#researchportfolio

[bellawinterperformingarts]

Choreographer Research

A choreographer creates dance and movement routines for productions.  

Who is a choreographer responsible for?

A choreographer is responsible for the whole cast; they must make sure that they can perform phrases of dance and movement effectively. They are responsible for every member of the cast knowing every piece of choreography that they need to.  

Who and what is a choreographer in charge of?

A choreographer is in charge of every piece of movement that is in the show. They are the ones that have to create and then teach the cast phrases of movement, whether that’s a piece dance or just a movement sequence. A choreographer is also in charge of making sure that the movement they create correlates with the director’s creative vision. Generally, a choreographer is the person in charge of leading the physical warm up at the start of a rehearsal session, as they are in charge of the cast knowing the choreography.  

What qualities would a good choreographer possess?

A good choreographer would have to be creative and have a good imagination as it is their responsibility to create movement that is reflective of the director’s creative vision. The movement they create has to fit the narrative of the production, so they have to be creative to choreograph phrases that effectively tell a story whilst engaging the audience.  

A choreographer needs to have high energy and belief in what they are doing. By being energetic, it can help to motivate the cast during rehearsal and encourage them to work hard during rehearsal, especially if they are learning a difficult piece of choreography. It is important that a choreographer has belief in what they are doing because then it means that they are confident in the knowledge that their choreography matches the director’s creative vision.  

Patience is another quality that I would expect a choreographer to have. It is important that a choreographer is patient and understanding because each member of the cast will have different abilities, for example some of them may be strong dancers and others may have no dance experience, so they need to be patient when teaching pieces of choreography because some may find learning it more difficult. Choreographer Jamie Neale said that the hardest part of the rehearsal process is “getting your ideas across physically to the dancers”, so choreographers may have to be patient with themselves as well when trying to think of ways to explain the meaning behind the movement.

What paperwork should a choreographer create and work from?

A choreographer should read the script of the production so that they know the plot, making it easier for them to choreograph movement that helps to tell the story. A choreographer could also create a plan of what they need to choreograph movement for so they can keep to a schedule and have everything choreographed on time. It might be helpful for a choreographer to film bits of choreography as they make it so that they can watch it back and make changes if they need to.  

Key stages for a choreographer:

The first major stage for a choreographer would be meeting with the director to discuss their creative vision, so that they can understand what they need to achieve with their choreography. Once the creative vision is understood, the choreographer would then begin to explore ideas for movement sequences. Once they have solid ideas for movements, they will begin to choreograph solid routines. When they are happy with the movement and feel like it works with the narrative and the director’s vision, the choreographer will begin teaching it to the cast and working on blocking and spacing.

Tools, equipment and materials a choreographer might need:

A choreographer would need a space to work in, such as a dance studio, so that they have room to create choreography and get the cast in to teach it to them. They might also need a phone or an iPad to play any music that they need as an accompaniment to a dance. They will need a drink of water because they will be dancing and moving around a lot so they will need to keep themselves hydrated. It is important that the choreographer has appropriate attire, such as sportswear, because they will be incredibly active, so they need to be in comfortable, suitable clothing.

Bibliography

https://getintotheatre.org/blog/what-does-a-choreographer-do-in-theatre  [7/10/20]

https://study.com/articles/Choreographer_Job_Description_Duties_and_Salary_Info.html#:~:text=Ballet-,Job%20Description,revising%20or%20combining%20existing%20routines.  [7/10/20]  

https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/interview-with-up-and-coming-choreographer-jamie-neale  [7/10/20]

[bellawinterperformingarts]

Director Research

A director is somebody that creates a piece of theatre. Their role as part of a production company would be to orchestrate the elements of creating a performance, such as casting and blocking.

Who is the director responsible for?  

Although a theatre director works closely with many other creatives, such as producers, stage managers, set, lighting, sound and costume designers, playwrights, choreographers and, if the production is a musical, musical directors, they are responsible for overseeing the creatives’ work to ensure that it matches with their directorial vision.

The director is also involved in the casting process, so they will also be responsible for casting the right people for the show.  

Who or what is a director in charge of?

A director that is putting together a piece of theatre is in charge of a myriad of things. They have to call judgement of major decisions, such as who gets cast, fix problems that may arise, organise the structure of their days so that they use their rehearsal time effectively, and guide the actors within their performance to bring their directorial vision to life.  

What qualities should a director have?

