Posted on Saturday, 13 February 2010
by smashing_grandpa
Rob Here,
Just a quick note to say that 'Pndora' is finally fished and was handed in last week, so all of my work from my very first semester at uni is complete. I am very happy with the outcome, i do prefer it to Narcissus but they both have thier charms. You can watch it by going to my youtube channel at
In realted news, Pandora and Narciussus will be screened as part of the Borderlines Film Festival, the largest one in the midlands. Here is an image from the official brochure- the article about our screening:
The image is a still frame from an effects test for Dave Jones' film 'Farises', Follow his film on facebook here:
*Update* Literally 3 Hours After I Originally Started Writing This Post I Recieved My Feedback For The Overall 'Introduaction to screen media practise' module. I recieved 80%, based on a pass mark of 40% and some wonderful comments, I really did work insanelyy hard even though the videos are so short and I has indeed paid off!!!
Posted on Wednesday, 20 January 2010
by smashing_grandpa
'Ello All. (Sorry Can't Shake The Pirate Thing Since I Changed My Facebook Language To Pirate, Which I Have Suprisingly Become Used To Very Quickly)
Just a quick update on the production of my other myth video 'Pandora'. I will be filming next week- predominantly tuesday. Hoping to complete all of the shots in the bedroom, city and 'school' then. Hoping to also complete the small stop motion elements aswell.
Also I have screened narcissus to various audiences, either on youtube or in class. The overall concensus is that the video is 'very good', most people have commented on its psychadelic style and said it was 'trippy'. I feel that the video works well, there we're a couple of clips I had issues with in post, namely the clock- which came out badly pixelated, the shot of him looking at his reflection- which strangely came out as a still frame when it moved before I exported it and the shot of his feet jumping into the water- which dissapeared everytime I rendered it... People also said that the music adds to the psychadelic style and so does the lack of sound effects.
Posted on Monday, 11 January 2010
by smashing_grandpa
Hello All.
Just a little note to say that my 2 minute video retelling the Myth of Narcissus was completed over the Christmas break, It was filmed in one day and edited in about 3.
The film stars me playing narcissus and my sister as Ameinias, although we were never in a single shot together. I feel the silhouettes worked wll, especially becuase it was difficult to light the screen correctly causing some issues. The imges of fire were all filmed over christmas and I only managed to get a 20 second clip that I had to loop and felt that some blur effects would merge more of the colours.
The music in the video is from an instrumental track by a band called Nine Inch Nails off thier free album 'The Slip' I then reversed the track and increased the speed of it marginally to fit the length of the video giving amore distorted and obscure sound. I decided to leave out lots of sound effects as I felt that the music signifies the strange experience of fire reading and often the hallucinogenic drugs that the oracles were quite often using.
You can watch the video by cliking on 'My Videos' over there ------>
Enjoy. I will begin production of pandora within the week.
Posted on Wednesday, 25 November 2009
by smashing_grandpa
As Promised here are photographs of the storyboards for both of my myth films some of the Narcissus ones are blurred but they are clear enough to understand.
PANDORA
NARCISSUS
I will be beginning production within the next fortnight, I will upload images of production.
Posted on Wednesday, 18 November 2009
by smashing_grandpa
Rob Here, Just a quick note to give the second draft of the Pandora Script. Any feedback would be welcome. As you can see, it actually looks like a script and contains all of the neccessary details, unlike draft one which was the voice over- which I have cut down greatly.
FADE IN: EXT: DAY LIBERTAS CITY WASTELAND
The wasteland outside Libertas with the huge city in the centre, there is fog over the land.
NARRATOR
The city of Libertas, in this rich sprawling dystopia our story begins here, in the most impoverished area with a girl called...
EXT: DAYLIBERTASCITY GATES
Just outside the city gates the streets are full of rubble and debris, there is a light mist between the high rise ruins.
EXT: DAY LIBERTAS CITY POOR DISTRICT
Beyond a ruined motorway overpass, lies the poor district of Libertas, in the centre of the ruined area of the city.
INT: DAY SCHOOL ROOM
Pandora finishes an exam by writing her name on the front; the handwriting is very artistic and shows individuality.
NARRATOR
Pandora.
As she stands up from her seat, everyone else in her class turns suddenly to face her, even her teacher. Everyone else has a white mask on their face, giving one consistently blank expression. She paces up to the teachers desk and puts her paper down and leaves.
EXT: DAY LIBERTAS STREETS
She walks alone down streets past groups of Libertans, as she turns to look behind her, they all suddenly turn to face her so she quickly walks home. When she gets home she types the key code into the keypad and enters.
NARRATOR
She lived amongst the faceless Libertans, A single light in the darkness. The Libertans removed all signs of human emotion from public view, cementing the world to a cold existence.
