[MUSIC] Well, here we are. We're going to plan the capstone project and get this course going. Well, here we are in the capstone course. Mark and I know that many of you began this journey with course one, when even the mention of such things as ISO, aperture, the golden mean, shutter priority exposure, those would all result in very blank stares. Aren't you proud of all that you've learned and all that you've created in the months since those first lessons. We think you have every right to be. Or you've learned a lot and we'll be applying that knowledge and your own unique creativity in the formation of a photography project. There's still a lot of learning to do in this specialization we'll be covering many aspects related to developing a project and finalizing its direction in the next seven weeks. You should be aware, however, that when we finish this course the capstone project may be at a stage of accomplishment but it may also be something that's not really completed. While it will be the capstone experience of this specialization, it may be a project you continue to develop for many months or even years after this course has ended. There's one thing that's absolutely certain and that is that just like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, you have to take the first steps, and just start in order to get to the Land of Oz or a state of satisfaction with a photography project. So, click those ruby slippers together and let's get going. We'll begin with the process of developing a first draft of what we call a project plan. This draft plan is the first thing you'll produce for this course, and the first peer review. While it may be a plan that defines the exact direction that your photography will follow for the remainder of this capstone course in all likelihood, it will not. The ancient Taoist philosopher, Lao Tzu, offered the truism that, quote, when all doors are opened, all doors are closed. Your main task in creating a project plan is to close as many doors as possible to eliminate as many possibilities as you can in order to focus on a project definition that will be both attainable in the next seven weeks and reflective of a content that you are truly passionate about sharing. For many of you, the plan will change. Maybe quite a bit after you review your first photographs and read the comments of your peers on both your pictures and your plan. It will probably also be changed as a result of what you see in your peers' projects as well, as you learn from their pictures and their unique styles and interests in photography. This is why we want you to engage that peer review process with as many of your peer projects as possible. Think of the peer review process from the first through the last as a way to draw knowledge and inspiration from your allies in photography. The knowledge, and questions, and inspiration you share with others will be valued tremendously by them. Because they look at you as an ally too, someone who can be counted on to give a frank and full assessment of the significant elements of their projects and help them progress. Learning from others can be one of the most significant elements of support for your own project, and Mark and I encourage you in the strongest way, not to limit yourselves in any of the peer reviews by simply reviewing only the minimum number. It's really time to go above and beyond for the benefit of your fellow photographers, and for your own growth too. Another aspect of the course that we want to encourage you to take advantage of is the discussion forums for each week. We've been impressed at the seriousness of purpose of those learners who have participated in the forums in past courses and we want all of you to participate regularly for the weeks ahead for this capstone course. Testing ideas, asking questions, sharing answers, and building a community of supportive learners will help everyone as individual photographers and as a group too. Let's review the parts of the plan that you'll be creating this week on your first main assignment, along with making some photographs. The first thing you'll want to do is to narrow the range of possible subjects from everything in the entire universe to a broad area of content that is exciting for you. So the first step in narrowing that range of possibilities is to state clearly the broad category of photography that your project will fall under. For example, will your project fall under the category of landscape or portrait? Documentary or expressive. Tableau or still-life. Or some other broadly stated area. Once you settle on that broad category narrow your project further, determining a specific subject matter that will be the primary content source. And why it's important for you to address that. What are the reasons that you're motivated to create your project? What is it about the broad category, and more specifically that subject matter, that excite you enough to devote much of the next seven weeks of your life to developing it to a stage of completion. What do you hope to achieve by creating this project? Your goal does not have to be earth shaking. It can simply be to create your first set of purposely controlled photographs. Believe me, that's a lofty goal in and of itself. It could be more extensive, of course. Is your goal to have an exhibit? Maybe to create a book? To impress your boss and prove that you can expand your responsibilities. There can be many practical goals that have finished project in photography can make possible. And doors that can be opened because a project is successful. Of course, some of these possibilities may have nothing to do with the world itself but everything to do with you, and your own personal goals for success as a creative person. And those are important goals as well. Along with an initial set of decisions related to this broad category your project will fall under, and decisions about a more specific subject. You'll also want to make further decisions that will affect the look of the pictures, the visuals style. What we often refer to as stylistic signature, that too, will also create a content. You'll start to define that look by defining the photographic techniques that will be your primary tools. For example, will your pictures be characterized by sharp focus, throughout the scene, great depth of field we call it, or is shallow depth of field with focus in only a small area something that will be present. Will it be important to convey to time through slow shutter speed blurs or fast shutter speed stop actions? You think that unusual vantage points will help you convey your content or is it more important for the scenes to be shot from an angle that is more normal for the subject, or perhaps a mix of those two is best. There are many more questions to ask yourself about technique and all the other aspects, in order to narrow your project's focus, so that it really does come from a well defined approach rather than a hodge podge of random images but you'll be happy to know you don't have to answer them all before you begin. While it's important for you to make at least some initial decisions in your first draft of this project plan, you should not put too much pressure on yourself to define every single thing. Pressuring yourself to make too many decisions at first can lead to delay in making any photographs. As you begin to form a plan and begin making photographs you'll find that it'll be more than just a little helpful to search out sources of inspiration in the work of other photographers whose pictures are in that same general area. Search online for the websites of photographers, whose work falls into the same general area as your own. You'll want to find a website of a photographer, regardless, so you can share it with your peers. To give them some extra context for your own work as part of a future peer review. No matter where in this wide world you are living and photographing, as a member of this course, you're connected to others in a special way. You're not simply going to be working alone. You're part of a worldwide community of dedicated photographers and drawing on their opinions about your photographs and project, that's essential. It is also crucial for your peers to learn from the way that you respond to the photographs and project plans that they have. We cannot stress enough the importance of those interchanges as essential and very exciting aspects of this learning environment. Take full advantage of the discussion forums. We've noticed that in the past those forums have not often been used as ways to share picture ideas, but mainly as places to ask technical questions about the courses, about technique, about quizzes, things like that. Don't hesitate to pitch your subject, the category, the content, camera work, and other questions related to your project out into those discussion forums. Why not post a picture for others to respond to occasionally? Even if you have questions on it, and maybe especially if you have questions on it. Also, do visit the forums even if you don't have anything to share right at that moment. You'll always be able to contribute your valuable opinions. And as you form them, you're going to be learning about the things that you value in a photograph. Mark and I feel that the peer review process is such an essential aspect of learning in this course, and that it really does need to be peer to peer. However, that doesn't mean that we won't be observing what is being shared each week. We feel that if we inserted our opinions before the end of the course, it could influence the directions of your projects too strongly. And, we could not comment on just one without commenting on all. However, we are both very excited about reaching the final official and of this course because in the two weeks after that each of you will be getting a personal review by either Mark or me. We're both looking forward to that opportunity to participate in your capstone experience with that final personal feedback. We have a marketing campaign that is meant to convey the work ethic that's associated with Michigan State University that is summed up in the phrase, Spartans will. I see it applied in places all over the campus and all over the MSU website. For example, here's what I see everyday when I pull into the blockaded parking lot at Kreisky Art Center. It says on this bar, who will raise the bar. Spartans will. Well, in this case, it will raise the bar only if I have paid my parking fees, and my ID will release it. Since you're part of the MSU Spartan family, through enrollment in this specialization, this phrase applies to you too, but in a more serious way. When the question is asked, who will go beyond basics in photography and create a great capstone project? The answer will clearly be Spartans will. So my fellow Spartans, let's get going. [MUSIC]
