PAGE AND SCREEN - THE START

So it starts. I am torn between the strand of page and screen. The project is like this:

Page.

This project examines the use of the image in publications of all kinds. The brief is to assume the role of editor, art director, photographer and designer. In other words, all aspects of publication. You may also be able to link this up with your final project, perhaps by presenting your work/ideas in book form.

In this module you are expected to produce original photography, which will form the basis of your project. The production of the images will form the first part of this module. The second part will focus on the presentation of these images. If you have another idea not involving original photography i.e. found material, this can be accommodated. The literary content should be to the fore, either in terms of the text of the article/magazine or in terms of a critical review handed in with the project.

While the emphasis is on the production of images and developing your knowledge and understanding of print design, you will also need a good understanding of scanning, use of typography, fonts, and page layout in InDesign. You should also produce roughs/dummy printouts and mock-ups and know how to prepare work for the press. You should end up with a thorough grasp of the various ways in which images are presented for publication. This could be achieved through a project designed by you along the following lines:

1) Artist Book / Design Book

You should produce a partial dummy of the proposed publication. The structure and content of the book must be coherent in the sense that it can be described in a short paragraph to a potential publisher. You should be able to demonstrate an understanding of book design and show that you have examined a number of design ‘routes’ before arriving at the final structure of the publication. This process should be documented in your research file together with examples, which have influenced your decisions.

2) Modern Fiction

The titles could be fictitious and if so you must supply a synopsis of the narrative, alternatively you could redesign existing titles with appropriate photography, which show an understanding of the content of the book or play and how to position it for its intended readership. (Yes, you’ve got to read the book). You should also produce poster to promote you book.

3) DVD Insert

and associated publicity i.e. posters for a fictitious independent film made by either a well-known film director e.g. Wim Wenders, Jean Cocteau, Tarantino or yourself. If you choose a real director the images you create should reflect his/her style and technique. A synopsis of the film should be included on the back. The work should incorporate film stills in the appropriate style.

4) Style Magazine or Colour Supplement Spreads

Must have a developed theme and will be accompanied by an appropriately typeset piece of relevant and incisive writing (which should have a narrative or documentary content).

5) Music CD

Must be at least a six-page booklet with an insert, if it is a jewel case, or a six-page digipack. Should include on-body artwork and a poster. The photography should present a stylistically integrated idea, which gives a strong identity to either the music or the musicians or both.

All the above are jumping off points. Remember you are the editor, so you can choose your own project. If you have another idea, feel free to propose it. There must be a written element to your work in this module. This could either be in the text (in case of a magazine) or in a descriptive sense as supporting text. You should also submit supporting material in the form of a research file or folio (in a form you feel most in keeping with your project).

SCREEN.

You will work on an individual or group video piece that should be between 3 to 5 minutes long. The subject area for this brief is Maps and Journeys you are encouraged to use the metaphor of journeys in the production of a time-based piece of work. The idea of the map or journey can be used as a starting point for ideas that may explore themes around architecture, landscape, territories and borders, inner and outer spaces, cities, countries, maps and also virtual worlds, such as the TV, computer or cinema screen.

You will need to consider and explore different ways of working, looking at the possibilities offered by the medium. Narrative sequence, the single shot, montage, constructed imagery and experimental uses of the medium are amongst the approaches you could explore.

You must identify a specific audience and context for your project.

Video is historically concerned with a critique of the mass media, television and mainstream cinema, often attempting to subvert or disrupt the traditional devices used. You are expected to produce work that is critical and challenging to the mainstream.

If your piece is a short film then you will have adopted strategies of using text in the form of a title at the beginning and credits at the end of the video. If it is intended for a gallery audience as an installation then you may submit your piece as a continuous loop with a title panel, which states your name, the title and length of the piece for the wall. Projects should be submitted as edits on DVD.