Pre-Production

TRIPTYCH MOOD BOARD:

The mood board mainly consists of different adverts, billboards and campaigns that have been in the public eye previously. These have really inspired me as I was struggling to come up with an idea for my triptych that was a effective but also sensitive. The mood board really helped me see several different approaches to tackling the issue in the media.  

TRIPTYCH MIND MAPS:

In my first mind map, I planned out different sizes for my triptych to see which one would work best and be the most effective in portraying my message. I also researched and listed all the issues and taboo topics surrounding domestic violence. I found the following website to be the most helpful in finding these issues: https://www.dvrcv.org.au/stories/true-stories/stories-women-about-abusive-relationships . The reason being was because it had anecdotes and real life stories of people who have found it hard to voice their experiences and the issues they found hard to discuss. The reason this was helpful was because the issues raised are the ones I want to try and tackle in my triptych. 

In the second mind map, I put my ideas into practice and tried to plan out how my triptych will actually look. I wrote down what each of the three images will consist of. This was useful for my production process and it helped me to be efficient in the studio and get the most out of my time. 

THE PROCESS BEHIND MY TRIPTYCH:

As part of my pre-production process I also watched adverts and the one that I found the most helpful was this one: https://youtu.be/Y1CfNIZKFiQ . I am focusing on domestic violence against men in relationships and as the mood board highlights, this is highly underrepresented in the media. Although this wasn't the most effective and well produced advert, it did highlight a man's point of view and used statistics that I found extremely helpful. I also found this video really helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQoTf-5ug68 . The reason being was because it tackled the issue in a sensitive and creative way which is the angle I want to take on my triptych.

PHOTOSHOP PRACTICE:

I found this really important in producing a powerful and professional triptych. We covered all the basics on Adobe Photoshop CC 2018 and ensured we knew how to navigate around the software. We also edited some images and learnt how to remove skin blemishes using the spot healing brush tool and change facial features using the liquify tool. This stage was probably one of the most important as it ensured I ended up with a professional looking triptych. 

Dodge and Burn Tool:

This was an example of how I used the dodge and burn tool so enhance the features of the tree and give it a comic book feel when looked at in closer detail. I darkened the tree trunks and some of the branches using the burn tool. I then lightened the sky and the area where the sun hit  and the shadows on the ground using the dodge tool. I found this useful when making my triptych and I could lighten shadowed areas with the dodge tool to balance the light in the image and make the final product look well balanced and professional. 

Erase Tool and Layer Masks Tool (Non- Destructive):

This tool was extremely useful to learn. We first started by putting two images on top of one another and so I layered a black male with brown eyes and a white female with blue eyes. We started by using the erase tool to bring the eyes from the layer beneath forwards to merge the two faces. However, this would be destructive editing. So we went on to create a layer mask, fill it and then remove the eyes from the top layer to merge the faces in a non- destructive way. We then learnt how to change the brightness and the contrast to try and merge the images and make them look like one image as much as possible. This was useful as non-destructive editing allows you to go back to the PSD and edit later on down the line. 

Liquify Tool:

This is an example of how I used the liquify tool to subtly change Justin Bieber's face. Tool that involve the editing of facial features I found the most useful when making my triptych because I used a male and female model and there was no other scenery so their facial features had to be perfect to ensure the best looking triptych.  

 

This was another example of how we used the various tools in the liquify tool to this time create an animated GIF. We used the brush and the freeze tools to bring down the eyelids to make it look as if her eyes were closed. We then made it animated with short pauses to give the effect of blinking. Although this wasn't useful in this assignment it's a good skill to learn, practice and perfect for future reference. 

Filling Text with Images:

I didn't use this tool in this assignment as I wanted the text I used to be simplistic and effective. However, this again is one of those tools which once you have practiced and perfected will be very useful to produce adverts, billboards or even website home pages, etc. 

Actions Palette:

Photoshop comes with actions installed that help you perform common tasks. You can use these actions as it is to meet your needs, or create new actions. Actions are stored in sets to help you organize them. We made our own actions such as black and white and downloaded free ones from the internet. 

TRIPTYCH PHOTO SHOOT:

We booked out the studio for two hours alongside a camera and a tripod. Five of us booked out the studio together so the two hour slot gave us all enough time to take several photos to allow us to choose the best three when editing. I chose a male and female model that I felt best match the description I was looking for. I needed a masculine and well structured male and a petite female. I personally feel that some of my images came out better than others. This was down to the models losing concentration but mainly also down to the lighting and the shadows created. At first I thought this may bring the quality of my photos down, I am going to work with it and incorporate it in to my work. Luckily, the shadows are mainly on my antagonists face so it could highlight that they always are shown in a bad light. Something alongside those lines to make my triptych still look professional. 

SELECTION PROCESS FOR MY TRIPTYCH:

This is a contact sheet of all the images I took in my photo shoot. The ones outlined in red are the ones I selected to use in my triptych. The reason I chose the images I did was because they were the clearest and help portray the message the best. Like I previously mentioned, I am not very happy with how the couple photos came out but I am going to work with them and try to produce a triptych to the best of my ability. I am also not happy with the fact that my female model's still wearing her college lanyard. As I have not got enough time to retake my pictures, I decided to  use the clone stamp tool and the pen tool in photo shop to black out the lanyard and blend it in with her jumper as if it were the strings on her hoodie. I also decided to come from the angle of abuse in teenage relationships. I have had to adapt my triptych to suit the needs of the photos taken but I think the end result will still be as effective. It looks OK but I personally would have preferred to retake the photos for a more professional outcome.