Research: Themes of oppression in media

Adding to the research on the Coldplay music video "Hurts Like Heaven", this comic book series created in addition to the album in 2011, elaborates on the wider context of the dictatorship and rebellion in this fictional post apocalyptic world.

The story throughout the comic book series is about bringing colour back into a world of silence and obedience and the downfall of an invading higher power that seized control of a planet once full of life and vibrancy. This is a good inspiration for our film as it seeks to achieve the same messages as the comic book series; the liberation of people and the freedom to express who you are in your own way. In the case of our film this is done in a creative manner with extreme measures by using blood to create a painting.

Research: Themes of oppression in video and film

 Continuing with our research on the theme of oppression; this times in films and video:

Coldplay music video - Hurts Like Heaven:

Made for Coldplay's 2011 album Mylo Xyloto, the song and music video refer to a world where colour is crime and there is a dictatorship for silent obedience; never questioning the justification of this oppression. This ties very closely to our film story's lore of illegal creativity. The video inspires the rebellion and elaborate measures to be creative that we seek to show in our film. This being that not being afraid to think outside the box and stand for an open voice a human right we're all entitled to.

V for Vendetta:

Directed by James McTeigue and produced by the Wachowskis, V for Vendetta takes a more violent approach to the rebellion of oppression in the film that is the corrupt British government. However, the idea behind the man in the mask is referred to constantly in the film and is the centre of the plot unfolding. Comparing to our film idea, the long lasting effect of the idea of our film is that no matter what laws this world makes about making creativity illegal, the creation of life is at the heart of every human.

Research: Artists creating a powerful statement through imagery

In preparing to pitch our story ideas, this research is intended for idea 1 and the theme of oppression. To bring this theme more into the art world, our research involves images with powerful statements:

Vincent van Gogh's final painting:

Before his suicide, van Gogh created this picture of a wheat field, crows and different paths. In particular, the crows have been painted with no determination of if they are flying towards or away from the viewer. This could signify that there is no certainty of death and when or where it will strike. The brush strokes as well are a method in which we want to draw our painting as there is a soft smooth shape to the strokes with no sharp edges; thus making the painting more inviting to the viewer.

Further analysis on this painting

Picasso's "Wartime seeds of hope":

In a similar context to our story, Picasso's painting was painted during the oppression of the Nazi's in world war 2 and was blacklisted and band from exhibition during the Nazi's occupation of France in 1944. The subject represents the produce French civilians had to grow on their own during the war and the vibrancy of the colours symbolises their resilience during the occupation of France.

In comparison to our story for the film, the protagonist is painting a symbol of creativity in a world where creativity is illegal; thus the painting and the protagonist show the same resilience to the oppression they face.

Article referring to Picasso's painting

These were useful as an inspirations to the symbolism of our painting for the film; the many interpretations the image creates makes the image itself more personal to the viewer. Implying this to our painting means that a mass audience can connect and understand the message we are trying to get across with the image we design for the film.

Research: The Dolly Zoom Effect

YouTube Video: Michael Stevens Explains the Dolly Zoom Effect - Vsauce: The Moon Terminator Illusion

The effect involves dollying in one direction and zooming in the opposite. The result is that everything around the subject moves except the subject itself.

We consider using this effect in our second idea about the girl with hallucinations. This is a trippy way of showing disorientation and discomfort when it is implied to the audience; in a sense that the audience will see she is in distress and so they can literally feel that distress with her visually speaking with the effect this has on their eyes.

Lecture: The Image Reproduced

Summary:
Photography has become a large part of culture and modern society. We use it in many different ways for all sorts of reasons. The lecture covered such things like photography being "a right of family life" and how "photography certifies the experience but also refuses it". Photography can be used to focus in on emotions of the moment like in that of American Beauty and it also shows the idea of Narcissism in ways like selfies. It's also used to make political statements and also to trigger nostalgia for those who have grown up through the progression from old to contemporary methods of photography.

Discussing Story Ideas

Our group discussion in developing ideas:

Theory: The Visual Story

- Block, B (2008), The Visual Story, 2nd edn

Quotations & References


Chapter 9: Story and Visual Structure

Exposition (beginning), Conflict (Middle), Resolution (End)

Story and Visual Structure:

Exposition = "The facts needed to begin the story" e.g. Character identity, plot situation, time period etc...

• Audience needs exposition to become involved in the story ore else "they're distracted with trying to fill in the missing exposition."
• Exposition does not necessarily have to be only at beginning. It can be non-linear like in Citizen Kane or consistent when introducing new story elements like in Harry Potter. It can also be constant narration like in The Shawshank Redemption. It can also be a title crawl like in "Star Wars"

Conflict and Climax:

• develops in the middle of story and grows more intense
• conflict can be internal and/or external
• "An internal conflict involves an emotional struggle"
• "An external conflict involves a physical situation"
• They can exist together
• The climax is "the most intense part of the conflict", "the main character must choose a path and win or lose", "the internal or external conflict must end"

Resolution:

• "Provides a place for the story to finish"
• Used for the audience to "recover from the intensity of the climax and reflect on the story's conflict"
• Also used for "secondary plot situations and characters" to finish their story (like in Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them)
• They can be long (like in Fantastic Beasts) or short (like in North by Northwest) 
• Resolutions with more information use narration like in The Shawshank Redemption or Father of the Bride.

Story Structure Graphs:

Bruce Block's book The Visual Story has proven to be very useful in my theory and research as he maps out the idea of story as a physical set of sequences and acts which make it a lot easier to decipher it in film. This is something I aim to do when re-watching some of my favourite films. 

