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drsilverfish · 2 years

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Hello Everyone I am so late to The Winchesters! Pilot 1x01

“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. But they were fucked up in their turn By fools in old-style hats and coats, Who half the time were soppy-stern And half at one another’s throats. Man hands on misery to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. Get out as early as you can, And don’t have any kids yourself”

Philip Larkin (1971)

I had some VPN issues, here on Normal Island... Yes, British sarcasm - at this point only our humour sustains us, as we descend yet further into a mixture of political farce and fascism.

Anyway, that means I am super late to the zombie long-tail of Supernatural and have only just watched episodes 1-4 of The Winchesters, which, it turns out, is Scooby-Doo meets Stranger Things?!?!

Probably like a lot of you, the SPN ending broke my heart so much I wasn’t sure I could get back in, but Robbie Thompson deserves a hearing, right? So here goes...

There is a place for alien insect invasions... Doctor Who, Starship Troopers, District 9... On the other hand, despite their somewhat chittering ridiculousness, the presence of the Akrida (that’s actually the word for “crickets” in Greek) as a sign of Chuck’s multiverse, tell us implicitly what Voice-Over Dean tells us explicitly:

“Now I know this story might sound familiar, but I’m going to put the pieces together in a way that just might surprise you”...

Are this John and Mary our John and Mary, or, from a slightly sideways universe, where some things are similar and some different? There were no drawings of cricket-aliens in John’s diary in Universe One...

Of course, what that means (thanks Robbie) is that the SPN ending is just one (shitty) universe ending, and here is Narrator-Dean, alive and well, in a universe where MASSIVE CRICKETS drown out 15x20 Carry On ....

Mary and John bump into each other outside a movie theatre (this is how John told his sons they met, in Universe One Supernatural). But, although they share take-out coffee, a little later, which tracks with Universe One, there is no conversation about a shared love for Led Zep... (not yet, anyway).

The movies showing at the time of the Mary-John encounter are:

Deliverance (1972)

THX1138 (1971)

Klute (1971)

These films are concerned with: 1) survivalism, brutality, male rape, secrets; 2) a dystopian future where the populace is mind-controlled; 3) Crime, prostitution, sexual abuse, avoidance of intimacy

And Robbie T has made sure to include a Vonnegut reference for us too - this sign appears as John and Mary are about to discover the Men of Letters bunker together:

Slaughterhouse 5 is about someone, Billy, who is (like John) suffering from war-induced PTSD. Billy is an unreliable narrator, and the story is told in non-linear fashion. So, this is a neon sign (literally) to go deeper than the Scooby-Doo surface of The Winchesters.

Slaughterhouse 5 of course, also contains aliens, the Tralfamadorians, who experience time in four dimensions, meaning past, present and future are not linear for them.

So, let’s say a prayer that the Mary, John, Carlos and Lata Scooby gang takes us on a story journey worth following...

#Supernatural #The Winchesters #The Winchesters 1x01 #1x01 Pilot #SPN meta #Meta #The Winchesters meta

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meandmyechoes · 2 years

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youtube

There's more on production design than costumes but all in all a very enlightening and informative talk on inspirations and the design process!

timestamps below

00:22 How do you work with the story group to make sure fans of the lore are served without excluding the newer fans?

LH: we don't start from the basis of it being fanservice

crew includes a mix of passionate fans and people with no context. we are all filmmakers and focus on character work first, then look at what from sw can be put in there.

Luthen's collection works together to tell the story of lost culture

Never are we led by [that = fanservice], but things that enrich the environment should be there

02:03 Coruscant

Q: three main settings:

Syril's home, ISB, Mon Mothma

aotc: bright, saturated neon colours - a welcoming environment

andor: brutalist, minimal modernism, some art deco in MM -

an "anti-coruscant"

LH: the hardest to do

avoid CGI because we want a place that exist.

the core principle of Coruscant is height (upper, middle, lower) then it become character led

ref vertical cities like Tokyo and NY, what is their language, what makes them interesting?

the goal is not to make (RM's) it should smell like that, have that nostalgia and fit in SW, but shouldn't feel futuristic or scifi.

I want to understand it as a place that can really exists, not always leading away from it but a place we can inhabit.

first decide on the materials: hard, monochromatic, concrete, steel, glass -> inhumane, total lack of organic materials, and you build it up to realize what works or not

Eddy's: i reckon she bought that apartment 20 years ago, she had a view of Coruscant and then the whole city grew up around her and it got lost like she did.

Baker-like cream vs. clinical sterility of the ISB vs. Mon's… values of her Chandrilan culture but also lack of comfort (the embassy is given to her)

MW: want to build real societies. thought about the texture, culture, materials, technology of each planet -> stratified? diverse? levels of society?

every background player has a story and a reason to be on screen

06:57 Happy accidents on costuming?

less of accidents and more endless discussion and thinking about things

everything needs to have a logic and reason to be onscreen because they are under so much scrutiny

08:14 How did you design Narkina 5? What does the design of oppression look like to you?

LH: prison to a me like a cross between an abattoir and a laboratory, like a labour camp, you can't escape from it, like Alcatraz if it was a lab.

the Panopticon logic of turning the organic people be the fuel of the machine, the disposable element

makies it more interesting, more THX1138 than the obvious grungy prison

love making white sets: photograph beautifully, things pop more, have a sinister nature.

earthiness of Ferrix vs. organics of highlands vs. trapped sterility of prison

MW: Luke and I talked about How do those wielding the power use the environment to oppress, intimidate and disorientate?

The part of white on white: there's nowhere to hide, it's horrific, you lose your sense of depth -> disempowered by this soul-destroying environment.

we also spend lots of time on developing this fabric that's utilitarian, disposable, feels like they just peel them off at the end of the day. they are treated like cattle, "host down", sterilized and they are given a fresh one for the next day.

all of these details eat away at you psychologically.

11:38 Visual style of Andor

How close did you want to get to what we've already seen?

