Evaluation

Overall I am happy with my Level of work in this module. I think that I contributed my fair share to the Group project. Obviously not in the set build because I took on a different role in the production. Georgina and I took on the role of the 'prosthetic department'. Creating the fake limbs that were needed for the shoot. I think for first timers we did a good job. People were freaked out by the pieces we created and I think that is a sign that we were in the right direction. We shared the work load equally and a lot of it was about experimenting with what did and did not work when creating the piece. At the beginning of the project I also feel I contributed in terms of ideas for the set design even though this did not end up being a major part of my resulting role.

The Group project was I think as a whole a small window into professional practice on set. One thing that stood out for me was the idea of working in departments. At first I had expected to be more involved in the main set build but I think being split up the way we were worked better in order that we would be able to meet the time scale, and to better represent the real world of film making.

As a whole I think the project was successful in the timescale we had. It was, I feel rushed and that came through in the finished result, with small details like bubbly wall paper being missed in the final checks. I think that we managed to create something fairly respectable in the time given.

I feel I learned quite a lot in the lessons, through practice of the covered points. I think I was able to learn more about certain processes such as mood boards and after effects. This has also made me more confident in my technical skills. I also learned not only skills but also more about how the practical world of film making works as a whole, rather than a single skill.

The research that I undertook was mainly focusing on elements of art direction I think. From the home works I focused on the artists that were mentioned and what meanings could be drawn from their work. This for me translated into thinking about set designs. For example what a set could mean to an audience. Drawing from the ideas of these artists I began to think about how a set design is an important element in drawing meaning from a film. It is not just a decorative background for the action but a definitive part of a film's overall success.

The research for the personal project was quite broad. On the one hand there were the technical aspects. For example how I was going to create the special and visual effects as this is something I originally had no knowledge of. I used a collation of knowledge gained in the session and from online research. The main source was online tutorials, as there is a wealth of knowledge out there. Another part of the research was on ideas for costumes and setting. I was already quite familiar with 'the look' of the Regency but I wanted to expand my knowledge of the colour palates.

My Personal Proposal came from my love of History. I decided upon the setting as it was a time of great turmoil in Britain and thought this would create a beautifully chaotic world to set a story of chaos against. I think having a backdrop that reflects the main themes of a story makes it stronger and the audience find it more believable.

Overall I think the idea is successful. It fills the brief and has more than one special and Visual effect. I think as a piece of filmic storytelling if it were to be made, it would be an exciting idea. I like the idea of the setting because it is usually associated with romantic tales of heroic men and fainting women. I like the idea of subverting this and setting a dark tale of death and destruction in a time when things were changing greatly. In a time where memories of revolution were still fresh and great change was coming in both technology and attitudes. I feel this is something that would attract an audience.

In terms of coming up with the actual scene, having a fascination with ghost stories was a big influence. I also thought that a transformation of a human body into something that would fit the brief and give a great opportunity to use a visual effect. Also I like the idea of creating a ghost who is not as simple as a spectral figure. A creature that is neither alive nor dead is an old idea but I think this is a slightly new slant on it.

The research for this project started with how the film would look. I began looking at what the film would look like. The starting point was looking at a lot of late 18^th century and early 19^thCentury landscapes. If this film was to be created I would want it to reflect the art from the period. The vast empty rural landscapes that were dangerous and where both life and the law were brutal. I would draw heavily on the colour pallets used by artists of the time when bringing together props and costumes as an Art Director.

For the effects, there are several visual and special. The most prominent of which is the transformation and smoke figure. For this I am envisioning a combination of effects. For the start of the transformation I think using motion tracking would be one route. Using motion capture for the actor would I think be the best way to create a figure of smoke that resembled the actor. Having learned about Maya, using it or a similar modelling programme to create the smoke. Then I would change the textures so that it was a thick and had an almost liquid like quality. I don’t want it to look like there’s is a billowing fire somewhere, gushing thick black smoke. For the piece to work it would have to be otherworldly.

There would also be need for prosthetic makeup in this piece, such as false teeth and wigs for the ghost character. From watching online tutorials, I have come up with a process I would use. First take a dental cast of the actor's real teeth. This then is used as a base to build the fake denture around. Then from this using silicone, I would build up a denture. After the denture is complete I would them paint it with a clear substance so that it looks shiny as it covered in saliva. After this to complete the look of the character I would add orange coloured contact lenses to give orange eye effect. And to complete his look the application of a wig and fake beard would be nessaccary 

Another make up effect will be the dead woman. For the research I looked up various online tutorials for ‘dead make-up’ many were to do with zombies. However one technique I think would be effective would be covering the body in pale makeup, creating a washed out skin tone. Also the lips should be covered in a makeup that is pale or with a slightly blue tine to make them look lifeless. For this character I also want there to be a strange quality to the skin, I think some sort of pearly powder might do this, in order to give a strange luminescent quality to the skin.

