Task 1A
Pre 1960’s
Darkroom Manipulation
Darkroom manipulation is used to change the background and
remove unwanted areas. Instead of doing this through Photoshop they instead had
to do it physically in the dark room. One of the common techniques is burning,
which increases the exposure of the print which should be darker, dodging,
which decreases the area of exposure causing it to appear lighter.
Burning Dodging
Masking is where an artist protects a certain area from
changing by covering it up so that it isn’t affected by certain processes. Photo
manipulation was originally achieved by ink, paint, double-exposure, piecing
photos or negatives together.
Man Ray
Man ray did a lot of work with photo manipulation using
photograms. He used everyday objects in strange positions and negative imaging
to cause a strange effect on the picture. He also moved the objects during
exposure and giving certain objects different exposure times.
My opinion:
I consider the image to be quite boring. It’s just a few
objects in black and white shapes. While the process used to create the image
is interesting the image itself isn’t. To improve if I would have used different shapes
to make it more interesting.
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins was an English botanist and photographer. She
used algae to create photograms. She did this by putting algae onto cyanotype
paper and the contact printing them together. She published the first book to
feature photographic images.
My opinion:
These images are far better than Man Ray’s. Using
plants makes them look a lot more interesting than the random objects used in
Man Ray’s images. I still don’t like them though as there isn’t much to look
at. It’s too simplistic and I believe that they could have tried something more
creative with this piece. For its time I’m sure its unique.
I wouldn’t use these techniques even if I could due to
the fact I don’t like how they look. There’s no detail to the pictures and I
fail to see any way I could use this in a detective story or anything like it.
Fake Ghost Images
One of the most interesting images manipulation techniques
is creating images of Ghosts.
This image was faked by taking part of a postcard, the girl,
and placing it into the background of the original image. It was discovered because
of the different grain on the girl and the image itself.
This
seems to be quite effective but it’s the least creative way someone could fake
a ghost picture. It honestly just looks like someone is stood on the stairs.
This image was created by using long exposure. When a camera
lens is open for a larger amount of time than usual it gives someone a chance
to move. When they do this it leaves a semi-transparent version of themselves.
Cottingley fairies
The Cottingley fairies are a group of photographs taken by
two cousins, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths, in Cottingley. They show the
girls interacting with a group of fairies. They came to the public’s attentions
after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author of Sherlock Holmes) used them in an
article and believe they were genuine.
They were faked by cutting out images of fairies from a
popular children’s book at the time and gluing them to the pictures. It
confuses me as to how this managed to fool Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Task 1B
Photoshop
The most common way of image manipulation in recent years is
to use Photoshop. It can be used for a huge variety of things from adding a
person into a picture to creating some of the images below. There’s an
unlimited amount of things that can be done with the software.
Laura Williams
Laura Williams is a British photographer who posts her work
through the internet. She uses Photoshop to create various illusions in her
work. She gained a lot of attention after
posting the image on the left. It seems to have been created by taking two
images. One of her sat holding the mirror and another of just the background.
She then combined the two images and erased the inside of the mirror. By
putting the empty picture on a different layer it allowed for a hole to be
created in which you could see the second layer.
The second image is possibly done by taking three pictures;
A background picture, a picture of the persons head and an empty layer. On the
empty layer I think she may have created the pattern of what looks like ribbon
and then put the image of the face underneath before cutting away at it to
allow the background to peak through.
The third image is likely created by taking a picture of the
girl leaning on the tree and a picture of an empty jar. The picture of the girl
is then resized so it fits into the bottom of the jar. The background is then
cut away to reveal the back of the jar.
My opinion:
All her images look very interesting and are very creative.
The mirror image is probably the most simple and best. The image is lined up
perfectly with the background to create a seamless flow. The inside of the
mirror could have contributed to my main idea.
Fiddle
Oak
Fiddle Oak is a 14 year old photographer who does a lot of
amazing stuff using Photoshop and trick photography. For the first picture it
seems to have been taken in a sandbox. He placed burnt out matches all over and
got to an angle in which it would look a lot larger than it actually is. He
then lit a single match. He then took an image of someone and placed it onto
the original picture. The black and white likely helps to cover up some of the
possible lighting issues.
The second image is done by taking an image of a girl laying
down and simply pasting it onto the image of the notepad. Simple in Photoshop
terms. The third image (and my favourite) raises some questions. Did he merely Photoshop
in the pencil that the person is holding or does he own a pencil that big? Either
way he first drew the leg of the person onto the piece of paper and then edited
the actual person in before blending his legs into the drawing.
My opinion
It’s very impressive work for someone so young. My favourite
is the first image with the matches. Making it black and white was a clever way
to cover up any mistakes and the lighting with the match is a very smart move
from the photographer. The two images of people on a piece of paper look great,
the amount of creativity in the second picture (Him drawing his own legs on) is
amazing.