What motifs do you know you want to work in when creating the world of Andor?

LH: we don't start that way around. when i met tony it was like, 'we're gonna make a star wars show but it's not gonna be like any star wars show you've watched.'

it was challenging when you figure out it means going into people's apartment and bathrooms to work with them.

keep the tangibility of the OT, then looking at R1's grittiness, and a sense of modernity that could compete with other shows, and make work the drama/chc but maintaining the nostalgia of SW without having it becoming as if 'selecting things from a catalogue just for it to feel SW'

It was about enhancing what was there and fleshing it out to feel like you could walk and live with these people, and hopefully forget about it at times, forget that you're watching SW, and be reminded of it.

13:35 Costuming

MW: knew as soon as we had the script we knew we had to create a new look to go with the layers and complexity of the characters.

the established costume language of SW was there.

Use the established uniform to ground us firmly into the SW world.

15:06 There is an abundance of personal rooms/belongings, how do you approach setting those space versus a public one? What were you trying to communicate about their lives?

LH:

Maarva: the home used to be function when Cassian was younger, but with him drifting and her husband's death, and the shop closing, her world gets smaller till it centralized around her chair

Eedy: she bought it box-fresh, you can get upgrades and plug-ins to the apartment and over time, it aged and (BAY-ta-lye)

a home salon you never see in S1, things that you feel relatable but in the SW language. It always start with the chc.

MW: Luke design spaces like the character designed them. He thinks about who they are and what they want to project in their interior. I try to do the same with the costumes.

It's the difference b/w wearing something in terms of structure and how it makes you feel compared to something like layers that you can disappear in.

e.g. Cass was hiding, disappearing in his clothes, then his arc is to become closer to the hero we know from R1, little bit he reveals himself more, the coat becomes more tailored, longer lines, shoulders are squared out, a very subtle, subliminal transformation he goes through.

18:45 Syril's costuming and his own customization

within the constricts (blurring of individual) of the uniform, people can still find ways to express themselves.

on one end, guys working in the ball pen and jaded office workers, not at all engaged, their costumes are enzyme-wash to fade out, unironed, no pride in their appearance. On the other end of the spectrum is Syril who tailors and tweaks and personalize it to express who he wants to project and who he wants to be. We made his costume subtly more rigid, more sculpted, freshly pressed, slightly brighter colour.

21:00 how do you go from Chernobyl (a raw story) to the SW show (pre-established lore)?

LH: the process is the same for whatever project it is. the similarity between the two projects is there are a lot of research. with Cbyl you don't want to lost and become a documentarian. Cbyl had finished scripts but on Tony was taking on it when I started, so we were building it the same time he was writing.

It's about character, and environment and storytelling, and it was mood and tone.

we wanted this to have sort of a journalistic logic. you approach it like you're dealing with building up every character's reality and atst we're making fiction/drama. The material is a bit lighter on Star Wars and the world is much greater varied. From a design pov, they are both rabbit holes. the only similarity is you run out of time, I'd love to create bigger set but at some point you'd have to shoot it.

24:11 filming real-world location/what's the consideration for location scouting?

LH: I'd love to do more on location. But it was hard to have a large crew on site and in a pandemic, so we ended up building a lot more [sets] than we initially intended.

I don't want to do a desert, but I want somewhere where the landscape spoke for itself. What if we have a planet that looks like the Scottish highlands? Then we were looking at dams and there's this one that always feels like a blight on the landscape. It just felt very imperal. The whole Aldahni sequence was then based around that idea. It was an imperial stronghold there and so on.

Barbican has both the weight and texture that felt right for a megacity like Coruscant but also felt right for a certain level - the middle.

We don't approach a location on the basis of pure concpet, it was always about enhancing the real place and how we can put it in the wider world of Coruscant, how we can do shots that you'd do in a real city and not in a CGI environment.

I always said the best place to do Coruscant would be Paris becaus you got the scale and style of certain aspects of Corsucant. (it's [slimpickins] in London ???? can't understand this part)

[audience talks about how turning a corner you see a structure featured in the show] yeah with Barbican you are a little more limitied, a little more, targeted, i suppose. What I'm always looking for when piecing together Coruscant was Journeys. So again it wasn't like 'Oh, let's stand here and have a conversation with the city in the background' or sth like that. Barbican actually gives you a lot in terms of Joruenys: Syril going home is one of my favourite. This place in London I don't remeber the name of, it's like a bridgeless estate, we made it go much further down and give it that elevation and that sense of depression.

It's really hard, I want to shoot more on location but more often we pull back and use the real world location as an inspiration.

28:45 What are some under-discussed innovation in the your fields that help you create Andor?

MW: leaning heavily into the DNA of established SW costume language. It was quite an analog costume approach. A mixture, in fact. There are things that would've been groundbreaking 1977, that seem not so much now. But we would like to have that as a starting point, we had a similar approach with this one. There was a lot of handmade, old-school analog creative costumes, but we also have a fantastic costume props dept that use new tech and material to create mostly armour elements and small sculpted elements on costuming. Lots of 3D Printing happening, scanning, adapting, trying urethanes and other materials that can make more comfortable armour. A problem of the original stormtrooper armour is discolouration/yellowing. It was also quite rigid and difficult for stunts. We import new materials for the armour to stay white forever and allow room for the stunt people.

LH: It was an active choice NOT to use the Volume. It doesn't suit our goal, what Tony is writing. The idea is to be on the ground and moving around with the characters as much as possible, and not creating spaces for scenes to happen, if that makes sense.

It's something you can do with longer, multi-ep drama like this, is to build bigger sets and connect them up. Ferrix comprise of almost 30 sets. They are largest out on the back lot one large composite set so you can walk in around the streets and into the homes. All the complexes are enjoyable.

With any sets I'd start by designing the whole thing. Design the city, design the prison infold, then start to break it down and what we want to use and how, what, who we want to build lest we understand the full geography.

