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@kccreativemedia

Katerina Chrysafi | Creative Freelancer

93 posts

ITS THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

I don’t know if I’m sad, happy... probably somewhere in between.

The final deadline has come and I can’t quite believe I’m at the end of my degree!!!!

The project I created for this brief was one that I’m going to carry on when finishing university. The project is a campaign to help the environment and to encourage recycling - this is something that I’m incredibly passionate about.

Unlike a lot of environmental campaigns it holds a sense of playfulness illustrative style and more - to encourage people to stop and look at the deliverables. I also took a risk by creating a deliverable that would be seen as distasteful for certain companies. I created a package of a straw dripped in blood to shock companies into recycling their products.

As the next chapter of my life will see me in Cyprus, this is a project that will benefit my career as it will be a big focus of mine over the summer.

Within this project I have really pushed my technical skills and learnt to use new prototyping softwares, which benefits my portfolio.

My final outcomes were:

Branding, logo development, 2 video edits, 1 poster illustration, social media accounts, 2 t-shirt designs, 2 activations, a tracking source and a magazine page.

In terms of my online portfolio’s, I have three separate platforms. The Dots shows a larger selection of work, my LinkedIn focuses on my intern experience and my personal website is the ‘best bits’. I like having all platforms as all are slightly different and cater to slightly different audiences, depending who I’m networking with.

I feel like these platforms hone in on the professional and technical skills I have developed over the years and hope that they display the incredible and unforgettable journey that I feel so utterly grateful for.

ATTENTION! REFLECTION!

I cannot believe I am at the point where I’m reflecting on my FMP.

OUTCOMES:

x5 videos

x1 website (also compatible for smart phone)

x3 posters (print)

x3 social media posters (digital)

x1 magazine page (print and digital)

I have leant A LOT within the FMP. For someone thats not a designer I have pushed my abilities to design branding and a website. I have also learnt to colour grade and work with sound recording and pushed my skills in script writing, set design and makeup (when shooting).

I am happy with the outcomes I have created and hope that the campaign is heard and makes a little difference for those that feel silenced.

NATIVE AMERICAN LGBT+ HISTORY, SILENCED NO LONGER!

Magazine TIME

At a last attempt to exhaust all platforms and avenues I created a magazine page with quotes from my social experiment and from a director I spoke to whilst conducting my research. I think it would be a great way to grab readers and could feature in TimeOut and other similar magazines that promote and inform events in and around London.

POSTERS

To try and catch people on their way to work or travelling round London, I have created a series of posters that will pop up around the underground.

This will even grab those people on route to pride in the summer and give them ideas on a new aesthetic this year.

WEBSITE.

This is definitely something new to me as I have only ever assisted with website design.

Although I created a platform where my campaign unfolds into its beautiful story.

The homepage shows my key visual, with a brief description of reg campaign.

As you scroll down the page, you see the logos and the event that will boost the campaign. It also shows the campaigns mission at Pride.

There is a link to find out more about the campaign, which bring you to a more detailed section. A pop up teaser video plays in the background, although there is a link to see the full video which contains sound and subtitles.

On the homepage there is also a place where you can get involved with the campaign. You can donate, volunteer or simply turn up - giving people options to give as much or as little as they desire.

This piece on the campaign page shows people how to show their support by wearing native american war paint to pride.

This section gives people that are interested in this piece of history an opportunity to find out more, with links to other articles online.

Lastly, this is the volunteer page, where people can leave their information to become a warrior themselves.

Branding guidlines...

In order to make sure I keep up a high quality of aesthetics, I have created some brand guidelines.

I have chosen 1 font that would be associated with history/geography and another that is clear and easy to read in order to deliver the information with ease and clarity.

Furthermore, I have used the pride colours, although given them an earthy tint to fit in with my theme.

PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE

To get my campaign out into the world, I am using one of the biggest events in London to pull in the crowds.

I will be taking over the London Pride Instagram feed to get my campaign seen.

These posts inform people how to get involved and give them links to see the details of the campaign.

VOICE OVER AND SHOOT DAY

VOICEOVER:

I tried my absolute best to get a voiceover from a native american, although failed to do so. I used a Canadian actor who did a brilliant job and executed the information in exactly the way I imagined it.

I also worked closely with the sound recordist to ensure we got the best and most professional sound possible.

SHOOT DAY:

Typical of a shoot - something goes wrong. I was supposed to be using 2 actors, although only one showed up.

Although a set back, I continued with the shoot and did all I could with my one actor. I wanted to create blue and orange lighting - the blue to replicate the moon and the orange to replicate a fire underneath the subjects face.

I decided to use ACTUAL FIRE to light up the shit and block out all natural light to get the best looking image possible.

I also hired out professional lighting and camera equipment to ensure I created something at an industry standard.

