TUTORIAL WITH JENNIFER

I went into my one-to-one tutorial with a neutral attitude towards my project after the set back from the previous shoot that hadn't turned out well as I had hoped. I had researched further into my ideas to ensure that my thoughts were clear in my mind so that I could explain in the most effective way to show my progress; when I feel organised within my work it helps me gain a positive attitude as I feel everything is in order and can be achievable when planned well.

The images from the data board shoot were shown, with the explanation of how I tested the look, the struggles I faced sourcing a model and how after receiving the final images I did not feel that they actually fit the project outlines that I had set myself. Jennifer agreed with my thoughts on the images, expressing that they were ‘pretty’ images that would be great within a futuristic, robotic idea, but within my idea of tackling real life issues, it just doesn't work effectively. It was helpful to gain a second opinion that matched my own, as it lightened my attitude and I gained some confidence, which I sometimes need - confidence and believing in myself is an issue I struggle with regularly. By keeping on top of workload and always updating ideas so that I fully understand my thoughts, it will help me keep a wholesome outlook on my project and slowly help me gain the self-assurance I need to excel. 

Since shooting, I had been rethinking the focus of my concept, looking into real life situations that I can see around myself and the people in my life and how they are becoming consumed by social media and the technology needed to use it. I started to take down some notes of some first-hand observations around me:

•    Obsessions with celebrity Instagram accounts

•    People using Snapchat to document almost everything in their day-to-day lives

•    Photographing food to then post on social media accounts

•    Friends sitting looking through the social media on they mobile phones, while on the laptops, while watching television

•    Visiting friends, then all siting on our phones looking through social media platforms and not actually speaking to one another.

•    People posting how they are feeling on social media. Is this for attention? a cry for help? to boast?

•    Happy selfies being posted online, but are these people really in a happy frame of mind? Is this a mask?

•    Nights out being documented from almost start to finish. Have they actually enjoyed the night?

•    I myself check my social media accounts when I wake up in the morning, sometimes half an hour passes and I’m still in the same position doing the same thing. Is this wasted time?

These ideas were shared with Jennifer, along with a Pinterest board I had collated including images that I found inspiring or relatable to my own ideas. I was praised on the research I had created, however she then challenged me asking: why do I look to Pinterest for help with ideas so much?

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/adkins0730/

After taking time to reflect on this question, I have decided that I should step away from the online pin board as it can cloud the mind and only allows me to think of ideas that have already been created before. I hadn't realised how much of an impact the website had on my creative outlook of my project. Without knowing, some of my ideas were very similar to a few of my pins - not exactly carbon copies, but they had many similarities which was worrying for me as I don't want my work to be so heavily influenced by work that is already out in the world. I understand that it is nearly, if not impossible, to create something totally unique that has never been thought of before, however I want to try and push the boundaries of my ideas so that they progress from my own thoughts and innovations rather than off the back of others. By doing this and pushing myself, it will help with my confidence issues and to create work of the best quality that I will feel really proud of.

What Next?

• To ensure the project moves forward, I should undertake a social experiment or two to understand the habits and patterns of people around me (friends, family, etc) . This will aid me in gaining knowledge on how serious the issue of social media obsession and dependency is within my circle of friends/family and what issues that need to be focused on when creating concepts - this also works well as these are the individuals who I will be looking too to be included (as models) within my my publication.