Summative evaluation

Following OUIL 401, I was pretty sure that I wished to take the project in an entirely new direction, feeling that the subject of last year had run its course. I wanted to approach a subject that I Knew would apply to my work generally and continuously. This caused the journey to begin with something that has recently been an interest to me, the use of colour, something I apply to all work I produce. I wanted to develop my understanding of the roles it plays in narrative, how it appeals to a viewers emotional response. I feel I have developed both my research and practical skills throughout the module, being a bi product of the study tasks, and self initiated research, utilizing mainstay research techniques, and applying them within writing and researching for the essay. Combining both theoretical and practical research has resulted in the advancement of my research skills, coming to see just how the written and practical elements of the module play off of each other, previously seeing the two as entirely separate entities that had to work with the same subject matter. I have come to see just how much both elements inform each other. Working on both simultaneously brought me to this conclusion. I found that elements of the essay would cause me to question conclusions found within visual experimentation, with vice versa also applying. This then resulted in a more thorough understanding of the subject to hand. My ‘Doberman’ comic is a primary example of my understanding of the theories and examples found within the essay. This is because of the research in to colour use has been applied, furthering my understanding, depending on whether I feel the application conveys the required feeling, and understanding if not, why that is. Through this exercise, I found just how fickle the application of colour can be, finding scenes to not quite hit the mark, having a definite idea and expectation set in place.  Counter to this, I also now have a better understanding of what can be used consistently to convey specific emotions, and example being the wash of orange over a scene to show anger. I feel the conclusions that I came to within the essay are a result of my breadth of research. Im satisfied with the results found through the research, developing ideas and theories through practice and triangulation. But even more excited by the prospect that there is more to learn and advance within the use of colour, I need to maintain the research and application found within this module. There are indications of the need to continue researching, the comic created only deals with the extremes of colour use, finding out what you get when you effectively throw colour at the viewer. On the opposite side of the spectrum, I need to find out more about subtle use of colour, how that can effect image and narrative. It was strange coming to a conclusion on how to use the visual journal this time round, being given a concertina threw me somewhat, and somehow seemed a hopeless, endless task. Thankfully I came to realize this was not the case, by simply jumping in and getting work down. It was really quite interesting making work with a metaphorical magnifying glass set to it, seeing what I do on and instinctive level, and coming to understand why. Thanks to this questions have also arose in my practice, specifically around my application of colour questioning why and how I can use colour to drive the themes of my imagery, rather than just make it aesthetically pleasing. It was a surprisingly rewarding experience. If I were to re do the project, I would have the question be more general for a start, looking at how colour works for conveyance in film, comics, design, illustration etc… I feel like avoiding other practices has pidgenholed the lessons I could have learnt from this project. There would also be fore focus on the combination of theory and practice, a lot of the experimentation manifested out of the blue, and would have benefitted from a more academic approach. Thankfully I can apply this in the next project, for COP3 starting with the proposal for next year.