Another Special effect in this proposal is the gun shot. It seems the best way to do this would be a combination of things. Firstly there is the actual Gun on set. This would, on a bigger production require a fire arms technician. Given that the film that I am envisioning uses a broad range of historical weaponry, I think the bringing in of a weapons expert would be required. On set they would set up the shot, after having talked with them about what weapon to use to fit the look of the film. After the shot to create a more real effect I would use a software like After Effects to increase the impact of the spark the gun creates. From online tutorial I have discovered that it can be a fairly simple process with the right software. After the special effect and visual effects had been composited I would them add a realistic sound effect to complete the effect.

I got the idea from how to create the coachman being flung in the air from one of 'The Hobbit' Production Blogs, where several of the actors are attached to bungee lines and are pulled backwards onto a crash mat. This would require, on top of the equipment, a stunt man and team in order for it to be carries out safely.

This project would also require a lot of thought in Costume and set design. Set in the regency the costume design would draw heavily on the fashion of the time. However at the same time it is a work of fiction and fantasy so I think this piece also has some artistic licence to stretch out with the historical boundaries. The Ghost Character for example has to look sinister and grimy. It would be necessary therefore to bring this within his costume. There are ways to do this which include washing some of the colour from the fabrics. As this character is to appear as having 'fallen from grace'. So by taking luxurious and expensive looking fabrics and distressing them I think it would help to achieve this look. Another technique is using Sand paper to create worn patches to make the clothes look old and well lived in.

The woman however would be completely the opposite, her clothes being luxurious and new. For this, as an Art Director I would work with the costume team to make sure the look is achieved. Her and her coachman would both be dressed in the best Regency fashions to show off the wealth and social standing. When someone is only on screen for a few minutes it is important that the mise-en-scene reveals to the audience what a script does not.  

Overall I have learned a lot through the work that I have undertaken in this module. I have engaged well with the teaching and I feel I have tried to get the best out of the sessions. I think my strengths lie with the art direction side of things. I feel I took to the prop making like a duck to water and I think it is something that I would like to do more of in the future. The fake limbs we made were nowhere near perfect but I think from doing this I was able to see how I would make them better in the future. One thing was the skin tone was not at all natural in the end. In future I would take grater care and time over this.

I think a major weakness still lies with the more technical parts of post-production. I think although I understand the basics of after effects and Maya I would be more comfortable asking a specialist for what I wanted in a film. However having said this I am now much more settled with the ideas of visual effects after the workshops and the further research.

To conclude I feel I have been successful in this Module. I have engaged well with the lessons and the points that were raised in them. I researched the homework tasks and consolidated my understanding of the lessons through my use of the knowledge gained in my proposal. I also feel I created a Proposal that was successful and fitted the brief and shows the extent of my learning over the Module. 

Fever Ray

Fever Ray is a Scandinavian music artist. After watching her music videos I wanted to mention it. One video that really stood out to me was for 'If I had a heart' that I first heard through the television show 'vikings'.

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I like how the music's Scandinavian roots are reflected in a way with the boats and the fore torches. I also like the chopping and changing  there is an element of randomness to it but it's not so random its jarring, it still fits the mood and feel of the song.

I think music videos can be a great way of looking at the use of film because they are constructed around a piece of music rather than a narrative.

Session 11- Maya

I think Maya is a great piece f software and i hope to be able to go further with it in future.

In class I was able to Create a bouncing ball. I did this by setting key frames on a time line of 200 frames. A 3rd of the way through the time line I placed the full height it should reach in the sequence. Another third in I out the ball on the 'floor' and I also manipulated the shape so it looked squashed. Then at the end of the time line I had the ball be the same size and shape as at the beginning. I think the effect was for a first time quite a good one.

I also created a rolling cube using the technique of moving the objects a specific key frames. I then gave it a marble surface.

I also played with some of the different textures you can create I used some of the different fur options on a basic sphere to see what they'd look like. It was interesting finding out about the different textures are created on 3d modelling.

All in all I think from this session I have taken away a basic of understanding of what the software can do and what it can be used for. 

Something interesting

I came across this odd little short ilm and thought it was quite an interesting creative fusion of ideas. I think there is actually quite a lot of thought put into the locations.
I like the idea of the mixture of the traditional and the modern. I think this is reflected in the choice of location. For example there is an irish coastline which is opposed by the industrial back drop of a warehouse.

I think this a quirky little video that is a bit of fun while still very creative.


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Proposal brief mood board

Costume Design

One Area I am very interested in is Costume Design and in particular the costume design in film based in Historical settings. I love the idea of bringing something back to th enow that has been lost to history.

One television show at the moment that has drawn my attention is 'Vikings'. It has a broad range of costumes designs from the poor to the very wealthy.

