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Introduction

"CACOPHONY" is a hybrid-genre moving-image piece that combines established practices from music videos and video art, aiming to create an abstract visual narrative. The artistic direction of the piece is rooted in abstraction and surrealism, intended to offer multiple nuanced interpretations. At its core, the piece narrates various stages of experiencing writer’s block. The title, "Cacophony," encapsulates this idea, reflecting the harsh discordance akin to a mixture of jarring sounds that represent the blending of these different stages of writer’s block. 

"Project: Art? 2" served as the codename for this project during its pre-production and production stages. "Art?" was the title of my second-year motion graphics project, which served as a foundational point for many of my current design principles and choices. While "Project: Art? 2" was initially just a working title, I opted to retain it as an umbrella title, potentially allowing these pieces to become interconnected works in the future. However, at present, this project shares no direct relation to "Art?" beyond the title and some stylistic elements. 

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The phenomenon of writer's block and influence with the philosophy of Stalker (1979) 

The visual approach of this project finds its roots in the inspirations drawn from music videos, particularly those within the rap genre. The variety and complexity of visual motifs often seen in rap music videos captured my attention during the early stages of pre-production. From the outset, my aim was to explore the non-narrative visual styles characteristic of music videos and employ them to craft a story rich in nuances and complexities.

The thematic inspirations of this project originated from my own encounters with writer’s block. Similar to many individuals in the modern digital age, my personal creative journey has been significantly influenced by the digital realm and the art pieces accessible online. During the pre-production phase, this influence manifested in my tendency to spend countless hours scrolling through Instagram in search of inspiration. However, instead of finding genuine creative fuel, I often found myself trapped in a cycle of seeking instant gratification from consuming short-form content. I would justify this behaviour as seeking inspiration, but in reality, it was often a pursuit of dopamine hits from quickly digestible content.

This experience is a central theme explored within the piece.  It served as inspiration for key sections of the project, particularly the ‘Joyride’ chapter, where I draw parallels between the act of scrolling through social media in search of inspiration and a joyride fueled by quick hits of dopamine, ultimately resulting in an endless cycle where creativity remains stagnant. Similarly, the ‘Paranoia’ chapter delves into the experience of feeling paranoid about the quality of one's own work compared to what is seen online. This pervasive sense of inadequacy is a common struggle for many creatives in the digital age. The rapid consumption of diverse content and the instant gratification of dopamine hits inspired many of the design choices within the middle section of the piece. Here, the visuals are intentionally varied and appear disjointed, characterised by rapid editing. This stylistic approach aims to mirror the chaotic nature of online content consumption and convey the overwhelming sensory experience often associated with navigating social media platforms.

The philosophy underlying this piece draws heavily from Andrei Tarkovsky's film Stalker (1979), a feature-length abstract meditation on human philosophies and existentialism. The existential ponderings of Tarkovsky's work inspired several themes within my project, particularly regarding the desire to create and the meaning of art, as well as contemplation on inspiration. I aimed to incorporate these themes as additional layers to enrich the interpretations of the piece and stimulate thought among viewers. To achieve this, I incorporated samples from the film as voice-overs in my piece, using them to illustrate specific points I aimed to convey.

The end chapters 5 and 6 (Writer’s block and Self v Self) narrate a theme of inner conflict. I present this with the title ‘Self v Self’ as an expression that one of the phases of writer’s block is the overall inner conflict, we have with ourselves. I finish these chapters with a depiction of myself executing a duplication of me, preluded by the text of ‘Kill your distractions’. Much like the rest of the project and the philosophy of Stalker (1979) my purpose of this message was to create the potential for the audience to interpret their own reading. I keep the message broad and abstract with the surreal and brutal execution of my own doppelgänger. My personal reading of this message however is that as artists we face artificial distractions like the paranoia of comparison and the ‘joyrides’ of viewing other artist’s works and that we should eliminate these distractions from our lives to prevent writer’s block. 