I think that filters through even if you don't see it all. You hopefully doesn't jar at any point. The technology part is we first build it in 3D and previs. We don't follow a pipeline like the Volume shows. The analog feeds into what we want to achieve, a bit more like the OT, more tangible.

It wasn't anything groundbreaking we do as much as trying to put more on screen but make it feels like it's less (intentional/artificial)

#andor #yuki watches andor #it's full of typo and short hand read if you will #sw bts #star wars #the writer one on the same channel is interesting too

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sinisterexaggerator · 2 years

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Okay, so how about Shriv and his s/o are able to take some leave and have a vacation on Glee Anselm? And maybe they start talking more seriously about their future together? I feel like vacation adventure Shriv would be so heartwarming and adorable 🥰

I’m deep in summer vibes right now and would love to read some of your headcanons (or anything else that you feel like writing) for this idea! However if this ask doesn’t vibe with you, no worries at all.

Ooh, I love it! I foresee FLUFF! I threw together some headcanons and a fic because I could not resist:

Warnings: None! Fluff, kissing, love confessions, and one sweet, sweet Duros

Word count: 1.7+

If Shriv took you on a vacation to Glee Anselm, he would pay for everything.

He would try his best to make it special since you rarely get any time together as is.

He’s a bit of a romantic, but he doesn’t show that side of himself as often as he might like because ultimately he is afraid of rejection.

I headcanon he wouldn’t be the one to make a love confession; he would wait on you, but I am going to break my own HC for fun here.

If you rile him up, he might chase you down the beach and tackle you ( gently ) into the sand dunes so you can make out under the warm rays of the sun.

He probably wears a goofy hat to shade his sensitive eyes. I can see him with a streak of sunscreen down his rostrum.

He’ll definitely have a splash fight with you once he gets you in the ocean.

If he feels something, anything, brush up against his leg unexpectantly he’s getting out ASAP.

The first time he sees you in your bathing suit he goes bluescreen for a good ten seconds.

Cuddling with him on a hot summer’s day is actually quite pleasant. His microscales are cold, thus cooling you down.

Shriv has broad shoulders and muscular arms, and he looks AMAZING without a shirt on. His pecs are firm, but he has the tiniest hint of a pooch and it’s the cutest thing when he’s only wearing his swim trunks.

Shriv can actually catch fish with his BARE HANDS. He does this to impress you. His expert eyesight and quick predatory reflexes enables him to do so, as Duros were avid hunters back in the day and Duro was a subtropical planet with beautiful oceans. Too bad its gone to snot.

He’ll watch the sunset with you and pretend to yawn so he can wrap his arm around you. Not that he hasn’t held you before – maybe he just feels like being silly.

Expect a purr or a rumble out of him at this point because the day has gone perfect, and he is one content Duros.

Shriv just couldn’t take it anymore; the stress was killing him, and the fact you two hadn’t been able to find any time together. He had begged General Merrick for a few days off and his request was granted; the Alliance favored Shriv enough to give him what he wanted on this occasion. Besides, the Death Star had been destroyed; the fleet had all fled from Yavin 4. They were safe for now; the Empire had lost your scent once you left the surface to make your way towards Hoth.

Now was as good a time as any, besides, Leia had struck out on her own adventures against the wishes of the leadership. Neither of you wanted to be there for the drama that would undoubtedly unfold. Sure, you had left your cohort in a lurch, but you’d be gone less than a week! You both might have felt guilty, but this was a necessary evil for your sanity; the show would go on, as the saying goes.

Glee Anselm was an oceanic planet, speckled with sparse Islands that was home to one of its native species, the other living beneath the waves; Nautolans, who were a rather peaceful bunch.

Shriv had shelled out the credits and you had hitched a ride off planet. You had flown to the Fath sector, found your way to the THX1138 Spaceport, then boarded a StarSpeeder 3000 to begin your vacation hosted via the Space Tours Travel Agency. It was aptly named the “Getaway package” and you both were thrilled to do just that. This vacation was well-deserved, and you were already beside yourself in happiness.

You had both taken a dip beneath the waves; you had splashed each other, and you found yourself giggling all the while. As it turns out, Duros were excellent swimmers; faster than you could ever be - you felt that you learned something new about Shriv everyday; you wouldn’t have it any other way.

He was just so … fascinating; captivating, but there was more to it than that. You loved him; he had a good heart and he filled yours. You were nervous, but you had questions, ideas, and you weren’t trying to rush him, but there were some things you had to know.

He had chased you through the sand, declaring he was going to catch you; you did your best to escape his clutches, but you had wanted to be apprehended; to be encased in Suurgav’s big strong arms.

He had tackled you in the sand dunes; the moisture of the sea still clinging to your warm, soft skin. The tiny granules stuck to you, but in that moment you didn’t care.

He had playfully nipped at you, but he caught thin air instead. He was very aware of his reptilian-like teeth and would never dream of hurting you.

You had a picnic; foodstuffs picked up from a local market stall. It was something light, as he said he had dinner plans for you…

You felt so relaxed as you sat beside him, more so than you had in years. Your eyes briefly focused on something else as you watched an elegant avian flying out above the sparkling blue of this planet’s ocean.

You glanced to him and smiled; he was wearing nothing but his swimming trunks and a goofy bucket hat to shade his eyes, overly large to accommodate his head - he had picked it up at the local gift shop.

The sun was bright here; his vision was sensitive, especially after residing most days in the darkness of deep space. He was caught off guard by your sudden appraisal of him, though he cracked a joke – he knew you well enough.

“There’s more interesting things to look at here than me, sweetheart. We paid good money for this view! Don’t let it go to waste! Who knows if we’ll get another chaance.” He was being honest; the truth was harsh, though he broke through the sad reality by masking it with his sense of humor.

Being part of a rebellion meant that you could die at any time, maybe you wouldn’t have a future, but it would be nice to contemplate it; to lead a full life with Shriv at your side would be sublime.