Costume Designer Joan Bergin said "I took everything that I thought they would [have been able to] get their hands on, the linens, the wools, the weaving, because they were remarkably sophisticated,” said Bergin. “Paganism has this beautiful imagery and great craftsmanship. They took great pride in [what they made], much like American Indians. I could justify elements like pink fur, because they could have dyed it using berries. As it went on, I got braver.”

I think it is important when creating costumes to take into account who the charaqcters are and their surroundings. It wouldn't make sense to put someone in a piece of clothing that would be unavailavle to them. ALso I think the character has to be taken into account. A modest and unasuming character would not make sense to be wearing bright colourful and expensive designs or fabric. 

Overall I think Vikings costume design is really well thoght out and researched.

It also made me think about costume design for my proposal. It is set in the Regency, in the early 19th Century. There are three Characters and they all have very different costumes.

Firstly there is the man/creature. For him I am envisioning a vagabond type character. However I want him to be dressed in clothes that were one fine. S the fabrics will be luxurious but distressed. I think costume is a big part of a character. If I was to dress this character in poorer fabrics there wouldn't be a sense of the dilapidation that the character had endured before the film starts. It's an interesting idea to be able to give a character a deeper depth even before you've been able to introduce them properly. 

In terms of the other two characters in the sequence. As these are characters who need to represent wealth. and they are only on screen for barley 5 minutes, they need to be shown as this through their attire.

Overall this is a subject I am interested in and I like the idea of a character being reflected in the clothes and how well thought out and effective this can be.

session 10 after effects

In this session I was pleasantly surprised by how I managed to grasp all of what we were taught on (for me) complicated software.

it was interesting using the motion tracking and I now understand more how  this works in big budget film. although this was rather crude it does basically the same job. Then adding layers on top of this to add to more to the image. I was able to add different eyes to the image and make them move with the base image to a certain extent. given more time I would have I think been able to make it stick for the whole clip.

This for me was also an exercise in understanding how the software works so I am able to go further and use tutorials more effectively 

Session 9 adobe premiere and slow computers

 I found this session interesting even if the computers were grindingly slow. It was interesting using a different form of editing software. In this I took some of the footage of me crawling backwards and reversed it to create a weird forward motion.

Also in after effects I took out the green screen and put the footage on a background on the bleeding walls shot that I duplicated to create the corridor.

Over all this lesson was useful in teaching me basic skills on new software. Also I now am able to easily find tutorials to further my knowledge of the software should I need it.

Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy tv series 1981

Having recentley re watched the 1980's BBC 'Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy' Series I was interested about the use of prosthetics in the show.

The most obvious of which is I think, Zaphod's (mark Wind-davies) second head. In the radio series it is not that well described apart from that he has two heads side by side. This with out the modern advanced is special and visual effects would prove quite a challenge.




To today's eyes this seems rather crude and not at all realistic but on a BBC budget in 1981 it is quite remarkable I think. Especially id you take into account the Vogons which Personally I think were just as good as the movie ones that were made in the 2000s.




This production also used techniques to create the idea of infinity in the sets with set pieces painted on glass. by a bored Frenchman.  This technique had been used before production decided to do the reverse to create even more of a look of infinity in the small BBC sound stages.

Something else that they used in the film was a lot of miniature work in the scenes where something is flying through space. For this they used animation. First drawing the designs on clear ascitate and then turning this negative. Then They used colored paper to reveal individual letters of pictures.

So Hitchhikers managed to create outer space and Alien races on a minor BBC budget but even though to todays eyes it does look rather crude some of it still stands up today sich  as the animation.

Group Project Mood Board

500 word Proposal brief REVISED

Tagline: Something more sinister than a rogue Highway man lurks in the depths of the Georgian countryside.

Logline: Among the faint beginnings of the Agricultural revolution some thing is lurking among the freshly threshed corn. Against the backdrop of a modernising nation an ancient nightmare or folklore is coming back to haunt the people of rural Regency England.

This is from the opening of this film, 'The Creature' makes it's first attack, launching the story by creating the fist victims. 

At a crossroads a man sits alone leaning against the decrepit signpost. A long clay pipe hangs from his mouth; plumes of clean, white smoke encompass his shaggy head. Long Black hair surrounds his features. His teeth, green and broken are exposed by thin grimacing lips. His eyes glow a strange yellow from his beneath his greasy tresses. He is a vagabond, his long coat, once the finest velvet is now tattered worn thin by years of wind and rain. His top hat is distorted and like his coat worn too thin for the cold and wet. Around him the sound of the countryside is prominent, birds singing and a distant river. The countryside and its beauty make this man appear even more grotesque.