In the context of the project, the panoptic gaze, as theorised by Foucault (2016), can be linked to the portrayal of paranoia and the experience of writer's block, particularly in the chapter titled "Self v Self." The panoptic gaze represents a form of constant surveillance and observation, where individuals feel compelled to regulate their behaviour and conform to societal norms even in the absence of a visible authority figure (Lyon, 2007). In the project, this concept manifests as the internalised pressure and self-monitoring experienced by individuals struggling with writer's block. This surveillance, whether real or perceived, contributes to the internal conflict depicted in "Self v Self," where individuals grapple with their own expectations and insecurities. The constant scrutiny implied by the panoptic gaze exacerbates the pressure to perform and create, ultimately hindering the creative process and contributing to writer's block. By linking the panoptic gaze to the feelings of paranoia and self-doubt in the project, a connection is drawn between Foucault's theories of surveillance and the psychological barriers to creativity experienced by individuals. This exploration underscores the ways in which external surveillance mechanisms can internalise and manifest as internalised surveillance, shaping the subjective experience of writer's block and creative inhibition.

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Narrative and Storytelling

For the narrative structure, I opted for a fragmented 7-chapter format, with each chapter titled using a different word that resonated with the experiences of the phenomenon. Chapter 5, for instance, directly addresses writer’s block itself. This chapter structure was my attempt to impose some semblance of order onto what I envisioned as inherently chaotic, while also categorizing the various emotions associated with writer’s block. 

Throughout the piece, the chapters are clearly labelled, although some are more prominently displayed than others. I utilized different fonts and colours to distinguish between them. While these chapters serve to categorize and visually represent the feelings associated with writer’s block, they are not necessarily intended to be viewed as strictly chronological.

I intentionally avoided creating a 'black and white' chronology with these feelings. For instance, one might experience an idea before feeling ambitious, or paranoia before indulging in the joyride of 'artificial inspiration' inspired by Stalker (1979). 

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Pre-Production and Development Pieces

Pre-production for the project commenced in September 2023, driven by my ambition to create a piece centred around the theme of writer’s block. I aimed to craft a work stylistically aligned with music videos, yet with a thematic depth that many music videos often lack. However, between September and December, I found myself grappling with my own writer’s block, unsure of how to best present this project. I was torn between the desire to create a music video and a narrative film. 

During these months, I dedicated numerous hours to seeking inspiration in music videos, films, and video art pieces. However, these sessions often devolved into prolonged, aimless dopamine-fuelled 'joyrides', where I found solace not in inspiration, but in temporary comfort. This personal experience served as the inspiration for both the 'joyride' and 'paranoia' chapters of the project, reflecting moments of both escapist pleasure and self-doubt in my creative journey. 

By February, I had compiled a private saved folder on Instagram containing over 200 posts that I found inspiring for the development of this project. During this period, I had also drafted two scripts and created mood boards. I viewed these actions as "crutches," attempts to artificially propel myself toward a creative breakthrough – an idea explored in both Stalker (1979) and my final piece. 

A test piece I named 'Cig' involving a fixed camera POV that did not reach the final cut.

Estimation of working hours during pre-production: 50-100 hours. (There is large uncertainty in my precise working hours during this period as I did not log the time spent researching and viewing pieces and drafting work. 

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A test piece I made which involved an eye VFX shot and police body-cam shot, both planned for the 'paranoia' chapter.

None of the shots reached the final cut.

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A test piece which reads the working title. The loading graphic ended up reaching the final cut as a short graphic used in the final piece.

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Production

There was no exact date for when main production started, however, these are main dates that all footage was recorded on. 

Main production timeline: 

25th February Settle: Afternoon of filming.  

26th February Lake District: Full Day of filming. 

27th February Ribbleshead: Full Day of filming. 

All of the test projects were produced in this period of February-March. 

24th March Kent Home Evening of filming. 

