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[year3atual]

Final summary statement

A Concise Description of the Project

An examination of mise en scene in set design.

A List of My Submission Elements

3D film set.

The key things I learned from doing the project (professional, personal, organizational and technical skills)

Planning large scale projects.

Working with professionals in different fields

Implementing illustration into final project

Composition in 3D

Constructing miniatures

Model-making

3D scanning

Any opportunities I have had to liaise or show my work to other designers, thinkers, professional bodies

I had contact with and feedback from:

Rapido 3D

Paul Strutt

Adrian Hardy

BRADLEY&PABLO

Any opportunities I had to test my work, and/or elicit feedback from my audience

I have shown my work to several of the professionals I have contacted and also shown it to fellow students at Chelsea. I was given useful feedback from Adrian Hardy on how to light the set and construct the models in a way that the lighting will illuminate them effectively.

Ways in which my project might influence my future career or ongoing learning

I have learned to work on my strengths more such as drawing. I have also learned how to be more decisive with project management. I will definitely be collaborating more with practitioners outside my area of study. Paul Strutt has offered to introduce me to set designers in the film industry, based on my work in this project.

[year3atual]

Final Major Project 2019

Project Summary

To respond to the lack of emotion in modern cinema and the ultra realism in film by exploring early film sets and how they told stories and transported you to other worlds.

Context

The project was inspired by art director Walter Reimann who said film should not try to imitate reality but should create its own world through the simple means of stagecraft. He repeatedly pointed out the distinct differences between actual architecture and film sets and insisted that the term film architecture should be replaced by film painting.

Research Focus

Cinema language 

Montage theory 

Story telling 

Audience

Film people and general public

Media

C4d

Film 

Paper craft

Photoshop

Model making

Carpentry

Electrical engineering

Outcome

Film or diorama based around the illusion of space

Professional Practice

Film theorists

People who had worked on older films

Technicians

[year3atual]

I have been constructing the set. I have just received the box back, which has been made to my specifications. In order to see the set when the fabric is placed over your head, I have had to set up small LED lights on the side.

Adrian suggested this method to make the cutouts more 3D. 

The illustrations themselves are looking really nice within the box, but I think I need to layer them in a way that will give depth. By just having them as 2d cut-outs they do not interact with the light.

EDIT

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Out of the nine circles of hell, I picked out key elements to evoke the scene of the story.  (Originally I was going to incorporate all nine circles but after doing many drawings and mock-ups, the scene looked way too cluttered.) For the first circle, (Limbo), I drew broken Greek statues as this circle is for the men and women who existed in pre-Christian times and therefore cannot enter Heaven or Hell.

In the second circle (Lust) I drew naked women to symbolize the vice.

In the third circle (Gluttony) the people were pounded by rain and sewage so much that they were unable to move: in my drawings they have been hit by rain so much that they have been turned into sludge.

For the fourth circle (Greed) the men on the sides are jousting and pushing boulders.

In the seventh circle (Violence) the suicides were turned into trees; I drew a stylized interpretation of two tree people and placed them in the center of the scene.

For the ninth circle (Betrayal/Treachery) hands are drawn coming up from the ground, where people were buried in frozen water.

In the center of the scene are Virgil and Dante.

[year3atual]

I have been working on the drawing for the set and this is what I’ve created so far. It’s becoming harder to work on this image, as it doesn’t have depth, so I’m thinking of adding to it after this part is made in 3D.

The illustration is symmetrical as I wanted to create the feeling of a continuous window. An artist that David showed did a similar thing, giving his work a feeling of infinity, that sucks you in.

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Out of the two designs that I have made so far, I am personally interested by the more cinematic option, which is the box with a viewing hole. What I like about this is how it cuts you off from the rest of the world, almost like a real cinema. When looking through the hole you are only aware of the world you are seeing.

Though I am wondering if there is a way of doing this without the limited view of the hole, like I said I like how the hole blocks out the rest of the world, I just wish there was a way of making it work while allowing you to move your head around.

So I have created a new prototype on a larger scale, incorporating a curtain that goes over your head like the fabric on a plate camera. This outcome feels perfect; I have created a plan with measurements for the final box and will send this to Adrian to be made.  

In the meantime, I will focus on creating the drawings for the scene from Dante’s ‘Inferno’ and will illustrate the 9 circles of Hell within the scene, like I said before, Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ uses a lot of environmental landmarks to guide the narrative. So I will be following them in order to create the set.