Script writing

Script writing isn't something that I am massively familia with, although made sure I had something concise, catchy and historically accurate. I went through various versions of the script, and asked for people to correct and proof read it to get the information put forward in the best way possible.

I want to film the piece with two subject, so I have done two versions of the script.

Teneya, a revered warrior of the Sioux tribe.

Worshipped for having two spirits: that of a man and of a woman.

When native lands were invaded, values dismissed, traditions destroyed and lifestyles silenced -

two-spirited warriors were no longer.

Acceptance, was no longer.

(increase passion)

These stories to be kept unheard, no longer.

Join the fight for historical truth: a fight for Teneya.

Silenced for hundreds of years, but no longer.

LGBT history. Buried no longer.

(text to also appear on screen and logo of LGBT community)

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Chantesuta, a revered warrior of the Sioux tribe.

Worshipped for having two spirits: that of a man and of a woman.

When native lands were invaded, values dismissed, traditions destroyed and lifestyles silenced -

two-spirited warriors were no longer.

Acceptance, was no longer.

(increase passion)

These stories to be kept unheard, no longer.

Join the fight for historical truth: a fight for Chantesuta.

Silenced for hundreds of years, but no longer.

(text to appear on screen)

LGBT history. Buried no longer.

(logo of LGBT community)

VISUALS FOR SHOOT

Once I was happy with the script, I started planning out the visuals with various story boards and mood boards. I took a trip to camden to purchase props for the shoot.

Lets get handsy!

BREAK THROUGH!

After a LOT of thinking and going over ideas and coming to nothing thats got me truly excited, I have finally found a tie between all the things I want to say.

Throughout my blog I have looked into a lot of previous campaigns, my favourite of those using painted hands to convey messages in creative and clever ways.

I have always be someone that likes to look at REAL LIFE. I think exposing and showing the world real life issues and raising awareness why I got into advertising in the first place.

I looked into WAR PAINT - the aesthetics of native americans is extraordinary. The colours are powerful and display messages to the enemy.

I have connected the dots and want to create a campaign that shows the hand print as shown above (a warrior from the Sioux tribe). This hand mark is the sign of winning a battle. Therefore, I want it to tie in the markings of a victory, with the victory of getting these stories heard.

Hands off!

Hands... they’ve always been something that I deem as a great source of communication. Sign language and expression are used in advertising frequently to tell the audience a story or to evoke a certain mood.

Previously I looked into inspiring campaigns and throughout more research found AT & T, along with a campaign for WWF extremely visually inspiring.

The texture of paint and the positioning of hands to create a strong and clever message - which is what I aim to create within my own work.

Trials and experiments.

After developing a concrete foundation of the history of native american lifestyles, now is the time to push forward with the type of executions I want for my final projects.

I looked into creating a book, using split screens, illustrations, video, games, postcards, paintings, a documentary, AR and a selection of exciting and stimulating visuals.

After experimenting with stills and illustrations, I felt that the story would be better told using video. This way it pushes my outcomes to encompass more skills, such as script writing, cinematography, directing, lighting and editing.

Go deeper...

One thing I noticed about these campaigns is that they have a stand out visual. It is something that is recognisable and can be transferred onto various platforms.

I started off by looking into what native american people produced as part of their culture and the ways in which they communicated their beliefs.

From here I started to look at the ways they recorded these symbols and the tools they used to create them.

Not only are these prints shown caved into rocks and painted on artefacts, but they are also painted on the faces of native american people. They call this war paint, and each symbol displays something about the person as they approach their enemy.

Inspirational campaigns...

Having done a lot of research about the history of native america, I feel that now is the time to start looking at other awareness campaigns for inspiration. I want to execute my work in a way that stands out from the average awareness campaign. I want to create something that is clear, but also striking that will make the viewer ask questions and start to think.

A history lesson, get the facts right...

So as I have been privileged enough to have a phone call meeting with Lydia, I am doing in depth research about native american history. Starting with the landscape itself and the way in which each tribe inhabited the land.

Focusing on history of two spirits, the Jesuits and French explorers told stories of Native American men who had “Given to sin” and “Hunting Women” with wives and later, the British returned to England with similar accounts. George Catlin said that the Two Spirit tradition among Native Americans “Must be extinguished before it can be more fully recorded.” In keeping with European prejudices held against Natives, the Spanish Catholic monks destroyed most of the Aztec codices to eradicate traditional Native beliefs and history, including those that told of the Two Spirit tradition. In 1530, the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca wrote in his diary of seeing “soft” Native Indian males in Florida tribes dressing and working as women. Just as with all other aspects of the European regard for Indians, gender variance was not tolerated. Europeans and eventually Euro-Americans demanded all people conform to their prescribed two gender roles.