In the distance there is the sound of wheels and hooves along the road. The man looks towards the sound where a large cloud of dust precedes a sleek black carriage, drawn by two chestnut heavy horses. Their hooves kick up great lumps of dirt. The man grins and stands, slowly on rickety bones. The carriage draws ever closer, he flags it down.

As the carriage draws to a halt the man hobbles towards the window. The Carriage is driven by a portly man, whose smart tailcoat is stretched by his bulging gut. His jowls and vacant drooping eyes give him the look of a bloodhound. His top hat is perched precariously on his bulbous head.

The window on the carriage creeps down and a gun is thrust from it. A flintlock pistol, beautiful and ornate. A woman hold it, her fine lace gloves and bonnet betray her high class.

The man grins, his eyes which had stopped there gentle glow now shine, a grotesque, sickly orange. The woman is horrified. At her gasp the driver turns from his perch. He begins to climb down his pot bellied frame making it a struggle.

The man, eyes still glowing reaches and grabs the driver round his thick neck. Hoisting him in the air and throwing him several feet in the other direction. The woman fires the pistol. It sparks as the lead shot is released and a puff of smoke bellows from the mechanism. The shot travels straight through the man. He grins, reaches out and intertwines his fingers with the smoke seeping from the barrel.

Tendrils of smoke twist round his dirty fingernails and up his forearm. His flesh begins to disintegrate and meld with the smoke. The transformation travels up his arms, through his body down to his feet. As it travels through him the white smoke becomes thicker and any sign of flesh disappears.

The woman is frozen in horror, the Pistol clatters to the floor. The smoke like figure now twists and contorts. It becomes figureless, a cloud, poised. It darts, through the carriage, passing through the woman's body. The smoke appears again the other side of the carriage. It reforms into a figure, then collapses on itself, vanishing.

The woman lays dead, her eyes glassy and skin translucent. She appears cold although she is only a few seconds’ dead.

Session 8 second studio shoot

The second studio shoot was based around green screen, this was also where the  work Georgina and I had been doing came to fruition.

The first of what we created to be filmed was the hand. I think that this hand was, for a forst attempt at making fake limbs pretty good. However there was much that could be improved on. For example the colouration wasnt creat. It dod look rather fake. I think with more time ad practice it would have been Possible to create something more realistic. This os something that was true with all the prosthetics we made.

The arm I think was my favourite part of the day in order to create the oozing liquis we mixed fake blood with custard powder to create an infected looking mess. It was good fun, if a bit over exuberant. I think a slow ooze and thicker mixture would have worked better.

Finally I volanteered to be the person crawling along the floo backwatds. I thnk the costume we threw together for this was great considering it came together in 5 minutes, it was quite good fun and it looked quite effective. 

We managed to get a lot done in this shoot I think and even though it was ruched I don't think it went too badly. 

Bliss and Eso promo

The visual effects at the end of this trailer I think are pretty cool. The colours and how they have characteristics of real wings make them quite striking. Although they are obviously a visual effect, they do have a weighty ness and the movement I think is characteristic of real wings that size of an eagle or other large bird.

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Session 7 Homework

I like the 'earthy' and natural, in some ways. I think it has the look of drift wood but more exact and angular rather than having the natural flows you would expect. He uses the idea of the ocean and travel in his work and I think this comes through.

http://arttattler.com/Images/NorthAmerica/California/San%20Francisco/SF%20MoMA/Joseph%20Cornell/Tradewinds.jpg

http://arttattler.com/Images/NorthAmerica/California/San%20Francisco/SF%20MoMA/Joseph%20Cornell/Soap-Bubble-Set.jpg



There is also a loo of scavenging and collage I think. In some of his pieces it does look like a collection of artifacts collected in an artistic way.

Cindy Sherman

I think her technique of turning a camera on yourself in a context that is not a self portrait is a unique and interesting idea. More conman in a film sense. A lot of her work is based around the role of women in society. I think this is a conman theme in her work. With the idea of woman hood being challenged by creating this grotesque model of a pregnant woman hospital training dummy thing with a old man's head on it.

I think she makes you uncomfortable with the imagery. However I think this is a part of the strength of her work

Session 7 first studio shoot.

This session was vvery long and quite intese but I think it was good in terms of giving us an experience of studio shooting. Also in the etiquite of how a shoot works, in terms of 'the order of ceremonies'.

During the shooting for some scenes I took the role of A.D. I found this interesting. and informative as it is a role that I think I have not really thought about before. I think the elements of clock watching and having a loud voice to be geard over everyone are things I posess that would make this interesting for me.

Elsewhere I was Continuing in the prosthetic department. Continuing with making the fake arm and hand. In addition we had to make a bucket of blood for the bleeding walls scene. We also used he blood we made lsat week to make it look like the 'mini-paul' character had been squashed by a falling book.

