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2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 5

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Fifth and final analysis of last year's assignments, so bravely taken on by students up and down the country.

5. A Fashion Publication – The Draping Journal

The Brief

The industry standard trade publication, The Draping Journal is running a piece titled “Death of the Sweatshop”. The article discusses the rise in bespoke and made-to-measure clothing, at the expense of mass-produced garments, despite current economic conditions. The art director had commissioned someone to shoot an elaborate studio still life, but will be quite content with a fashion shot, or even a reportage/documentary shot if it fits the bill.

Analysis

"...We were aware that this would be quite a popular choice, as lots of students seem to be into fashion. Fools - there's no money in it you know!"


The final brief was kind of a combination of the 2 previous pairs of briefs - there was a broad range of options in how it could be shot, plus an important editorial angle, but it could also have easily been shot relatively simply (but carefully) with a few fashion pics. We were aware that this would be quite a popular choice, as lots of students seem to be into fashion. Fools - there's no money in it you know! You'll end up working for egomaniacs for no money at all!

Successful Entries:

"...the best shots were the ones who got there and stopped for a minute and thought about what they were doing"


People who got across the central idea of the rise of bespoke and made to measure as opposed to mass produced clothes. Probably the best we saw were the few studio shoots who used well made clothes, and shot details rather than wider shots - this sort of thing instantly gets across the idea of quality as opposed to mass market.
People who made good use of what they found. Lots of folk headed to the nearest tailors and started blasting away, but the best shots were the ones who got there and stopped for a minute and thought about what they were doing. Usually this resulted in some very good close up shots that had a real bespoke feel to them.

Not So Successful Entries:

People who just shot an attractive friend of theirs in some clothes they happened to own - pretty much all of which were almost certainly produced in some sweatshop or other. This rather misses the point, and is a bit of a cop-out.
People who missed the editorial angle - there were quite a few shots of just sewing machines, or wide shots of shops with suits in. In the context of the whole article a shot like this might work, but they don't convey the idea of "made to measure" as clearly as a detail does.

Sloppy technical execution - common to all the briefs, but when you compare high-end fashion stuff to what you can produce in a couple of hours with almost no hair and make-up/styling etc, it soon becomes apparent how vast the gulf between them is. Better to stick to something safe and simple like detail shots, than attempt to beat Mario Testicles at his own

Other briefs: 1. Nearly New Musical Express; 2. The Day Before Monday Magazine; 3. The Economalist; 4. The Timely Educational Supplement; 5. The Draping Journal.
Read more on "2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 5"!

2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 4

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Another analysis of the 2008 briefs attempted by students on the roadshow.

4.An Education publication – The Timely Education Supplement

The Brief

The cover article of this weeks issue is titled “Has the computer replaced the teacher in the classroom?” – the cover image has been sourced from a stock library, and the accompanying shots were due to be shot at a local comprehensive this afternoon, but that’s obviously fallen through. They are open to ideas as to how best to fill their pages – it doesn’t even have to be in an educational environment if you can provide something creative enough. They’ll be just as happy with some people shots, as they will with some still-lives, all that matters is they get something to fill the blank spots in their layout with.

Analysis

"...the shots don't need to "answer" the question set in the brief, merely respond to it"

This one has a lot in common with the business brief - very open ended in terms of what you could hand in, but quite limited in it's editorial approach. As such the guidelines are pretty similar. Note that the shots don't need to "answer" the question set in the brief, merely respond to it - the shots could quite happily promote the idea that the computer hasn't replaced the teacher. We were aware that in many ways this would be an easy brief to shoot, as supposedly the bits and pieces required should be close to hand, hence we were expecting people to put lots of effort into the editorial angle.

Successful Entries:

People who produced good quality, involved responses to the question. We saw some great work of sparse, empty classrooms, eerily lit by computer screens, and some clever still life work with apples and computer screens.