25th March Kent Home Afternoon of filming. 

26th March London 1st Full Day of filming.  

29th March London 2nd Full day of filming. 

30th March Dungeness beach Full day of filming. 

2nd April Kent Home Afternoon and Evening of filming. 

8th April Main Post-production starts.  

3rd May Leeds studio morning of filming.  

4th May London 3rd Full day of filming. 

12th May Post-production ends. 

Based on the shooting days, 62 hours were spent recording video and photography for the production phase. 

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Production (Continued)

The transition from pre-production to main production was a gradual transition which happened from forcing myself to produce test pieces. I knew from the beginning of pre-production that I wanted the piece to be told over different varied backdrops in order to present the narrative like a physical journey as well as a metaphorical personal journey. I chose to film scenes for the calmer stages in dramatic natural landscapes to juxtapose the urban settings which chapter the more inner-conflicted feelings of writer’s block like paranoia. The scenes in between were filmed at home in Kent. Which presented the grey chapters of the narrative, embedded between the more dramatic and intense sequences of the final piece.  

As well as visual effects in the post work of the project, I employed some use of practical effects during production. Namely the fixed camera, object POV (Point of view) shots where the phone was gripped to the camera. In order to do this, I used a piece of kit called a magic arm from SmallRig, where I clamped the phone to the base of the camera. This effect causes the phone to remain in the same position in relation to the lens despite the camera and background moving. The reason for this effect was to immerse the eye of the viewer into the ‘joyride’ of mindless scrolling and mimic the tunnel vision effect of doing so for hours.  

(See Production supporting post for the result and inspiration)

Overall, the main production phase of the project was smooth running from initially forcing myself to ‘just create’ (a process I reflect in the final piece through the naming of chapters: idea?… and …create). However, I believe I planned my shoots well by having a clear idea of what I wanted the edit results to look like, which mitigated risks and created a smooth workflow. 

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Production Processes (Supporting Post)

For the rural scenes there were physical challenges and risks mainly with equipment moving. For the entire piece my main camera was a BlackMagic design, Pocket Cinema Camera 6k Pro. Whilst being a compact form-factor camera, hiking equipment up rural hills became physically difficult due to weight distribution when combined with lenses and a tripod. The weight and size of the kit caused challenge and risk with getting up and down the locations I wanted during daylight hours as to prevent any risks associated with limited light. These risks were thankfully further mitigated where I was able to get help to securely transport myself and kit by car to these locations which always ensured safety of myself and the kit. 

For the urban scenes I used London as my backdrop due to its ease of access from Kent and Leeds as well as for its stark iconography. For the first 2 filming days in London, I used a compact rig of the 6k Pro, taking minimal equipment, with no tripod and fewer lenses. This was to mitigate risk associated with equipment safety like theft as well as weight risks. This meant that I had to be careful in my lens choice and limited the type of shots I could get from the lack of a tripod. I ended up opting for a 58mm Petzval Lomography lens which provided the rounded depth of field bokeh control in the two shots below that made the final cut. Secondarily I used a 24-105mm zoom lens which provided greater versatility and produced most of the footage from those dates. On the third London filming date I only took a DSLR camera with no video function which is where I took all the ‘frame by frame’ sequences of the final project using 100s of photos. These three days were well planned and involved exact routes and lists of the types of edits I wanted. This helped time factors and made the production workflow more efficient. 

The shoots at home in Kent filled in all the gaps of footage I needed and provided many of the more conventionally narrative sequences of the project. I used my living room as the backdrop for the shots below, which proved to be smooth filming sessions with minimal risks and complications where I had a controlled and private location. For these scenes I had unlimited amounts of time to experiment with the angles, lens choices, mise-en scene and lighting. For the ‘Sofa Shot’ I framed the shot with as many plants I could find which created a delicately, natural contrasted mise-en-scene. I was also able to film this scene with only natural light by positioning the curtains in a specific way to shape the way the light entered the scene. 