This week we also began to lay the final layers of latex on the prosthestics and began to build up the wound. It also needs to be painted next week when the latex tructure of the would is dry. We will also need to trim the tubing in the hand so the blood ccan be pumped through more easily.

When it cane to the scene where the walls were bleeding, I drilled some of the hole through which the blood would be poured. I also helped filling up the 8 syringes that would be used to excrete the blood.
 This scene in my opoinion could have worked better but I think it would have needed rigging up differentley. However for this set up and a first attempt I think it worked well.

Overall I think the session went really well as we filmed everything that was planned and I learned a lot about the different roles on set as well as ideas for sifferent rigging situations.

session 6 homework

The thought that sticks with me mst from this article is the idea of how modern digital effects are redefining how the film world creates reality. Digital effects show the viewer a 'reality' that they cannot see for themselves. Weather is it reconstructions of the old or imaginations of the future.

Personally I think this technique of using CG in order to enhance the narrative is a great inivation to film. especially with more recent advances the lines between the real and computer generated are becoming ever more blured in film as techniques move on. As a filmmaker you are able to show the viewer a realistic space station of city scape to help tell a story. In a film it almost has to act as an audiences imagination, in terms of setting at least we expect to see it all. I think this overall adds to the cinematic experience.

I also think audiences are evermore accepting of digital imagery in film as we live in an ever more digitalised world. This then reflected in how we live our lives constantly surrounded by computers and digital representations.

Effects however can be overpowering and begin to hold up the narrative. I think a prime example of this is 'The Hobbit' as much as I loved the film I couldn;t help but think they tried to milk the digital effects for all they are worth. I think the story can get lost in that if one is not careful.

Session 5 Homework

From looking at the work of Jake and Dinos Chapman, the first impression I get is that is about making a statement.  For example Hitler made in to what looks like something from a crazy golf course. There is the idea of fun and family activity juxtaposed with the idea of absolute evil that the Nazi party connote. I have to say that I’m not sure what conclusion one would draw from this apart from the fact it is making a statement. Maybe it simply aims to poke fun and the ideas of a party that are almost too ridiculous to believe.

This idea of poking fun also comes from another piece of work that caught my eye. A statue of the virgin Mary and baby Jesus that are starting to by the looks of it decompose. I think this could be taken different ways. One is the idea that religion is no longer as relevant in society and is dying so to speak. The iconic image of Christianity is rotting therefore this shows a similar state to Christianity as an idea. Also it I think can be taken as mocking, in some ways it might be seen as defacing purity. The virgin is a symbol of all that is pure and the idea of decomposition and rotting is the opposite of that.

From this I think that a major element of their work is using art to make a statement about political issues. Aside from that is also interesting in it’s weirdness and it’s use of sculpture. I think that looking at how thinks like this are created, it gives one an idea about building set pieces and things that can make a set feel real.

Although interesting as artist I think as sculptors in a craft sense that are just as interesting to look at in terms of what you can create for back drops and props.

In terms of what Georgina and I are doing with very ammeter prosthetics this article is very interesting. There appears to be several different techniques involved in creating prosthetics and models.

One interesting Technique is the sir brushing.  I think that creating a realistic skin tone with the varying colours and textures will be a big challenge and I think that this piece of technology is something that, if this were a professional shoot with a bigger budget and experienced prosthetic artist would be very useful in creating the body part props.

Another interesting idea is the idea of scaling things up and down to create large models. I think in esscance it’s the same as drawing a design on squared paper and then drawing bigger squares and therefore a bigger design with the same detail. I think its simple ideas like this that can get lost in this modern age where technology is so prevalent but it’s a simple idea that works. ‘It ain’t broke so don’t fix it.’

I think overall what this article highlights is what prosthetics can achieve and will more often than not be more realistic that computer generated techniques. Also the idea that the aged look or human/animal hybrid is a physical thing and I think that creates a greater sense of realism personally. 

Session 6: alice and George get even more creative with dog chews and salt dough

During the session Georgina and I continued to create fake limbs for our film.

The arm, on which the mod rock had dried needed to be coated in liquid lated to give it a texture more like skin. We have decided that the creature type thing that is under the skin will be attempted in after efects. However  we have decided this so we can create a different special effecy. we want to have some sort of bloody pustual eruption coming out of a wound on the arm. So far what we have done to achive this is to drill a hole through the centre of the foam cylinder. Through this we will be able to put tubing through which we can eject fluid.

After the hole was drilled we began to cover the arm in flesh colored liquid latex. Using the knowledge we gained last week from our test we began to build up the layers of latex to create a realistic coating of skin.

Als this week we began to create a fake hand. To do this we began with a latex glove, dog chews and salt dough. To make the hand we bagan by covering the dog chews with salt dough to create finger like structures. We then forced them into the fingers of the glove, moulding them into fingers. After all 5 were in place we began to pack the rest of the glove in order to create a realistic hand shape. Because of the dog chews the hand has some bone like structure. This also means that when the finger is sliced it will have a barried that will look more realistic than cutting through play dough.

