agoiimi

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE

FMP

I have created some first person POV video footage of my room to show exactly what my audience will be experiencing. Overall, I’m pleased with the presentation of my FMP and although it hasn’t turned out anything like what I started with initially, I feel that I let my project develop naturally rather than limiting myself to the idea that I pitched.

I’m proud of what I’ve achieved in this year, and feel that I’ve developed as an artist and definitely become more confident in my own abilities. 

[agoiimi]

Bibliography

OUT THERE

FMP

WEBSITES

HISTORY.com. 2018. Salem Witch Trials - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.history.com/topics/salem-witch-trials. [Accessed: 15 March 2018].

Super User. 2018. Bridget Bishop. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.famous-trials.com/salem/2043-bridget-bishop. [Accessed: 15 March 2018].

Real Voodoo Magic – How to Make a Real Voodoo Doll. 2018. Real Voodoo Magic - How to Make a Real Voodoo Doll. [ONLINE] Available at: https://spellshelp.com/articles/Black-magic/how-to-make-a-voodoo-doll-to-practice-real-voodoo-magic/. [Accessed 20 March 2018].

Black magic- revenge spells, magic curse and black love spell. 2018. Black magic - revenge spells, magic curse and black love spell. [ONLINE] Available at: https://spellshelp.com/Spellsbook/black_magic.php. [Accessed 20 March 2018].

Brandon Woelfel. 2018. Brandon Woelfel. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.brandonwoelfel.com. [Accessed 5 March 2018].

Derrick Freske. 2018. Derrick Freske. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.derrickfreske.com. [Accessed 5 March 2018].

Thought Catalog. 2018. 23 Terrifying True Tales Of People Messing Around With Ouija Boards | Thought Catalog. [ONLINE] Available at: https://thoughtcatalog.com/christine-stockton/2014/03/terrifying-true-tales-of-people-messing-around-with-ouija-boards/. [Accessed 28 March 2018].

Decimononic. 2018. What is a planchette? | Decimononic. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.decimononic.com/what-is-a-planchette. [Accessed 28 March 2018].

WebUrbanist. 2018. Immerse Yourself in Horror: 10 Art Installations That’ll Make Your Skin Crawl | Urbanist. [ONLINE] Available at: https://weburbanist.com/2017/10/30/creepy-art-installations/. [Accessed 2 April 2018].

Spider Superstitions and myths at Spiderzrule – the best site in the world about spiders, redbacks, huntsmen, garden orb weaver, funnel web, black widow, recluse, hobo spider, daddy long legs.. 2018. Spider Superstitions and myths at Spiderzrule – the best site in the world about spiders, redbacks, huntsmen, garden orb weaver, funnel web, black widow, recluse, hobo spider, daddy long legs.. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.spiderzrule.com/superstitions.htm. [Accessed 2 April 2018].

works: listing – ANNE HARDY – Artist. 2018. works: listing – ANNE HARDY – Artist. [ONLINE] Available at: http://anne-hardy.co.uk/workby-date. [Accessed 6 April 2018].

The Meaning Of A Pentagram. 2018. The Meaning Of A Pentagram. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.angelfire.com/id/robpurvis/pentagram.html. [Accessed 8 April 2018].

Who is Baphoment? – The Vigilant Citizen. 2018. Who is Baphoment? – The Vigilant Citizen. [ONLINE] Available at: https://vigilantcitizen.com/hidden-knowledge/whoisbaphoment/. [Accessed 18 April 2018].

American Folkloric Witchcraft: Search results for t’qain. 2018. American Folkloric Witchcraft: Search results for t’qain. [ONLINE] Available at: http://afwcraft.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=t%27qain. [Accessed 18 April 2018].

Mirror Superstitions – Superstitions Related to Mirrors. 2018. Mirror Superstitions – Superstitions Related to Mirrors. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mirrorhistory.com/mirror-facts/mirror-superstitions/. [Accessed 25 April 2018].