The Native American belief is that some people are born with the spirits of both genders and express them so perfectly. It is if they have two spirits in one body. Some Siouan tribes believed that before a child is born its soul stands before The Creator, to either reach for the bow and arrows that would indicate the role of a man or the basket that would determine the role of a female. When the child would reach for the gender-corresponding hand, sometimes The Creator would switch hands and the child would have chosen the opposite gender’s role and therefore casting its lot in life.

Traditional Native Americans closely associate Two Spirited people with having a high functioning intellect (possibly from a life of self-questioning), keen artistic skills and an exceptional capacity for compassion. Rather than being social dead-enders as within Euro-American culture today, they were allowed to fully participate within traditional tribal social structures. Two Spirit people, specifically male-bodied (biologically male, gender female) could go to war and have access to male activities such as the sweat lodge. However, they also took on female roles such as cooking, cleaning and other domestic responsibilities. Female bodied (biologically female, gender male) Two Spirits usually only had relationships or marriages with females and among the Lakota, they would sometimes enter into a relationship with a female whose husband had died. As male-bodied Two Spirits regarded each other as “sisters,” it is speculated that it may have been seen as incestuous for Two Spirits to have a relationship with each other. Within this culture it was considered highly offensive to approach a Two Spirit for the purpose of them performing the traditional role of their biological gender.

Finds Them and Kills Them

Osh-Tisch, also known as Finds Them and Kills Them, was a Crow Badé (Two Spirit) and was celebrated among his tribe for his bravery when he attacked a Lakota war party and saved a fellow tribesman in the Battle of the Rosebud on June 17, 1876. In 1982, Crow elders told ethnohistorian Walter Williams: “The Badé were a respected social group among the Crow. They spent their time with the women or among themselves, setting up their tipis in a separate area of the village. They called each other ‘sister’ and saw Osh-Tisch as their leader.” The elders also told the story of former B.I.A. agents who tried to repeatedly force him to wear men’s clothing, but the other Indians protested against this, saying it was against his nature. Joe Medicine Crow told Williams: “One agent in the late 1890’s…tried to interfere with Osh-Tisch, who was the most respected Badé. The agent incarcerated the Badés, cut off their hair, made them wear men’s clothing. He forced them to do manual labor, planting these trees that you see here on the B.I.A. grounds. The people were so upset with this that Chief Pretty Eagle came into Crow agency and told the agent to leave the reservation. It was a tragedy, trying to change them.”

Pressure to change also came from Christian missionaries. In 1903 a Baptist minister arrived on the reservation. According to Thomas Yellow Tail, “He condemned our traditions, including the Badé. He told his congregation to stay away from Osh-Tisch and other Badés. He continued to condemn Osh-Tisch until his death. That may be the reason no others took up the Badé role after Osh-Tisch died.”

Two Spirit Documentary

In 2009, filmmaker Lydia Nibley explores the cultural context behind a tragic and senseless murder. Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honoured Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits. Through telling Fred's story, Nibley reminds us of the values that America's indigenous peoples have long embraced.

This film showed, once again the strength of equality for the LGBTQ community before it had ever been raised an as issue by European invaders.

Having been so inspired by the documentary film, not only did I want to refer to it in my research, but also push that and try and understand more about the people involved and what they want to teach the world.

Therefore, I contacted Lydia Nibley, who has agreed to speak with me about this beautiful documentary and my ideas to show the world a piece of forgotten history.

The Zuni Man-Woman

Having had read the first article and have a sneak peak into the world of native america, I decided to throw myself into the project and learn as much as possible about this culture.

I started off by reading a play called ‘The Zuni Man-Woman’.

The play is about an expedition launched in 1879 to collect artefacts and study the Zunis people. On the expedition two individuals were destined to become the leaders of the new discipline of anthropology. Matilda Stevenson and Frank Cushing were both non conformists but their ideas about anthropology and their ways of practising it were profoundly different and in the end both were profoundly changed the lives of the Zunis.

Two key members of the tribe were Heluta, governor of the village and We’wha, a man who dressed as a woman, occupying a traditional third gender role. The relationships formed by both explorers and native people reveal the complex dynamics of intercultural contact - the understanding and misunderstandings, the sympathies and the prejudices, the unintended consequences.

As their lives living in a multicultural world is a daunting challenge for the simple reason that human relationships, which are complex, are involved along with differences in knowledge and power.

The play finished with Matilda speaking of her friend We’wha she explains that the average male is too preoccupied with defending his ego to ever do good anthropological research. The best work in this field is done by woman. She explained that Wa’wha was her trusted and devoted friend who taught her that even though she was a woman, she had the heart and head of a man and therefore had two spirits. She did not have to be one or the other, she could be both.

The play is a documentary style, holding genuine truths of native american history. It had made me want to learn even more about their open minded and respectable values and push to learn why they were never carried through to European culture.

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