We also fed a tube into the finger that will be cut of so we can pump fake blood through to create a gory spurt when the finger is cut. After wh had consructed the hand, we 'dressed' it in a shirt sleave and began to add flesh colured liquid latex than we had used on the arm.

All in all this session I think as very producive and I have learned a lot about the art of prosthetics and setting up special effects.

Mood boards for uncanny brief

For My proposal fort he Uncanny brief I decided to do three modd boards easch representing a different part of the films asthetic. I hope that this will give a deeper sense of what the film would be. In order to do this I have creted three different Mood boards. One for the Landscape in which the film is set, one which describes the set in the cottage, and one that shows an idea of how the character will look in the film.

The first of the mood boards, the landscape is a mixture of my own photos and ones found from the internet. I have been heavily inspired by the scenery and feel of the Scottish west coast where I grew up and this is where I envision the film proposal I wrote being set. With this mood board I have tried to convey the colour and fell of the landscape, how the buildings would look as well as how the natural world surrounding the set would look. I have also tried to bring in some of the colour elements that would be present on the stormy night where the film is set.

For the other board I concentrated on the interior of the cottage where it is set. I wanted t show the coulour and natural fell of the set so have used wood and a mix of blue and green to represent the sea. I have also conveyed these through the nets and bouys that adorn the walls. I have also included ,ain features of the room, the bed, the oil lamp, the storm battered window, I have also added a range which could be founf in the type of cottage that the sequence is set on.

Session 5 Alice and Georgina get creative with blue foam and mod rock

For the Uncanny proposal Georgina and I are woking on a green screen sequence that involves a infected wound idea on the characters arm. For this we have had to create a fake arm.

Starting with a piece of moddeling foam we squared off the corners and then mared curved lines in order to make a more cylindrical shape. Upon reflection However we decided to make the bottom of the arm flat making it easier to rig up and create spurting blood or puss. Also the arm is slightly over sized again this will make it easier to create erupting boil type effects with tubing and syringes. The idea we have is to shoot the fake arm in close up so that thesize will not look inrealistic it will just look more detailed. Also as this is our first attempt at creating something like this it is probably going to work better if we work bigger, not getting too fiddley.

squaring off the corners and drawing guide lines for cutting

the block clamped to the work bench after cutting.

After thisstage we filed down the block so that it was more rounded. We also tapered theshape slightly to make it look like a more realistic forearm shape. After this we covered thearm in mod rock and then left it to dry.

Next week we are going to paint it with liquid latex. While the modrock was starting to dry wedid some experimenting with the latex. This is something new to me so it was interesting . We tried different levels of skintone ad white acryllic paint to get the right kind of colour. The first batch was a little 'spent too much time on a sun bed' so we added more white. We also discovered that the colour you mix is different to what i tlook like dried, it was a lot darker, so we also had to judge the differences and mix a pot that dried the right colour.

Test patches of the latex on a foil sheet

A pot of the mixed up lates and skin tone.

Session 4 Homework

The article on Richard Taylor about the work of Weta on the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

It was interesting to see how the balance of special and visual effects was used. i think tht this is also a chancing trend and big budget filmmakers are increasingly moving to using more an d more visual effects.

However personally I find Wetas work on LoTR fascinating. the immense attention to detail and the sheer scale of ehat they accomplised in the trilogy in incredible. i think what they really did was create another world rather than the illusion of one for the screen.

In my research outside the article on the lord of te rings set design has lead to much about european ancient and classical fashions and design.

Weta took great care and consideration in the design of the different Cultures. Foe example with Rohirrin set design and costume had major Saxon and Dark ages scandanavian. I think that Looking to History is a vital part of trying to create reaistic worlds with in a fantasy one. I think this is something Art Director need to find inspirations. Looking at how people in the past thought about colour and Material.

Also the Logical aspects, What would these characters need in this world we are creating. I think that in creating a set of costume for a film, one has to stop and think, would tis work in real life? would they need this? Would they dress like this? Because if you don't believe it the Audience never will.

Also the Visual effects used in LoTR were I think very ground braking at the time. Taylor mentions in the article that they preoduced programmes in order to crete armys of orcs that could move independantly and as in dividuals. Another triumph was the character of Gollum who was ground braking in terms of how Visual effects were used. It is amazing omw much the character evolves in how realistic it is from the first film to the last. Wat they achived in it's creation was astounding.

Joel Peter Witkin

At first all I could think when looking Witkin's work was 'That's odd' but looking more closley I think one thing pops into my mind about it It seems to be commenting on Beauty ot at least the faults of beauty and femininity in the conventiona sense. His use of 'the deformd' in poses reminiscent of classicas materpiecs to me says that he is saying something about the ideas of beauty and normality in our society.