In my opinion, I would expect a good director to be responsible, level-headed, have strong communication skills and be confident in their vision. By being responsible, the actors and other creatives will have trust in their director as they will know that the, making the process of putting a show together a more enjoyable experience. If a director is level-headed and has good communication skills, they are more likely to be more patient with the actors during processes such as blocking, which will make the process run more smoothly. It is important that a director is confident in their vision because if they weren’t, it would be hard for the cast and creatives to trust them if the director can’t trust their own decisions.  

What paperwork should the director create/work from?

A director should work from a script, and if the production they are creating is a musical, it would be necessary for them to have a copy of the musical score as well. It is important that the director takes into consideration the playwright’s intentions as well as their own; as Australian theatre director George Ogilvie once said, “we must serve what has been written, that’s what we’re there for.”  

I believe that it would also be useful if a director wrote a plan of what they wanted to achieve in each rehearsal session so that they could use their time effectively.

What are the key stages for a director?

The first major stage for a director would be to establish their creative vision. In this process, the director would outline things such as the emotional tone for the show. Next, the director would have to start holding auditions in order to put together a cast for the production. It is important that the director doesn’t rush the casting process to ensure that they cast the right actors for the different roles within the play. Once the cast is together, most directors will do a readthrough of the script with the entire cast before beginning to block it. After the blocking has been complete, the director might choose to do complete run throughs of the show from start to finish to make sure that the actors know what they’re doing, but it is also a good opportunity for the director to see if there are any issues with things like staging. Once the director is happy with the staging, the show will begin to add the technical side of things, for example lighting and sound design. The director oversees all of the technical decisions.  

Tools, equipment and materials a director might need:

Stationary such as a pencil and a highlighter to annotate their script and make notes during the blocking process.

A folder that contains the script and score would be useful so that it can all be kept together in one place and easily accessible.

A way to communicate with the other creatives that are working on the production when not in rehearsal, such as a phone or email.  

Bibliography

https://www.stagemilk.com/what-does-a-theatre-director-do/  [22/09/20]

https://www.encoretickets.co.uk/articles/whos-who-in-a-creative-team/ [22/09/20]

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/theatre-director [23/09/20]

[bellawinterperformingarts]

Stage Manager Research

A stage manager is the person that is responsible for the general running of a theatre company. They coordinate every aspect of a production, such as rehearsals, building and creation of sets and costume and the technical side of things.  

Who is the stage manager responsible for?

The stage manager is responsible for pretty much everyone involved with the theatre company. It is their job to liaise with actors, lighting and sound technicians, the costume and wig departments to ensure that everyone is following schedule and that everything gets done on time, such as wig and costume fittings. If there is a problem within one of these departments, it is the stage managers job to help them get it fixed to make sure that the show can go ahead smoothly. They must make sure that the actors are arriving for any rehearsals and dress runs that they are needed for.  

Who and what is the stage manager in charge of?

The stage manager is in charge of everybody below them, like the assistant stage manager, stage crew and the cast. They must make sure that everybody is in the right place at the right time. Stage managers are generally in charge of making sure that the actors are on stage when they are supposed to be by calling their cues. The stage manager is also in charge of calling the lighting and sound cues of the          show, making sure that the stage is set for the performance and that any props needed for the show are set in the correct places backstage, whether that be in the wings, on stage somewhere or on a prop table. It is important that the stage manager always remembers to put the props in the correct place before a show so that the actors know exactly where they are when they need to grab them during the performance. By having the props organized, it prevents the actors having to panic about not knowing where their props are, meaning that they can remain calm and focused before they go on stage.

As well as dealing with the technical side of the running of the show, the stage manager is also in charge of the wellbeing of the cast and crew. For example, if a dancer twisted their ankle during a number on stage, they would be able to go to the stage manager to get an ice pack to put on it.

They are also in charge of overseeing the ‘get in’ and ‘get out’ of the production in a theatre. This is where the set, lighting and sound devices are installed in the theatre.  

What qualities would you expect a good stage manager to possess?

Being a stage manager is an important job, so I would expect somebody in this role to be organized and responsible. Stage managers need to be organized because there is so much for them to coordinate: rehearsal schedules, where everything needs to go backstage such as props and pieces of set and what the rest of the company needs to be doing, such as the technicians installing the lights and set. Stage managers should also be able to work well under pressure as there will often be unexpected problems that arise during a show, such as somebody getting injured. They will have to tend to the injured cast member whilst keeping the show running. They should also have good communication skills because they need to speak to a variety of people, like the director, fellow crew and the cast.

