
- Car door
- Loading the car with equipment - show motion with long exposure.
- Setting off to gig. Shot of car possibly boot open due to instruments sticking out.
- unloading equipment into venue
- Promo shots with instruments inside Venue.
- Outside sitting on guitar cases knackered with fag/pint in hand.
- slowly loading car back up
- car door
*After discussion I decided my narrative did not need to be as complex as this so concentrated on just the act of the band getting their equipment/instruments into the car.
1.Car Door
2.Carrying equipment to car
1.Car Door
2.Carrying equipment to car
3. Trying to fit the equipment in car - static
4. Trying to fit the equipment in car - long exposure to show movement
5. Finished car
6. Band sat on bonnet of car having a fag, tired.
7. Car Door
Anton Corbijn
"One main Philosophy I have is that I want my photos to either be an extension of what you already know about a subject, or for them to go in a totally different direction and create something new."
For over 30 years Anton Corbijn has worked closely with artists, including U2 and Depeche Mode.
This book contains a collection of photographs taken over a period of 22 years. As well as containing the usual promotion/gig photographs it also contains a lot of out-takes, private and random photos that were previously unseen.
I really like this body of work because you can see how U2 have progressed and changed as a band, with their rise in fame. I like the mix of photographs included, they show some real intimate moments as well as iconic band shots.
Tina Barney
Tina Barney is best known for documenting the relationships and lifestyles of her family and close friends in their natural upper middle class habitat. She semi-stages her photographs.
I am going to use Tina Barney's method of taking photographs for my own work. I am going to semi-stage the photographs but still show the natural behaviour of my subject.
Band - Marley's Chains
Location - Salford uni Car Park
I felt this shoot went well and I gained the shots that I was aiming to get. I found it quite challenging to arrange the set-ups so that their was a balance between it being staged and showing the band's natural behaviour. I think the mix of wide angle and close up shots is beneficial to the narrative. I have cropped each picture to the same dimensions to maintain uniformity.
I feel that these shots are too slapstick and do not suit the narrative. I feel that they seem deliberate and take away the focus from the struggles these musicians face.
Exposure Experiment
In one of my shots I want to show movement by using long exposure. To work out what effects I am able to create I have experimented at home with different shutter speeds.
1/5
0.3
0.5
1.0
2.0
From undertaking this experiment I have decided that to get the right proportion of movement/detail I need to use a shutter speed between 1 and 2 seconds.
I think these images are successful as they show movement and give the impression of urgency and frenzied individuals.
Starting Image - reshot
Using a old car that is scratched shows that this band does not have luxuries.
Narrative Options
_______________________________________________________________________________
I have chosen to use the second narrative as my final piece because I feel that it flows better and finishes on a stronger closing shot. I think this closing image illustrates the weariness of the band after their struggle to pack the car. By featuring the car door again it signifies how the process has to be repeated again and again.
Final Images
