Study Task 3

Reading and understanding texts

Reading through a text with my project question in mind, I came across a commentary of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Although it did not relate to the theme of sound and visuals in 90's rave culture, I thought I would have a small commentary in my essay on the history of sound being used on top of film. I found that Alfred Hitchcock's films were renowned for his use of sound in a very early stage of film making from skimming through this text.

CASTING WORKSHOP

 Silicone casting workshop

Learning to cast silicone, I have seen that it is a very good option for stop motion animators because it is extremely malleable and can make complex structures with detail. For the workshop we were tasked with making a hand. To make it more relevant to my project, I aimed to make a fish flipper to potentially use for my puppet. This was an interesting structure to make because it involved crafting a membrane between each finger which would be made of silicone. 

SOUND COLLECTION

Sound collection

I have collaborated with my friend on Logic, the music production software to create some atmospheric sounds for the film. As the film begins in a dark space, my group wanted to blur the line between space and deep sea. Therefore the sounds we found had a science fiction air to it with a selection of nautical noises. To build tension we also applied a sound like a heartbeat. What will need to be seen is whether the sound plays well with our style of animation.

GANTT CHART

Pre Production Gantt chart

To keep on top of the production pipeline, I have produced a Gantt chart for the pre production process. designating roles for me and my peers has helped my understanding of collaborating because we are all using our strengths to eventually meet the deadline. The aim for the pre production process is to have it done by the end of the month.

Study Task 2

Explore the symbiotic relationship between sound and art

Additional research:

the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994

The Chapman Brothers

When they grew tired of making tiny models of hell full of nazis impaled on spikes, the infamous Chapman Brothers took inspiration from the Dead Kennedy’s 1979 album California Uber Alles, and began creating enormous, red Nazi-style banner flags adorned with the smiley face synonymous with rave culture where the swastika should have been. Then in 2013, Dinos Chapman released his debut album Luftbobler, the result of a decade spent experimenting with sound

Ally Fogg - The Guardian

raggle-taggle kind of army, brought together by loose, anarchic disorganisations 

Tom Hunter (born in London) 

In the wake of the introduction of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act in 1994, artist Tom Hunter set off from Hackney with a group of friends on a bus journey that was to take them to festivals and gatherings in Continental Europe. Hunter documented this odyssey in what became known as Le Crowbar, sharing with Sweet Harmony audiences the experiences of the free party traveller community. 

Dominic (born in Luton) 

Rave would not have happened were it not for the boredom of suburbia and rural Britain.

ANIMISM TASK

 ANIMISM TASK

After a lecture on animism, I looked at the drawing style of Egon Schiele and have incorporated his aesthetic into my animation. After studying his work I designed a crude character which looks alike to his self portraits.

As the film was only a few frames drawn on the Lightbox, many in between frames need to be added to make the animation smooth. but the aesthetic works well. I applied animism by giving the boxing bag facial expressions.

Study Task 1

RESEARCH INTERESTS

After outlining and reflecting on my interests for a research topic, I recalled an exhibition I went to over summer about the History behind rave culture in Britain. It contained exciting anecdotes about people involved in this culture alongside pictures and visuals made by creatives who were involved in this culture of the 80s and 90s.

Launching an investigation further into this topic would be interesting, especially looking at the relationship between visuals and music culture.

MOOD BOARD

Fish Mood board

Images from Ponyo and the illustrations of John Kenn Mortensen show a contrast in scale which will be an important feature in the film. Because the fish character is to dwarf planets in comparison, close up details of swimming and the eye over a cityscape will be included in the film.

I want to blend traditional animation with Stop-motion by making a fish puppet. This will be a separate entity to the rest of the film and will be edited in.

Cityscape Mood board

Ideas for the aesthetic of our cityscape. As the film nods to climate change. It is important to show the pollution. Some of these shots give an idea of the angles which will be used when storyboarding and producing the film.

Space Mood board

As space will be featured, it is important to look at the landscape of space and to consider the colour palette which will be used. An Astronaut character may feature and the aesthetic of a few planets will need to be decided. 

CONCEPT ART AND PUPPET DESIGNS

CONCEPT ART AND PUPPET DESIGNS

Looking more at scale and aesthetic for the fish character, I have drawn some designs and begun to consider how the puppet might be made. After making an armature, I will study making the fish by casting and experiment making parts out of paper. I am also considering incorporating light into the puppet's design to give it a paper lantern aesthetic.

PITCH FOR GROUP PROJECT

PITCH FOR GROUP PROJECT

Using story dice. The group had to interpret a set of 3 vague pictures into a story. For mine I chose a mythical genre and came up with this story.

This story was not selected out of the three pitches from my group. Therefore the project went in a different direction. The film now has the protagonist of a fish, which swims around aimlessly around a dark area snapping up bits of food. At a point in the film it will cut to a polluted representation of Earth with a shot of a gigantic fish's eye swimming across the skyline. As a slight nod to the climate crisis, the fish will not eat Earth but slap it into the sun.

Our group next allocated roles so the production of the film could take place. I have been assigned producer so I will be managing the production pipeline of the film. The role of Director has been allocated to James.