Shopping List - Idea Two

In this project, will be documenting my friend Kayleigh's journey as she undergoes jaw surgery to correct an overbite. Kayleigh is 21 years old, and the overbite is something that she has had since childhood, and has suffered bullying due to it. She has also suffered many dental problems. In order to get the surgery on her jaw, she has had to have a brace fitted as per requirement. The surgery involves breaking her jaw and realigning it to give her a perfect “bite”, something that will leave her swollen and in much pain for several weeks. The entire recovery will be around three months, and she will have a different appearance after the swelling and bruising has gone down, and her bones have completely reset. The recovery time will mean that Kayleigh will have to take time off of work, where she is a carer to adults with learning difficulties. The surgery itself is not as uncommon as people think, and is pretty routine and straightforward.

For this project, I will be charting Kayleigh's journey from before surgery to after the operation. I will focus on her feelings towards the surgery (both pre- and post-op), and the psychological effects it may have on her. I will present the work as a multimedia piece, including still images, moving images, atmospheric audio, and a spoken voiceover in an interview-style by Kayleigh herself. Shots may include portraits of Kayleigh (surgical profiles before and after the surgery), dental maintenance (brushing teeth, caring for braces, etc), preparing for hospital, and post-op development and recovery. The moving image pieces will feature some similar content to the still shots.

I will use a Nikon D800 with a range of lenses (fixed 50mm, 35mm, macro lens), a tripod, and a Tascam in order to capture the content, and will edit it together using Adobe Premiere Pro.

As the date of the surgery has not been confirmed yet, it may be that I cannot carry out this project at all for my third year. However, I would still like to make this project. It may be that this project could be completed for the May 2014 deadline; however, it all rests on the date of the surgery.