“The only view I care about is you.”

The Duros had drawn a canteen to his lips; he sputtered, nearly gagging on his water. You never failed to make him blush, despite having been a couple for a year now.

His cheeks had turned a darker shade of blue. He set his canteen down. He motioned for you with both hands. “Come here, you.”

You crawled forward across your beach towel to sit closer to him. He used the muscles of his broad shoulders and his well-toned biceps to sit you on his lap point blank. He drew you in; he placed his forehead against yours the best he could while still adorned in that silly hat, then he gently pressed the smooth plane of his uniquely Durosian features across your human nose.

“You’re too nice to me. I’d ask what the end game is, but sometimes I think you actually like me.”

“I know you’re just kidding, Shriv.”

He was quiet then; the silence bothered you. “You are, aren’t you?”

“Yeah …” The single word trailed off; your heart was aching. He thought so lowly of himself sometimes. It made you sad, and you were empathetic. You shed a single tear, though Shriv had felt it. It wetted his bare chest as it rolled off and down your face.

He shifted, pulling you away from his naturally cold embrace, though in the heat of the noonday sun it had felt so good. “Did I – are you - I’m s-sorry…It’s just …”

You were frowning at him; pouting, and it only made him match your expression. He suddenly felt terrible, though he had to get it out.

“It’s just I really, really, like you and… well, I’m lying. I don’t like you.”

You mildly gasped – was he breaking up with you?”

“Wait, no! - What I mean is…” Suurgav bit his lip, the tips of his pointed fangs appearing. “Fierfek, I’m no good at thiss…”

You lightly touched his cheek; you guided him to look into your eyes. He felt choked up, though he finally managed to say his piece.

“I-I sort of … love you…I … hope t-that’s OK.”

He saw the look of shock across your face; you had waited weeks; months to hear this. What felt like ages. You had loved him from day one, though you had kept your mouth shut – Shriv took it the opposite, his brow ridge knitting as he looked down and away; suddenly ashamed.

“Ah hells, I’m s-sorry.. I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward. Of course, it’s totally fine if you don’t feel the saame. I just… daydream sometimes, about the future, and-”

“Shriv…” You took his chin up and made him look at you; you were crying fully now, yet it was out of happiness.

“I love you too, you laserbrain.”

He mildly gasped, his eyes averting for a moment as he was overcome. He slumped his shoulders as he unexpectantly felt shy, though his crimson gaze rose to meet your eyes.

“Oh …” he trailed off, seemingly embarrassed; lost for words; incapable of coherent thought as it finally registered.

“Hey, don’t cry …” He wiped your tears away with his spindly thumb, mustering a smile though he felt like crying, too.

“Look at us, a couple of sappy dweezers.”

You couldn’t help yourself; you lurched forward and encapsulated his cheeks between your hands. You kissed him with such force you knocked him backwards. His hat fell off; he blinked in surprise before he closed his eyelids. He melted into it and sighed.

You pulled away to tease. “Come on Shriv, let’s go get a room.”

“But Fullua, we already have a-” he caught himself, catching on rather quickly for once. He smirked at you, shaking his head an iota in a façade of disapproval.

“You’re trouble, aren’t you?”

“The best kind.” you replied.

-----

Masterlist

#Shriv Suurgav #Shriv #Shriv Suurgav x Reader #Shriv Suurgav x You #headcanons #Star Wars #Fluff #Star Wars Fluff #Duros #Star Wars Battlefront 2 #alliance to restore the republic #My writing

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no0dlru · 4 years

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8, 17, 25, 27?

Aaa tysm ^^

Favourite daydream: ... I was watching some lectures explaining Lacanian analysis a while back, and there was a quote (probably Zizek I can't remember) saying smth like "we all have no problem telling each other 'I had the strangest dream - this happened, that happened', but if someone asks 'what were you just daydreaming about?' That's a much more personal question... In that way, if you want to get to the real of someone, fantasy is a much better indicator than the subconscious,". So... I'm not about to go posting my fundamental fantasy on tumblr dot com haha..

My second favourite daydream is thinking about the plot for a dystopian novel I want to write. So far it's about someone who works for a state surveillance agency where the workers are on emotion-suppression drugs, kinda similar to Etracene in THX1138, as well as ones which alter perception of time so they can watch 24 hours of surveillance in like a 14 hour shift, and another that allows them to process a stupid amount of stimuli. Like, metal gear solid meets MKultra style surveillance supersoldiers. They work 4 months on 2 months off, and take another short course of drugs when their work months end to supress memories of work during time off.

The agent's job is not only to survey a given subject and flag any possible criminal intent, but mainly to aid development of a behaviour prediction system using all the data available to the surveillance agency. In those drugged-up 14 hours, there's a constant feed of any CCTV while the subject is out in public, phone camera footage, whatever is visible on the subject's PC or phone (furthermore, eye tracking), transactions, keyloggers etc. The agent's job is to be increasingly accurate in predicting the subjects intentions and actions. This is being developed for both security and, later, possibly marketing.

One day his emotion suppressants stop working - he assumes its a bad batch and keeps working, but finds his job performance is fantastic, and he slowly realises his increased accuracy in predicting the actions of the subject are because he's fallen "in love". He knows he has these 2 months off approaching, and intends to spend it holidaying near the subject, but as his performance record is looking so promising, he's been redirected to someone new after the break. He can't bear the jealousy of someone else surveying the subject, he's torn by his own morality of using this person he's become so fond of, and he also knows that this new agent will likely be able to tell he's been purposefully treating this case differently, so he goes rogue.

I'm not sure how I'm gonna do it, but the premise is that he doesn't actually take the memory suppressants and tries to find a way to contact the subject and uses both the security agency's drugs plus his knowledge of the subject to covertly guide them through the process of escaping surveillance.

The agent is meant to be a really morally ambiguous character, so if you're thinking that's a bit fucked for a protagonist, dw it's kinda intended.

