ben black

Brief
Arthur Fowler

Promote having your own outside space for people in highly developed cities where there is a lack of outside space, see it more as a sanctuary, and try and modernise the appeal of allotments, as they’re in decline. Altogether rid the “Arthur Fowler” image of the allotment and try to make it into a cooler pastime.

This is a diary of my thoughts and processes throughout my first brief, the MPA Roses student awards brief.
It will document my activities week by week.

Week 1

I have chosen to do the “Arthur Fowler” brief which you can read above. After selecting our brief we were split into groups depending on the brief we were doing to brainstorm some initial ideas. We looked at various words and ideas typically associated with allotments. We talked about how allotments are often a place for relaxation and a form of escapism from the real world. People often socialise at allotments, particularly older people who may be lonely. It was clear that we had to get away from the traditional idea of the allotment and create something completely original.

I have begun sketchbook work, mainly looking at what would make the perfect allotment. I also thought about what I would want from an allotment and what it would need for me to own one. I tried thinking out of the box and came up with the idea of floating allotments which were able to rise above the smoke and dirt of the city above the clouds where the sun would always be shing and the air would also be cleaner.

Week 2

This week I have been continuing with my research and sketchbook work. I have been looking at some statistics about allotments and trying to find out what the current appeal of them is. I found that allotments are often used for socialising not only between other allotment owners but family and friends. Also growing is nearly always done on allotments so I think I would need to keep this characteristic. I have been looking at some videos on the internet for some inspiration. I looked at the Gorillaz Feel Good Inc. video which I remebered having a floating platform. I really liked the look and peaceful and relaxed feel of parts of the video and will try and incorporate this into my animation.





After a brief meeting with joanne I think I am going to stick with my floating allotments idea. The allotments will also differ between users and be customisable to make them a perfect sanctuary. I have been working on photoshop, illustrator and motion to try and decide on a style. Although it is quite ambitious I am going to use a combination of real footage and animation to create a television advert. My aim is to make the allotments look relatively real which I know will be a challenge.