After receiving my feedback from the confirmation assessment and another meeting with Andi on the 29th April I have a rough trajectory to follow.

– How does my work challenge the status quo, comment on society and ideology?

Further research required in documentary in regards to:

-The notion of what is ‘truth’- it has a long history in dock films from the 20th Century on and should be recognised here also.

2- Representation and the creation of a life from past events.

Further references are required to define what constitutes identity, from mainly a psychological standpoint, which will include aspects of socio-cultural identity, helping to delineate the proposed audience demographic with greater precision.

Additional reading into ‘truth’ will be looked at as they pertain to autobiography, as well as in fine art such as self portraiture. Further reading into literature of autobiography may also help to trigger ideas into structure.

A finalised visual style may need to be addressed, although I would argue for a shifting style to accompany a shifting identity. This of course would have to be the result of planning, and not of laziness.

The concept of ‘place’ will need to be addressed in order to delineate location, language, and contemporary social culture of the time in question, in order to speak to an international audience with an authentic local voice.

I will need to go into the building of story with my visual method of working at the forefront of my mind, identifying key points thematic focus and adrenaline moments in the overall story and giving them a visual basis to build around.
Also I need to find connectives and cross references over time from the diary entries, or memories, virtual and physical, which will help to strengthen the project, making it cohesive and bringing things from the past into play in the current narrative.

The final story should have two main themes, perhaps becoming a man (hero’s journey?), and of forgiveness, and two timelines intersecting throughout.  The becoming a man (university) narrative will be told as a chronological story, while the other will probably not, instead coming up at random times to give clues or motifs along the way. Development of the theme of ‘becoming a man’ and manhood will be fundamental in connecting to an audience within a larger context, through analysis of universally recognisable rites of maturation.

Andi discussed the idea of a recurring motif- a visual symbol or metaphysical motif that would give weight to the theme and some sort of hook throughout, as well as hopefully lending believability.  For example, a t-shirt the character wears as a kid is seen later as a painting. My first idea is to use the ocean and it’s blue/green hues with the reflected orange of the sun as a key motif, with these colours found within the eyes of partners I seek. This will need more thought, but it has some nice elements, with a ideas of the ocean found within relationships- joy, love, pain, danger. Hidden depths and rips waiting to drag you in and leave you stranded.

I still need to come up with ethics clearance for a a list of questions that I wish to ask comics professionals- and first I need to come up with the questions. Yowza! I want to speak to Frank Quietly while I’m in Glasgow in August, about the the process of roughing out ideas, visual storytelling, and personal projects, as well as themes of manhood questions and concepts of heroism- how he uses specific visual motifs and treatments of themes.

Lots to do!