Planning my Sequential Images

The research I did behind my sequential image, which is in my previous blog post, really inspired me to create my own project. Both ‘boxing: open hand’ by Eadweard Muybridge and ‘chance meeting’ by Duane Michals, inspired my idea and I wanted to incorporate both their styles into my own unique project.

In the ‘boxing: open hand’ sequential images I really like the fact that there is motion, particularly fighting, and both figures are interacting with one another. In the ‘chance meeting’ sequential images, I find the pictures really strong, especially the one they walk past each other and then they look back. This sparked the idea of my own project.

'Boxing; open hand', Eadweard Muybridge, 1887

'Chance meeting', Duane Michals, 1970

I analysed both of these images in my previous post. Click Here

After looking at both these examples, I decided that my own projects name will be ‘The Argument’. I wanted to show the steps of an argument from start till the end and portray how each other feels. People tend to argue for minor inconveniences or misunderstandings which leads them to forgiving one another really easily. I started noting down the process of arguing and how it usually ends up. This included:

1.     1. The fight- verbal and sometimes physical

2.      2.Trying to explain what each other feels but disagreeing

3.      3. They leave

4.     4.  One of them regrets it and apologizes

5.    5.  They make up

 I started sketching out the way I wanted to represent this. I ended up having 9 pictures that I wanted to recreate and include into my sequential images (3 rows with 3 different pictures). My sketch included 2 different colours to represent the 2 different people that would be taking part in this project.

 This is the sketch I created:

My vision was that two friends start fighting, then they both leave but one of them regrets it and apologizes, and then they hug. For this to be achieved, I would have to focus on close ups as I need to capture their facial expressions during the fight. I also would like to keep the background very simple, to create contrast and to keep the primary focus on the girl’s expressions. I had envisioned a white background so I told them to wear darker clothes to create contrast between them. As it is an argument, I would also like to make the pictures black and white as black can indicate the darker side of human nature. It will build more suspense and make the atmosphere more eerie and suitable for a fight.

After sketching the pictures and planning them out, it was time to execute the final project. I used an iPhone 8plus and used the portrait effect to take the pictures. I placed my phone horizontally to make sure I have more space to include the girls.

 These are the results:

 

Conclusion: The results came out exactly how I wanted them to turn out. The camera angle was exactly how I wanted it to be so it can show both their body language and their facial expressions. I liked the contrast between the girls and the background. The last step was to edit the pictures to make them black and white and align them so they can be static.  It was challenging to keep the camera still while they had to act out all the images but we managed to do it.

References:

Muybridge, E. (1887) Meisterdrucke, Boxing; open hand [online] Available from: https://www.meisterdrucke.uk/fine-art-prints/Eadweard-Muybridge/115681/Plate-Number-340.-Boxing;-open-hand-(shoes),-1887-(collotype).html (Accessed 07/12/20)

Michals, D. (1970) Museo Reina Sofia, Chance meeting [online] Available from: https://www.museoreinasofia.es/en/collection/artwork/chance-meeting (Accessed 07/12/20)