Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Meet Will - my classmate assignment













Asta e povestea. Mai jos aveti ceea ce se numeste self-critique. Niste ganduri pe care tre' sa le scriem dupa fiecare tema.

The classmate assignment was not an easy one. However, the MPW experience has helped tremendously.

I tried to find out what the story was, or, better said, what story there was that I could do in a couple of days. The thing that struck me was Will’s loneliness. He seemed to be alone most of the time. It is true that his girlfriend was away most of the times when I met with him.

Anyway, I know how most of my colleagues feel about him. Some people suggested that it was up to me (through this assignment) to sort of get back at him for whatever it was that they didn’t like him for. I must admit I had my own prejudices about him and that I had to fight those prejudices the first time I went to his house. However, even though he hated being photographed and sometimes tried to elude me, he accepted me into his house. Being allowed into someone’s life, even for a day, should be considered an honour, not an opportunity to make them look bad. Therefore, I tried my best to disappoint most of my classmates and show them a side of Will that they had not seen. I don’t know if I have succeeded.

It was hard at times because he was trying to help me by creating photogenic moments. I insisted that he should stop doing that and I believe at some point he did.

It bothered me a little bit that there was no interaction. He skipped all five classes on Monday (the day I spent the most time with him) and hardly ever spoke to his roommates. I considered that accidental meetings with his neighbour in the street, or a short dialogue with a roommate were not relevant to what was actually going on.

It was also quite weird to be in a house that has no natural light at all. Will has taped all his windows, to create a sort of a dark room in the whole basement. It would have been nice to have more light. He also realized that. Every now and then, he would turn on a light he would normally not use. Again, I had to ask him to stop helping me.

However, all these conditions are only small details. They are not really relevant. I tried to treat him as I would any other subject. You work with what you have.

9 comments:

bgdn said...

si povestea cu tine ?

mr.stam said...

deci alison, if you can read this, da o data povestea cu punghi

mr.stam said...

uite ma gandesc sa te laud pentru povestea asta, si-mi tot vine sa spun pentru poze si ma gandesc sa-ti zic ca mi-a placut aia cand omu invata, ca mi-a placut cealalta doar ca...?!? wtf!? nu pot, pentru ca de data asta e vorba de proiecte unitare si pur si simplu nu mai functioneaza uneltele de analiza si critica anterioare! stii? is derutat, da'mi place :)

andrei said...

hehe, bineinteles ca nu functioneaza analiza veche, la bucata. tre' sa privesti vrac. :))

cica in fiecare poveste tre' sa am "transition shots", adica poze care te duc dintr-un mediu in altul si asta nu inseamna neaparat din casa in curte, ci mai degraba dintr-un layer al vietii omului in altul. totusi, nu pot sa fie chiar varza, tre' sa spuna ceva si tranzitia aia. e cam complicat :)) ai dracu' americani!

apropos de derutat, luati de aici tema de dezbaterer. am ramas cracanat cand am auzit ca, cica, prea multe poze tari (cand zic tari ma refer la impactul pe care il au asupra privitorului) intr-un picture story iti pot strica firul povestii. asta pentru ca e aproape imposibil ca 10 poze super tari sa fie pe aceeasi idee si, nu tre' sa uitam, o poveste tre' sa aiba o idee (unitate, fir, atza :).

ne-a dat nenea profu' si exemplu, concret, pe poze. venise o colega ieri cu un classmate assignment in care erau prea multe imagini care-ti furau ochiu' (in total povestea avea vreo 12 poze). a scos nenea vreo cinci poze (unele gen siluete, figuri), a rearanjat restul pe perete (erau printuri) de am crezut ca ma cac pe mine: in 20 de secunde a facut o naratiune. pe cuvant! nu-mi venea sa cred. inainte era o gasca de poze misto. dupa operatie a ramas o poveste limpede. de unde ma-sa atata claritate in gandire, in editare?! si apoi explicatii gen pozele tre' sa curga una din alta. ce le leaga? la fel cum in engleza, ca sa faci un eseu bun, tre' sa legi frazele dintr-un paragraf cu chestii introductive gen "however, thus, nevertheless, anyways etc." la fel ne-a aratat cum a folosit in editare elemente grafice, compozitionale, emotionale care legau pozele. gen ai o poza cu silueta cu coafura omului (avea ditai creasta), urmatoarea una cu el si cu fomeia, da' in care se vede foarte clar creasta si fatza (ca sa asociezi rapid creasta cu mecla). urmatoarea continua pe relatia el-fomeie (legatura e relationala de data asta). si, toate astea, in 20 de secunde. m-a zapacit rau de tot! nici acu' nu-mi vine sa cred.

andrei said...

maine vine si povestea cu mine. sper. am rugat-o pe alison sa o aduca. cu caption-uri cu tot. desi io nu prea m-am recunoscut acolo. va las pe voi sa judecati.

andrei said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
andrei said...

Ba cam e de cacao. Ceea ce recunoaste s el. Doar ca am vrut sa arat ca are si alte parti, pe care nu prea le vedem la scoala. In procent de 90% omu' afiseaza aroganta din aia sanatoasa, pe care si-o asuma. Am incercat sa ma concentrez pe ailanti 10%. Am niste poze cu el si fomeia in care expresia de pe fata lui e ceva gen "I got a nice bitch". Ca sa intelegi putin genu': imi povestea ca cel mai mult la femeia asta (care chiar e f de treaba) ii place ca-si tine gura, ca altfel nu se poate concentra. Cica a avut femei care vorbeau prea mult si era nasol ca trebuia sa le bage cu fata-n perna in momente de lupta, ca sa poata sa ajunga la victorie. Sa-mi iertati acest plonjeu in concret, da' vroiam sa va dau un mic extract din personalitatea lui.

Nu, alb-negru nu este o optiune. E obligatoriu in cursul asta. Si pentru mine este destul de ciudat. N-am lucrat niciodata alb-negru si nu prea le vad. Cred ca motivul pentru care in cursul asta se lucreaza asa este ca inca n-au predat culoare. Si la americani, daca nu te-au invatat ceva, nu ti se poate cere.

andrei said...

Se poate sa ai dreptate. Cu mine, cel putin, se poarta cu totul altfel decat cu restu' poporului. Initial am crezut ca e fiindca urma sa il fotografiez, dar poate e ce spui matale.

Aaron said...

You shouldn't photograph Will based on what your classmates will think- only on what you feel tells the story best.