2. Contextual plan/idea
My idea is using the documentary format to talk about tattooing and to speak to artists about their
work, also to talk to people who have tattoos and see what their perspective is on people having
them or having strong opinions about them.
This is a important project to me personally because tattoos are something I'm really interested
and passionate about and I love talking to the people I know who tattoo for a living and why they
choose their styles of art.
I also think this subject is important to talk about as a lot of people with tattoos are looked down
upon and tend to get profiled into not having a good job or has made bad life decisions which I
think is really unfair and a very old-fashioned way of thinking and it tends to be with the older
generations but I think a lot of opinions are changing and id like to talk about that with people who
have tattoos wand what their experience with having them has been like.
I'm quite interested in talking to older people because their opinions will probably be more
interesting as its not a common to see older people with tattoos at least ones you can see
opposed to being hidden/easily coverable.
I also want to set the documentary up with a photographic element where after if talked to the
people I'm interviewing ill take their portrait to go with the b roll on my 4x5 camera.
The main aim of this documentary is to change peoples opinions on tattoos or to maybe inform
people that its not a bad thing to have art on your body and to show people its an act of
expression.
3. George Muncey- British photographer and videographer
George Muncey is one of my biggest inspirations in photography his work was
some of the first I found when getting into making my own photographs the
reason I think I'm so drawn to his style is the subject matter he takes images of
and how they relate to his relationship with the UK every image in his series
named lonely cloud is incredible they all work so well together as a collective
project and there's not one image that seems out of place in the context of the
work. Another reason he's so important to my personal work is how all of his
images are rooted in the UK and its always been the one place I'm interested in
photographing is my own country as I think the UK is often overlooked for its
beauty and people tend to ant to travel to take their images.
his use of large format cameras is what inspired me to use them myself as he shows off his huge prints with
in case detail which works perfectly with his style of work like the one below of the tree carving of the flag
4. Alec Soth
another photographer whose work I've been inspired by at the moment is
American photographer Alec Soth who I found from the previous
photographer I talked about so their work is somewhat similar in the way
the photos are taken as they both use 8x10 which really works perfectly for
these types of photos as I feel if they were taken on a standard 35mm or
medium format camera they just wouldn’t be the same.
Most of Alec's work is made traveling around specific pars of the US and
making bodies of work around the location like his most famous book is
sleeping by the Mississippi which he spent a few years traveling in his car
down the roads and homes that were on the Mississippi and meeting the
people and photograph them. That kind of project work is something I really
want to do were I find a subject I'm super interested in or a location and
make a collection of photographs within that area.
5. Arthur Muzychenko
This is a bit different from the other two sets of research I've done as this is a different type of art, Arthur
is a tattoo artist who's work I've been really interested in as I really like his style of work where he mixes
extremely detailed drawings in with really simple cartoony line work and I think the contrast of those two
styles in one art piece is really cool. This kind of art I'm really getting into where its like a mix of realism
and “basic” linework, I'm saying basic because that’s the only way I can describe it but obviously I know its
very hard to do I mean more the style.
This kind of style is quite experimental and I'm really into using experimental techniques to make projects.
I thought it would be necessary to include a tattoo artist in my research list as they're something that are
really inspiring me at the moment and I'm really into getting them myself and learning about the history of
tattooing especially peoples with really original styles that are unique or take on experimental techniques.
This kind of style is not very common as its Arthurs own original style that he's perfected and you never
see anything similar as he's very skilled In the way he makes his art.
6. David Hadland
David is a photographer in London whose speciality is taking images of people who are part of alternative
subcultures in the UK mainly people who are tattooed which is where his work first caught my eye.
I think if I stick with the idea of this project then the kind of images I would take could be done similarly to
this but I would like to have a mix of colour and black and white I think instead of limiting myself lie other
projects I've made.
David's work shows off almost a behind the scenes look into the lives of these subcultures which I think is
really cool and id like to follow the same idea with the artists that make tattoos and the people that get them
as for some people having all these tattoos they hide for work can be like living a double life only being able
to feel comfortable and show off who you are once your away from your workplace.
David's work is really important as he's almost trying to keep these subcultures alive by photographing them
and showing them off in his books to the public so that they aren’t forgotten or lost in time.
7. Contextual style I'm interested in
A lot of the work other people have made that I'm interested in at the moment are project based with a lot
of meaning behind them whether it be emotional meaning for the artist or maybe something made to make
the viewer have an emotional reaction I feel like most photography and videography these days with
YouTube and Instagram being the way of viewing photos and videos has made a lot of images meaningless
and not as many people are finding emotion and meaning in their photos or at least making it about
something meant to have an impact.
