CHARACTER/STORY

Or..."Character is plot, plot is character" (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

CHARACTER

If we look just at the stills from the filmed stories above, we can see most of the elements that we have discussed in the previous section -

Clothes, adornment, posture, gesture, facial expression - What people look like.

Based on just these few 'signifiers' or clues, we do what we are 'hard-wired' to do, which is to try to find the pattern in each case, in order to try to work out a meaning -

'is this character friendly, aggressive, attractive, safe, dangerous, rich, poor, a leader or servile?' etc.

That is, we make assumptions, often based on cultural stereotypes, even without the supporting signignifiers of -

Voice and movement/action - What people say and do.

And most engaging stories play with these stereotypes,

opposing what a character looks like,

with what they say and/or do -

challenging our expectations.

STORY

And, we have explored how integral telling stories is to us as humans,

the breadth of ways in which we tell stories,

and how the power of stories can be used for us,

and against us.

Task 12 - Exercise

You are going to be asked to go out, for a walk in the city, with a camera/cameraphone.

We want you to relax, to find a couple of PUBLIC spaces where you can wander/sit/stand and spend time observing life happening in front of you.

Do this with another student, but please look in opposite directions, this will give you both different material and reduce the chance of drawing attention to yourselves.

When you see individuals, interactions or situations that you find interesting, we want you to take photographs of that subject.

This is 'Street Photography' and you are going to use these images as a tool to help you to kick-start stories.

Please watch the following introduction to Street Photography by Alan Schaller:

Notes from Schaller's guide:

Fantasise or imagine what could happen in the space in front of you (to help select a space to focus on).
Cities are hugely overwhelming, there is so much going on...(so, beware of your surroundings and stay safe).
It helps to limit yourself...selecting a single location to cut down the randomness...(be open to what happens in one, defined, space).
There are extraordinary things happening all the time, all around us (so, wait and watch, things WILL happen).
Expression and emotion (that's what you are looking for).
Seeing figures in the context of the environment that they are in - Using a space to convey a mood, rather than just a face.
A metaphorical way of looking at a scene (be open to how things could be interpreted - you are looking for stories).
Sometimes you don't get anything, that's okay (but select one space, wait and watch, give it time).
The real love of it [this process] is immersing yourself in what you're doing...focus on the moment.
It's about being present (waiting and watching).

The Law

The law regarding street photography changes from country to country, so please always check. The item below relates to the UK.

The following is from Photography News, which states:

"While this feature isn’t intended to offer official legal advice, it is based on current UK law at the time of publishing. For more in-depth advice, the Metropolitan Police and BPPA have useful guides."

'As far as human subjects are concerned, when in public, you can take a photo of any person of any age without their consent, provided that the photograph isn’t indecent, and you aren’t harassing the person you’re trying to photograph.'

However, 'just because you’re in a public place doesn’t mean you can photograph a person in a private place – that’s invasion of privacy.

You couldn’t stand on the street and photograph into someone’s house, for example.'

'These rules do not apply if you’re photographing members of the armed services' - police officers - due to anti-terrorism laws.' Don't take photos of them.

'When it comes to photographing inanimate objects such as buildings, the same rules do apply...Even if you’re on private property, you’re free to shoot without permission until you’re asked to stop by a representative of the property owner. If you continue to photograph after you’re asked to stop, then you’re breaking the law.'

And please remember,

' just because you can, doesn’t mean you should...social grace and civility are important to consider, too.

If someone objects to having their picture taken, it may be best to stop shooting and move on.'

Please also keep the following in mind from Do Street Photography.com :

Photographing Vulnerable People

'As a street photographer I won't photograph homeless people, because I don't know what their situation is, plus the street is their home, and I wouldn't walk into someone's house or peer through a window and start taking pictures. I feel it's both exploitative and disrespectful to take photos of identifiable homeless people begging (usually with the clichéd grainy black and white conversion) purely for likes on Instagram, even if the person doesn't object. They could be at such a low point in their life that being exploited one more time makes no difference to them, and that is heartbreaking.'

I would avoid photographing children (without a parent/guardian's written consent), due to sensitivity around grooming and exploitation.

Remember, you are taking photos to initiate ideas for stories, so your photos should be taken from a reasonable distance and candidly - not in someone's face, or requiring their permission.

Below, an example of the range of images you can get out of one situation.

Contact Sheet, Elliot Erwitt

Once you have completed this task please see the Step Task page.

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