Attn: Sophie & David

More wardrobe and accessory ideas. David then Sophie. *=like this a lot. Caption above picture:

David:

Puffed hair. Direct side gaze.

Layered looks. Adjusting. Over-accessorize top.

Large collar/scarf. Loose plain hat. Rolled up pants.

*Double layer hat and hood.

Strong lines. Pose. Hold self high.

Either/or:

Slow exposure of snow. Interacting with snow.

Ingore who these people are (my bad). Role play. Support. Physical interaction. Playful.*

Physically connected couple. Strong lines contrast on each other.

Sophie:

Classic "Z" shape. Height change.

Angles and bending against a tree:

Bold statement accessory contrast against neutral/plain color scheme:

Again, playful accessories. Highlighting all stylistic aspects. Contrast textures.

Brooch accessory and close up of it.

Plain neutral colors in wardrobe and makeup and hint of color/tint in lips.*

Leaning pose:*

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Hair

Thinking about shoots for this break and focusing on hair. Normally I don't spend very much time thinking about hair for a shoot but a big trend from the runway shows was braids and chignons and designers really opted for a romantic look. I think La Roux's hairstyle is incredibly unique and even though I could never rock the style as well as she can its definitely fun and refreshing.

Romantic:

La Roux:

Loose wispy bun:

Romantic loose braid:

Loose chignon:

Loose braid:

La Roux-esque style:

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Winter Inspirations

Thinking outloud for Winter shoots. I am thinking about putting a small magazine layout together for over break since I don't really have much planned. I wanted to consolidate some ideas I have for immediate shoots. These are ideas I have for stills as part of a whole shoot.

Shoot with David:

Depth in a studio portrait. Explore z-axis. Contrasting lighting for male.

Direct head on shots. Into the camera. Nothing else but model.

Shoot with Sophie and Ryan:

Blankets on location

No spatial or physical context as to location. Highlight and focus on hair. Mystery. No connection with model.

Intimate interaction between models. Hidden and protected in their private "moment".

Sophie: first image only. It kind of looks like you. Direct connection. Beautiful light. Simple lines of shirt and wardrobe. Collarbone.

Again, blanket on set. Side view.

Ryan: Side view. Strong and powerful. Confident. Individual sense of self-awareness.

Ryan: Layered outerwear. Less focus on color and more on texture and shape.

Again side view. Texture and shape of hair and profile. Landscape in background. Ryan in distance behind but very out of focus.

Two models together. Close together. Connection with camera. (Imagine in winter setting)

Focus on right half of this image. Strong lines of stairs contrast with flowing fabric, textures, color.

Outside location shot. Strong unique clothes. Contrast with pastoral images. Wide angle. Field.

Location: Field with lone tree. Pastoral. Dusting of snow.

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Off for break

Today I had my last final and was finally able to go home. But before I was allowed to go home I had to make sure that I had only 20% of each wall covered so that I wouldn't get fined for having a fire hazard when our rooms get checked over break. That being said I definitely had most of my walls covered and had to take most of my pictures down. I thought I would share what they looked like before they got destroyed. I was going for the rainbow theme so I could bring as much color into my white concrete block room as I could. Notice right above my desk there is an old x-ray I found from when I was 7 or so.

The large image on the right that says "ESUVIO BAKER" is a print from one of my Holga images from this past summer:

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Angel-A

Angel-A is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen and is about a beautiful woman who is sent to help the ex-convict protagonist, Andre.The entire film is shot in black and white which is a style that is very rarely used to today and the only other example I can think of of a contemporary film in black and white is Tetro by Francis Ford Coppola.

The cinematographer Thierry Arbogast is an absolute genius and every single shot is exquisitely composed. In 2007 Vogue wrote,

"Working in black-and-white, cinematographer Thierry Arbogast elevates a slim story into a beautifully photographed love letter to Paris by night, an enchanted city of bridges, brasseries, and magically depopulated boulevards where it seems quite believable that a lovely young woman could soar about the Seine on wings."

Check out the trailer and other clips on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaoYTgbUmdc

Incredible stills from the film. Only a small preview of the film:

Listening to: Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana - Interlude by The London Festival Orchestra

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HNw7vFHn2M&feature=related (ignore the pictures)

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Commercial Films

I wanted to give people an idea of the context of my final film and what to expect from it. Our rough cuts are due next Tuesday and I haven't even gotten my final roll back yet. The editing that I have done thus far is messy and is hard to do without all the footage. I will show my film once I get the final edit done which should come together in the next week or so. In the meantime I wanted to share a few of my favorite season collection films to give a background as to what I am trying to achieve with my film. There a few stylistic aspects that are consistant in advertising films that I wanted to incorporate into my own film:

• Handheld camera
• Connection with the model as if they know the person who is filming or behind the lens. The person behind the lens becomes a character which in turn makes the viewer feel as if they are involved in the life of the model and in the action taking place.
• Closeups of the model
• Experimenting with focus and shallow depth of field
• Closeups of details of the clothing and/or accessories
• Model interacting with the environment and the clothes to promote a specific lifestyle
• Older looking "film"

Here are two stills that I love from ad campaign videos. I liked these stills more than the overall concepts of the films:

Some of my favorite campaign videos and a still from the film (the still is from the link above it):

Ralph Lauren Holiday 2007 (check out any of the ralph lauren rugby advertisements. this one happened to have the old film feel. the stills aren't very clear but you can search rugby.com in itunes podcasts and can download all of their campaigns with higher resolution)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwFFQG7wWec&feature=related

David Yurman (doesn't have the overall old film feel but incredible stills and closeups)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-1crminTg

Bulgari

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j83A2XSHA3I&feature=related

Ports 1961 (not in the style I tried to emulate but beautiful stills all the same: has a rich dark tone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpryeuuT0B4

Ports 1961 (one of my favorite campaign ads of all time...gorgeous)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NcBBiJrJII&feature=related

Levi's (The film is titled O Pioneer and a narrator reads an excerpt from a walt whitman poem which is titled the same. I love that the images and the text being read give a very definitive emotional edge to the film of revolution. Beautiful stills with handheld shots)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAXpJSvW5mA

Listening to: No I in Threesome by Interpol

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