History of Photography Research
As a way to familiarise the topic of photography, an initial research task was proposed, research the history of photography in three aspects: the literal history and development, our own history and a separate interest relevant to photography.
Due to my general interest and extensive use of photoshop, I decided upon researching the history of photo manipulation which to my surprise has been around since the creation of the first photographs, even used for fraudulent purposes as shown.
Following the general research a way of displaying the information itself was then worked upon and due to the historical development aspect and the information pertaining to the illusion and fakery I decided upon a flashcard system where each segment is dressed similarly to a film cell and contains the information (each side of the card pertaining to one time line of the other). The flashcards were then folded into a set which is housed in a foam core 8mm camera at the beginning – one of the most popular and widely available varieties of camera in the 1900s – and a iPhone at the end, showcasing the development of photography both through text and visuals (the phone side also folds cleanly into the main camera casing – once again showcasing the illusion and fakery aspect). The personal side of the timeline I included through the use of small polaroids placed accurately within the dates presented: I chose this due to the overall recent development of polaroids (compared to film cells) which matches my family’s and even my own interest in the subject.
The overall research technique of laying out all relevant pieces of information in association with the project itself in an interesting, clear manner through – typically mind-mapping – is a technique I may use in future projects as it allows for more memorable notation and did assist in allowing myself to structure and deconstruct the information provided into categories and suitableness for the construction. With the casing,I do wish I had provided more realism towards the scale, the details and colouring in order to create a more attractive display although I do interpret this issue as the camera being that of a preliminary sketch or initial 3D model (utilising my reflection to incorporate mistakes from Ways of Making – Making Spaces) providing a modern look to the historical piece and possibly providing greater insight into the creator being more design inclined over photography.
Interview
Following this research the task was then set to interview a candidate of a classmate’s choosing revolving around the statement: “The development of questions relating to photography and how it is used by 1st year students.”.
The interview itself had to be prepared with a clear theme and curated by the interviewer working in collaboration with their unknown interviewee e.g. agreeing on a setting that makes the interviewee comfortable and is simple to film at. All equipment and editing must also be completed by the student with assistance from a variety of workshops. Only prerequisite for the video itself is that it must be three minuets long, edited down from a longer, transcribed, original cut.
Through my classmate and gatekeeper for this task Alexandra Camp, I was introduced to Dominic “Dom” Scott a English and Film Studies student who I was able to meet beforehand to gain insight into his knowledge with photography and cater a theme towards his interests and knowledge.
Preliminary Research
I was able to discuss the interview and its aspects with the interviewee at an event on Wednesday the 16th of January to ensure consent and an understanding of the project itself.
From this an understanding of the interviewee’s photography background was described as being ‘mainly social’ with many images being taken at Dundee University’s Student Association where he spends time on nights out and at his own radio show.
Through this discussion I gained an understanding for his comedic nature and conversational, social nature which provided ideas in curating a discussion theme that would be comfortable for what he reinstated was a lack of knowledge in the subject – this should assist in the storytelling aspect of the interview and furthering the comfort of the interviewee during filming. In doing so, this should assist in understanding his thought’s, emotions and motivations in regards to photography and possible lead to an explanation of needs and wants: all essentials for storytelling in design.
Ideology
Theme: “The effect of photography on the mentality of first year university students in regards to online and real-life social interaction.”
Focusing on Dom’s understanding of photography from a social media stand point solely, I decided on researching more in-depth factors of social media usage with the relevant demographic.
Through research it has been found that the photography of events has only become extremely relevant in recent years through the debatable over use of social media. Event photography was for special, more revered events in yesteryear over today’s need for every event to be noted. With
This development brought about experimentation about emotions in regards to social media; in 2014 a PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) investigation into emotional contagion (The phenomenon of having one person’s emotions and related behaviours directly trigger similar emotions and behaviours in other people) discovered that emotional states can easily be transferred through photography – an aspect I wish to question within my interview to truly understand its effectiveness and how people truly feel whilst exploring their own social media usage.
Furthermore, I wish to engage a comfortable conversation with which the interviewee can discuss his own opinions on what he sees in socials media and how he uses it to showcase himself on the internet which would be interesting considering his radio show, a place where he can almost shut himself away but still let himself be known without being seen, avoiding visual judgement and confrontation which may cause feelings of self-consciousness.
