The Choice of Tool:
Website, possibly using film clips.
Content:
Basic instruction in Alternative Photographic Processes ie. Polaroid lifts and transfers, Cyanotype printmaking, pinhole camera, possibly liquid emulsion?
Intended use:
To use simple, accessible multimedia technology to efficiently teach the foundation skills of Alternative Photographic Processes.
Audience/rationale for context:
The target audience is diverse. Young adults and up, amateur photographers as well as professionals who would like to learn new processes and applications for their work. This tool could be used by an art teacher to teach these processes to their students, however this would not be the specific target audience. Teachers know their students and will know best how to incorporate this resource into their lesson plan. Keeping my tool simple allows for its creative application. The new media technologies available through the internet have created a vast audience for peer to peer education. This strategy allows the greatest number to access these skills and apply them in new and varied ways. To be more specific, the audience would be English speaking, however the images and films would be universal. The text and narration would be composed so that it can be clearly understood, and easily translated should the demand arise.
Rationale:
My rationale for the creation and application of this tool is inspired by my belief that any subject, especially art, requires not merely the transfer of information, but the transfer of the passion for that subject. In my case it is a passion for Photography. I feel that this concept is best expressed by William Butler Yeats belief that “Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” Because of my specialized education I feel qualified to teach this subject, but I am also capable of inspiring others to a similar passion for photography. Although much of this information is currently available on the web, it is scattered and too informally presented to be used efficiently. I wish to create one central resource for learning Alternative Photographic Processes. I hope that in the same way that silk screening has inspired people to share their art on their clothing, a common knowledge of Polaroid transfer etc. will inspire photographers to share their art on unexpected and surprising surfaces (printing a photograph on window glass, or making a camera from basic household materials). And its fun.
Rationale for Content:
I will include a complete and integrated description of each process. This will consist of a number of parts. A textual overview, materials, procedure, examples, as well as a short video or videos demonstrating each technique redundantly. Additionally, there will be numerous photos and illustrations in order to visually demonstrate technique and process. Aiding all this will be a running narration over each video. Finally there will be a short gallery of completed projects in order to inspire learners. There will not be a comments section or any forum for discussion on this website. It is not meant to be a blog and although such forums would ideally create peer to peer education, it has been clearly demonstrated that they instead foster negative and counterproductive interactions.
Process:
1. List all of the components I want to include in this website and continue research on this topic.
2. Map out the layout and design of the website, number of pages, processes, estimate amount of material for each, hyperlinks?
(a). Refamiliarize myself with dreamweaver and editing software.
(b). Begin programming.
3. Buy materials for processes.
4. Schedule time to film and document processes.
5. acquire and test necessary equipment and technology.
6. Test processes, before filming.
7. Write text and narration.
8. Film processes.
9. Assemble website
10. Finish Programming
11. Connect to existing current personal website or purchase domain registration.
12. beta testing, editing, debug and launch.
Technical Choices:
I will use Dreamweaver to create the website, GoDaddy to host, Microsoft Word to write text, a Canon G10 to film / document the processes. iMovie or FinalCut Pro to edit the video. Photoshop to edit the photos.
I like the shiny metal tree … and the detail of your project proposal. I will return to it when I build a website …
By: redturningblue on November 23, 2009
at 8:27 pm
I think this will be a great final project. If you’re trying to tranfer the idea of passion, try adding a guiding question to your final project, one that I really love lately is “what do you wonder?” Keep it broad enough that it can be personal to anyone but also something they can explore through visual expression. Big ideas and theme words can be powerful ways to bring personal passion to an assignment. It’s like curating a show. Good luck.
By: Sarabeth Berk on November 24, 2009
at 9:57 pm
I really appreciate how you have organized this proposal. I clearly understand the idea and your intention. You have provided your audience with plenty of background information and yourself with a solid groundwork to work from. I look forward to seeing the final product!
By: michellekohler on December 14, 2009
at 10:08 pm
Red turning Blue here, seconding and third-ing all of the above comments, especially Sarabeth’s idea about the necessity of transmitting or communicating passion in a classroom tool, and how to best do it. I’d love to be in a classroom where this tool is in use. I love the idea of the gallery of completed projects for inspiration. One visual worth a thousand words (but nothing without the words, or much reduced – it takes both, I think.) Also, seeing Sarabeth’s name has got me thinking about Mrs. Peake’s class at Amidon-Bowen, which I have come to love visiting, even though we’ve only been there a short time, and mostly just observing. Mrs .Peake’s classroom is a pretty lo-tech environment. She’s got the typical, non-digital arsenal at her disposal – crayons, markers, a room full of large art posters explaining art elements, styles of painting, etc. I don’t think there’s a computer. There may not even be an overhead projector on the wall, the way there are in so many suburban school classrooms nowadays. The children, 5th graders and 3rd graders, depending on the period, are interested and mostly very well-behaved, a testament to Mrs. Peake’s skill. She runs a disciplined classroom, and doesn’t tolerate any nonsense. And yet, she manages to generate a fair amount of quiet excitement. The kids in her classroom have a sense that they are being let in on a great and wonderful secret world – Art! And that Mrs. Peake is their guide, and they must trust her and defer to her. In this case, I think it is her high seriousness and the gravity with which she treats her subject. There is no false effusing with Mrs. Peake, and that really seems to work. And I think “What do you wonder?” would be a very successful question in that classroom. It’s open-ended enough that I think the kids would find it a little shocking, and yet it is not at all out of keeping with Mrs. Peake’s highly serious and dignified approach to herself, her classroom, and her subject. Wonder if we might import some of our digital tools over to Amidon Bowen some day? Or bring the students over to the Corcoran for a field trip? Note to self, remember to ask Judy Gravitz about this.
“What do you wonder?” I’m going to remember that, too.
By: redturningblue on December 18, 2009
at 11:22 pm