Fro mtis also there is something Uncanny in his work. The idea that smthing is slightly 'wrone' with these images. Something doesn't fit with the convention of normality. 

session 4 Moodboards and Photoshop

Not having useed photoshop before it took me a while to really get to grips with the software. I spent most of the session learning about the programme rather than actually creating anything decent.

I did learn a lot about mood boards and this is a ceoncept I am comfortable with and alos find ejoyable. I think for the mood boards we have t do for the module I will use a mixture of photoshop and physical copies. I think this way I will be able to cover a wide range of medium and practice photoshop skills aswell as hands on methods.

Fake wound Ideas

My group have been given the part of the scene where the actor has a scabby wound on their arm. I have been doing a bit of research on line and there are several good how t guides on you tibe. I started to wonder What kind of look we would want.

I think that It would be nice to have something that look like an 'entry point' for what is crawling under the skin. Soemthing a little like this:

This is created with liquid lates and I think That it looks both like a scab that the character could pick but also like where a small organism could get in or out. Like the horror stories we hear of people who are bitted by exotic and end up playing host to their young. Also I think it would be nice to surround it with irritated skin, looking like there has been a lot of scratching. Something like this,

It almost looks like the flesh has been burned. This will give an idea of the harm the thing moving under his skin is doing. Als the idea that something within his is sreading from this. I think this adds to the idea of the Uncanny, it reminds me of something from one of Paul Jennings Uncanny short stories.

Victorian decor

With the set design we seem to be going for with the group project being the idea of a victorian study I have done some research into what one might expect from that enviroment.

The prominent colours seem to be deep reds and greens aswell as a lot of dark wood. These prominet colours i feel would work well in the set as they give a vibrant back drop to the action. I also think it would bring the set to life as people do tend to associate these colours with the victorian era.

thre also seems to be a strong element of the floral world. This is prominent especially in the crockery. I think that it would be quiet nice to bring that into the set. However I think it might be a good idea to get some dead flowers t put in to the set to add to the creepy and uncanny atmosphere.
It might also work bringing this into the fabric choice. I think there is something somewhat chaotic about floral fabric with the mix of colours and shapes it presents.

 

On the theme of clutter. While looking through victorian furniture  have noticed several small stands or tables which reminded me of something that is in the store.I think it would be great to incorperate this and fill it's shelves with clutter.

 

 I think it would add to the uncanny edge by mixing up a few obviously modern objects with obviously oler ones. again this is something slightly odd and out of place I think some teacups, easily picked up in a charity shop for little money would add alot to the chaotic vibe if scattered and placed half hazardly on the stand.

 

 

In terms of the bed I think that it looks too bodern and wouldn't fit the set we are going for, however with a little dressing I think it could look better. I think a bed crown could be constructed with a little work and the curtain fabric we have. i have seen a few and I think that they could look good. It might be worth trying.

 

 

 

 

So there a few ideas for the decor and general vibe of the set. I think that the victorian idea described in class is something strong and I think audiences always associate the victorian era with a level of macabre and oddness, something that will work well with the uncanny Brief. 



Session 3 14/2/13

This session was very informative and it was good to start getting more hands on and seeing more about set designing.

The induction into the hand tools was useful for practical reasons. However it was also useful to get advice from someone who had worked designing sets in the industry.

I n the studio I enjoyed starting to bring the skeleton of the set together. With the ideas we have it was good to start puuting them together. Also learning about working in the studio gave ma another insight into what it means to work as an art director.

With rearanging the flats I began to get more of a complete picture of what we are creating. Alos looking at the fabrics that we have I was inspired to start thinking about what the set will look like with the victorian gentleman's office look.

In conclusion from this session I have now more knowledge of working with in a set and am thinking more about how we will design this set.

Home work session 3 Sandy Skoglund

the Article on this installations Artist is very interesting. It's focus on the 'Walking on Egshells' piece is enlightening. Both in terms of it's content and it's context wth in the wider world of instillation art, and contepary art as a whole.

The piece and what it represents I think will vary from person to person. However having read the article to me it seems a comment on the relationship between Humans and the anthropomorphism of the natural world, turning it into deighties, making them more human in an attemp to understand the natural world.

The idea of many of Skoglund's work seems to featuure the idea of the natural or certainly animal world encroaching on the human. Such as in 'Fox Games'. The fox seen often as an antagonist or evil character, crafty and cunning is encroaching on the civilised world of a restaurant.

 

From a personal perspective, what appeals to me about her work is her use of colour and unconventional material. One example is 'Cocktail Party' made from cheesey snacks. 

Pureley from an aesthetic point of view I find the piece 'Picnic on wine' very intriguing its uses of bright greens and the ruby of the wine make it a visually stunning piece.