INT: DAY PANDORA’S HOUSE
She throws her bag onto her bed and opens her laptop. She tries to just surf the internet but every site she tries flashes up as ‘BLOCKED’. Her father comes to the door silently and places a large box at her doorstep, we never see his face to see whether he is human or Libertan. She stands up and walks to the door, grabs the box which the audience can see clearly marked ‘contrabanned’ and she tips the contents out upside-down onto her bed, it is full of her laundry. On the top of the pile of her laundry is a small black rubix cube- like box with one blue square. She glances at it knowing that she shouldn’t ever do anything with it but as it was only a black box it could cause no harm. She places it at the far end of her desk from her laptop.
INT: PANDORA’S ROOM DAY/NIGHT
Every day and night the cube would move inch by inch closer towards her at her laptop, eventually ending beside her laptop.
When she places her hand on it accidentally, she picks it up and slams it on the table- frustrated at the blocked sites on her laptop. She looks at the cube and knocks it down the length of the table and onto the floor. It bounces and when it lands still it begins to solve itself, clicking and whirring around. Pandora hears the loud clicking and spinning sound, out of the top of the cube rises a small black USB flash drive.
She grabs it and instantly places it into the USB slot on her laptop, thousands of apocalyptic images flood the screen penetrating into Pandora’s mind as she struggles to turn away. She tries to bang keys to make it stop, pull out the USB stick and cut the power lead. Nothing works, as she pulls the power lead the screen cuts to black- with ‘100% UPLOADED’ on the screen.
FADE TO BLACK
I have also completed the storyboards for both of my myth videos which I will scan in and post in due course.
Posted on Thursday, 22 October 2009
by smashing_grandpa
For the second of my videos, the one involving a maximum of 2 characters and one line of dialogue each, I wish to portray another Greek myth, that of Narcissus. There are many different variations on the tale, I intend to adapt the Hellenic version, the oldest.
‘This is a moral tale in which the proud and unfeeling Narcissus is punished by the gods for having spurned all his male suitors. It is thought to have been intended as a cautionary tale addressed to young men. Until recently, the two sources for this version were an epitome of the works of Conon, a Greek contemporary of Ovid, preserved in the Bibliotheca of Photius and the segment in Pausanias, about 150 years after Ovid. A very similar account was discovered among the Oxyrhynchus papyri in 2004, an account that predates Ovid's version by at least fifty years and is thought to have been recorded by Parthenius.’ (From Wikipedia)
In this story, Ameinias, a young Girl, loved Narcissus but was spurned. As a way of rebuffing Ameinias, Narcissus gave her a sword, which Ameinias used to kill herself on Narcissus' doorstep; she prayed to Nemesis that Narcissus would one day know the pain of unrequited love. This curse was fulfilled when Narcissus became entranced by his own reflection in a pool. Completing the symmetry of the tale, overcome by repentance, He obsessed so much he dived in and drowned.
I wish to use a very specific visual style as with the other video, I want to use only silhouettes of the characters in black placed over footage of fire. This is to exaggerate that looks aren’t everything and only using simple images and sound it is enough to tell a story. I will create the silhouettes using a mixture of footage shot on green screen, flash animation and motion key frames. I am heavily influenced by Lotte Reineger, and although I for the most part will avoid stop motion animation It is a techniques that I could turn to.
In regards to the two lines, I want both of the characters to say ‘I Must Have Him’, When Ameinias first sees Narcissus and when he finally falls in love with his reflection. I aim to use lots of music and exaggerated sound effects to create the scenes, even know I will only have silhouettes of the characters and simple locations. I will try to use as many camera movements as possible because I believe that is one thing that most animations or short films with effects miss out on, another depth.
Here is an image which represents the style of image I am hoping to create, Made out of 2 stock images.
Posted on Wednesday, 21 October 2009
by smashing_grandpa
Pandora’s Box- Static Shot
As mentioned before my Idea for the First video is to portray the Myth of Pandora’s Box. I am using a simplified version of the myth. I have also began to adapt the plot into simple voiceover script- (I will cut this down as planning progresses, just to illustrate the actual plot of my video):
THE CITY OF LIBERTAS, THE SUPPOSEDLY FREE STATE. IN THIS RICH SPRAWLING DYSTOPIA OUR STORY BEGINS HERE, IN THE MOST IMPOVERISHED AREA OF LIBERTAS, WITH A GIRL CALLED PANDORA.
SHE LIVED AMONGST THE FACELESS LIBERTANS, A SINGLE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. THE FIRST HUMAN FOR 15 GENERATIONS. THE LIBERTANS REMOVED ALL SIGNS OF HUMAN EMOTION FROM PUBLIC VIEW, CEMENTING THE WORLD TO A COLD EXISTENCE.
PANDORAS FATHER, WORKED WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT, TASKED WITH DESROYING THE FINAL REMAINS OF HUMANITY. ONE DAY HE RETURNED FROM WORK WITH A BOX HE HAD REUSED FROM WORK MARKED CONTABANNED; THE BOX WAS FULL OF HER CLOTHES FRESH FROM THE CLEANERS. BUT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX WAS A SMALL BLACK CUBE, SHE KNEW SHE SHOULD RETURN ANY ITEMS TO HER FATHER BUT IT WAS PLAIN ENOGH TO NOT AROUSE SUSPICION, SO SHE PLACED IT ON HER DESK NEVER TO BE OPENED.
