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Final Submission

(Please excuse the terrible audio quality of my voiceover, which sounds like I was recording in a barrel at the bottom of a well.)

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Rationale

I chose the poem Scottish Fiction by Edwin Morgan as the focus of my video montage assignment because the album on which it features (The Remote Part by Idlewild) is one of my favourite records of all time.

(Above) Cover artwork for the album The Remote Part by Idlewild. The image is from the film My Way Home (1978), which was provided by the British Film Institute.

The album was released in the summer of 2002, a couple of months prior to the start of my second year of college. It quickly became something of a soundtrack to that gleeful year studying graphic design at Cork Institute of Technology, scoring raucous nights out, panicked deadline marathons, and CD Walkman-fuelled creative explorations.

(Above) At a Coldplay concert in the summer of 2002. Idlewild were the support act. [Photo courtesy Sean Cooney]

The closing track of the album, In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction, features Morgan's poem. It is recited by the poet himself, over a backing track of fiery guitars and ferocious drums which compound the simmering anger of the poem's lyrics and Morgan's delivery.

It is a combination that has always resonated with me; a cacophonous yet hauntingly poetic call-to-arms.

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Photo & Video Credits

Frame 1

White Silk: Canva | DAPA Images

Broken Glass: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko

Frame 2

Notepad: Pexels | Karolina Kaboompics

Mirror: Getty Images | Nixki

Red Ink Spatter: Getty Images | Showcake

Frame 3

Red Ink Cloud: Pexels | Mart Productions

Red Fish: Pexels | Chevanon

Frame 4

Green Forest: Pexels | Jaymantri

Red Road Flats (1979): Wikipedia | Miles Glendinning

Frame 5

Typewriter: Getty Images | Spiderstock

Poet Edwin Morgan: Wikipedia | Alex Boyd

Frame 6

Eilean Donan Castle: Unsplash | Sorin Tudorut

Misty Forest: Canva | Pixabay

Frame 7

Dettifoss Waterfall, Iceland: Own Footage | Shot on iPhone 11

Red Ink Cloud Video: Pexels | Mart Productions

Frame 8

Suburbia: Pexels | E Photography

Hot Coals: Unsplash | Marcos Assis

Frame 9

Cogs: Pexels | Padrinan

Poet Edwin Morgan: Wikipedia | Alex Boyd

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Story Board (Digital)

I also used this opportunity to explore the types of images & video I would need to source for the montage.

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Story Board (Sketch)

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Moodboard

As discussed in an earlier post, this montage will focus on the duality (or dichotomy) at the core of human identity: the polished image we present to the world versus the visceral, messy reality beneath. I am referring to this dichotomy as Fiction vs. Friction.

Duality / Dichotomy: I have collected some images of movie posters & comic book covers (above) which I feel exemplify this notion of duality or dichotomy.

Colour Theory: High-saturation blues and greens evoke peace & balance. Dark, desaturated oranges, browns & reds evoke anger, decay, foreboding.

Warm, light tones and smooth textures evoke safety, modernity, and cleanliness. Dark tones and rough, gritty textures elicit a sense of danger and dereliction.

Orientation: I feel portrait orientation will best suit this video montage, as it will accommodate a more effective “above / below” aesthetic.

Fonts: I like the idea of using two versions of the same font (differentiated by line weight, texture, or both) to enforce the dichotomy theme of the video.

As Above, So Below: The Magician, from the 1909 Rider–Waite tarot deck, often thought to represent the concept of "as above, so below".

Pattern As Texture: I like how the repeated pattern of the buildings’ windows creates a texture and a gradient from dark to light.

I wonder if there are similar patterns in nature that could be paired with this to create a juxtaposition...

Smooth / Rough

Reflection / Refraction: Reflective surfaces (water, mirror, glass) are a useful way of demonstrating duality. Shadow reflecting true nature (butterfly / rocket) another method, but a bit cliché?

What Lies Beneath: I don’t want to veer into horror movie tropes, but the idea of a torn paper or damaged film reel effect used as divider to separate the two halves of the screen is interesting...

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Exploration of Duality

Visual exploration of the duality / dichotomy theme discussed in previous post.