One of the aspects of the book that I like the most is how the human figures are warped into the environments of Hell; the illustrations I’ve done so far have been of organic objects such as trees and rocks but they also have a human quality to them which is subtle. They are somewhat hidden in the same way as the objects in Dr Caligari are hidden by the grotesque shadows. In particular, the shadows cast by the iron bars in the hospital scene, which appear at first to be distorted (as they look like giant hands) but are then established as shadows of the iron bars through our long exposure to the scene.

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For this project I wanted to contact someone who had worked on older films which had limitations that informed the set design, so I contacted Paul Strutt who worked on the original ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘The Devils’ by Ken Russell. When talking to him he suggested for me to re watch the opening scene of ‘The Devils’ as inspiration for how to emulate space.  Paul Strutt told me that Derek Jarman used a two-toned colour pallet for some of the sets, in order to exaggerate the size and space of the sets. He also suggested for me to look at theatre as well as film.

His help opened my mind up to the paper theatre idea. Paul recommended that I should order a Kays production manual, even though it is expensive as he thought it would be very beneficial for this project and for my future career. He said it would be a good starting point in giving me names of model makers that might be able to help me with this project. I took his advice and ordered a copy. From this I got the name of the 4D Modelshop in East London, this was a really useful shop that gave me advice on lighting and the best materials to use. They also have a website with model makers contact details on it.

I contacted Adrian Hardy who is a freelance model maker who has worked for the BBC, and copious editorial and advertising companies. What interested me was that he is a senior model maker for the theatre company ‘Dreamthinkspeak’, who create site responsive performance film model making and installations and has recently built a model of the Empress Theatre, Blackpool. I contacted him and he suggested that I needed to flesh out my ideas more; he recommended that I visit Mr Pollock’s theatre museum as they have a large collection of paper and small theatres. I found this inspiring and made two prototypes, one a theatre and one a black box with a small viewing hole and lights inside. Both had paper scenery models. Both designs were based on ideas from Mr Pollock’s.

[year3atual]

I’m re-thinking the project, as I am having a lot of difficulty in visualizing the idea in C4D. I have created some small experiments (which are the pictures above) but I am very dissatisfied with the outcomes. I think my problem comes from translating my drawn ideas into 3d. Possibly if I were to use software like Zbrush I would be able to create something closer to my images. The method that I have been using, which is also the method I’m most comfortable in, is a combination of 3d scanning and doing basic polygon modeling in C4D.

Considering that my drawings are creating something that is closer to my ideal outcome, it may make sense to focus on this form of making. I still want the final piece to be 3d so I am thinking about creating a paper theatre for my illustrations.

[year3atual]

Today I spent time modeling but found the limitations of time a problem, as it has become very hard to juggle software learning and making. I contacted several professional 3d scanners. I have not been successful in finding someone to work with, but I have been given some useful information that should help me in scanning objects. On the recommendation of Rapido 3D I bought a Lazy Susan (which is a small table that can be spun). I also found out that the quality of the camera does not determine the quality of the scan, but instead the amount of pictures taken determines the quality.  I need to aim for roughly 150 pictures for the best outcome.  I had a conversation with Superscan 3d who additionally advised on the project, telling me to shoot the scans in 0 light.

I have done some 3d scans using this method.

[year3atual]

For the final piece I needed to pick a subject matter or story for me to explore that could be told through scenery. I have chosen Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, for several reasons. One being that the story mixes fiction and fact. Real historical figures like Pope Nicholas III and Julius Caesar are placed next to creators from Greek and Roman mythology such as Cerberus.

Dante the author is also the protagonist of the book, which further blurs the lines between fiction and truth. With my final outcome the goal is to make something that is obviously fake but with the unease of reality. I am hopefully going to achieve this through lighting my having the set very dim, giving the impression of the unknown.

The other reason for choosing Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ is its defined narrative progression through geographic landmarks. Each circle of Hell in Dante’s ‘Inferno’ has some kind of distinct environment be it tree people or great icy lakes.

[year3atual]

Some of the creepiest stories are the ones that are the cheesiest; for example, ‘The Human Chair’ by Edogawa Ranpo, a short story about a man that stalks a famous writer by sewing himself into her chair. The premise is improbable but the idea is so weird and strange that it becomes disgustingly disturbing the more you think about it. The story works, as it is a book. Books leave out aspects of reality in order to create a more believable lie, but with films this is harder.

Horror films in particular are constantly fighting the medium they occupy; they tell stories of the unknown whilst working in a visual medium that contradicts the mystery of the unknown.