SO THERE IT SAT, DAY IN DAY OUT UNTOUCHED, BUT EVERY DAY IT WOULD INCH CLOSER TO HER, UNTIL.
FINALLY SHE COULDN’T STAND IT ANY LONGER, THE BOX WANTED TO BE OPENED, WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN SHE THOUGHT. SHE GRABBED THE CUBE AND TRIED TO OPEN IT ANYWAY SHE COULD, HOWEVER NOTHING WORKED.
AS SHE SLAMMED THE CUBE ON THE DESK SOMETHING CLICKED. THE CUBE SPUN AND FLIPPED AROUND, THE BLOCKS SHIFTED AND SNAPPED, IT FELL ONTO THE DESK WITH THE BLUE BLOCK CENTERED ON THE TOP, AND FROM THE BLOCK ROSE A BLACK BAR.
AS SHE HELD THE BAR SHE REALISED IT WAS A COMPUTER DEVICE (USE BLACK PLASTICENE THAT CHANGES TO USB STICK.)
SHE RUSHED TO HER GOVERNMENT ISSUE COMPUTER AND OPENED THE FILES, WHAT SHE SAW WAS A THOUSAND YEARS OF HISTORY, HUMAN EMOTION AND FREE SPEECH LAID BARE IN FRONT OF HER, IT CONSUMED HER COMPUTER, AT FIRST SHE TRIED TO PREVENT IT, TAPPING KEYS FURIOUSY, WITH IMAGES AND OPNIONS FLICKING ON THE SCREEN. NOTHING HAPPENED.
SHE REMOVED THE DEVICE, EVEN CUT THE POWER LEADS (SPLIT SCREEN- WHEN CUT SCREEN GOES BLACK, SCREEN SHOT MOVES TO CENTER OF SCREEN)
SURELY THAT WORKED? (SCREEN COMPLETELY BLANK WITH UPLOADED 100% IN BOTTOM CORNER)
These are literally typed up version of my notes:
Dystopian land. Images of wasteland and ruined city, town sign, layers of fog.
Narrator telling tale/ relate to new settings.
OR
Typewriter text on screen, large, distorted, at angle, using tv static to flicker and appear. White, overlaid.
The box is a black rubix cube, one blue square, solves itself- stop motion, blue in top middle, usb rises from square, places in pc, human emotion on screen. Tries to stop it, uploads.
Dark blue tint, high contrast (not extreme) bloom
Extreme sound, tv static, instrumental music.
Everyone else wears a mask, highlight her importance.
Time lapse, sat undisturbed.
-everyday it would inch closer to her. 2 frames dark, 2 frames light, plain background.
Quick exaggerated movements, stand up in class, everyone turns head.
Matte paintings- white rooms photoshop and chroma key, view out windows- made easier by static shots.
Posted on Saturday, 17 October 2009
by smashing_grandpa
My initial ideas for the 'MAKING MYTH FOR TODAY' are as follows:
For the video with only static shots, I want to adapt the myth 'Pandora's Box'. I want to set the video in an orwellian world, similar to that in the film 'Equilibrium'. I want to create a voiceover script from THIS version of the myth. I want to make my film look very dark and dystopian, with the box containing all artifacts of human emotion not 'disease' and the like. I also want to use stop motion to show the box has a mind of its own. THis idea is pretty complete, I obviously haven't started on production paperwork or planning, but I have a really strong Idea of how i want it to look and feel.
I am currently quite occupied with trying to find a myth for my second video, with maximum 2 characters that can only speak one line each. I want to make this video much simpiler, but maintain high levels of professionalism. I want it to be simpler, not only because my first video will be rather complex but to prove that I can make professional videos with simple ideas and techniques.
I will continue to upload information as I continue my research, planning and production.
Posted on Tuesday, 13 October 2009
by smashing_grandpa
Today we recieved our brief for the 'Introduction To Screen Media Practice' module titled;
'MAKING MYTH FOR TODAY'
We have to produce 2 short videos (2 Minutes) based around 2 different myths. We also have various limitations to the 2 videos.
1. The first video must contain only static camera shots, no camera movements whatsoever including handheld shots.
2. The second video must contain a maximum of 2 characters (people or otherwise) who are only allowed on line of spoken dialogue each.
These limitations also enable me to make the most of other elements such as visual storytelling, voiceover and other creative narrative elements. As Part of the Module requirements we also must produce a research and development file detailing our processes and analysis of the module and final videos. I will use this blog as well as a written diary of the project for this requirement.
We will also have to produce;
A written treatment for the project
All required planning paperwork
-scripts
-storyboards
-schedules
-prop lists
-cast and crew requirements
-call sheets
-
A written commentary analysing the final videos.
The first step for me is to research ideas from myths and ideas relating to myths and develop my final 2 ideas to begin pre production.
