PROJECT EVALUATION

The aim of this project was to create an online exhibition that investigates the phenomenon of dream and to present dreams as stories. The exhibition follows the stories of five dream protagonists, each representing a different dream state or sleep phenomenon; their stories are portrayed through haunting and thought-provoking photographs accompanied by cinematic sound and film. Visual imagery throughout the exhibition is created with a unique and filmic style utilising vibrant colour to mimic the vivid madness of dream.

Initially, in my project proposal, it was proposed that the final outcome would integrate the theme of fairytale because I was inspired by Sigmund Freud's theory that dream symbols can be understood through the analysis of symbols in fairytale. However, very early on in the project and after some discussion with my tutor, I decided that exploring the theme of dream and sleep phenomenon alone would be more interesting and lead to a more unique outcome. Although, I didn't expand on the idea of fairytale, the final outcome undoubtedly has a fairytale aesthetic - I think one can interpret the stories of each character as dark fairytales when viewing the exhibition. However, I feel that these 'fairytale' characters are much more unique because they are not inspired by any existing fairytales.

The target audience for the final outcome still remains the same - this project is aimed at the eighteen to thirty age group who have an appreciation for art, beauty and horror. I aim for the same audience as dark beauty magazine and beautiful bizarre magazine who exhibit a similar artistic aesthetic as what I have produced. 

Throughout the creation of Phantasia, I have developed my ability as a creative practitioner in many ways. I chose to depend on myself for the majority of the project and it is a decision I don't regret. Although directing and working as part of a team would have perhaps improved my ability as a creative director, by depending on myself I was able to gain a better understanding of image production and greatly expand my creative and technical skill set. Power was something that I strongly valued whilst working alone, I was able to capture my visions without the worry of being able to communicate them accurately or having my ideas changed to satisfy others whilst working in a team - this exhibition is completely of my own vision. I have realised through this project that I have a great interest in creative direction as an alternative career path to makeup artistry.

Photography was the most challenging part of the production process. I am glad that I had assisted many shoots in the past for I feel that without those experiences I would never have found the confidence to photograph the majority of images - I was also able to easily communicate my vision to the photographer who shot two of the characters. I spent a long time studying the work of other photographers such as Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi and Tim Walker, I was very much inspired by their use of colour and dream-like aesthetic and I proceeded to experiment with different techniques to achieve similar effects. I am a believer of improvement from trial and error, an experimental mind set was key to the success of the project because I was able to develop my personal style of photography and express it through the visual imagery I produced.

Although project progression was mostly smooth, I often found myself questioning and doubting my abilities because I would notice all the imperfections of my work in post-production. Having discussed this issue with my tutor, it was agreed that this kind of mindset was not a negative one because in order to improve, one must never be content with their work.

Throughout the entire production of Phantasia, I knew it was important to utilise social media to promote my project. I made to sure post regular updates including behind the scene pictures, cropped detail shots, inspiration, short videos and gifs. I valued comments and likes as encouragement and motivation. I also received a lot of positive feedback from my tutor and peers who I have discussed the progression of my project with and felt reassured of my abilities.

During the first couple of shoots, I spent an excessive amount of time setting up the lighting and camera leaving very little time for hair and makeup, studio time was also very limited. I learnt how important time management was and decided that the model was to come in at least two hours prior to my studio booking for the remaining shoots so that I can complete the hair and makeup without having to waste precious studio time. As I became more experienced in photography, shoots became progressively smoother and less stressful. I initially planned to create six characters in total but decided midway in production that cutting the number of characters down to five would increase the overall quality. It was not until I began creating the imagery that I realised that I had set myself a very ambitious task. Taking inspiration from filmakers such as Guillermo Del Toro, Dario Argento and Wong Kar-Wai; I worked extremely hard to achieve impactful images with a filmic aesthetic and I am very pleased with the final images.

Apart from photography, I also experimented with film as I wanted to incorporate moving images throughout the exhibition. Reflecting back on this project, I realised that I should have asked for help and collaborated with the film student. Although, there are still film elements within the final outcome, I feel that the quality would have been much better if I had collaborated with someone more skilled in film as I found it very difficult alternating between film and photography as lighting had to be re-adjusted for each mode. I mostly used the film I captured to create the exhibition trailer and short gifs that I have shared on Instagram to promote the project. Although having expressed my worry for the quality of the film with my tutor, it was agreed that the quality of the film appears to be deliberate and works in context with my project – the motion blur and graininess of the film add to the dream effect.

This project began with a love for storytelling through the use of makeup, I feel that I have greatly improved my skills as a makeup artist throughout the production process. 'Beautiful' was always the description I strived towards in regards to my work. Before this project, I felt as if I was stuck in a box and tied an idea of perfection that limited my creativity. Yet during this project, I discovered that 'beauty' comes in many forms. 'Beauty' can describe something angelic but also something dark, twisted and sinister. I started to branch out from my usual style of perfection and experimented with textures and unconventional materials to create unique looks. Rather as a makeup artist who was so concerned about the beauty of the model, I was able to take a step back and reflect on my work as an artist, as a painter. I started to look at skin as though it was a canvas; this really boosted my creativity because I was able to see makeup in a new light.

Another challenging stage of the project was designing and constructing the website that would feature the online exhibition. This process was more time consuming than I expected and I regret not starting this process earlier. I experimented with multiple website building softwares and platforms including Muse, Squarespace, Tumblr and Wix. I ended up creating the website via Wix because I found it to be the most reliable and customisable. Designing the website was the most difficult part of the process because I wasn't sure of the structure and order in which I wanted to present the images. I experimented by creating one page layouts, Tumblr inspired grid layouts and photography portfolio layouts but felt that they did not create the viewer experience that I envisioned. I brainstormed my ideas and thought about how the exhibition would appear if it were to be physical. I worked to translate these ideas into pages and finally decided on a click through slideshow gallery layout accompanied by cinematic sound with each series of images separated by short quotes and moving images.

Despite all the difficulties encountered in this project, I am very pleased with the outcome. If I was to develop this project further I would like to create more characters and have a physical exhibition where the viewer is physically immersed in the dangerous dreamland of Phantasia. Another alternative to a physical exhibition is to produce a book compiled of all the imagery alongside short stories or poems about dreams written in the style of Edgar Allan Poe or Angela Carter.