A lot of the work I'm enjoying looking at tat the moment is experimental even if its only mild as I really like
seeing all the different ways people can express their feelings through work and tell a story through the
projects they make.
I think with experimental work people can express things much more personally than having it fit the mould
of a generic piece of work so id definitely like to try use some in my own project mainly when it comes to
how its filmed with the b roll and the cut away clips ill be taking.
I think in terms of style I'm into at the moment is certainly not anything super colourful or bright as I quite
like to film most of my work in flat dark colours to fit the style of personal work I make as not much of my
own photography is super colourful or bright I'm quite into bleak architecture and scenery like the power
stations I take photos off and strange manmade things I find in the environment I think that’s stems mainly
from the UK not being the most sunny colourful place to live and I quite like that.
9. Contextual ideas
Id quite like to interview a mix of people if I make this project but id like there to be a big difference in the people I
choose with age as id like to see the contrast of beliefs from the older generation and the younger people as I feel
there's a lot of interesting conversations that could be made.
I think going to interview someone in their home then having a portrait of their tattoo collection is a really cool
idea to go with the video as its great to have the interview and learn about there opinions and thought about then to
have a physical element of the photograph to get developed and include in the video could add a whole different
element to it all where we can see their collection off tattoos in full detail. I think taking images of people while
doing some tattooing would also be pretty good for the documentary with some video of how its done too.
Over the past year I've been getting tattoos from only one artist who I believe I can ask to talk Infront of the
camera for some questions and get some footage of him tattooing for my work which will be super useful and
there's a lot of footage I can get from going down to meet him for a day and I have plans to video him tattooing me
as part of my b roll footage which will work really nicely.
I can also ask him about what its like to be in the industry from a young age as he's the same age as me (20) and
he's been tattooing for around 3-4 years I believe which is all good stuff to talk about for this doc as I'm sure he
has a interesting view on some of the views on tattoos and how the media portrays them.
He also has quite a unique style which is something id like to talk about a lot as that’s what drew me to get
tattooed by him in the first place as id never seen anything like his drawings before and it quickly became my
favourite type of art hence why I ended up getting it tattooed on me a lot.
Another idea to go along in this documentary could be a small few scenes of asking people on the street what their
opinions are of tattoos ad have them quickly scattered in with my b roll footage and I could end up getting some
funny answers from people who have strong opinions not sure 100% if it will fit with the style im wanting to go for
but it’s a good idea to keep in mind.
10. Styles I'm interested in
If I do make this project I would like to make it known
about the different styles of tattooing that I'm
interested in as there's a lot of styles that really don’t
fit with what I want to talk about and are quite generic
and don’t express what I want to talk about in this
documentary I want to focus on specific styles that are
meant to be artistic and original, some examples of
styles I like are French prison styles which have a
rough sketchy look to them with the use of thin lines
and intricate designs usually with lots of religious
iconography in them.
Then there's realism tattoos which I really like where
people use real life references like photographs or
artwork and make their tattoo based off of it.
This kind of style is also extremely difficult and would
take years of practice as everything has to be exactly
like the original reference.
here's an example of the style I mean as its hard to
explain tattoos made my Badmoodmarty from London.
11. Strengths and limitations
• I think my strengths at the moment are my filming techniques as I've been doing a lot outside of college
experimenting with styles and making video clips and editing them in my own time as its something I enjoy ding and
helps me make my own style so using my style on a new video project for the FMP is going to be really good I think
as I want it to fit a certain style like my other recent college projects as they've all been very stylised based on their
focus as a subject.
• I think another strength of mine is thinking of different ideas to make my projects about as I try to usually make
something either weird or something that doesn’t usually fit the mould if I cant make the subject something of my own
choosing I will usually make the visual elements my own style which I think is a strength.
• A limitation/weakness I have is my writing for projects as its usually the thing that holds me back as I can struggle
with typing out what in thinking so I think for this project I will most likely do a lot of voice logs to go along with my
writing so I can make sure I'm getting across what I need to prove what I'm doing is intentional.
• Another limitation I have is managing my time and getting things done in the right order as I tend to jump around in
my projects and accidently forget to come back to some work and finish it off with more detail.
• Another strength I think I have is coming up with original ideas to put into my work whether its shot ideas for video or
images I'm using composition wise as there's one thing I really don’t like with making projects is people copying other
peoples work I think its okay to be inspired by them but there's nothing worse than flat out copying shots of video or
images.