The Ghost In My Machine. 2018. The Most Dangerous Games: The Midnight Game. [ONLINE] Available at: https://theghostinmymachine.com/2014/03/31/the-most-dangerous-games-the-midnight-game/. [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Games. 2018. Games [ONLINE] Available at: https://theghostinmymachine.com/games/. [Accessed 10 May 2018].

Crystals – Witchcraft Terms and Tools – Witchcraft. 2018. Crystals – Witchcraft Terms and Tools – Witchcraft. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.witchcraftandwitches.com/terms_crystals.html. [Accessed 11 May 2018].

wikiHow. 2018. 3 Ways to Make Salt Crystals – wikiHow. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Salt-Crystals. [Accessed 11 May 2018].

WOW x WOW. 2018. John Kenn Mortensen- Artist Profile – WOW x WOW [ONLINE] Available at: https://wowxwow.com/artist-profile/john-kenn-mortensen. [Accessed 12 June 2018].

Narrative/Storytelling. 2018. Lighting on Pan’s Labyrinth – Narrative/Storytelling. [ONLINE] Available at: https://vjpreisler2015.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/lighting-on-pans-labyrinth/. [Accessed 12 June 2018].

Student Resources. 2018. The Best Cinematography: Exploring The Light And Dark In Pan’s Labyrinth. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/best-cinematography-exploring-light-dark-pans-labyrinth/. [Accessed 12 June 2018].

Atlas Obscura. 2018. How the Hidden Sounds of Horror Movie Soundtracks Freak You Out – Atlas Obscura. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-the-hidden-sounds-of-horror-movie-soundtracks-freak-you-out. [Accessed 12 June 2018].

The British Library. 2018. Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty - The British Library. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.bl.uk/20th-century-literature/articles/antonin-artaud-and-the-theatre-of-cruelty.  [Accessed 23 May 2018].

BOOKS

Miller,A., 1989. The Crucible. Harmondsworth : Penguin, 1968.

W., J., 1999. Masks: Faces of Culture. Abrams, Harry N., Inc.

McKay, G., 1994. Mask Making. (s.m.).

Leslie, R., 1997. Surrealism: The Dream of Revolution (Artists & Art Movements). (s.n.).

Rosenthal, M., 2003. Understanding installation art. Munich ; Prestel, 2003.

Staff, F., The 3D Type Book. (s.n.).

VIDEOS

YouTube. 2018. AHS: COVEN MAIN TITLE – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://youtu.be/mmRXT7w2C1s\. [Accessed 12 March 2018].

YouTube. 2018. The Crucible Introductory Scene - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://youtu.be/2nAAVuD3L7w. [Accessed 12 March 2018].

YouTube. 2018. The Crucible Clip (Accusations) – YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://youtu.be/H78Q60VrPCM. [Accessed 12 March 2018].

FILMS

The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, film version (1996) directed by Nicholas Hytner

The Witch, written and directed by Robert Eggers (2015)

American Horror Story; Coven, produced by Ryan Murphy et al. (2013)

The Blair Witch Project, directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sánchez and produced by Robin Cowie & Gregg Hale (1999)

Ouija, directed by Mike Flanagan (2014)

Pan’s Labyrinth, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro (2006)

SITE VISITS

Allestree Park, Allestree June 2018 (presentation 3 other possible location)

Horsley Castle, Derbyshire, April 2018 (presentation 3 idea)

Markeaton Park, Derby, April 2018 (initial idea gathering, was considering using a children’s playground as a location)

Derby Gaol, Derby, April 2018 (primary research into witch trials, ouija board, etc)

Dismaland, Weston-Super-Mare, September 2015 (primary research and photos for ideas of 'monster telephone')

[agoiimi]

FINAL CRITICAL EVALUATION

My final outcome was very different from my initial project proposal, as it took for me to actually start my project to realise that what I planned wasn’t quite what I wanted to create. It felt somewhat forced when I attempted to focus only on witchcraft, and so I allowed myself to delve deeper into relating subjects such as superstition. It’s at this point I realised I didn’t want to simply create an exhibition to only view, I wanted to create something my audience could feel. This is where I decided to look at changing my project from my vague 3D installation idea into an experience.