There were also some good attempts made using some of the interiors found in colleges - things like frosted glass and isotype signs, though these were often slightly sloppily executed.

Not So Successful Entries:

"...Doing nothing more than recording what's in front of the camera, with no editorial slant doesn't look very good in a major publication!"

"Record" shots of classrooms with computers in. By which I mean opening the door to a classroom, pointing the camera in, and pressing the shutter. Doing nothing more than recording what's in front of the camera, with no editorial slant doesn't look very good in a major publication!

Shots that tried to hard to establish some sort of conflict between people and computers. There were a few attempts along these lines, and although the ideas came across fairly well, they were usually shot very badly and the execution ended up detracting from the message.

Other Briefs: 1. Nearly New Musical Express; 2. The Day Before Monday Magazine; 3. The Economalist; 4. The Timely Educational Supplement; 5. The Draping Journal.
Read more on "2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 4"!

2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 3

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The third in the series of post-mortems from the 2008 assignments.

3. A Business Publication – The Economalist

The Brief

The magazine is running an article by eminent economist Will Hutton on the role of ethics in the modern business environment. The general thrust of the piece is that ethics and morals can no longer be avoided by any business in today’s increasingly transparent working environment. The magazine were hoping to secure some time with Mr Hutton to get a portrait shot, but that hasn’t worked out, and frankly they’ll take anything you can give them to illustrate the article – portrait, still life, documentary, landscape – as long as it fits the story they’ll be happy.

Analysis

"...we thought the mere mention of the word "business" would have people running for cover!"

This brief was surprisingly popular, as we thought the mere mention of the word "business" would have people running for cover! Although the possible approaches to the brief are almost limitless, and we encouraged as much variety as possible, the key thing is the phrase "illustrate the article". The article is described earlier in the brief, and it's here that most people fell down!

Successful Entries:

"...the crux of this brief was to get the editorial angle across"

People who took the central idea of business and ethics and worked with it. We especially liked people who shot things like dirty handshakes, dodgy geezers in front of wind farms, and documents being swept under the carpet. The crux of this brief was to get the editorial angle across. Your actual approach, be it portrait, environmental shots or whatever, was less important than the story you told with the images.

Not So Successful Entries:

People who missed the editorial point, and just took record shots, or on a couple of occasions, shots which we had a very hard time reconciling with the brief at all. By far the most common approach to this brief seemed to be to wander into the high street and take a few shots of some shops. Besides the fact that most of these shots were usually very bland on a technical level, they don't say the first thing about "ethics and morals in the today's business environment".

Other briefs: 1. Nearly New Musical Express; 2. The Day Before Monday Magazine; 3. The Economalist; 4. The Timely Educational Supplement; 5. The Draping Journal.
Read more on "2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 3"!

2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 2

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More info about the briefs I set in 2008, along with an analysis of how students handled them

2. A Sunday Supplement – The Day Before Monday Magazine


The Brief

Sam Delaney is starring in a new film coming out next week, and the magazine has arranged the usual “puff piece” as part of the vast promotional material that surrounds films these days. They’re expecting a series of portrait shots.

You should bear in mind that previous people who have shot this feature slot in the magazine include Rankin, Bailey, Andy Earl, Clive Arrowsmith, Lorenzo Agius and Mark Seliger. The art director appreciates it’s a last minute job, but will be expecting a decent level of production – else they won’t be calling you again.

"...Sam Delaney could be Samuel or Samantha, we didn't want to restrict the options"

Analysis

Another deliberate trap here, as, like the music brief, it would be too easy just to take a mate and knock out some shots of them doing anything, anywhere. By insisting that the production values are of a high standard it was hoped that people would concentrate on producing a polished result that will hold it's own in a glossy Sunday Supplement. As with Pat Armstrong, Sam Delaney could be Samuel or Samantha, we didn't want to restrict the options.

Successful Entries:

People who produced a polished result. Usually this was as a result of them combining technical skill with common sense in using the people, props and location to best advantage.

