Idea Generation & Development

Idea Generation:

As you can see, I first drew up a mind map/spider diagram to configure all my initial ideas on one page, I find this method useful for me as it lets me quickly note things down and also branch from them to go further. This is evident from the metamorphosis branch, as you can see I’ve started with a simple word and then taken it further to focus upon the wolf, this came from Harry Potter when David Thewlis’ character, Remus Lupin; morphs into a werewolf. 

I’ve always loved the idea of being able to transform into an animal, an animal that replicates your personality and the way you are, the idea of a spirit animal.

Although I thought it would be interesting to try and replicate a full transformation, when I looked further into these mythological creatures, I felt that they would be hard to create realistically for a photographical purpose. I then used the thought I already had of mythology to guide my idea, turning it to Greek Mythology and the myths based around half animal, half humans.  This is still the idea of morphing from human to animal, but is much easier to achieve and for it to look realistic.

I first looked into stories I already knew such as Medusa and Cyclops, however decided on doing a story I wasn’t already knowledgeable about. This would help to give me a fresh look at the story and the ideas I can make from it. I chose Arachne; half woman, half spider. Because I know that the spider is an animal that not a lot of people like (including myself), it would give the transformation more of a dramatic effect.  

Idea Development:

The story of Arachne was one of the many poems within the epic poem that was named the ‘Divine Comedy’, written by Dante Alighieri. Because Dante was Italian, I was not able to understand the original text, so upon research to try to find the text in the university library, I decided to read ‘Metamorphoses’ by Ovid. This is the Roman version of the story of Arachne, the only ability for me to read the story properly without it being from Wikipedia, which I know isn’t a reliable source.

I loaned the book from the library and read it thoroughly, I then scanned it on to my computer. Having it on my computer like this let me print it out, thus allowing me to highlight all the sections I felt were necessary to the story. All the highlighted sections are parts I will use to help me link the features within the frame to the story itself.

This technique will help me break down very important aspects within the story that I can incorporate in the final sequence of images. Aspects such as the final weaves that both characters create, the text has gone in to great depths about the stories of the gods they weave. Another aspect is the fact that Arachne’s father whom ‘earned his living by dying absorbent wool with Phocean purple,’ I could use this piece to help decided what I will dress Arachne in, such as a purple dress. I feel like reading into a story like I have done will aid me to be able to make the final photographs a thorough in-depth representation of the story I am trying to tell.