I gathered research that related and merged my themes of black magic, witchcraft and superstition into one; thus creating an atmosphere of ‘darkness’. These similar elements allowed for me to not only look into the supernatural (an area that allows for me to contribute more ‘unrealistic’ aspects into my project such as the ‘monster’ telephone) but also the more realistic psychological side that wakes in a human as a result of superstitions. Of course this is not the same for everybody, some people are superstitious and some are not, and so I knew my installation would have to create an experience where the superstitious side of it was subtle enough to trigger believers and the atmosphere of ‘The Room’ would be enough to trigger non-believers. Without my research, I would not have been able to develop my ideas to suit both audiences- I sought out true stories of similar experiences to do with objects within my room (ouija boards, mirrors) and then looked at how I could make the experience as realistic as possible compared to this research (turning the temperature of the room down, adding unstable lighting).

Some of the problems I encountered included a lot to do with lighting and sound- the more technical side of my project. Of course this may have been a result of my lack of experience in these areas, but I worked around this and strived to learn from trial and error and eventually overcame these problems. My sound was easier than lighting- I recorded a soundtrack that would loop continually and consisted of layered noises such as rustling and blowing lightly into the mic. The overall effect of this background noise helps create an atmosphere of unease. Setting it up was a little more difficult, as I had to use a speaker plugged into my mac which was then plugged into an extension lead. We discovered that we could easily hide this all under the ledge though, so the origin of the sound could not be seen. Lighting was probably my biggest problem to overcome- I wanted to initially use plug timers and have a set of fairylights and a UV light that would only be on at certain times. I always planned to use battery candles which were fine, but I wanted a wider range of different lighting. I ended up stapling the fairylights to the back of a frame and hanging them on the wall, as well as winding them up the wall beneath some black bin bags so they were dulled and not too bright. Finally, to overcome my UV light issue (as the bar light I found overheated and had very limited movement due to a short wire) I swapped my larger light for a handheld UV torch. This not only made my exhibition interactive, but also allowed my audience to observe the room through a POV within the torch light. This also meant that the areas I’d added UV paint would only show up as my audience focused the torch on them rather than showing up vaguely from the larger light, adding even more unease to the setting. 

I explored a range of both new and tried practical methods within my project, most of which took a lot of trial and error and experimentation before I was happy with the outcomes. A particular example of this was the creation of my Ouija board. I began first by looking at digital drawing and was going to originally print and mount one of my designs and have that as my final outcome. This is a skill I’d only acquired recently and experimented with a little, and decided that I didn’t quite feel happy with using this as it didn’t feel like I’d put as much effort as I could have into creating it. So instead, I decided to look into woodwork and creating a board from scratch using wooden carved letters, a foundation for the board (large piece of rectangular wood) and then the trickiest part of all- carving a planchette myself. I knew this was a risk as my experience within this area of art and design was very limited, but I was willing to put the effort and time in to learn, as ultimately I wanted to create something more than simply a printed design. I was extremely proud of the outcome and glad I’d taken the risk. Other materials and skills I also trialled and used included textile work, modroc, and photography. 

I felt that my time was managed well, and I recorded the development of my project continually on my blog as I progressed. I made sure that I had weekly plans and aims to fulfil, and when my mind changed or my ideas didn’t go to plan, I would document it with reasons why. Now that I’m at the end of my FMP I do feel I could’ve pushed myself even harder and instead of weekly updates attempted daily ones to make the documentation of my development and progress even more detailed. 

