New Statesman brief 2

I have been looking at the brief for New Statesman, I was not sure whether I was going to take part in this brief at first just because of the amount of other work I have on but I think this is an amazing opportunity and I should not pass it up. The brief is based on Moby who would not be photographed for an interview with the magazine. I was jokingly talking about my friends saying I look like Moby when I wear my glasses and some suggested I just take a self portrait and use that for the brief. I actually quite like the idea but I am not sure what he would think about. I don't know his reasons fro not wanting to be photographed which makes it harder to decide whether this idea would be appropriate. The brief talks about Moby being unhappy with Donald trump and not liking Hollywood and the people that live there. I want to show Moby feeling as if he is opposed to all his surroundings. I had the idea of a portrait where Moby is facing away from the camera, face to face with a brick wall. The wall signifies Donald Tump and his plans to build a wall between the USA and Mexico but also signifies the way Moby feels about his environment.

I thought that facing sideways would make the glasses more prominent, his glasses are iconic and would make it more obvious that the image is supposed to represent Moby. The problem with this composition is that the message is no obvious, the character is not fully facing the wall. I want to make sure it is clear what the relationship between the two is. Because of the angle the scene is quite confusing. I find my self trying to make sense of it by trying to figure out what is going on outside of the frame.

I think this image is much better in terms of communicating the message. The question is whether or not it looks enough like Moby. I keep thinking about the legal aspects of placing this image with an interview. Would the magazine have to ok it with Moby? I would do with another few days hair growth to look like Moby does in most of the photos I have seen of him. I could do with talking to one of the tutors about this to see if they think it is something that a magazine would consider.

I have another idea for an illustration which would be Moby building a wall around himself to escape his surrounds in Hollywood and Donald trump. This could be seen as too negative.

These 2 images are cropped to the dimensions set by the brief. The top one was the first I made, I have a tendency to try and fill empty space even when it hinders the composition. I think the second composition is much better, it makes it easier to see an overview of the whole composition and character rather then small details that are not necessary for the communication of who the character is or what they are doing.