Hawkridge Gin Research
For this project we have been given a breif set by Hawkridge Gin themselves to create a minimum of three images that are 1 by 1 to show off their brand. We also have to create a portrait video which lasts 10-30 seconds. We have been given the bottle as well.
Competitors
For my research i have looked at the competitors in the bracket of high end independant gin brands;
I like the way silent pool has taken the photos with the fruits in the foreground, this adds colour variation and also uses colours next to eachother on the colour wheel, this is something that i will look at the encorporate into my own work.
Nelson's Gin
With Nelson's Gin they have a modern sleek bottle which is all white, this bottle in my opinion doesnt stand out very well as it has a very basic design, and in the advertising the bottle is too similar to the colours of the background, especially the right image, the lighting in the right image is also very flat and doesnt show the bottle off very well.
Initial Idea
As soon as we were briefed i instantly though about how to make my photos stand out from the rest of the class, the way i wanted to do that was by adding a meaning behind the photos and create a story line to show progression through the pictures so which each being uploaded to instagram, the further into the story it goes.
The story i wanted to create was the relationship between two people.
The first image i wanted to be the two meeting for the first time at a bar and starting to get to know eachother, and the talking point being the gin that they are both drinking at the bar side, this would feature the bottle in the foreground and the two people in the background talking out of focus to go with the guidelines about not letting people be recognisable in the images.
The second image would feature a date, this date would take place in a park and the two enjoying a picnic enjoying the gin. this would also feature food and cutlery within the photo to show clearly what the couple are doing.
The third image would be about them getting engaged, this imahe would feel a lot more formal, and there would be an added accessory of a wedding ring, this is to progress the story and the audience can see from the sutle hints about what has happened in their relationship. The couple will both be holding a gin glasses and the bottle wont be in this photo, however there will be hints to the bottle due to the colours in the accessories and the clothing to show the colours of the bottle.
Sketches of the shoots
Final Images
The instragram video
For my instagram video i wanted to use skills that i had learned in the first year in the 8 Seconds brief. The skill i had learnt was how to create a cinemagraph. A cinemagraph is a video that consantly loops and you cant tell where it starts and finishes. i have created a cinemagraph featuring the Gin Bottle and a cocktail which has the gin inside. i have also used blue stemmed glasses to colour match and show that the gin is inside the glass also. The movement that i have looped is of the stirring/mixing of the gin in the glass, it took me a few tries but i got the perfect loop and the practice from the previous year helped a lot to speed the process up.
Presentation
I presented my idea to the clients, i didnt get much feedback or negative feedback which was a shame as i would have liked to have known what i could improve with, but the one thing they said was that i had put a lot of effort and time into these images, which i was happy that they noticed this, as it is work that i am proud of.
Conclusion
In my opinion, this project went very successfully, the images i produced i am very proud of, this shows that if i stick to what i plan to do initially instead of worry about not being able to get it done in time, as for the past two projects i have stuck with my initial idea and it has been very successful and unique. One thing i could do if i was to complete this again is to find a way to put the bottle into all of the images.