Fashion images
In the world of fashion there’s no such thing as a perfect
body. If there was, then they wouldn’t spend time editing every single image
that anyone has ever taken of a model. This is usually done to make them
thinner, remove any kind of marks on them and usually make their neck longer (I
don’t know why).
News Events
Various news Events pictures have also been edited for a
variety of reasons.
The image above is the “Situation Room” in which Obama and
others received updates on Operation Neptune’s Spear. The mission which would kill
Osama Bin Laden. In a Hasidic newspaper Hilary Clinton and another lady at the
back of the room were removed due to a modesty law.
Task 1c
Manhunter
Manhunter is a 1986 movie based on the Thomas Harris novel “Red
Dragon”. It is the first film to feature the serial killer Hannibal Lecter
(Spelt in the movie as “Lecktor”. It focuses on FBI investigator Will Graham
coming out of retirement to help catch the “Tooth Fairy”, a serial killer. Will
uses his talent for empathizing with psychopaths.
Of all the Hannibal Lecter movies this is one of the best (its
remake Red Dragon is slightly better). The movie’s strongest point is its use
of colour. Each scene is tinted in a different colour to emphasize the mood. For
scenes with the Tooth Fairy we often get a dark green and for scenes with Graham
and his wife we got a softer blue. Despite this most of the sets are really
bland. The only really notable thing is a strange wall in the killer’s house
which has a beach setting imprinted on it. The best performance in the movie
comes from William Peterson as Graham. During the movie Lecter says that Graham
was able to catch Lecter because they are so similar. This sounds like normal villain
talk but when Lecter makes the comparison here you can really see it. Peterson
actually manages to make that seem true. He portrays Graham as being right on
the edge of madness, like he could go over the edge at any point.
In comparison to Red Dragon, which follows the book more
accurately despite Lecter getting a lot more screen time, the movie isn’t as
entertaining. In Manhunter Lecter is obnoxious, quick talking and makes it his goal
to irritate whoever comes to visit him (especially Graham). In Red Dragon he
talks a lot slower and is more calculating. It seems like he wants people to
stay along for longer. Like he wants them to keep coming back so he can slowly
drive them nuts. The two Tooth Fairies are both very different performances. In
Manhunter he is a scarier character that we know little about while in Red
Dragon he’s a more sympathetic character that we know everything about. I
personally prefer Red Dragon’s version.
Infernal Affairs
Infernal Affairs is about two Hong Kong cops. One is
undercover in a Triad. The other is a Triad mole in the police. They both end
up with the goal of trying to find the others identity. The movie was extremely
successful and had two sequels plus a remake; The Departed
The movie has a very interesting second layer. Both of the
moles in the organizations both want to get back to their real life in the
organization they’re a mole for but they also partly want to stay in the
organization they are a mole in. It creates an interesting dynamic.
Occult Detective Genre
Occult Detective is a sub-genre of the detective genre. It
has a central character investigating cases that involve various supernatual
elements and tends to be set in a more modern time period. Characters usually
deal with various demons, vampires and other supernatural being causing trouble
in present day.
John Constantine – Hellblazer
First appearing in the Saga of Swamp Thing series as a
secondary character, John Constantine is now hailed as one of the greatest
comic book characters of all time. He's a supernatural con man and mage based
in England trying to deal with various supernatural forces. Despite being a
powerful mage his greatest asset is his intelligence. He manipulates and cheats
his way past his opponents though this usually backfires against him. He's also
a rare type of comic book character in that he ages naturally. He starts of the
series at age 34 before ending the series at age 60. In his 25 yearlong series he
managed to outsmart the devil himself on three separate occasions, manipulate
God to get his soul back to heaven and saved the world more times than I can
keep count. I consider (along with a lot of fans) the Dangerous Habits
storyline to be the best of the whole series. It focuses on John (a chain
smoker) getting lung cancer and trying to find a way to cheat death. It
incredibly well written with lots of twists that keep the reading engaged in
the story.
Hellboy is a Dark Horse comic series that began in March 1994
but the character first appeared (Albeit in an unrecognisable form) in a
leaflet advertising San Diego comic con 1993. The character works as part of
the B.P.R.D (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Development) to help combat the
supernatural entities in the world. The series consists of miniseries, one shot
and short stories with only a single ongoing series. I personally think that the
short stories are the best parts of the series with each being a tale of
Hellboy encountering various cultures creatures and monsters.
The Invisible Man
The Invisible man is a 1933 movie based on a novel by H.G.
Wells. It follows the plot pretty closely though takes a couple of liberties.
It focuses on a scientist who creates a drug that turns him invisible. He then
goes around causing chaos with town’s folk and police trying to stop him.
While being a good movie the bit we’re going to focus on is
the effects and how they managed to make him invisible. When the man was
completely invisible and picked up objects or such it was done using wires.
When he was removing clothes it was done by having the actor wear a black
velvet suit and stand infront of a black background. They then combined this
with a shot of the location.
