Rationale - GeoNarrative
So…I just submitted the worst assignment of my life. Basically I sat down and wrote my entire story, added my photos, linked everything together, submitted and then returned to find that everything was gone. EVERYTHING. I had time to reisert images and write a quick and unlinked version of my story, but basically it sucks and i’m not quite sure what to do right now.
But i hear you asking the question … Nicole, what have we learned?
Never submit an assignment one minute before it is due and never externally check your work after you have submitted
Regardless, I will write the rationale for the work i did.
At the begining of this assignment i was in much debate about which to option to chose. It came down to the geonarrative or a data visualistion. At one point this week i was creating one of each to see which would work out better. I decided that i preferred the quality of my images and the closer relation to netwroked media of the geo narrative.
I chose to do a fictional story which followed the memories of an unhappy woman escaping in her mind to her ‘Happy Place’. I chose to do it this way as i though it was a unique way of looking at things compared to other short narratives i had found in my research. In terms of photography i also went for a different choice by focusing on close-up, detailed and emotion provoking images, wtih not much human occurance. I chose to do this to differentiate my narrative, ive freedom in my creative photographic choices, and as it suited my ‘memory’ storyline. By using a memory, it allowed me to focus on minute things that one would specifically remeber. I also only had a model for a short period of time so we could not travel to location. Using memories also countered this by allowing the use of studio shots for the main character. I wanted the images to flow nicely from one to next so i tried to use a similar colour scheme which flowed nicley through the sequence.
In terms of the story itself its a bit more sombre than i am used to writing, but i felt anything else did not suit the feel of the images or capture the emotion that i was going for with my character. I suppose if it was longer i could have shown some depth to the character, rather than just depressed. I also think my storyline is biassed by my current hatred of Canberra, which perhaps shone through more than it needed to.
In terms of each iages i used:
This image was about portarying that she was ‘off in her own little world’ imagining, but in a whistful, sad kind of way. The image is green, one because i think it is striking, and two because it follows the colour theme and reflects what she is thinking about which is shown in the next shot.
This image portrays the elements of specific memory to the character. I also think the natural aspect is a direct contrast to her situation, inside with a bunch of technology.
This image gives geographical refernece, as the river is located on the Wingecarribee River on the Map. Again it uses similar colours, but is also designed to portray a memory, as though you are looking through the charcters eyes as she crosses the bridge. I tried to imply movement in this image to keep the sequence as though she is hedading toward the house.
This image is courtesy of mindgutter. I remixed it slightly to make the house appear less expensive and large. Once again it uses viewpoint and portrays emotion. I also selected it as it has strong dynamics leadin the eye toward the house which i discuss in the story content.
This image relies on colour and texture for interest. I think this is symbolic of a memory as it is aspects, such as colour and texture, which you remember clearly about specific places.
This image was used to connect the subsequent and following images. Due to the close up nature of the photos, sometimes linking images were required to help the flow of the story line.
This image was used to depict the character entering the house, as well as portraying the ‘mystery’ that she recalls about the location. I used this viewpoint in the hope that it gives the sense of a child opening the door, the way it would be remembered from the past.
This image is courtesy of gari.baldi. I think it is brilliant and selected it because of the atmosphere it creates, the myterious nature which reflect the story content,a dn because it matched my colour scheme.
This image is courtesy of CarrieFlickr and Canhotagem, whose images i remixed together to suit the storyline and to portray the image that i was imagining in the story content. I incorporated this image as i felt the story needed more personalisation to the character. It also provided a segway for returning to ‘real life’ in canberra through the storyline.
This image is courtesy of markhillary (a lovely chap who emailed me to say he hopes it gets me a good mark) whose work i remixed with an image of my model. The remixing could have been better, and was thrown due to my inability to find an apropriately licenced call center image with similar lighting to the studio. What i should have done is found my image first and tried to replicate rather than vice versa. When i incorporated this image i wanted it to look less glamous than those when she is imagining, to give the feeling of a seperate reality and to portray the characters differing emotions towards those realities.
In terms of networking i think this assignment is very successful because it is a network of information. The images used are a network as they come from all different cources and locations, some even combined. Collecting these images also created a social network as commented to the original creator that i was using their work. In terms of content, another network is created as the text is linked to appropriate websites to provide further information and a deeper understanding of the storyline for those interested.
The problems that i encountered throughout this assignment were pretty mammoth, but also brought necessary lessons, and i suppose (if i am being objective) overall gave me a much deeper understanding of the technology and the networking aspect of this unit than i would have achieved otherwise. The loss of half my work (still contemplating whether it is better to be late and complete?) was a time management lesson, which cut me deep. I also think i wasted a lot of time deciding which option to pick, rather than building an excellent solution to the brief. Overall summary: lots of effort, lots of lessons, mediocre result.