Overall, I feel that my final outcome was successful. My exhibition had the interactive element I wanted, and was also an experience that was not just something to be observed. I incorporated sound and temperature as well as the visual aspects, including more senses than just sight to fully involve my viewers. This involvement was increased even further with the addition of the torch which my audience have to use themselves in order to continue into the room. I feel that my strengths lie in the more intricate work I had to make such as the Ouija Board and the ‘Monster’ Telephone, as I have definitely had more experience working on a smaller scale, however I feel that by bringing together lots of smaller items I’d created into one larger exhibition I managed to create something that overall was exactly what I wanted. My plans for the future involve going to university to study Theatre Design, and with this course I understand that there will be a lot of larger scale creation. I really wanted to push myself in this FMP to try and create something similar to what I will be starting this September, and I feel that I have definitely challenged myself and ultimately, I am proud of the outcome. If I were to complete the project again, I would try and have a little more faith and confidence in myself; I’m always scared to try new things in case of failure, but it’s experimentation, trial and error, and both failure and success within this project that have helped me grow not only as an artist, but as a future theatre design student. 

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE

FMP

Supporting Statement

“...Hello?... Hello?... If anybody is there, read carefully... The room is not a place to be messed with, nor is it a place to linger... Everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve risked... Enter with caution and leave checking over your shoulder... I dread to think what may happen if it follows you out.

There’s something they’re not telling us... Something that they’ve kept hidden for a long time and they intended to keep hidden... But it’s impossible to keep something a secret when it wants to be known.

I fear that even as you read this it’s already too late. I’ve released something... Something terrible. The kind of something that leaves you holding your breath and straining your ears to check that you’re still home alone despite nobody having come through the door... The kind of something that dances at the edge of your vision taunting you, but disappears the second you turn... The kind of something that sets your heart racing and turns your blood to ice...

Ah...

Can you feel it?

It’s here. 

Be quick, be courageous, but most importantly, be smart... You might be able to succeed where I failed... Getting out. 

And one more thing.

Never reply to the voices. 

Once they hear you... 

They’ll find you.”

I’m placing this piece outside my room for my audience to read before they enter. I didn’t want to break the character of my room by speaking in first person about why I created it and what I did, as I wanted to keep the narrative of the last person in the room as a warning for the next person instead. My FMP is completely open to interpretation- I don’t want to say exactly what I’ve created it as and for, which is why I’ve used ‘it’ and ‘they’ instead of directly naming anything in the piece above. I want my audience to view it through their own opinion, and interpret it however they feel best. 

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE 

FMP

I’ve decided to create a POV within the room. This came with the lighting decision I made when purchasing the UV torch which makes my room interactive. I’m placing images in the room that I took of someone with the pentagram scratched into their chest, and what can’t be seen in this photo is what I’ve done with the glow in the dark paint. On the image I’ve ripped and pinned to the wall, I’ve used the paint to circle it haggardly, as if the person doing it was in a frenzy or panic. I’ve then used this same paint to scratch out the eyes on the other 2 photos which I’m going to leave strewn on the ledge. The post-it notes are going to be placed around the room so that there’s a narrative. This was a very last minute decision that I wanted to add to my room, as I decided that with the audience having their own torch to view and explore my exhibition, I wanted to create a story. The story idea I’ve created is that someone has started this investigation into the dark magic and superstition theme of my room, but the audience are stumbling upon not just one story but 2. The first is this detective simply questioning everything in the room. The second story is what’s hidden and can only be seen under the UV light; the glowing eyes, the symbols written on the wall, the warnings. (Which I will post as soon as I am able to use the UV torch properly in the room). 

What I am never going to mention is what ‘it’ is. This, I will leave entirely up to the audience as they explore and read both the post-it notes and then the UV writing using the torch. 

The space on the right of the ledge I’m going to add some notebooks to, where I will write on, scribble and rip pages. Not only this, I will also leave a pen so that my audience have the choice to add any observations or messages into the book. I will probably have to make this clear with some sort of message directly addressing the audience, but I will see how this comes about when I add it into the room so I can work out what fits best. This implies that whoever was previously in the room was there only recently and left in a haste. In fact, they left so quickly that they left absolutely everything behind; their notebook and pen, their observations- maybe even a pair of reading glasses too? This is something I will consider over the weekend and set-up properly next week. 