What paperwork should a stage manager create and work from?  

The stage manager should firstly create a rehearsal schedule so that they can know what is being rehearsed and when, meaning they can easily keep track of what props/ set pieces will be needed when rehearsing specific scenes and which cast members need to be in for each. They should also make a note of any lighting or other technical cues, such as when a set piece needs to go on stage, as they will need to call this cue when the show’s run starts.

Stage managers often call the cues show, although sometimes this job is given to an assistant stage manager. For this to be done correctly, they should have a copy of the script that has all of the lighting and sound cues, along with any other technical things like smoke or pieces of set that don’t have to be manually put on stage, annotated on it. This is often called a prompt book. It is important that the stage manager has the cues written on their script correctly because if they don’t then there could be missed cues, such as a light not going on at the right time which could effectively ruin the director’s creative vision.

What are the key stages for a stage manager?

The stage manager’s job begins when rehearsals start. They are responsible for making the rehearsal schedule and organizing the people that need to be there. The next key stage is ‘getting in’ to the theatre. It is the stage manager’s job to arrange and supervise the installation of the set and lighting, to make sure the actors are allocated their dressing rooms and the other departments (costume, wigs and sound teams) know where they are based. They will be there to solve any problems that may pop up during this process. Once the theatre is ready for the performances to begin, the stage manager will oversee the technical and dress rehearsals, making a note of anything that goes wrong, whether that is a missed cue, an actor forgetting a line, or an issue with blocking, so that they can fix the issue. After the tech and dress rehearsals, the next key stage for a stage manager is the show opening. Once the show has opened, the stage manager is in control – everything that happens is their responsibility.  

Tools, equipment and materials a stage manager might need:

Torches – having a torch with them backstage would be useful because it will be very dark.  

A first aid kit – in case of injury caused by a prop, a piece of set etc.

Different types of tape – there will be many wires running across the floor and up the wall backstage because of the lighting, so tape to stick them down and keep them held together will be handy to avoid anybody tripping over and injuring themselves. Tape can also be used to make a mark on the stage where a certain piece of set needs to go.

Bibliography

Get into Theatre [30/09/20]  

https://getintotheatre.org/blog/what-does-a-stage-manager-do-theatre#:~:text=A%20Stage%20Manager%20organises%20the,smooth%20running%20of%20a%20production  

Get in Media [30/09/20]

http://getinmedia.com/careers/stage-manager

[chloepalmerblog]

Bibliography: Research Portfolio

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June, K. (2016). How to Create a Dark Vintage Effect in Photoshop || Fashion Photography Colour Grading Tutorial. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pif1hHdj0qs [Accessed 19 Jan. 2020].

King, D. (2018). How To Edit MOODY BROWN - Lightroom Mobile Tutorial. [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oICkwQ4s2zo [Accessed 19 Jan. 2020].

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Spoon Graphics. (2020). 5 Dust & Scratches Textures for Photoshop & Illustrator. [online] Available at: https://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/freebies/5-dust-scratches-textures-for-photoshop-illustrator [Accessed 19 Jan. 2020].

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[chloepalmerblog]

Evaluation: Research Portfolio

For this project, I decided to research about post production in fashion photography. The aim was to improve my editing skills or update them, to make the images look more editorial and versatile. The reason for learning different editing styles, was each client has a preferred preference when it comes to editing an image to their own personal style. I feel as a photographer it is important to learn different editing styles, as it can save yourself a lot of time when in the post production process.

Before I began researching, I came up with 8 different ways of how I can do my research for this project. I wanted to use as many resources as I could to gain the most amount of knowledge for the project. These consisted of the obvious ones but others such as taking a class or workshop. I found many events that I could have gone to for further research. However, these classes are were too expensive. If I could extend this research further, then saving up and taking a class would be benefitable to my practice. I would be able to learn new skills by a professional who knows exactly what they are doing at that high level.

Before doing any practical work, I started researching about social media and its background information on Instagram. I believe it was important to understand why people (influencers) use these platforms and why it is important to have a different style to others online. I have learnt that having a niche with the way you represent and style your feed, can affect how successful you are online. I found the best way to start deciding what type of editing style to learn, was to find out current editing trends. After finding out what is the ‘look’, I was able to determine what styles are popular and are in demand to learn how to do so. Another way to know which styles to learn, is to use Instagram and look at the people who I follow. They are many accounts that are unique and have a different look on their feed to others. Figuring out the colours and tones of someone’s feed, allows me to find out how to do so on YouTube etc.

