Proposed Concentration- Pre Production

1. My strengths are my imagination and ability to view scenes from multipe, disparate perspectives.

2. My weaknesses are photoshop and the focus and lighting of a shot. It's always a little bit off, so I need to take a lot. Also, I need to improve my composition skills.

3. I would therefore like to challenge myself by working on a project that captializes on my strengths and improves upon my weaknesses.

4. The idea I'd like to capture in this project is fantasy or surreal. For me, this is a return to my roots as an imaginative and enthusiastic student. I always read books for escapism- they provided an outlet for my creativity. I viewed each book as a journey, and books like Harry Potter, The Neverending Story, and The Accidental Hero made my believe that magic did exist. Every scene provided a unique story, an insight into the characters lives and reasons for their journies. Understanding each moment was so exciting; not only was I presented with the author's story, but I was also free to imagine anything at all about the story myself.

Possible Sub Theme or subject matter: Time- How different the past is, how the present is so short, what the future has to offer. Chinese, Indian, and other cultures?

5. My overall goals are to use photoshop to make qulaity shots of nature, architecture, people, reflections, etc. into images of wild fantasy and imposible worlds. To do this properly, I really need to nail and practice the lighting and focus. I want to give the viewer a feeling of awe with a "Wow!" factor.

6. My steps mainly involve taking as many photos as possible and trying to get the best possible lighting. Most of myshots will be in the daytime, either outdoors or indoors with the right lighting. I might take some nightime shots though. Some of the shots will be inside the school, but others will be in places like West Coast Martial Arts Academy. For example, when I go to WCMAA, I would might just use a dragon head mask (not computer image); I would have him hold a sword in one hand, and a (photoshopped) fireball in the other.

7. I have to remember that the images are all completely mine. I'm using photoshop to bring together different part of photoos I've taken. If I take a picture of a landscape or open view, I might focusing on brightening the mood by creating some clouds and having a ray of light shining down on a point. However, if I'm doing a portrait or action scene, I might create a feeling of tension or a darker feeling.

8. I might look at fantasy books, or other people's work in photoshop creating fantasy or surreal scenes.

http://speckyboy.com/2011/09/07/30-breathtaking-surreal-photoshop-tutorials/

I would use tutorials like these, but I would only use my own images.

9. I'm most interested in Seth Casteel's photos because they are so ridiculous, zany, and out of this world.

http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/creative-lifestyle/seamless-compositing/

This tutorial, however, is awesome. it uses images that anyone could take and work with, and it manipulates them to create something astounding.

10. On Top of the World by Greek Fire kind of embodies part of the feeling I'm going for. The boy uses everyday things and creates a brand new world out of them. Your perspective is the only thing that limits your imagination.

11. My biggest difficulties would probably be lighting and setting the scene along with the amount of photoshop I have to do. Honestly, if I mess up the lighting and scenes, I won't be able to do anything. I might overcome this simply by applying more effort and time.

12. For this project I feel that I should be graded on the quality of my pictures, connectedness to the central theme, composition, lighting, and overall effect/feeling. Why? Because I need to improve on these and I feel that these things make or break a great photo.