The more real and detailed the world is, the harder it is to tell a story that will dive into the unknown. If we take a look at the 1980s, a golden age for horror films: a lot of films like Nightmare On Elm Street and Evil Dead are made in a way that feels like live action cartoons.  Their separation from reality allows them to tell stories that may be considered unbelievable. If you compare the earlier entries to the later ones or remakes in these franchises, which aim for a more realistic tone, the original ideas then seem cheesy and dumb in these new films.

There is a certain freedom outside of reality, which can make horror more compelling. I want to explore this in my final piece.

[year3atual]

I just watched ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’, a silent horror film famous for its German expressionist sets. The film distorts space to the point that the familiar becomes disfigured. The circus tent of Dr. Caligari lacks the curves of the real world counterpart, and is turned into a nightmarish jagged cave.

The detail of the sets may keep the world from feeling detached from realty. But oddities like the strangely high chairs of the police and indistinct time period of the clothing, set the film in a foreign land. 

This changes towards the end of the film, where the world becomes even more bizarre. I was particularly interested in the more natural landscapes during this part. They don't even attempt to incorporate reality. Sheets of fabric and paper-mâché form rocky landscapes, painted trees that look cut out crowd the outer frame. 

This all contrasts the opening shot where the protagonist sits in a realistic garden. 

For the majority of the film, the viewer presumes the distortion of the world is due to it being a recounted memory and the oddities being the quirk of some strange foreign town. But as soon as the protagonist enters the bizarre hospital of Dr Calgary, the world becomes lost within a manic space. The twist of the film is soon revealed, being that it was all the dilution of a patient at the hospital of  Dr Calgary

The film is said to be one of the first horror films and is an example of the ‘unreliable narrator’ a trait of H.P Lovecraft’s books.

I really like how the sets themselves are used not just as a stylistic quirk, but are a key part of telling the twist end. When the protagonist reenters the hospital after the dream has ended it is still distorted. Places like the garden now represent something real but the twisted hospital is still stuck in the dream. It leads to you to still question what’s real and what’s not.

[year3atual]

Initially I wanted to make a film where the sets played a pivotal part in the telling of the story. I was interested in the work by directors such as Seijun Suzuki and Jacques Tati who use art direction to tell a story.

The plan was to film live action and incorporate actors into the sets made in Cinema 4D.  Although I was interested in the idea I realized that I would not be able to fulfill this concept in the time scale that I had.  The idea of sets telling a story was however a compelling idea that I wanted to explore more but in different mediums.

Art director Walter Reimann felt that film should not try to imitate reality, but instead it should create its own world through the simple means of stagecraft. He repeatedly pointed out the distinct differences between actual architecture and film sets and insisted that the term film architecture should be replaced by film painting. “In no way are film sets architecture! ... The film, the art of ‘optical’ illusion, needs utopia. It needs a set that is an utopian space, simulating the atmosphere of a space for the imagination”

Limitations of early cinema, maid sets a vital tall.  The uncanny valley of sets created worlds that boarded the line of realty, and fantasy. We knew these places were fake, but the illusion of cinema made them feel real.

Trading the clunky cameras of the past for more portable digital cameras has given film makers the ability to shoot realty but has limited the craft in some ways, it’s harder to find an autor. relty is not tally made like big studio sets.  

In this project I want to explore the trickery of set designing. And how it manipulates your ideas of space.

[year3atual]

The end of the Durex project

The Photoshoot went really really well, which was probably due to the amount of pre-planning I did, though a lot went wrong at the beginning. I expected the studio to be available for the whole afternoon but after talking to the technician it seemed I would only have it for one and a half hours; on top of this, I had staggered the arrival times of the models in order to give me a good 20 minutes to set up. The icing on the cake was that all the models texted to say that they were going to be late. After a lot of negotiating, I did get to extend the time in the studio.

The final outcomes were pretty amazing, but a small problem arose when doing the presentation pdf. I lacked any photos that could be used as a hero shot or filler for text-heavy pages. When planning the shoot I was more focused on creating a series of posters instead of presenting the work and idea as a whole. If I could redo the project I would have pre-planned the pdf.

Post-production on the final images was pretty simple, with the only changes being the removal of logos on power tools. After talking to Joe and David they suggested a safe for work version of the project. I spent some time working on this, first by pixellating the images but this removed a lot of the power. An additional idea was to cover the genitalia with a Durex condom pack but this muddied the message a bit. I did like this image though and thought about ways you could include a free condom in a magazine by sticking it over the crotch (like a free scent sample but for condoms). In the end, I re-worked the series of sports photos I took and placed the ball over the crotch.

[year3atual]

I didn't leave much time to organize the Durex shoot. Before I started working on it I wanted to get an OK on the project. But due to scheduling issues, the first couple of tutorials were canceled. I had some doubts that the shoot would be approved, so I didn’t want to start until I got an OK. With hindsight, I should have followed through with the idea anyway. I had enough back-ups in case it did not get approved.  