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Production Inspirations (Supporting Post)

The fixed rig POV shot was inspired by multiple sources, namely 21 Savage’s Redrum music video (2024) where the use of a fixed-camera object POV is used with a subject smoking. This piece was also the inspiration behind my cigarette POV test sequence which did not end up making the final cut.  Other fixed camera object POV examples that inspired my work include the opening sequence from Lord of War (2005) which depicts the fixed camera POV of a bullet and SchoolBoy Q’s music video: Dope Dealer (2016) which features use of fixed camera POVs. 

The setting of my first scene was inspired from the opening shot of Kendrick Lamar’s N95 music video. The scene depicts a sunset against a beach with the artist floating above the water in a religiously posed context. I liked the idea of having a peaceful beach landscape to have the narrative painted over for the introduction of my piece to then create juxtaposition with the following scenes. This look proved instantly difficult to plan as there are not many west or east-facing beaches in the areas I am based. I was able to travel to Dungeness beach however, when I was at home during Easter. The beach has a slight peninsula where I was able to achieve the sunset shots facing west.  

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Post-Production

The editing philosophy I had through pre-production was to keep everything as brief as possible with a tight and dictatorial control on the pace and tone. No matter how much time I spent working on a shot I did not want to have that dictate its amount of screentime.  

Contrasted to Stalker (1979) which this piece shares thematic philosophies with, the editing style cannot be any more different. Stalker (1979) lingers on single frames often for times longer than the entire runtime of my piece. In juxtaposition, my visual and auditory editing inspirations come from many rap music videos with very fast paces. (See Post-Production Inspiration supporting post)

Main post-production took place between the 8th of April and 12th of May. This time included: 

Composing the main timeline. 

Creating visual effect shots. 

Searching and experimenting with sound. 

Experimenting, redrafting, and fixing problems with visual and auditory effects. 

Fixing technical issues with storage and software. 

Rewatching my work hundreds of times to spot and change errors. 

Between the 15th and 22nd of April I logged 48 hours of post-production work. Before this I estimate around 20 hours of post-production work and between the 22nd of April and the 12th of May I logged 120 hours of post-production work.

Main Post-Production took around 188 hours of work.

Main Composition Timeline

Zoomed in section of the main composition Timeline from RT 3:06.

AfterEffects Timeline of the Tube Station CCTV Shot at 2:43-2:45.

AfterEffects Timeline of the flashing platform shot at 2:45-2:49. (1 of 3)

After Effects Timeline of the flashing platform shot at 2:45-2:49. (2 of 3)

After Effects Timeline of the flashing platform shot at 2:45-2:49. (3 of 3)

After Effects Timeline of the chase shot at 2:57-3:05.

After Effects Timeline of the Car Match Cutting CCTV Shot at 2:31-2:41. (1 of 2)

After Effects Timeline of the Car Match Cutting CCTV Shot at 2:31-2:41. (2 of 2)

Chapter 5: Writer's Block uses effects of green screen keying, high contrast lighting, flashing imagery, duplication and distortion to paint an artificial and desolate void backdrop. The representation of the void in this chapter is to create a feeling that we are inside the feeling of writer’s block itself and experiencing it as we watch. I use these effects to purposely disorientate the viewer.  

This chapter was the most challenging part of post-production. I chose to compose this entire section from the ground up within my project master timeline in DaVinci Resolve. Whilst being an unconventional choice as a sequence like this would more conventionally be composed in Adobe AfterEffects (as I did numerous previous sequences in) I found that after extensive testing of the keying and colour grading tabs between the softwares that Resolve provided the best result. 