Sorry, that was long and a total mess, but yea somethin like that. That's not all my ideas for it obvs, but, yea..

(Another) unpopular opinion: uuuuhhhrrr.. Stockings > tights!! The top shorts-like portion of tights is usually really awkward, and you have to spend ages carefully pulling all the fabric right up from your feet to your thighs - taking special care not to ladder the fabric - so that the crotch sits snugly and comfortably. Fuck that shit!! Plus, when you need the toilet you have to fuck around with all of that again. Stockings and garter? Your pants are accessible AND your hold ups are held tf up. Also, ladder one leg? The other one is still fine! No need to throw both away! Its practical, stlyish, feminine and maneuverable. No annoying elasticated pressure all over your belly either! You can mix and match everything too!

Quiet nights in or nights out: nights out purely cause they're so few and far between. I rarely ever have a proper night out, but I absolutely love it if I'm with good friends - getting ready, pre drinks, the buzz of a good venue - I've only ever gone clubbing a couple of times before the pandemic hit, so the prospect of dancing for hours in an underground venue, sweating, spilling drinks, cutting shapes, with some loud house or techno or jungle or - hell, fuck it, I'd even enjoy the lame drum and bass that's usually on locally at this point - I just feel like gigs and clubbing is the biggest thing I'm missing out on of my 20s rn.

If I could get a tattoo what would it be?: I really want the NSK insignia, likely on my shoulder/bicep. I want to always carry and proudly display that devotion, since art is a higher mission which demands fanaticism.

#Sorry that one was ridiculously long 😳

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lhne · 5 years

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James Turrell’s Into the Light at Mass MoCA

The first time I visited the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, also known as MASS MoCA, I was almost overwhelmed by the space, stupefied by the immensity of, well, everything. MASS MoCA contains the largest contemporary installation space in America and thus offers a massive amount of room to explore a singular concept. This became evident as I delved into the work of James Turrell, which I was seeing for the first time. MASS MoCA had launched a retrospective of Turrell’s work, Into the Light. I was particularly interested in the centerpiece of the retrospective, a work entitled “Perfectly Clear”(1991) but I also visited an earlier work, “Hind Sight” (1984). In all, there were five installations of Turrell’s work in the retrospective, testament to just how much space MASS MoCA now has.

If you know Turrell’s work, you know that it deploys light in disorienting ways. All I could think about, in my initial response to it, was THX 1138, an early George Lucas film about a post-apocalyptic, Orwellian future, where humans live underground in a highly organized and technically advanced society, in which love is forbidden. When the protagonist, THX 1138, does fall in love, he is sent to a limbo jail, in which he wanders endlessly (fig 1,2). No matter which direction he travels in the white space, he ends up right back to where he started, like a glitch: a ghost in the shell.

Fig. 1 From THX 1138

Fig. 2 From THX 1138

It is easy for me to create a connection between a fragmented digital rendering--which I will refer to as a “glitch” or a “ghost in the shell”--and a negative feedback loop created in the human mind. Not only does Turrell’s use of light recall the sixties and seventies era of science fiction in film, but it seeks to force viewers into their own panopticon-like, subconscious hell.

Fig. 3 Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Here I am thinking about 2001: A Space Odyssey in addition to THX 1138. In that earlier, 1968 masterpiece, David Bowman (the protagonist) is taken to a limbo space which Turrell’s work reminds me of. There is little agreement about what actually happens in 2001: A Space Odyssey, but my view is that Bowman ends up in an alien zoo as a result of the failure of the computer Hal (fig 3), which because of a glitch, a ghost in the shell, rejects its human programming and fails to deliver Bowman to his new imprisonment in what appears to be a timeless space. Perhaps Hal’s failure makes Bowman lose his mind, so that he can be more easily transmuted into his new holding cell. Although there are more human artifacts in this film’s landscape than in that of THX 1138, the room where Bowman resides (fig 4) nevertheless looks and feels disorienting. As an actual living space, it’s an illusion.

Fig. 4 From 2001: A Space Odd

The limbo-jails in THX1138 and 2001: A Space Odyssey parallel, to a remarkable degree, the installation of Turrell’s “Perfectly Clear,” with its cornerless walls creating a kind of white vacuum. I wonder if Turrell’s piece is meant to be likened to a zoo, or was he trying to create a feeling of transcendence? Turrell’s retrospective appeals to me because I am curious about the idea of hell spaces. Both “Hind Sight” and “Perfectly Clear” can be an intolerable and uncomfortable imprisonment, similar to what THX 1138 and Bowman suffered in their respective limbos. But for some people they can offer a kind of transcendence. In a sense it depends on how prepared they are. Voluntarily entering a space that feels like a vacuum can lead to real insight if we have prepared ourselves for the experience. But when an individual is not ready to for the self-exploration that these environments occasion, the result can be disturbing. When I experienced “Perfectly Clear,” I was afraid to let my eyes lose focus. I concentrated on seeing the seams in the room, which in fact was meant to be perceived as both seamless and without corners. Granted, the loss of focus can lead to a gain in insight. But I was scared of having a seizure or passing out. Moreover, Turrell’s work seems to command time and patience, which for some reason I felt like I did not have. I lacked the attention span that the work seemed to require of me. You can merely walk past or through a Turrell piece and say, Yes it was large and dark, or Yes it was large and bright. But in my first go through “Perfectly Clear,” I thought mostly of how I looked as I stood there. I thought of value. Who was valuable enough or well versed enough to stand here and consume the spectacle? Who had the correct baggage to process this information? I kept thinking about the types of people who were in the space with me and if they knew something I did not. My experience of “Hind Sight” was different. In fact, the contrast between “Hind Sight” and “Perfectly Clear” seemed to me a remarkable feat of curation. Indeed, “Hind Sight” became the most exceptional experience I have sustained in some number of years. When the docent told me to cross the threshold and enter this labyrinthian installation, where each turn blocked more and more light, I was completely elated and aroused, especially since I was leaving more and more light behind me. What was this space? No one had accompanied me. Could a gallery attendant have been watching me with infrared goggles? What is the value of this piece if I damaged it? Why would I want to damage it? Should I touch myself, my breast? Can I fart? Shall I get naked? I was allotted fourteen minutes to do nothing but sit in a darkness so complete I could not see the hand in front of my face. I could, conceivably, do anything I wanted for fourteen minutes--the amount of time it takes a human to see something in the dark, apparently. The amount of time it takes for an individual to pick up on what Turrell seems to have left behind. I sat still, my knees to my chest. I saw a light far, far away. There probably wasn’t a light. No, there was a light, I’m sure. Maybe not. Ok, there was a light and now I am beginning to see a kaleidoscopic effect. How interesting I thought. There were faces, so many faces, almost too many patterns. It was all moving quickly. I was out of breath at how frightened and elated I had become from the near incessant stream of visuals I was observing out of that singular, faint light. Then a voice from far off, from outside of this beautiful, cozy cave, calls to me. She tells me it is time to return. Like Orpheus leaving Eurydice in the hollows of Hades, I pull myself so pitifully back into the light. Interestingly, I watched several people bail out of “Hind Sight”. Was this because it created a sort of existential crisis? Were those who abandoned “Hind Sight” facing themselves in a void? Were they unable to make peace with their pasts and its transgressions? Can viewers handle what the colors and lights and darkness trigger in their mind?