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE FMP Suitable lighting. Initially I had a large UV light that I was going to place within the room and then try and set on a plug timer so it would come on in intervals and so reveal the glow in the dark paint markings that are around the room. I had a lot of problems with this, as the light got hot very quickly, and only showed the paint within a certain radius of the point of light- the wire it was on was so short that it wasn’t exactly very mobile either. So I’ve instead decided to use a UV torch. It’s small and easy to use for my audience, and this will definitely allow for an interactive element within my exhibition as it will mean that my audience themselves can search the room to discover the areas and symbols I’ve painted which will only show up under this light. To make sure my audience are aware of this, I will more than likely set up a sign and something to hold the torch by the doorway, asking the audience to return and turn off the torch once they’ve finished within the exhibition. Hopefully this system will also then reduce the likelihood of overcrowding within the room, as there is not 1 torch and so people will have to take it in turns using it. This is beneficial, as too many people in the room at once will not only block out a lot of the space required in order to move around and search the room, but will also create more noise, taking away from the soundtrack I will have on in the background and in turn ruining the mood of unease and fear.

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE 

FMP 

Bringing everything together within the room.

For the telephone I used fishing wire to hook the phone and hang it from the pipe that runs along the back wall in order to have it suspended above the base of the phone. It slowly spins as it hangs, allowing the audience to view the details on the speaker and mic, but not too far away from the base so it’s obvious they’re together as a set. 

I placed the mirror on the back wall just under the pipe and surrounded it by bin bags to add further texture which also allowed me to glue ‘falling’ mirror pieces down the wall on them towards the ledge. I did encounter a problem when I had to stand on the ledge to add more ‘spiderweb’ to the surrounding ceiling and ended up knocking parts of the mirror down, but I fixed it again with a glue gun and even left a couple of pieces actually lying on the ledge to add to the falling effect. 

I think for the ram skull I’m going to use a mannequin head to present it within the room, but paint it black so it cannot be seen within the black room and the head will, similar to the phone, have a ‘floating’ effect. I think I might have issues in trying to suspend it like I did with the phone as it is heavier one side and so may lean or spin too much. 

Overall, I’m really pleased with the way in which my FMP is all coming together.

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE FMP Soundtrack to be played from a hidden speaker in the room. This will more than likely be hidden underneath the ledge. I created this by recording only a couple of different sounds and layering them over one another whilst I was working within my FMP room. The first noise I recorded was black bin bags, which created the rustling effect. I was surprised however when by dragging my finger over the bags on the wall it also created the ‘growling’ noise that can be heard when playing the audio clip back. Another of the noises I recorded was just by blowing softly into the mic and almost whistling when doing so.

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE FMP I spent today fixing objects that had broken before beginning to assemble my room and bring everything together. I also completed the search for my lighting, and the creation of my soundtrack that will loop and play constantly through a hidden speaker. The broken mirror piece I had previously created was a little bit worse for wear since it had been moved around quite a bit, and I had to fix it with a glue gun and a lot of holding in place, but it was easily done and I will hopefully be putting this up within the room tomorrow. A lot of time was focussed on my lighting, and also my spider-web frame. I made the decision to attach the mirror pieces that had words on them to the interior of my frame amongst the thread, as I attempted to attach them directly to the fairy-lights and found that I didn’t like the effect of this. It was easy enough to glue the pieces to the frame, however getting the lighting how I wanted it took a lot more time and patience. I wound the lights round the back of the frame before bringing them across the middle where it was quite difficult, but I glued singular lights behind each word so they were illuminated. I had to glue 2 behind the word ‘dancing’ as it was a longer word, and this did cause some issues with the wiring but due to the darkness of the room, only the actual lights are visible rather than their wiring. I’m pleased with the way this turned out, as it lit the words but in such a subtle way that my audience will have to move close and focus properly on it to be able to read them. I didn’t want them to stand out and be completely obvious, as that’s not what my intention is. Everything I’m making and doing within my room I am trying to make subtle enough that my audience has to take the time to observe everything. If it was too obvious, they would be able to take the room in as a whole, and not spend half as long as I’d like them to inside it. Instead, I’m hoping that my presentation of everything will mean that they will linger and properly take the time to view and experience the room. I attached the frame to the wall using sticky hooks, and opted for the left wall. This is because there was the largest amount of space here, and the wall on the right was set at an angle due to the open door. After adding lights round and across the frame, there was a lot let, and this is where a spontaneous idea came to mind. Along the left wall I decided to add more bin bags to mirror the shape I’d created along the right wall created by the door. This not only added more texture, but left an empty space in the corner that had been cut off by the hanging bin bags. I brought the lights behind this empty space and wound them in no particular direction or pattern along the wall and corner, winding them down to the floor where as the lights ran out, I tucked the remaining wire under the black cloth floor and ran it along to under the ledge where my extension lead is hidden. This created a dulled lighting effect that also gave the impression that something was behind the bin bags, but the audience would not be able to see what and instead will only be able to sense the empty space. This will hopefully allow for them, depending on their paranoia and the effect of the soundtrack, to feel like something else is present in the room.