The handful of people who really knocked our socks off with this one by pulling off a very polished result that really would look good in a Sunday Supplement with no other work done to it. A couple of times this was the result of very good technical execution, sometimes, but not always, in the studio. We also saw a few very good examples of location lighting that really helped to lift a few entries head and shoulders above the others. The other factor that marked the best ones out was clever use of locations - both the more mundane ones such as houses which were simply very carefully cropped, all the way up to the couple of people who found and used simply stunning locations that made the shots leap off the page.

Not So Successful Entries:

"...Direct on-camera flash of one of your mates, in the clothes they're already wearing, sitting in a cafe, slightly out of focus and about 2 stops underexposed doesn't really compare with what Rankin, Bailey and the rest can do!"

People who either ignored the bit about making the shots look top-notch, or weren't capable of doing so. Direct on-camera flash of one of your mates, in the clothes they're already wearing, sitting in a cafe, slightly out of focus and about 2 stops underexposed doesn't really compare with what Rankin, Bailey and the rest can do!

People who made assumptions about "Sam Delaney" and proceeded to shoot a very specific set of shots based around these assumptions. It's sounds a bit harsh I know, as it's an imaginary character, but you're asking people to make the same assumptions you have, and that's not always possible in the real world.

Other Briefs:
1. Nearly New Musical Express; 2. The Day Before Monday Magazine; 3. The Economalist; 4. The Timely Educational Supplement; 5. The Draping Journal. Read more on "2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 2"!

2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 1

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Although the assignment for 2009 will be different to last year's, there will still be a lot of similarities. With that in mind, I've gone through the 5 briefs that students could pick from in 2008, and detailed why we chose them, the traps we set, and what sort of approaches were successful (and not so successful). So without further ado, here's the first one:

1. The Music Magazine – Nearly New Music Express

The brief:

The influential jazz/folk artist Pat Armstrong is about to give a “Silver Jubilee” concert at the Royal Albert Hall, looking back over 25 years of their career. The magazine have secured an exclusive interview and need a series of portraits to illustrate it.

"hey, I can just get some mates to stand around near a scrapyard, and say they're a band - job done"

Analysis

We knew this brief would be popular, as seeing the title "Music Magazine" in the preview information would have lead many people to think - "hey, I can just get some mates to stand around near a scrapyard, and say they're a band - job done". To stop people doing this, and make people think a bit more we threw in the "25 years" bit. Note that Pat Armstrong could be either Patrick or Patricia, it's up to you.

Successful Entries:

People who sourced someone who could feasibly have been playing music professionally for 25 years. This gave rise to some very interesting phone calls as people desperately called parents, uncles and other people of advanced years. Just what we wanted to see - demonstrating a bit of resourcefulness!

People who realised that the shot didn't have to scream "musician" if it was going to be published in a music magazine. You could make a fairly good assumption that the reader would at least have heard of Pat, so shots didn't have to feature them clutching a trombone, and it was quite refreshing to see entries that were just straight portraits.

People who shot extra details. It was great to see some shots of things like a whiskey glass on a guitar, an empty violin case and so on. Detail shots like that help to pad the piece out very well in the magazine.

Not So Successful Entries:

"...slapping a false beard on someone (you know who you are....)"


People who cheated with the subject. This includes slapping a false beard on someone (you know who you are....) or shooting several people when Pat Armstrong is fairly obviously 1 person. Or even, on one occasion, just not even bothering and shooting someone who couldn't have been older than 21.

Shots that didn't include a person at all. Seriously, we did get one of these - and it's taking the whole "the reader will know what they look like" theme a bit far!

Other Briefs: 1. Nearly New Musical Express; 2. The Day Before Monday Magazine; 3. The Economalist; 4. The Timely Educational Supplement; 5. The Draping Journal.
Read more on "2008-2009 Assignments Analysed - 1"!