After emerging from “Hind Sight,” I believed I had almost understood what it was Turrell wanted to explain to the audience. When I saw my lady docent I exclaimed, Tell me! What was being projected, a turning wheel in the light like a slide, or perhaps a viewmaster? She smiled and said, Nope. I exclaimed, Well what then? She said it is a little part of the wall they had sanded, illuminated by a cheap, faint light bulb—the source of all that panic and imagery that I have been experiencing a moment before.

As I read more about Turrell’s process and background, I am beginning to think that these pieces are designed to create a space where we can merely watch ourselves in a purer form, removed from objecthood, and interact more totally with our own perception of space-time. Whatever the case, “Perfectly Clear” and “Hind Sight” make it easier to understand why the Guggenheim describes Turrell’s work as “speaking to the materialism of light.”

Yasamin Safarzadeh is a native Angelino who has moved to Manchester, New Hampshire to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree and begin a new life on the East Coast. A published poet and art educator, Yasamin has always been drawn to underserved populations because of her background as a first generation American whose family escaped a country torn apart by revolution and coups.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, Yasamin has been working for the Currier Art Museum and YWCA to create accessibility to arts and career opportunities for underserved populations. In addition, she works to create safe spaces and events for the LGBTQ+ community and has been archiving and digitizing YWCA New Hampshire's rich history. She also works for The Dancing Lion, which brings so much pleasure to chocolate connoisseurs globally.

Photo by Arnold Imaging LLC

About the LHNE Collective

#James Turrell #mass moca

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nilemartinsound · 6 years

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Rule of Three

Speaking in an interview with Vincent LoBrutto Walter Murch explains how he created the sounds of the robots in THX1138.

“….We didn’t have access to Foley in those days, so everything had to be recorded separately and then put in sync by hand. I had all these footsteps to sync up. It was kind of daunting because you have to sit there cutting up every footstep in, but to my relief I found there’s a certain threshold where the mind simply rolls over and allows anything to happen, and that point seems to occur somewhere between the number two and three. If you have one robot walking down a hallway, the feet need to be in sync. If you have two robots walking down a hallway, the feet still need to be in sync. If you have three robots walking down the hallway, the mind basically says, “You expect me to watch every footfall and decide whether that sound goes with it? I’m not going to do it.” Therefor you can get away with nothing being in sync. You can put up the soundtrack, and not one foot hits at the time of the sound, and you’ll look at the film and say “that’s perfectly in sync.” I began to see this in other areas-not just sound. An example is the Chinese symbol for tree. It’s a stick and it looks like a pine tree. The symbol for forest is three of these together. The point is it’s not two, its four, it’s not eight, and it’s three. So the difference between forest and tree happens between the numbers two and three. By the time you get to three, it’s already happened, it has become the group.”

I found this Particularly interesting, how the brain can be tricked by something as simple as three of the same thing. is this reality that easy to manipulate? and how can I play with that within my work.

This golden number of three can be seen everywhere; literature, religion, science and many more. For example the christian doctrine of The Holy Trinity states that God is one God but within three hypostases; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

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talkstarwars · 7 years

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40 Years Of Greatness

40 years ago today the first lucky cinema goers got to see Star Wars, a new science fiction space opera on the big screen, and everything changed. I was five, and this film became my world. Today Star Wars is a huge part of my daily life, and I couldn't be happier...

In 1977 an ambitious filmmaker released a film that would change everything. Star Wars, a film that beat the odds in getting made, would, over the years, go on to change the way films were made, promoted and distributed. Special effects company ILM would go from miniatures and puppets to computer generated special effects and characters and back again. Director George Lucas would develop non-linear editing, make digital cinematography an industry standard and build his own empire with the proceeds of tiny plastic action figures and eventually sell it all to Disney for multiple billions of dollars.

But Star Wars is so much more that these bookmarks in cinema history.

As a five year boy my dad would take me to see Star Wars, because he had an interest in the special effects and model making involved, and he knew I'd love it too. For me, the experience was earth shattering. My mum reminded me over the years how the five year old version of me came home and attempted to recount the entire movie in half finished sentences and improvised sound effects. This movie was quite simply joy to a five year old boy.

That joy would be played out daily with my 3 3/4 inch plastic action figures from Kenner and Palitoy. A collection that would be updated weekly with a new addition. This was George's attempt to; A, keep the movie alive in the minds of his target audience and B, finance his independence as a filmmaker. Both gambits worked with the 1980 sequel being largely independent and Skywalker Ranch, and filmmaker Mecca, breaking ground not long after. All financed through the passion of small boys like me, and the generosity of their loving parents.