The keying of this sections was especially difficult however, as the highly contrasted, chiaroscuro look I was seeking required the lighting to be set up unconventionally to standard green screen practice during the video production. This was because I had to turn the backlight off to achieve the lighting effect which compromised how well lit the green screen was for the keying software. After many hours I was able to successfully fine tune the key to look as crisp as possible using DaVinci Resolve’s colour tab 3D Key. Overall, this is the section I am most proud of as it created the look I had envisioned, and I proved testament to the power of free software where AfterEffects was in no way used for the result of the most complex scene. 

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Post-Production Inspirations (Supporting Post)

In the chapter ‘Paranoia’ I present images of surveillance to create a sense of unease and the watchful feeling of voyeur. These scenes had multiple influences. Firstly, was from William Bett’s CCTV art series where the paintings inspired my ideas of presenting paranoia from the ever-watchful gaze of surveillance cameras that Bett’s portrays.  

Within the rap music video genre CCTV styles are present and influenced my piece. Underground rap artist Ken Carson features CCTV perspectives in his Jennifer’s Body music video.

The visual inspirations of chapter 6 come from music videos like Travis Scott’s Fe!n (2024), Ken Carson’s and Southside’s President (2024) and Ken Carson’s Fighting my demons music video (2023).  

Audio inspirations of chapter 6 come from drone music where creepy and unsettling tones are held for long periods of time. Music videos like Blackhaine’s Stained Materials were inspirational both visually and auditorily in this way: 

I included a popularised sample of the ‘Nextel Chirp’ as a recurring sound motif in my piece. 

I also sampled the first 2 seconds of 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s Slidin which I reversed and reverbed to create a dramatic riser at two points in my piece.

The above snippet includes both sound samples.

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Audience Study

Due to the abstract nature of the piece, I conducted a small audience study to explore the various interpretations viewers might have. The aim was to gain a deeper understanding of the diverse readings that could be derived from abstract moving-image projects like this one. Additionally, I sought to use these findings to refine my own creative style for future projects and assess the extent to which the success of conveying open, nuanced messages was achieved in this project.

For my sample I used participants from various places. The first group comprised two fellow students enrolled in the same module for which this project was created. The second group included five members of the Leeds Student TV society, as well as five individuals from film and/or media courses at the University of Leeds. The participants who viewed this piece had no prior knowledge or context about it. However, given its abstract nature, I selected participants who were more likely to be familiar with this style of filmmaking to avoid complete confusion and ensure that the findings yielded some degree of interpretation. While this approach could be seen as a limitation, I believe that, like many other art forms, this piece would naturally appeal to a niche target audience.

Study findings and final evaluation 

For my study I sent the piece to the participants and asked three questions: 

How clear was the narrative to you? 

To what extent do you feel the piece is about writer’s block? 

What overall reading/messages did you understand the piece to be telling? 

From my findings, it became evident that the piece was as abstract for viewers as I anticipated. Three participants grasped meanings related to themes of surveillance. All participants agreed that the piece conveyed aspects of writer’s block to some extent, with five strongly agreeing. Additionally, four participants identified readings related to mental health, specifically anxiety, while three participants understood little to no meanings or messages.

The overall reception of the piece's abstract elements was varied, indicating that it successfully achieved my goal of creating diverse and layered nuances. I believe this project has enhanced my skills as an artist and filmmaker, not only technically, but also creatively and thematically.

There are however, limitations with this study. Firstly the small sample size decreased the potential range of findings. Also as the piece was shown to students who are already engaged in areas of film and media my findings are not completely representative of a larger audience.

Closing Statement

In conclusion these blog posts barely scratch the surface of the thought processes, difficulties and challenges I faced during all the production phases of this project. These blog posts have selected and attempted to deconstruct some of the most complex attributes, themes and technical processes of the piece. For what I have not spoke upon here I will let the final piece do the talking.

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References

Betts, W. (2008). CCTV. [Painting, online]. Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://www.williambetts.com/cctv

Blackhaine, (2022). Stained Materials. [Online music video]. Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://youtu.be/jpWKkJS-ivY?si=8_RfEvB4FwEYnb8c 

Foucault, M. (2016). Discipline and punish. In Social theory re-wired (pp. 319-329). Routledge.