The most useful research form was using YouTube. There are hundreds of videos about editing and how to achieve a certain look. When you have a style to learn how to create, YouTube as a recommended section where they show similar videos to what you are viewing. I am able to find even more videos which show the same thing but it can further my knowledge by seeing how another person does this. Having this recommended feature, is more efficient as I do not need to search in depth for what I am looking for. Another source I found that had potential was LinkedIn Learning. I found that it was useful for simple or basic editing techniques but it did not go into the specifics I wanted when researching. I felt like I have already learnt these basics and it would not development myself further. If I had more time within this project, I would do the course videos to extend my skills and recap. I know that it would look very good on my LinkedIn profile if I had the achievements of the completion of these short courses. This was a new resource that I have used but would use more if had more time to explore around more.

I decided to talk to a photographer about his editing style and how he approaches post production. I spoke to Benjamin (@whoisbenjamin), a photographer who has inspired me and known for his definitive look in his images. I believe it is useful to interview another photographer so that I can understand how he achieves his images. He shares his post production instructions on his Instagram stories, like a how to do it.

During this research, I have learnt how to create a preset for myself which I am able to just copy and paste on my images. By having a preset, allows me to be quicker when editing. Therefore, I can have quicker, more efficient turn around the all clients. By being more efficient improves my professional development too. I have learnt multiple new editing styles which will help me gain more clients. Learning more ways to edit an image makes it easier to work with a broader range of clients that are all different to each other. I have learnt new skills on Lightroom and Photoshop. There were sections on Lightroom which I never touched before this project; however, I now know that they are just as important to use when editing. I have learnt how these sections work and how they change an image when adjusted.

Overall, I have developed my editing skills which then has developed my professionalism. I can now take on more clients and be able to edit their images to how they desire.

[chloepalmerblog]

How to edit images to look warm, golden and aesthetic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adiXPd4AXxY

Final Image:

Final Image with added dust/texture: Previously learnt from other blog posts.

[chloepalmerblog]

How to edit a Moody Brown effect to Images: In Lightroom

This post is about how to edit an image to have a dark, moody brown effect. There is many YouTube videos to use to help create this look. However I have noticed most of the videos are on Lightroom Mobile, which is fine but I will be editing the images on my laptop (Lightroom CC). Even though it is edited on Lightroom mobile, I was still able to follow the guidelines as it was very similar to my editing software. I have a look at multiple videos to compare and see how they approached editing a moody brown image. 

As you can see below is the settings I changed to create this look: 

I find it useful to screenshot the settings so that next time I can copy the exact settings to achieve the same look again. Also I have created a preset , using these settings so that I can just apply the preset to any image. It may still need adjusting as each image has different lighting and tones.

Before and After Examples:

Examples I have done myself:

[chloepalmerblog]

How to add dust & scratches to an image, in Photoshop. -2 Methods

 Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnNXl4NFCyo

Link to Free textures: https://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/freebies/5-dust-scratches-textures-for-photoshop-illustrator

Firstly, you need to search for free dust effects or textures online. I found 5 different types of these from the website shown above in the picture. Next you import the image on top of the image you're working on. There should be two layers now, your original image and the dust template. 

Use the drag and resize tool to change the shape of the dust image to the same size as your background image. Afterwards, you want to click on the arrow button saying Normal, near where the layers are shown. You can choose which option that takes your preference, but the YouTuber said to use the option ‘screen’. 

Now the two images are blended together. You can now adjust the opacity to show much or how little you want the dust scratches to show. 

Successful outcomes are shown below:

Another method:

Link to Free Dust Brushes: https://myphotoshopbrushes.com/brushes/id/3412/

Another way to add dust particles to an image, is by downloading free brushes from online. Or if you wanted a particular look, then create a brush yourself. However this will take longer. First, you import the brushes from wherever you saved the free brushes. You can change the size and opacity of the brushes. Opacity is the quality of transparency. How much you see the brush. I have three different type of dust particle brushes. I picked one and then put them where I wanted on the image. After I changed the colour to white, to show you can do different colours.

Overall I think this method is effective but next time I would avoid putting the brushes on the models face or skin. Both methods were quick and easy but I prefer the first method. It looks better in terms of success and style.