Trish Morrissey: Finding a story; creating scenarios, developing and performing a character

Photo Museum Ireland is delighted to present a Masterclass and peer to peer review session led by acclaimed photographer and film maker Trish Morrissey.

A master class in story telling, interpretation and character creation In this fun and dynamic workshop, we will be investigating story telling techniques, using pictures/clothes/objects brought in by students, we will look at various methods of finding and performing characters.

We will investigate what makes a character, including physical description, (posture, facial expression, clothing) backstory, (how the character might be feeling which will inform how a character moves, behaves and reacts to their surroundings) and character arcs (how the character might evolve within a narrative). These techniques can be used to develop fictional scenarios for multiple photographic and film uses, including fashion and portraiture.

The masterclass is split into five sections.
1. Introduction to my work; how I find characters and my different techniques of character development
2. Each participant is invited to give a short presentation of their work (maximum six images) for feedback and discussion, and to express what they hope to gain from the masterclass.
3. Participation in various activities and games, that will enhance understanding of how perception and interpretation of a scenario is individual and not fixed, and how this knowledge enhances the construction of a character.
4. Development of characters and scenarios using the props and clothes that have been brought in.
5. Review and reflection.

Students to bring
1. Items of clothing and an object/personal effect/prop picked up from a charity shop/jumble sale, something to spark the imagination. Other clothes/props from home can be brought too.
2. Bring a photograph of a person you don’t know, a portrait that interests you, that you are drawn to, and a character that you find intriguing. Can be from the web/pinterest/someone’s family album/charity shop etc, or it can be a photograph you have made/taken of someone you don’t know/street photograph/anonymous.
3. A camera. Can be phone camera or SLR, we will be recording the characters developed in the class.

Read the 5 Star Irish Times exhibition review of Autoficitions by Trish Morrissey at Photo Museum Ireland.

Interviews with Trish Morrissey

Martin Parr Sofa Session
A Small Voice podcast with Ben Smith
The Mothership Podcast with Michelle Brown