In choosing my models I tried to take into account the Durex mission statement of presenting sex truthfully. Instead of using an agency for models, I chose to contact life drawing classes. This decision was based on life drawing’s honest dedication to representing the natural form of the human body. Due to this, the practice does not restrict body types. Instead, they welcome the kind of people you would pass on the street.

This decision has led to a negative, being that life drawing models are not used to being photographed. This problem is strained further by the limited time in which I had to find my models. In total, I have had 16 different models decline the job due to it being a photoshoot. Despite this, using life drawing models still felt like the best option, as many classes were excited to help me. I was put in contact with the site ‘RAM’, a London based community for life drawing models. To sign up I had to go through a long process of vetting which ate up 2 of my days, but it was definitely worth it… maybe, I say, maybe, as this has led to my college email being flooded with pictures of nude middle-aged men, (somewhat frustrating as I put an age range of 20 - 30 who could fill Durex’ s demographic of 17 - 25). After a week of discarding dick pics though, I’ve narrowed it down to 3 models, 2 men, and one woman.

The 2nd aspect of the photo shoot is the tools. So far I have hired/bought all the tools that I need, the only two problems were getting them to Chelsea and making sure that all the blades were safe. I have been trying to blunt a handsaw that I bought with industrial strength sandpaper and a file. So far this is working, in terms of transporting I’m going to pay a friend to help with the transport and help manage the tools on the day.

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EDIT

The tool hire company said they would include some off-cuts of wood for free,  but the planks that they delivered on Saturday were way too big. This was only 2 days before the shoot and most of the wood merchants close on weekends. However, after a lot of searching, I found a company In north London that agreed to cut the wood.  

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Shot list

To keep the day organized I created a shot list for the models, technician and George (a friend who said he would help).

[year3atual]

Ideas For Durex. no3

When you think about the male body, what is the most delicate part? For most, it’s the genitalia. We instinctively guard our crotch if someone throws a low kick, and we wear protection when playing sport, but for some reason when we have sex this instinct becomes less important.

I find this contradiction interesting as it raises the question, of why we wear protection.

When we can see something dangerous like a saw in a wood workshop we are more likely to take the right precautions, but when the danger is invisible (like with sex or driving) we disregard the safety nets of condoms and seat belts.

What I would like the outcome to be

A series of photos of models doing manual labour without any protection. What I mean by this is no helmets, no clothes and no underwear. The genitals of the models will be dangerously close to the blades of the tools, depicting the moment before an accident. This will hopefully tap into the instinctive fear of genital abuse and make the viewer think about STD’s in a more visceral manner.

Problems

As the piece is about giving unprotected sex the same visual discomfort as genital mutilation it could become overly grotesque. In order to prevent this, I think the models must act neutrally: by not acknowledging the horror of the act to come, the photos will obtain a sort of absurdist humour giving levity to the message.

Most of the discomfort will come from the mood and implied narrative. With that said, I think the piece can only work by showing fully nude models. This will give it some edge, preventing it from being one of those kitsch birthday cards of old ladies gardening naked with plant post over their bits.

The general mood I want is the slightly unnerving cheese of stock photos and the unexplainable weirdness of cursed images.

Props

Instead of going for rusty blades, I think new and shiny tools will give a greater sense of danger as they will look sharper and have a greater contrast to the earthy fleshy tones of the models.  

[year3atual]

Ideas For Durex. No. 2

Durex protecting you while you browse porn, by buying up all the ad spaces on porn sites in order to remove shady adverts. Durex stops you from contracting STD viruses so why not computer viruses as well.

Almost every 16-25 year old watches porn… despite this companies often don’t want their product associated with porn/sex orientated sites, leading to more shady advertisements with a risk spreading digital viruses.

Durex claims one of their goals is to be open about sex. Despite porn not being the most accurate depiction of sex, it’s still sex and is part of the lives of most sexually active adults.

[year3atual]

Ideas For Durex. no.1

My first idea is based on Arthur Russell, a musician from New York who died of AIDS in the early 90s. I’m interested in how his music reflected so much about his life and personality. When his disease started to become worse, his work started to change, most notably he started to use more reverb and distortion.

“He went from being a guy that was spaced out, naturally. And then spaced out all the time because he was stoned all the time. Spaced out because he was a genius. Then he became demented spaced out, but with a feeling of grace.”

I think Arthur Russell is an interesting study of AIDS. His work documents how the disease progresses and its effects on family and friends.