Theory: How To Write a Screenplay - Lecture Notes

High concept: a story based on a shining and easily communicable plot or idea

Plot:

• The hero wanting something
• One event causing another

Story:

• The hero needing something
• Revealing the hero's character

One sentence explanation (logline) good for competitions

Conflict = different desires

"Without conflict, it's just a series of events"

Someone (the hero) wants something but is blocked by something (the adversary)

Idea in one word = Theme

Protagonist = who the audience follows

• Want = External
• Need = Internal
• Protagonist needs a flaw
• The need is to fix the flaw
• Antagonist forces protagonist to face their flaw

Structure:

• A film is made of the 3 ACTS of SEQUENCES of SCENES made up of BEATS

Act 1:

Introduce people, the world and the protagonist's flaws. Something then happens when the world changes: HOOK or CALL TO ADVENTURE. Then "Do I stay or go?" protagonist initially refuses 99% of the time then something changes to change their mind; into the new world.

Act 2:

Discover love and new abilities. Midpoint; the point of no return. False victory where things seem to be okay (sometimes a false defeat too), long journey into night. Villain is more powerful. Protagonist must hit rock bottom (sometimes due to flaw), they realise flaw and rise from the ashes.

Act 3:

Kick ass, hero faces villain, hero is at their strongest and wins (or loses), the world is changed, every major character is changed, protagonist is older and wiser.

*Notable Texts*

Robert McKee - Story

Blake Snyder - Save The Cat!

Joseph Cambell, Hero With a Thousand Faces

This lecture was extremely useful in helping me realise how the path our character will take shape and what it will mean to the audience. It also helps me to visualise the sequence of events in the plot of our short film a lot better long before we write the script.

Theory: Story - Lecture Notes

• Ask questions before drawing/development
• Identify problems in order to solve them

Questions:

• Mood?
• Location?
• Time?

Screen Directions:

• Floor plan/spacial relationships
• Staging

Camera Angle View:

• Up
• Down
• Oblique (diagonal)
• Location of horizon line
• perspective (forced/natural)
• Location of centre of interest

Visual Language:

• We will be drawn to the thing that's different and stands out.

Considerations:

• Think about shots and how to compose storyboard
• How does it emphasise an action
• Does it look aesthetically good?

Screening - Old Fangs

Uses metaphors rather than actual sequence

Practice In Action: NEW MODULE

Practice In Action:

The new module is underway and as such we had to assemble into groups. Our first task was to each draw a simple picture that could tell a story and create a theme. In my group, this is what we came up with:

From Left to Right:
Alex Record Player, Fi TV and viewer, Oscar babies climbing the walls of a hospital ward, Ellie person alone in the dark.

From this, our themes were Mental Health, Addiction/Obsession, Loneliness, Trapped and Opression.

Dawn After Deadline

The deadline for the project I've been working on has passed leaving me plenty of time to experiment; this time with photography. Using  my 100D Cannon camera for it's intended purpose, photography! I used a 55mm lens for the first picture and a 300mm for the bottom picture. White balance was adjusted to no flash photography and the ISO was about 800. This gives you "Dawn After Deadline"

Post Production: Creating Non-Deigetic Sound

With the video and diegetic sound in place, the final element to complete my short film was non-diegetic sound. First, I reviewed the video clips to get a general feeling of the scenes that needed music. I then experimented with a few strings and notes on both guitar and piano. Once I had acquired the right melodies, I set about recording each of them in Garageband on my phone.

 The files were then exported from my phone and into my iTunes library where I created a soundtrack album to place them in.

Finally, I set about creating an album cover for the songs as if they were part of a published soundtrack that would be released with a motion picture film:

The three final tracks were "Lucy's Fear", "Lucy's Dream" and "Lucy's Reality" all of them reflecting different moments that the main character "Lucy" is placed in.

Post Production: Editing Live Action Sequences

Editing Live Action Sequences:

Today, I officially started piecing shots together into the first sequences of the short film. As the rotoscoped sections are still in progress, I began with live action. For example, in the scene where Lucy looks through the keyhole "Lucy's Dream", the shots have been blurred and altered to have a cooler, misty looking effect in order to imply that what the audience sees is a dreamy vision. Using temperature and compound blur settings, the picture above shows the original shot (left) and the edited piece (right).

Also during production, I took two shots of the same scene but with different white balance settings. This is because these scenes will be shown twice in the film; once in a dream and again in the real world. For instance, the shots above have two different white balance filters applied. The one on the left is daylight and the other on the right is indoor lighting. 

Production: 2nd Location Shoot

2nd Location Shoot

Today was the 2nd day of filming on location. I selected Donisthorpe woodland trails and Conkers Water Side, Moira. The purpose today was to complete the scenes for the dream that the rotoscoped character has of a better reality. Also, the ending scene of the main character redrawing a sketch with a more optimistic outlook.

Post Production: First Scene COMPLETE

First Scene COMPLETE:

After rotoscoping every frame of the live action shot, the first animated scene for my short film is complete. It's the scene that transitions from animation to live action, a vital point in the films plot revealing that the main character's cage was nothing but an illusion.

Production: Creating visual effects with food colouring

Creating Visual Effects, with food colouring:

Whilst I'm at home for the Christmas Holidays, today I had a go at creating some of my own visual effects for my short film; using food colouring and water. Quite simply, I placed my Cannon 100D camera close up to a clear bowl of water in front  of a plain white board, prepared two types of food colouring and separately filmed them being poured into the bowl.

The concept of this idea for visual effects came from the exhibited film Everything and More  by Rachel Rose. In the film, Milk and oil was used to create a nebula effect to link to the film's narration from a former astronaut on the topic of Space.

With this footage, I intend to alter it in post production to make it more 'mystic looking. The concept of this is to be used whilst the main character is dreaming inside their cage of black and white. Dreaming about this colour and brilliant swirling clouds shows what they would long for outside their cage; if they had the courage to step out of it.