Ken Carson, Lyrical Lemonade. (2023). Fighting my Demons (Official music video) [Online music video]. Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKkMR2l05Rs 

Ken Carson. (2023). Jennifer's Body (Official music video) [Online music video], Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://youtu.be/CSMiPngo4uE?si=xRq4P_CZpJXwJv9w

Kendrick Lamar. (2022). N95 [Online music video]. Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://youtu.be/zI383uEwA6Q?si=c5x1ovi6nFecUOEQ 

Lyon, D. (2007). Surveillance studies: An overview.

Niccol, A. (2005). Lord of War. Lions Gate Films. 

Schoolboy Q. (2016). Dope Dealer (Official music video) [Online music video]. Date: 16/5/24. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OdDmC1-p4E&rco=1 

Southside, Destroy Lonely. (2024) President (Official music video) Feat. Ken Carson [Online music video]. Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://youtu.be/CSMiPngo4uE?si=uwfajDPNxRCtD6bV 

Tarkovsky, A. (1979).  Stalker. Janus Films. 

Travis Scott. (2024). FE!N ft. Playboi Carti (Music video) [Online music video]]. Date Accessed 16/5/24. Available at: https://youtu.be/B9synWjqBn8?si=9aKiWYQJEZ8QyyBr 

21 Savage. (2024). Redrum (Official music video) [Online music video]] Date Accessed: 16/5/24. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4mADkt6o-M 

Bibliography

Lash, D. (2019). “You Can't Imagine How Terrible It Is to Make the Wrong Choice”—Faith, Agency and Self-Pity in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 36(4), 264-285.

Pourtova, E. (2017). Andrei Tarkovsky: stalker of the unconscious. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 62(5), 778-786.

Riley, J. A. (2017). Hauntology, ruins, and the failure of the future in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker. Journal of Film and Video, 69(1), 18-26.

Smith, S. (2007). The edge of perception: sound in Tarkovsky's Stalker. The Soundtrack, 1(1), 41-52.

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Source material and declaration of originality.

Samples from Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker (1979) Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3hBLv-HLEc 

Sample taken from the first 2 seconds of 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s Slidin, available at: https://youtu.be/9lVt20ogzoY?si=jPBQJTxCzuU5r9oW 

Film Burn Overlay Assets by Think Make Push, Available from: thinkmakepush.com 

Blood Splatter Assets by ant6nionyc, Available from: https://payhip.com/b/XA4e9 

Google Earth photos for aerial photography seen in runtimes 3:16-3:18 (42 photos) and 3:24-3:26 (8 photos) and 3:56 (3 photos). 

Epidemic Sound: 

All risers, hits, ambience and sound effects, 

Music from Epidemic Sound: 

Cousin Stratus by Lotus 

We’re Dreaming Now by Joseph Beg 

Granny by Lennon Hutton 

All available from epidemicsound.com 

Sound from YouTube: 

FREE Playboi Carti x Young Nudy Type Beat Rise Up by Donnie Katana, Available at: https://youtu.be/wEKpwuf6F_s?si=7XJuaTfCA27p57dS 

*FREE* Playboi Carti x Young Nudy Type Beat "So Gone" by Donnie Katana, Available at: https://youtu.be/OGwJIAsUpYo?si=x2B7yF9QRyGy_d0s 

21 Savage x Metro Boomin - Slidin (Official Audio) Available at: https://youtu.be/9lVt20ogzoY?si=jPBQJTxCzuU5r9oW 

Nextel Chirp. Available at: https://youtu.be/aLGsRcob8po?si=qY6W6HT6sQuCqEa4 

Source Files and Declaration of Originality document:

https://leeds365-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/r/personal/ed20e3k_leeds_ac_uk/Documents/Project%20Art%202%20SOURCE%20FILES?csf=1&web=1&e=XDGdhV