[agoiimi]

Final Touches

After spending many hours preparing the room with black cloth, wool and bin bags, I'm ready to finalise everything.

- Ouija Board; centre of black ledge, centre of room

- Broken Mirror; left wall above ledge (having broken pieces falling down onto ledge)

- 'Monster' Telephone; on ledge, may possibly suspend actual phone with fishing wire to achieve 'floating' look. Placement anywhere suited

- Spiderweb frame; left wall, central of wall maybe slightly towards front wall (door wall)

- Ram skull mask; either suspended with fishing wire to create 'floating' effect, or placed on a mannequin. Right of Ouija Board above ledge or on ledge.

- Voodoo Dolls; propped on ledge, placement anywhere suited

- Salt Crystals; propped on ledge, placement anywhere suited

- Lighting; white fairylights to be suspended along left wall and onto front wall, or possibly right wall. These will be blacked out in places and then broken mirror shards with words on will be stuck to lights so the words shine through

- Candles; placed accordingly to accent main features of room e.g around Ouija Board, mainly all on ledge

- UV lighting; may not be possible but if works out, placed along left side/right side of ledge. UV paint then used accordingly on wall

-Sounds; speakers to be hidden somewhere within room (place to be found depends on speaker size etc)

This is my basic layout plan, however I am well aware that this may change depending on how the room looks in this design. Spontaneous changes may occur, especially for things such as lighting.

[agoiimi]

Presentation 3 idea

OUT THERE FMP

My final presentation idea was to display my work somewhere outside. This was a location found in Horsley Castle where there was a mysterious stone circle in the middle of a dipped clearing, aswell as crafted den-type structures. 

If I had used this location, it would have meant that rather than the interactive exhibition that I wanted as an outcome, I would have had an entirely different result of possibly film and photography instead that would have been viewed by my audience. This isn’t the effect I wanted my FMP to have, as I wanted my audience to experience it, and I feel that by watching a film or simply viewing photos, they’re not getting the full experience and feelings I want them to. 

Equipment needed- 

Camera, Torch (would probably have to try out different types), Soundtrack, Laptop (in order to edit everything together), Printer, Mountboard (photography)

Strengths-

Atmosphere would probably be a lot easier to capture, and lighting would definitely be creepier due to the natural surroundings where trees would more than likely block out any sun and also make it colder. It would also have been interesting to see how I could have used these natural surroundings within my project e.g. The Ouija board within the stone circle, or the ram skull mask maybe hanging from a low-hanging tree branch. 

Weaknesses-

The main weakness is ultimately why I did not go with this presentation idea- my audience would not be physically present. I want my FMP to be interactive, and by using a location such as the one below, I would be unable to make my exhibition available to its viewers. They would not be able to see and experience it through their own eyes, instead it would have to be through a camera lense. 

