In my meeting with Cemre Yesil we discussed the possible formats for presentation of my project. The choices are a ten minute film as a voiceover and other media around my images, a website or a dummy photobook.
Film
The film option is my preferred option and the one I have committed myself to. In this option I propose a ten minute film with voiceover and video material overlaying my images. Alec Soth’s Magnum in Motion Niagara is the model.
The strength of this option is it allows me to include candid personal input with voice and video. It is easily distributable to a market. For example it would easy to distribute to the Multiple Sclerosis Society with their interest in the suffering of the partners of people with the disease. Equally I have a large network of professional practitioners around the world who I can use to get the work out there. Cost is also an advantage as it is a lower cost option than book or website.
I currently lack the skills to produce something to a professional standard. I intend to cover this by improving my own skills through learning. However, I will focus on content and structure and ensure I have the option of recruiting professional film skills if that is required to hit the timing deadlines.
I will explore the possibility of film festivals with short film (1-39 minute) classifications like the Nottingham Film Festival and being included in Art21. Art21 is a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring a more creative world through the works and words of contemporary artists.
I will check with Wendy McMurdo that this option works well with a PDF of images used and evidence of professional distribution of the work for the MA submission.
I considered the other two options and give my reasons for not choosing them.
Website
A website is a powerful way of getting photographic work to a big audience quickly. In a post Covid world there are many attractions. The model for a website surface would be Nick Knight’s website for his photographic and film work. This is too ambitious for the MA project as it would require a number of projects to introduce an audience. If an audience likes a website it expects more material. A one project website for the MA might be acceptable but is likely to fail the professional market test.
A Dummy Photobook
This is every photographer’s dream to put a solid, physical version their work in to the market. It is attractive to me also. However, it is costly and distribution in the post Covid world is likely to be tricky. The missing for me is it fails to allow me to add other media such as voiceover or video to my work.