Project:
Create a series of 3 digital sight collages of some aspect
of your visual environment using a camera and a scanner
and techniques of layering in photoshop. You must use
only visuals which you capture yourself. You may not use
visuals downloaded from the net, or from any other
source. (Images on your physical computer or TV can be
used if they are recorded via camera as part of your
environment.)
(Exercise inspired by and adapted from Prof. Neil Rolnick’s sonic portrait projects.)
Here are some guidelines and things to consider:
1. Before you begin, take some time to look at your
environment. Keep a journal. What do your see?
Where do you find your gaze going? What is
prominent and what is receded to the background?
How do different visual environments make you feel?
How many different things do you see at once? Are
some more important or more present in your
consciousness than others? Are there particular
objects which stand out from others? If so bring 3 to 5
small objects to studio and scan them. They can be
part of your collage.
2. Continue looking, but now photograph as well. Do not
just photograph once. Photograph every day for at
least a week. Photograph during the entire course of
the day. Anything you feel your eyes going towards.
3. Take a look at what your have photographed. Look
often and take notes. Do things look familiar or is it
different seeing your images than it did actually being
there? Do different images make you feel differently?
Can you describe the differences? Can you describe
the feelings?
4. Look through your notes; is there something which you
have photographed which is particularly interesting or
exciting, or terrible or beautiful, which you could use
for your piece? Look at that part, and think about
other parts which might be related. Try to focus on
what might make a good visual collage.
5. Please play! Once the materials are in Photoshop you
can try out different combinations of visuals. This is a
visual exploration not just an intellectual exercise.
Spend time exploring what you can do with the
different images you have collected.
6. Using the lecture, screenings, and reading
assignments as guides, along with your own
experiments with the images you have collected, use
the lessons and skills learned in studio. Talk with your
instructors and student mentors about ideas about
ways to assemble your collage. Try out different ideas.
What works best with your material? Make a sketch
which reflects your ideas for how the materials can
work together.
7. Give yourself one week after you have put all the
visuals into Photoshop. Rearrange and play with the
images until they state what you want to say. Use a
mouse or stylus to draw or write on your collage.
8. Submit your 3 digital collages each as 8 x 10 inch, 150
pixels per inch, Photoshop psd
Studio skills:
* Basic digital photography
* Basic Photoshop: the tutorials will be very helpful if you
are new to Photoshop. Also see:
selections, layers, copy paste and adjustments
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?extern
alId=332336
http://movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=41
4
Also on class reserve in the library .
* Orientation to the interface and tools, getting started,
scaling images, bitmapped/ object oriented images, size
and resolution, overview of basic file formats: psd, jpg, tiff,
png, etc. , converting modes, calculating the file
size/quality of a bit mapped image, basic color
concepts, RGB, CMYK, HSB color space and issues of
tone, hue and saturation, re-sampling, cropping,
compositing,
* Layers
* Masking
* Sketches and expressive mark making with mouse,
stylus, traditional pen, pencil etc.
* Scanning
* cutting and pasting
* File preparation for upload
(please see links above.)
Deliverables:
3 digital collages, each as 8 x 10 inch, 150 pixels per inch,
Photoshop psd
Grading Criteria:
1. Assignment completed on-time.
2. Adherence to the size and file format specifications
3. Appropriate use of Photoshop tools. (e.g. if jaggies are
intended as an aesthetic, that’s fine, but they shouldn’t
be in the image because you used the wrong image
resolution for the size of the images)
4. Exploration and application of creative tools in
Photoshop.
5. Quality and clarity of class presentation
6. Expressiveness and imagination as illustrated in your
collages.
7. Use of original images and scans only.
Helpful info: Digital Photographic Techniques:
(check your camera’s info online or in the manual)
* Rensselaer Dept of the Arts hardware manuals
* Cannon rebel xsi overview
* Photography Basics
* How to take better pictures
the gaze, framing the picture, pov: heroic, cu, ecu, etc.,
camera angles,
Preliminary Depth of Field Control
Going off Automatic by Oliva Robinson
Video Library Player: Yo Jude: Camera Flash Settings
Getting good photos out of your camera means taking
control of the flash. Here's how.
Photomontage tutorials:
http://www.photoshopsupport.com/tutorials/maskingand-montage/photoshop-masks.html
http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/images/p_monta
ge/index.htm
The Golden Section: Interrelationship and harmonic
divisibility
http://www.arts.rpi.edu/%7Eruiz/IMAGING/goldensec.htm
l
Bit Depth
http://www.arts.rpi.edu/~ruiz/Lessons/lesson1bitdepth/bit
map.html
File Formats
Basic Graphics File Formats intro
Graphics File Formats all
Color
Understanding Digital Color
scan basics, scan tips, image resolution
Composition again
Compositional elements for the image