Setting
Dundee University Student’s Association – Liar Bar
It was decided by the participant that the setting should be out width the flat environment and therefore it was decided that the interview would take place in Union Air Bar during lunch; this allows for a more comfortable atmosphere for the participant and furthermore provides greater association with the social aspect of the question and context for any images referenced. The use of a social atmosphere also allows for a more conversation-based interview which works for the reduced professional nature of the interviewee’s photography.
Overall, this was an effective backdrop for the interview itself as it provided context to the interview, its questions and relevant images; the opportunity to evoke stories from the participant and to make a more conversational environment over a serious backdrop of the studio for instance which did not align with the interviewee’s personality or background which assisted greatly in the storytelling within the interview.
Interview Setup and Equipment
Through research and trial and error, I decided upon using a Canon Legria HFR56 due to its lightweight, compact and easy to setup nature with 1080p full HD quality and numerous modes including vivid and portrait which would provide interesting video styles, with a pair of lapel mics connected to a Roland R-07.
Roland R-07
Lapel Clip-on Microphones
canon Legria HRF-56
An external audio recorder was utilised opposed to the Camcorder’s standard microphone due to the extensive surrounding background noise that would be prevalent within the setting which would be greatly dampened through this method, although not completely removed – a stylistic choice I took due to the social aspect of the entire topic and setting alongside removing possible empty spots in the conversation, although this did cause issues when editing as jumps and cuts in the audio are much more obvious due to the change of background audio which required extensive audio editing through dampeners and separation. All aspects I will use in further projects due to their overall usefulness, providing the issue with a gain of learning now rather than later.
Why We Use Contextual Interview?
Contextual interview is the utilisation of a recorded arrangement of themed questions towards a select group in their own separate chosen environment in order to observe and analyse a participant’s reactions in a quantity of manners ( spoken, instinctive and physical) as a way to understand a person’s thoughts and furthermore identify their needs. The interviews are often more informal due to these arrangements and often lead to more genuine personal reactions to anything asked over statistical polls or questionaries.
There are multiple advantages to contextual interviews over the standard questionnaire one being the context. By allowing the participant to be within their own environment whilst partaking in the interview a larger quantity of smaller details and stories may be evoked due to the comfortable atmosphere the participant finds themselves within (with the added sense of control over placement and actions during the interview itself). If the environment is one of significance this may also lead to stories being evoked from the interviewee allowing the interviewer to delve deeper into certain aspects or ideas about the theme itself which may lead to an unexpected, unique answer adding to the overall project in the conclusion and lead to responsive questions to further explore views and clarify understanding, essential in deciphering a person’s own thoughts and inner emotions.
By having the person feel at ease they are more likely to act normally in response to questions allowing for greater analysis when it comes to transcribing and thematic analysis, such small details such as how they hold themselves during certain moments, how they instinctively react: do they jump back, look around, speak with their hands. Depending on the context of the interview itself these can provide signals to issues or the inner dialogue of the interviewee towards the question itself. For example, a simple glance downwards may refer to the idea they uncomfortable or embarrassed by an question or answer despite smiling or acting otherwise fine whilst a glance upwards often refers to an inner feeling of joy – small details which may change the entire introspect of an answer and provides context into the interviewee’s inner monologue.
Due to the fact the interview takes place, usually, between two people in a real life setting if the interview itself is questioning a product then this can be brought into use. Recording how a person interacts with an object can lead to a massive amount of information: how they first attempt to utilise it, is there an issue with comprehension, does it work, is it ergonomic, how they look when using it. This is essential because, just like previously mentioned, the body language of the user can be further interpreted to gather a superior understanding of their true thoughts and feeling over such an item due to a quantity of reasons: unwilling to speak ill of the interviewer’s work; exhibit scorn for an item of significance in their life or be judged for their own use of an item or opinion (possibly in the case of a minority).