12. Why this project-why not something else?
My project I'm thinking of doing is about discussing peoples opinions on tattoos and why people choose to g et them done and why
they're important to them I also want to discuss with artists themselves about what the think of people hating on people who have
tattoos with things to do with getting jobs and fitting in with society without people having immediate bad idea about you thinking
you’re a criminal or a bad person who doesn't care about their body as these are all things I've heard before and want to show.
This project is a subject I've thought about a lot in the last year as its something that I hear a lot about when the subject arises but
I've not seen anyone make anything about it like documentaries or films or even a full photo project detailing what id like to talk
about or to discuss it which I think is a shame as it’s a really interesting topic and I think it could help some people change their
opinions on tattoos and see that they're really not what the media has taught them from when they were young. The media has
always portrayed tattoos as things only criminals or drug addicts have or people who have made poor life decisions which I think
is really sad and its only recently that peoples opinions are changing in the masses as modern media has shown the more artistic
side and explained how it’s a form of expression which I think is a big benefit of social media even thought it has its many
problems it has helped a lot of subcultures and ideas of expression become more accepted.
I think I chose this project over any of the other ideas I had as this one means a lot to me as I'm vey passionate about tattooing as
a form of art and I think it deserves to be looked at on the same level as paintings in museums as people often forget that there's
people making really meaningful pieces of work its just in a different format to paper and pen in a frame instead its on someone's
skin. I think I chose this project instead of another as it’s a great story to make a documentary out of and I was sure I wanted to
make another documentary to show off something that doesn’t get talked about enough.
The other idea I had other than this project was to make a short film/documentary about growing up in the UK and making it really
arty with lots of video related to my village and to show off to other people who may live elsewhere what its like in small villages
in the UK but I decided that there wasn’t enough there to make a project about that I really liked and I knew the tattoo idea was
much more important to me and that could make something much better with he connections I had and I had the ideas that I really
wanted to put into a project.
I also knew people had made similar projects to the growing up in the UK idea and people had done it so well that I felt it didn't
need my interpretation and I wanted to make my own documentary that I hadn’t seen anyone make anything similar to what id
planned.
13. Why this project-why not something else?
One of the main reasons I chose this project is I have connections to a tattoo artist who I may be able to
interview as I'm good friends with them and they know a lot, they’ve worked in the industry for a few years
and they're the same age as me so it will be interesting to add in an interview section talking about his
beliefs and opinions coming from the younger side of the debates. I also have been using an app on my
phone to get in contact with people about their tattoos and have been trying to schedule days where I can go
visit them in their homes to interview them about their tattoos and what they mean to them as a person. So
this is a really good pool of resources that I have without even fully getting into the project properly which
will really help this project get off the ground so this really helped me decide what I was thinking of doing.
I think if I were to go with the other idea I had about growing up in small villages then I would have had a
much harder start to the project as I'm not sure what the core focus would have been whereas with this
tattoo idea there's a plan of where I can go with it and there's a reason for making it.
Another reason I chose this idea is I know there's some exiting things I can do with videography in terms of
getting cool shots for b roll and interviews as I really like to stylise my work and I think I could really go
crazy with the type of footage I could get and it wouldn't be hard to get footage of my friend tattooing as I'm
a frequent customer of his and I can just film him tattooing me.
14. Skills I've learnt that will help me with this project
I think I'm quite prepared for this project especially more than previous ones as I feel like I've adapted my
skills a lot more since the last year, my video skills have been the most important thing I've worked on as its
what I'm going to be doing for my final project (a documentary).
One of the main things I've learnt is transferring my photography skills and style into video which I did for
two projects in college and I've done a lot of experimenting outside of college in my own time.
This Is mainly things like making short clips that loop with a strange subject matter usually quite
experimental. I've also been using lots of cinema ideas with these clips like using different aspect ratio like
4:3 which is one of my favourite ways of filming as it really lets you focus on what's in the centre of your
video and makes some scenes seem quite claustrophobic.
I think for this project I'm going to use a lot of styles that I've played around with in my other projects sing
things like vintage lenses on my digital video camera to get a more vintage and softer feel to all my video as
its something I do a lot and I'm well practiced in getting the style I want from my own camera.
Another set of skills I've learnt more on recently is using my 4x5 camera for portraits as usually my
photography is landscape and I haven’t really done much portrait photography as its not really my specialty
but recently I've been practicing with it as I plan on using as an element of the documentary where after I've
interviewed the subjects ill talk their image in their home/workplace to go along with the documentary style
where I can show off their tattoos. The new skills I've learn with the 4x5 camera is using the bellows
movements to create different planes of view which affects the depth of filed in different ways allowing you
to get the subject fully in focus and choosing which areas you want a really shallow depth of field.
