Experimental Video #2: Research

For this project we have looked at a range of artist works, films, animations and set design to give us some ideas on how we could physically create our town and what style and setting we would like it to have. In addition we've realised we need to form a stronger idea on what we would project on to it. We feel like this will be a project where ideas will come from doing. By this I mean we will create our set and then from that we will form a stronger story.

THOM YORKE - LAST I HEARD (...He was circling the drain) 

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

The video begins with a dystopian town or city falling apart and bits of buildings floating off them as if they are being erased. It has a George Orwell 1984 feeling to it. I really this opening as it is creates a sense of helplessness of the people. Furthermore they seem so zombie-like and as if they are swallowed up by the city. Anderson creates a sense of impending doom which is also reflected in the heavy atmosphere and the black and white style. Every thing about the video feels disconnected like a hazy dream which I am extremely drawn to. The video is actually inspired by Thom Yorke's real dreams. 

From this video we came up with a few ideas:

1) We wanted to create a dystopian world 

2) We really liked the way the people were depicted - no face, just silhouetted figures which have very slow floaty movement. 

3) Something that was really key to us from this video was inspired from 3.30 onwards in the video: the main figure in the video is depicted to be glowing white. From this we came up with the idea of having the main character as a ghost who wanders through the town.  But is the town the real dystopian world or is he in a living hell or nightmare. We want to make it a very unfamiliar space as even though the town was once his home, it is completely ruined to him and again we want to reflect this idea of impending doom and hopelessness in this.

4) Do we want to do it in black and white or do we wand a red backlight and a coloured animation?

CHARLES YOUNG - PAPER ART

Charles Young is a paper artist who has created a metropolis called 'Paperholm'. He creates hundreds of mini architectural structures in which he puts together to form a whole town. From these pieces, he creates little stop motion pieces to create a sense of movement in every day life structures that we don't always notice. 

From looking at his work, we know we want to reflect this crisp, clean cut feeling but in coordination with our dystopian world. We will probably be using white card or find something stronger and use PVA or super glue to give a clean crisp finish. Further more we will only be focusing on the exterior of the houses. 

Things we want:

1) the houses to be white but not pristine as we want to create a grubby dystopian world where the ghost is the only pure pristine thing in it

2) the background to be black card

3) do we want some form of water or material that looks like water to show pollution of dystopian world

Other images of constructed towns:

I found some more images on google images of constructed towns and cities and we really liked the idea of having stacked houses, all inclose proximity like an over crowded area. 

CITY OF EMBER (2008)

In the film 'City of Ember', the underground city is powered by a main town generator and is lit with thousands of lightbulbs strung across the ceiling. We really like this idea and though it would be interesting to show a city powered by lights, however he were thinking of not having them all on. And the ones that were on were flickering to show the futuristic world. In addition, we need to be careful to not to make it too bright as we still need to see the projections. Maybe use copper wired fairly lights, the extra small ones.

We also had a little idea of when the glowing ghosts walks past the houses, the light inside the houses flicker on and glows temporarily and then turns off once he is past to highlights the energy and ghostliness of himself, but also the purity of his soul.