Thematic Trimester 2: Narratives

Narrating the Photobook A three part thematic seminar that explores the narrrative possibilities of both traditional photobooks and exploring possibilities of the digital re-invention of the ‘photobook’

Part 1: Seminar on the photobook Tutor: Frits Giertsberg Curator Netherlands Fotomuseum http://www.nederlandsfotomuseum.nl/en/ Photo books are almost as old as photography itself and are arguably photography's most important means of dissemination, both among photographers themselves and the public. Books have a long shelf life and have a wide, international reach. Besides being an artistic expression, the photo book is also a mass medium. A book offers numerous opportunities to turn a series of photographs into a story. Format, choice of paper, printing, layout, typography, binding and cover provide great artistic freedom to create a remarkable object. Photo books are therefore not only books with photos. , They are also the expression of the story that a photographer wants to tell with his or her work, the unique result of a photographic vision. Therefore photo books can have many different physical forms as well as narrative structures. In this seminar the students will explore different modes of visual and verbal narrative using the creation of a photo book (one traditional photobook and digital format version of the same book) as the core assignment. Part of the seminar will be an introduction to the history of the Dutch photo book, excercise in the analysis of photo books and visists to the Nederlands Fotomuseum.

• Day 1 (January 5th): introduction to the theme, discussion, assignment
• Day 2 (January 12th): evaluation/discussion on the three little photo book dummies made by each student; presentation and analysis of some existing photo books; visit of the Fotomuseum vaults
• Day 3 (February 16th): discussion about the theory read fort his day/presentaton of digital books and book apps, discussion
• Day 4 (March 2nd): tbc & possible guest speaker (book designer)
• Day 5 (March 16th) tbc & possible guest speaker (digital book/webdesigner)
• Day 6 (March 23rd): presentation of the two photo books by each student
• [Day 7 (March 30th): assessments]

In dialogue with the sessions working with Frits Giertsberg we have asked Kate Pullinger to come twice during the term and run two workshops in which students can explore different approaches to narrative and familiarize themselves with several models of how narrative functions.

Part 2: Narrative Central 2 Two-Day Workshops

Run by Kate Pullinger http://www.katepullinger.com

Kate Pullinger writes for both print and digital platforms. Her work, Landing Gear, takes the story told in her collaborative mulitmedia digital work, www.flightpaths.net, and develops it further into a long-form prose narrative. www.inanimatealice.com is a key transmedia narrative for children.

Narrative is a key element in almost all creative work: once you put one image next to another image, a narrative is created. Both visual narratives and text-based narratives can take many shapes and forms from the very simple - 'Heike loves Aamer' - to the instantly more complex - 'Heike loves Aamer but her parents disapprove.'

Digital platforms and tools have created new ways to shape narrative; hybrid digital forms have begun to emerge over the last twenty years. But the desire for story remains of primary importance for us all, and the desire to communicate some kind of story drives artists working across all genre and medium. Central to all effective narrative is 'voice' - the voice of the artist, the voice of the work, the voice of the narrative itself.

Over the course of two two-day workshops, students will present their work-in-progress and begin to think about their work in terms of approaches to narrative. Through a series of presentations, whole-group discussions and 1-1 surgeries, they'll think about 'voice', 'meaning', and 'story'.

Part 3: The School of Sound 2 Day Workshop

Tutor: Larry Sider http://www.schoolofsound.co.uk

Sound Narrative and the possibilities of cinematic sound design within the expanded format of the digital photobook

[Thematic_Trimester_2:_Narratives/Mutant books|Mutant Books] - work-sessions with Andre Castro