Following on from the interview itself, the conclusions gained from contextual interviews may be much more insightful than any standard interview or poll. This is because the interviews are used in a group context ( with upwards of twenty participants for any one theme ) which allows for cross examination amongst the collective to see if there is a particular point of agreement or disagreement or maybe a specific answer opposing the status quo in an interesting manner creating its own set of issues or questions. By doing this the interviews allows for a richer data set than just numbers or percentages as specific issues can be discussed and delved into allowing for a greater number of notes and an overall more comprehensive understanding with a selection of ideas over just a polarity of yes or no with no external input for reference further on in discussions or use of the information.
Furthermore, contextual interviews when transcribed can provide a greater variety of notation when it comes to thematic analysis. During the transcribing process verbatim can be inserted due to the use of an accompanying video allowing for specific description of facial expressions or body language additions which adds greater context to how the interviewee answered and how this aligns or conflicts with other people or even the message itself ( for example: if the message is one of elation or joy but says it whilst looking down indicating sadness or embarrassment). This allows for more unique identifiable codes which when placed with others may create a contradicting theme or align with others to create an unexpected flare to a theme as it is now seen in a different light (because body language had to be read to truly decipher its meaning).
Insights and Analysis
Social media holds an underlying advertising element: Multiple references are made to the public with a separation of the interviewee, his friends and then “people”. This obviously causes a sense of anxiety within the interviewee who makes further reference to making his life seem interesting to those out width his immediate friend group whilst ensuring not to affect them in a negative manner when in a sound state of mind.
Social media increases one’s sensitivity to their outward appearance to the public: The interviewee rarely references a fear of judgement from the outside, although this may be purely because of discretion. Multiple times the interviewee takes notes of his own appearance and how it may be sub-par to others rather than how an outsider would view him as being sub-par – proving this ideology.
Prominent underlying fear over reflecting on his own photography: It was noted immediately following the discussion that the participant has a particular disinterest in viewing his own photography, especially those posted online out of fear of appearing imbecilic. This does provide the question as to why he would upload such images however these mainly happen when he is inebriated and shows particular enjoyment in the moment – essentially what he wishes to encapsulate to show others.
Appreciative of a protective barrier online between name and face: References the interviewee’s work as a radio host in which he states how the addition of a video feed would make him more self conscious of his appearance would address and focus on the camera more than the microphone and possibly his work which would hinder the overall experience (shown by his overwhelming enjoyment of the job itself). By purely being a voice on the radio, the face is removed from the situation and personality comes from the emotion in his voice, providing more control and possibly halting judgment and providing more control. (This insight also references his self conscious and judgemental nature previously mentioned.).
Contradiction – Instagram is a fun environment yet references advertising and serious nature: At the beginning of the interview itself, the participant mentions how instagram is a more more light-hearted platform compared to others like Facebook yet contradicts this throughout with his mentions of each image requiring a meaning, how it essentially is an advertisement for how interesting your life is and how anyone can look into what you post, all of which provide pressure to the user and removes the lack of ‘fun’.
Contradiction – Does not want to remember his own mistakes yet with friends is acceptable: The interviewee made the idea of reviewing his previous uploads sound improbable due to his distrust in his “jollier” self posting images, which provided the ideology that such images are a cause for embarrassment but when shared amongst friends the images become more fun and lighthearted which removes that opposing fear, creating a contradiction due to his severe opposition of the idea.
Editing
In order to edit the video itself, Adobe’s Premiere Pro was utilised by myself due to its overall simple UI, layering ability, adaptability and variety of effects. By using the software I was able to hold greater control over such aspects as the audio, even adding my own royalty free music and effects at poignant moments to add context and possible humour to match the relaxed atmosphere of the interview itself.
The software also allowed for detailed editing which was useful for aligning the separated audio recorder file to the video itself and further editing with the subtitled questions and answers which allowed for an overall smoother appearance and add a flow to the text itself. Undertaken at multiple points, the adobe software also holds a variety of effects to add aspects and elements to the video which I found particular use in the additional dissolve for fading text and image, redial shadows for the illusion of polaroid images and linear wipe to create the typing effect for the text itself. Furthermore, an Adobe speciality would be that of the “Morph Cut”, an element which takes the end of one video clip and the beginning of another and analyses both with the use of specific frames to create a smooth transition between both – incredibly useful to avoid spikes in audio with jump cuts, although a learning curve was required in using the technique.