Fiction / Friction

Above / Below

Fantasy / Reality

Light / Dark

Good / Evil

Harmony / Chaos

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Image Credits

The Dreaming Issue 48 [Comic Book Cover] / Dave McKean

The Curse of La Llorona [Movie Poster] / Cold Open

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Origins & Interpretation

The poem Scottish Fiction was written by poet laureate Edwin Morgan (1920–2010) in response to a letter from Roddy Woomble, lead vocalist of the Scottish rock band Idlewild.

A long-time admirer of Morgan's work, Woomble made contact during the production of what would become the band's third studio album The Remote Part. In his letter to the poet, Woomble spoke about identity and belonging and Morgan's response ended with a poem addressing these topics.

This poem was incorporated into the closing (title) track of The Remote Part. The album was released in July 2002.

Interpretation

In this poem, Morgan examines the idea of national identity: how culture and society inform our perception of ourselves, and how we in turn represent ourselves to the world. While this can apply to any group or nation, Morgan focuses on Scottish national identity and uses specific examples of cultural relevance (e.g. the Red Road flats) to ensure that the work resonates with its intended audience.

I feel Morgan is arguing that at the core of human identity there is a duality or dichotomy: the fiction versus the friction; the polished image we present to the world versus the visceral, messy reality beneath.

I will now analyse the lyrics of the poem and give my own interpretation of their meaning:

It isn't in the mirror, it isn't on the page

Fundamentally, human nature / identity cannot be understood through introspection (the mirror) or reflection (writing/reading) ...

It's a red hearted vibration Pushing through the walls of dark imagination  Finding no equation 

... it is something more primal, a base instinct incompatible (finding no equation) with higher consciousness or logical thought.

There's a Red Road rage  But it's not road rage  It's asylum seekers engulfed by a grudge 

The Red Road flats were constructed in Glasgow in the 1960s. Initially a successful example of low-cost urban housing, the complex gradually deteriorated due to neglect, lack of amenities and limited resources. Rife with crime and violence, and latterly used to house international refugees, the flats were eventually demolished in 2015.

I think Morgan is using the flats as a way of contrasting the justifiable anger of citizens towards those in charge with the inexcusable and thoughtless anger exemplified by so-called road rage. Perhaps both forms of anger have the same underlying cause (a feeling of hopelessness or loss of control) but it is the way they manifest and are directed that is at odds.

We also encounter another dichotomy: the optimistic vision of the flats versus the eventual grim reality. The victims of this violence, left with no recourse, turn their anger back on themselves / their own community, and therefore it is the asylum seekers that bear the brunt of their animosity.

Scottish friction, Scottish fiction 

This line encapsulates the theme of the poem: the surface versus what lies beneath.

It isn't in the castle, it isn't in the mist 

The stereotypical image of Scotland as represented by majestic castles shrouded in mist is negated. This echoes the structure and sentiment of the first line of the poem (the mirror ... the page) and asks us again to consider the fundamental origins of our identity.

It's a calling of the waters As they break to show the new black death With reactors aglow 

Mirroring the second stanza, the poet refers to something primal: the oceans from which life arose; Nature itself sounding an alarm. Reactors aglow seems to reference nuclear power plants, humankind's meddling with the basic particles of existence, but there is also a sense of menace in the phrasing, like the great glowing eyes of some abomination from the deep.

You think your security  Can keep you in purity  You will not shake us off, above or below 

Morgan now turns the focus of the poem onto the reader, stating that one's privilege (be it of wealth, class, gender, etc.) does not make one exempt from responsibility. We all have blood on our hands; nobody is pure. There is a degree of threat in the final line: you will reap what you sow, be it in this life (above) or the next (below).

Scottish friction, Scottish fiction

This line is repeated; the dichotomy is maintained. We are simultaneously the creators of, and products of, our own identities.

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In Remote Part / Scottish Fiction

A song by Scottish rock band Idlewild, from their third studio album The Remote Part. The song features a poem written and read by Scottish poet Edwin Morgan.

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Scottish Fiction / Edwin Morgan It isn't in the mirror It isn't on the page It's a red hearted vibration Pushing through the walls of dark imagination Finding no equation There's a red road rage But it's not road rage It's asylum seekers engulfed by a grudge Scottish friction, Scottish fiction It isn't in the castle It isn't in the mist It's a calling of the waters as they break to show The new black death with reactors aglow You think your security Can keep you in purity You will not shake us off Above or below Scottish friction, Scottish fiction