Graffiti

Star Wars would be a gateway movie for me. The sequels, of course became a huge part of my life, as would the earlier efforts of George Lucas. I remember one day my mum saying, "I recorded something for you. It's called American Graffiti. The man who made Star Wars made it." For the younger readers, recording would be done on tape in those days. I know right? This was thirteen year old me by this time and the movie in question was the same age, almost to the day., and I loved it. I'll admit, I hadn't given much thought to the making of films and the fact that George Lucas, a name I had seen onscreen numerous times, had other work was a revelation for me.

Graffiti would lead to THX1138, which would teach me about Francis Ford Copolla and American Zoetrope, which would lead to The Godfather, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Close Encounters and on and on and on...

Star Wars opened up a world of film to me and before you knew it I was hooked. Star Wars was a staple for me as a film lover, and when home video became a thing in the mid to late 80s (we were late to the party as a family) the Star Wars movies would be my first purchases. it started with Star Wars (1977) in a CBS Fox All Time Greats edition, but would lead to pilgrimages into town on the bus, on my own, with my grubby pound notes in hand, to purchase the sequels.

Empire and Jedi came out on VHS sometime after Star Wars, and as a kid, with limited finances, I would spend far too long weighing up which of the two movies I should buy first. My inner completest eventually decided to buy Empire and suddenly my video library was up and running. Over the years I would buy Star Wars on every platform, in multiple versions, Widescreen, THX remastered, DVD and BluRay and now iTunes digital. I simply can't seem to get enough.

Watching Solo

I think its fair to say that at certain points in my life Star Wars has moved to the background. I remember it still being a large part of my life in the early 1990s, but it would become background noise until Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace hit theatres at the end of that decade. When the prequels hit I had to go to extraordinary lengths to keep up with the news. I purchased an unreasonable amount of print media to follow the production of Episode I and had to beg and plead to watch the trailer on the PCs of those lucky enough to have access to the still nascent internet.

By the time of Star Wars Episode II Attack Of The Clones I had access to the 'net via a games console and would spend hours waiting for low res images from behind the scenes to load up followed by my oops and ahhhhhs. This would be the first opening day trip to a Star Wars movie for me, with tickets booked well in advance, along with the requisite time off of work. I booked two shows, back to back. Star Wars was back, and I was in deep.

Star Wars Episode III Revenge Of The Sith came to theatres when I was working as a 35mm projectionist. It couldn't have been better. My passion for film, which had started with Star Wars, had lead me to a job where I got to see every trailer onscreen, first. Sometimes I would splice all the trailers together and we would go sit in a theatre and watch them through, one after the other, This would be followed by intense discussion about what we had just seen. I still have some of those 35mm trailers somewhere. When the film was finally released, I was lucky enough to "build" a print. This meant I had to splice each reel together, taking care to "bloop" the reel joins and remove any "lab splices" to ensure the ultimate experience for those watching my print. Print number 001.

I watched Star Wars Episode III Revenge Of The Sith ahead of its release, on a huge screen, with incredible sound. Completely. And utterly. Alone. The five year old boy, the kid who bused into town to buy films on VHS, had managed to find a way to enjoy the final Star Wars movie, in the most incredible way. What a way to say goodbye to Star Wars. Forever...

Acquisition

I remember where I was when I heard that Star Wars had been acquired by Disney along with Lucasfilm and the Indiana Jones IP. I was standing next to the office manager's desk and the news buzzed through the office. I went straight to the internet, now in my pocket, and had it confirmed, Star Wars was back, with Disney promising more movies, probably a lot more. And we were off...

I had allowed Star Wars to retreat into the background once more, after Star Wars Episode III Revenge Of The Sith. I had built a modest home theatre in my basement at home, years earlier and it had some Star Wars memorabilia dotted around, and I had viewings of the movies from time to time, but my attention had shifted somewhat. A few years before the Disney news, I had started to enjoy podcasts and I had a Star Wars show in my weekly rotation. But I hadn't really been following the Clone Wars very closely. I was moving on until the Disney news hit. Then I was pulled back in.

As news of the new Star Wars movies started to pick up, I started to contribute to the cacophony surrounding the new films. It started with a Tumblr blog, then a Flipboard magazine, a website with friends and a podcast. Eventually, after a couple of false starts I would double down and launch Talk Star Wars, just in time to cover The Force Awakens as it hit theatres. Now with numerous contributors, podcasts and a stunning community of Star Wars fans, I feel like I'm just getting started in celebrating this franchise. A franchise that's been a part of my life for four decades. Every day is Star Wars focused for me now. I start each day by reviewing a tidal wave of Google Alerts and then recording an episode of my daily podcast, the TSW Kessel Run, and finding things to talk about is rarely and issue. Every week I get to record a weekly podcast with some of my favourite people in world, people who also love this franchise and wax lyrical about it in a way that enhances my experience exponentially. I and fortunate enough to have friends all over the world who share their thoughts and feelings about Star Wars past, present and future with me daily. All because one guy took a chance forty odd years ago and made the thing he felt passionately about.

Star Wars made me the guy I am today. Gave me something that now defines my life. It is a consuming passion, 40 years of greatness that is still a huge part of my life today, and I couldn't be happier.

George Lucas, thank you for giving that five year old by the best gift in the galaxy, the gift that keeps on giving.

Thank you for reading,

Marc

#Star Wars #40th Anniversary #George Lucas

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ber39james · 7 years

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Sneaky, Nerdy Ways to Celebrate Star Wars Day

Star Wars Day is a unique gift to both Star Wars fans and wordplay fans, giving us the opportunity to wish friend and foe alike, “May the Fourth be with you.”