Overall, editing was a greatly enjoyable experience for me as I found particular appreciation in editing each detail and being able to add multiple effects and layers allowing for an arrangement of a complex design in a logical and organised manner. However, some aspects of the software itself is rather complex at first and with a lack of direct assistance online it is tricky although the provided workshop and YouTube were great assistants. The use of morph cuts and overall text did get confusing after a short amount of time and did require constant rendering to stop jittering and audio glitches and replacements happening by my own ineptness which will ease with experience and further learning. A rather large issue during the editing process was a lack of video as, surprisingly, the camera provided cut out due to an unforeseen issue with the battery discharging however, this was aided with the use of the software’s audio editing and video effects.
Video
( Password: DJCAD590 )
Editing
In order to edit the video itself, Adobe’s Premiere Pro was utilised by myself due to its overall simple UI, layering ability, adaptability and variety of effects. By using the software I was able to hold greater control over such aspects as the audio, even adding my own royalty free music and effects at poignant moments to add context and possible humour to match the relaxed atmosphere of the interview itself.
The software also allowed for detailed editing which was useful for aligning the separated audio recorder file to the video itself and further editing with the subtitled questions and answers which allowed for an overall smoother appearance and add a flow to the text itself. Undertaken at multiple points, the adobe software also holds a variety of effects to add aspects and elements to the video which I found particular use in the additional dissolve for fading text and image, redial shadows for the illusion of polaroid images and linear wipe to create the typing effect for the text itself. Furthermore, an Adobe speciality would be that of the “Morph Cut”, an element which takes the end of one video clip and the beginning of another and analyses both with the use of specific frames to create a smooth transition between both – incredibly useful to avoid spikes in audio with jump cuts, although a learning curve was required in using the technique.
Overall, editing was a greatly enjoyable experience for me as I found particular appreciation in editing each detail and being able to add multiple effects and layers allowing for an arrangement of a complex design in a logical and organised manner. However, some aspects of the software itself is rather complex at first and with a lack of direct assistance online it is tricky although the provided workshop and YouTube were great assistants. The use of morph cuts and overall text did get confusing after a short amount of time and did require constant rendering to stop jittering and audio glitches and replacements happening by my own ineptness which will ease with experience and further learning. A rather large issue during the editing process was a lack of video as, surprisingly, the camera provided cut out due to an unforeseen issue with the battery discharging however, this was aided with the use of the software’s audio editing and video effects.
Reflection
Overall, this course was fairly interesting to me due to the new skills gained and the largely customisable and unique aspects created through the interviews. Having participated in interviews in the past curating questions was not necessarily difficult, especially with the set topic of photography that built from the first task allowing a use of our research and mindset. But with the requirements provided with the interviewee I did find myself second guessing my work at multiple times. This was also apparent in the filming of said interview, due to a lack of experience and confidence in providing the questions which will hopefully build from experience similarly to the continuing build of my confidence in curating questions (similarly to the Ways of Seeing coursework).
Aspects such as the equipment I also found difficulty within and as such filmed three separate interviews: once the camera discharged and didn’t provide a lot of footage, secondly the camera cut out once more and thirdly the audio recorder died. The checking of equipment before and throughout use would have aided me in this situation, saving repetitiveness and overall timing issues with extensive editing in the aftermath – although this situation did reinforce my ability to work with whatever happens, to not panic and to adapt to anything, an aspect highly utilised by myself throughout this year and beyond. Apart from this I do see the skills in using the technology (audio recorder, lapel microphones, tripods, video recorder) being incredibly useful in secondary projects especially due to the overall usefulness of contextual interview and video media in advertising and explaining designs, making the skillset learned incredibly valuable which will only become stronger through more research of cinematography and more experience.
Overall, this course was fairly interesting to me due to the new skills gained such as setting up a fully functioning interview setup with unfamiliar equipment whilst adapting to the natural lighting and unexpected arrangements. An issue would be my unfamiliarity with the equipment and reflecting on this will utilise online tutorials as a form of tutoring before hastily going forth causing more issues with lost footage and audio which I adapted to well in my belief using cut aways to make up for lost footage.