March
Seesaw photography magazine: more American photographers of the subjective documentary genre.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/more-on-american-documentary-photography/
Photographers of post-Katrina New Orleans: comparison of their technical choices and their treatment of their subject.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/photographers-of-post-katrina-new-orleans/
Robert Polidori on his work: about the treatment of his subject, how his philosophical viewpoint influences it, and the question of aestheticizing tragic events.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/robert-polidori-on-his-work/
‘Last address’ by Ira Sachs: an example of architecturally-themed video-art where the underlying subject is not architecture but human and social (AIDS). How art can deal with human issues while showing buildings rather than people.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/last-address-by-ira-sachs/
April
My documentary photographs used in a blog about outsider art environments.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/my-photos-used-in-a-blog-about-outsider-art-environment/
May
Video tutorial compiling tips from 4 reference books about meaningful cinematography and editing tecniques for low-budget short films and video. Focuses on the concepts of treatment (that is, the subjective/philosophical/moral/ political viewpoint adopted by the filmmamker) of a subject (the raw events of the plot, regardless of the subjective googles chosen by the filmmakers) and establising film mood, and the technical choices that contribute to this. 10 000 words pdf that counts as several blog posts for the purpose of Unit 2 assessment. I chose to write a standalone document rather than blog posts because I thought a printable standalone document was more useful and practical to myself and people interested in learning the techniques. I also wanted to train myself to write a structured course-type document in case I go into teaching after graduating.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/video-tutorial/
Pecha-kucha presentation for group tutorial (Symposium).
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/05/01/pecha-kucha-6min40-sec-presentation-for-group-tutorial/
Symposium: comments on my pecha-kucha presentation (very limited because I could not take part in the audio-conference).
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/symposium-comments-on-my-pecha-kucha-presentation/
‘Ghost House’ video: new and improved edit incorporating new footage as well as better technical knowledge learnt while writing the tutorial.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/ghost-house-video-new-improved-2011-edit/
‘Disciplinary Institutions’ video: new and improved edit incorporating new footage as well as better technical knowledge learnt while writing the tutorial.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/disciplinary-institutions-video-new-improved-2011-edit/
July
Degree show planning: starting to think about what to present and how to show it.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/degree-show-planning/
Contextualising my practice within digital moving image: reading report about artists who use digital technologies (such as sensors and randomness-generating algorithm) together with moving image and share my themes of predilection, and reflexion of how I could go about using more cutting-edge digital techniques in future work while still focusing on my non-technology-related themes.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/contextualising-my-practice-within-digital-moving-image/
Contextualising my practice within experimental film and traditional video-art: reading report about artists who share my themes of predilection. Identification of a longstanding tradition of the ‘psychodrama’ genre from the 1940s till now, and of further relevant reading (P. Adams Sitney, ‘Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde’, bought but not read yet). This gave me more relevant references within gallery-based video-art and underground/experimental film, whereas many of my early references were within recognised art cinema.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/contextualising-my-practice-within-experimental-film-and-traditional-video-art/
Photography tutorial (shooting tips, general principle of exposure, specialised tips for architectural photography) compiled from two reference books. Contains tips I learnt slowly over the past year but had never formally written down, and I wanted to share them (and stop having to hunt through post-it bookmarks in books whenever I needed a refresher before shooting something new 🙂 )Like the previous video tutorial, this is a 1550 words pdf formally structured as a course and counts as several blog posts for the purpose of assessment.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/18/photography-tutorial-shooting-tips-general-principle-of-exposure-specialised-tips-for-architectural-photography/
Round up of other MA Digital Art/Media degree shows: discussion of the type of student work, and critics’ opinions about the way it is presented to try and find useful tips for our own show.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/22/round-up-of-other-ma-digital-artmedia-degree-shows/
Professional development: applying to Phds (UAL, Brighton, Le Fresnoy): summary of how I went about applying to further studies, which I spent a lot of time doing in May and June. Reflexion on what went well or not, and how the process of writing 3 proposals made me reflect on my practice and how to develop it in the future, even outside of a Phd context.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/professional-development-applying-to-phds-ual-brighton-le-fresnoy/
Sum-up of theoretical research about cognitive film theory.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/cognitive-film-theory/
August
‘Disciplinary Institutions’ video shown at a commercial gallery in London.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/disciplinary-institutions-showing-wed-17th-sept-in-london/
Made a website to showcase my work in a more organised, succint and professional manner.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/my-website-is-up/
Woodlawn House short video: video of an empty mansion with ornamented decor, with an mood inspired by ‘Last year in Marienbad’. This is a work in progress because I do not have enough footage yet, and need to find similar places to make a longer composite video.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/woodlawn-house-short-video/
Technical Tutorial: Digital Photograph Post-Processing Workflow (in Photoshop). 2500 word structured course-type document in pdf format, counts as several blog posts for the purpose of assessment.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/technical-tutorial-digital-photograph-post-processing-workflow-in-photoshop/
Post-processing and enhancement of photographs (practical examples using the previous tutorial)
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/post-processing-and-enhancement-of-photographs-practical-examples/
Experiment with HDR (High Dynamic Range) processing, even though I decided in the end to use a different, more creatively appropriate processing.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/experiment-with-hdr-high-dynamic-range-photography/
Section of documentary and architectural photography and video added to website, in order to showcase a possible commercial development for my practice.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/documentary-and-architectural-photography/
Research to continue my abandoned buildings photography and video practice
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/research-to-continue-my-abandoned-buildings-photography-and-video-practice/
‘Ghost House’ screened at Optica festival (Madrid, 16-18 September).
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/ghost-house-screened-at-optica-festival-madrid-16-18-september/
Photographs of my space at the MA Digital Art 2011 show.
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/my-space-at-the-ma-digital-art-2011-show/
Written paper evaluating your practice and future development (1000 words)
http://melaniemenardarts.wordpress.com/2011/08/29/written-paper-evaluating-your-practice-and-future-development-1000-words/