Overall I think I have learned from thi sbothe the value of symbolsm in a setting and also that the use of inconventional materials and colours can be extremley effective in a space. Especially if trying to create a surrealist vibe.

Week two home work

The work of chiharu Shiota and Tomoko Shioyasu is incredibly stark amongs the back ground of how Japanese art is seen across the globe. It opposes teh idea of 'cuteness' that seems to eminate from the japanese culture as it is seen by many.

As I was re searching these artists I came across an Exhabition called 'bye bye kitty'  it 'does away with stereotypical notions of Japanese culture—such as the relentless focus on ‘kawaii,’ or cuteness' and features work by these two artists. In the ehebition they have instillations featured.

'Vortex'  by Tomoko Shioyasu is a piece constructed from paper that has been cut to create and incredible swirling pattern. The first thing that pops into my brain with this patter is a wave, swirling and dancing in a storm. I think though it would be viewed differently by different people. Some may see it as a swirling galaxy, but I think the title of vortex if fitting, it is a vortes but of what context we don't know. I think that's up to the viewer to decide. What else I find interesting is how the light falls through the paper cut, creating a differnt pattern on the floor and wall behind the piece. The shadow it casts is as fragile and beautiful as the piece its self. I think it shows how light can create beauty just as it can show it.

Chiharu Shuotta is an artist who uses performance art, body art and instillations. Het piece Dialouge with absense is very interesting. It is hard to know what to say when seeing it. It is so odd that it is difficult to pin down what it represents. Personally I think it is some comment on purity and the destruction of it. A white wedding dress is a representation of all that is pure, white is clean and bright and the white wedding dress represents viginity and purity of a bride. The 'blood' filled catheters that pierce teh dress are 'spoiling' the cleanness and completness of the dress and what it represents. Along with the visual element of the installation there is a soundtrack that it grotesque and disturbing. I think this adds to the idea of the pureness of the dress being defiled.

session 2 6/2/2013

we discussed several ideas for the group project. I represented this through a kind of flow diagram idea. One idea was: Getting ready infront of a mirror-notices blister-pulls it apart-out comes a smal person-jumps on hand.
 This however is a little over ambitios for our time constraint for our part of the project we will be working with green screen and liquid latex to create the visual and special effects of a would and the small person
. From this session we have a solid idea which is to film someone infront of a green screen who can be super imposed on the other set. Also this person will have something crawling underneath the skin of their arm which will erupt from a blister. We now have to plan how we will do this.

Also in this session we learned about the role of the producer. Producers turn story ideas into profitable cinematic entertainment an persuade others to share in their cretive vision. they are often the first person to become involved in a project. They Bring together screen writers, directors, production designers, cast, finances and a production team.
A producer needs extensice knowledge of cinematic narractive and is ultimatley responsible for the siccess of the finished film.

Session 1 31/1/12

In this frst session We were introuduced to the Module and the idea of the uncanny which it would centre on. I think that in this module it will be important to research a broad spectrum of artistic ideas. I think that it will enable me to be more creativ in the way I look at the worl and therefore help me in planning a representation of a fictional world on screen. Also I learned a lot about how important a proposal is and what it must contain. One must be able to picture the film in your head from a proposay,the filmic style shoulf be represented in the writing style. Also the technical elements such as writing it in the present tense. For me the most useful thing to come from this session was the free writing that it produced aftr learning more on the uncanny.

300 word proposal

In a dimly lit bedroom, a young girl lies still in slumber. The walls are adorned with the regalia of a fisherman’s boat. Drapes of nets and faded buoys suspended on tattered ropes hang from washed out green walls. The room, illuminated by a small oil lamp is filled with shadows, its small flame flickers, reverberating around the room. The girl sleeps in a large wooden bed, her body cocooned by a hand made quilt. Its colours of red and pink clashing with the greens and blues of the rest of the room. Outside a storm rages. The sea is crashing against the nearby rocky headland. The wind roars around the little cottage and the rain batters down against the window panes.

Slowly she wakes, eyelids flickering in the faint glow of the lamp. She sits up, her white, silk night gown, is clean and stark against the colourful sheets. Now she notices the storm that has woken her. She stands, tentatively placing her bare feet on the gold wooded floor. She looks down; delicate white smoke is emanating from a small patch on her floor. She carefully tiptoes towards it, the smoke clearing as she nears. There is a puddle like a mirror on the floor. Its surface still as glass. She touches it with her toe. The surface ripples. She kneels and peers into the endless pool. Staring into her own eyes that are reflected back at her.

She touches the edge of the puddle and hissed when a sharp edge cuts her dainty finger. She lifts her hand to her face to inspect it. Blood, bold against her pale skin drips slowly into the puddle disturbing the placid surface. The blood then lands on the face of her reflection and cascades down its face resembling ghastly tears.