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE 

FMP

Presentation idea 2

The idea that I have decided to go with for my FMP.

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE 

FMP

A lot of horror films rely on their soundtracks to really emphasise the fear factor. Have you ever watched a horror film with no sound? It’s nowhere near as scary, as there isn’t a building crescendo of drums or violins, and there isn’t a sudden crash of noise to signal a jump scare. Atmosphere relies heavily on sound, as without it there is only a stillness. At times this can be effective, but for my room I’m definitely going to need some sort of background noise as without it all that the viewers will be able to hear is the soft sound of the pipes at the top of the room. 

[agoiimi]

Pan’s Labyrinth 

OUT THERE

FMP

“...For much of the film, Navarro used more darkness than actual light, using his lamps and bounce boards to bring just enough of the image out of shadow...”

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/best-cinematography-exploring-light-dark-pans-labyrinth/

This idea of having just enough light is exactly the type of atmosphere I want to create within my room. I want barely any, but just enough. This leaves the audience almost straining into the darkness, and a lot of the time this then creates more shadows just from concentrating so hard. When I was younger I used to stare so hard into the dark that I’d almost envision something was there. It’s this feeling I want to create, where my audience will be left questioning whether something is actually there, or they’re creating something from some subconscious fear.

After all, it’s not the dark that we’re afraid of. It’s what the darkness contains.

[agoiimi]

Pan’s Labyrinth

OUT THERE

FMP

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a fantasy drama film that is considered an adult fairytale. This story takes place after the Spanish Civil War in 1944 and is a film that intertwines between the real world and a mythical world.

“...Low-key lighting is used the most throughout this film, giving it a darker tone to reality. “A low-key lighting design looks dark overall by comparison, marked by extreme use of deep shadows, with very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts, which are obscured in shadows” (Goodykoontz, Jacobs, 2014, Section 6.4). The low-key lighting makes the reality part of the story a dark tone, using hues of blue to emphasis it more. The dark tone gives the viewer a sense of drama but also the “evil” in the theme. The low-key lighting gives this film a sense of despair and entrapment, while the high-key lighting gives a sense of escape and happiness. This helps play out the theme of good vs evil vs innocence...”

https://vjpreisler2015.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/lighting-on-pans-labyrinth/

Low-key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes, horror films, mystery thrillers, etc. In Pan’s Labyrinth there is a distinct contrast between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ which is emphasised brilliantly by the use of lighting. It is the effect of the low-key, darker lighting that I want presented within my room, as it is the horror and mystery atmosphere that I am wanting to portray in my exhibition. 

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE

FMP

Presentation 1, small and simple paper model.

This model example has definitely confirmed my doubts about this design. With the table in the middle of the room, even tucked into the corner, there would be very little room for movement in which my audience could actually enter and experience my project from within it. I feel like they would definitely choose to view it from a distance instead, which is not how I want my exhibition to be experienced.

[agoiimi]

OUT THERE

FMP

Presentation idea 1

I didn't go with this idea in the end as we found a room that was better suited for my exhibition.

I feel like this idea would have provided me with a lot of room to experiment with interior design, as I would've been able to apply materials such as modroc and wallpaper directly to my makeshift walls. This would have allowed for a lot more texture than simply having smooth walls, however may have also caused a lot of problems;

-What if I struggled actually applying material to the wall? (Slippy surface, not a lot of grip etc)

-How would I have put the walls and flooring together? More than likely would've ended up with some sort of gap between the bottom of the walls and the floor.

-Spacing. Due to the square shape of this idea and the centre feature of the table, I feel that this presentation would have ended up as something to view and not actually experience. There wouldn't have been the room I wanted in order for my audience to actually be within the room properly.

-Structure. The corner design of this presentation creates a lot of open space outside of the exhibition, which will effect the lighting levels I wanted to create. I wanted a dark, condensed space which I don't think I would've been able to achieve as this is a very open plan. Unless of course I then looked at the area I would present the exhibition in e.g under the stairs, dark room, etc.