Even if you live here on Earth and not in a galaxy far, far away, there are still ways to make sure that the Force is strong with you this May the Fourth. Maybe you incorporate subtle references into your day at the office, or change your speech habits. Maybe you just throw a #StarWarsDay into your preferred social media venue. And there are always lightsaber battles.

To get you on your way, here are thirty-one ways to feel the Force flowing through you this #StarWarsDay.

1 Show up to work as Darth Vader. Or, if you’re not the boss and don’t want to appear insubordinate, a stormtrooper. Those bucketheads fit right in in the workplace.

2 Don’t have a helmet handy? Try a slightly more subtle costume. For example: black vest over a white shirt, tan jacket with khakis, khakis and white v-neck, or brown bathrobe.

3 Insert a random, irreverent gif into a work email. For example:

Cats with lightsabers

Bears with lightsabers

Disco-dancing Chewbacca

4 Put blue food coloring in your milk. It may not be from a Bantha, but even Jedi need their calcium.

5 Get Han Solo legos and freeze them in ice cubes for a carbonite cocktail. If you’re ready for commitment, you can even buy an ice cube tray with that scoundrel’s outline already built in. Just don’t let Boba Fett get to him first.

6 Other drink ideas: there’s the Hoth Toddy, the Qui-Gon Jinn and Tonic, the Dark and Stormy Trooper, and more. And don’t imbibe them without first getting the perfect cups.

7 Listen to John Williams’ score to boost your mood while you sit at the computer. Need a bigger boost? Listen to Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes play the Cantina song on loop for ten hours. Repeat as needed.

youtube

8 Try not to speak English for a full day. Some alternate language ideas:

“Utinni!” (Jawaese for “Wow”)

“Wee now kong bantha poodoo.” (Huttese for “Now you’re bantha fodder.”)

“Huuguughghg raaaaaahhgh huuguughghg uughguughhhghghghhhgh huuguughghg huurh aarrragghuuhw.” (Shyriiwook for “That was a scintillating presentation.” Get your own Wookiee translations here.)

9 Still not satisfied with a subtle costume? Check out some of the cosplay creations from the Star Wars Celebration a few weeks back. You never know—Salacious Crumb just might be a major help in the office.

10 Everyone likes the gal or guy who brings food to work. Especially pastries. Especially sticky buns shaped like Princess Leia’s hair.

11 Work “I have a bad feeling about this” into casual conversation. Or, if things get really rough, “it’s a trap!”

12 You never know where in the galaxy you might have a secret father, sister, or other relative, so get your DNA tested with 23andMe. If you find any new relatives, make sure you reveal your relationship after having a brutal Force battle and cutting off their favorite limb.

13 Ride a tauntaun to work. Snow lizards not native to your habitat? No problem. Take a broomstick, an alpaca mask, and some ram horns, stick them all together, and you’ve got your transport. Just remember: they smell bad on the outside, but the inside is worse.

14 If someone gets on your bad side, diss them good with one of these classic Star Wars insults:

Slimy piece of worm-ridden filth

Nearsighted scrap pile

Walking carpet

Mindless philosopher

Overweight glob of grease

Slimy, double-crossing, no-good swindler

Fuzzball

Scoundrel

Goldenrod

Scum

Malfunctioning little twerp

Stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder

15 If you want to get out of doing something, say “But I was going to Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!”

16 Change all your passwords to THX1138.

17 Refer to anyone subordinate to you as “Padawan,” and call your superiors “Master,” “Lord,” or (preferably) “Grand Moff.” If you call your boss “Emperor,” just prepare for the repercussions.

18 Set the Imperial March as your ringtone.

19 You can have a lightsaber battle with any number of everyday objects. For example:

Highlighters

Rulers

Pencils

Bananas

Rolled-up yoga mats

Actual lightsabers. Maybe, just maybe, that’s in the realm of possibility.

20 Find (or become) a mentor. Star Wars is all about making connections with people (or aliens), learning how to forge your own path, and occasionally lifting rocks with your mind while you’re upside down. If you’re picking a mentee, just make sure you do a quick midichlorian count first.

21 Drape a brown sheet around yourself and pick up trash on the side of the road. Bonus if you can find droid bits in a sandlot.

22 Feeling unproductive? Blame it on having a bad motivator.

23 If you’re a Star Wars someplace where it’s cold, build a snow fort. Not everyone gets to celebrate Star Wars Day on Hoth.

24 Read How Star Wars Conquered the Universe. It’s a history of the franchise, an encyclopedia of the Star Wars galaxy, and a fan’s dream come true.

25 Try your hand—and your telekinesis—at “vadering.” (If you’re in the workplace, maybe make sure you get consent first).

26 Watch the fan-made version of A New Hope, a YouTube masterpiece that breaks the original movie into thirty-second chunks and features hundreds of artistic approaches to retelling the story. Between the trash-can R2-D2s, glued-on Obi-Wan beards, and fan-created animations, it’s pretty much a new art form.

27 Start (or continue) your countdown to Episode VIII. As of May 4, it’s 224 days until December 15.

28 On a similar note, watch the trailer for The Last Jedi. A few hundred times. Dissect every moment. Post your predictions on fan boards. Check your countdown: rats, it’s still 224.

29 Change your email auto-signature to MTFBWY.

30 Tough project at work? Let Yoda inspire you: “Do, or do not. There is no try.”

31 May the Fourth not enough for you? In some circles, tomorrow is known as Revenge of the Fifth. It’s an opportunity to join the dark side and celebrate all the Sith Lords doing their best to exploit the power of the Force for their own gain. Just don’t be seduced by the dark side. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Plus, May 6 is just a normal day.

Star Wars Day may happen only once a year, but remember: the Fourth will be with you. Always.

The post Sneaky, Nerdy Ways to Celebrate Star Wars Day appeared first on Grammarly Blog.

from Grammarly Blog https://www.grammarly.com/blog/star-wars-day-at-work/

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arthur36domingo · 7 years