Milanote Board: Initial Ideas Film of Lost Things

 This is my milanote note board which explores my ideas and my intended research for my ideas for my major project this term.  I am hoping to make a short film that will explore the idea of lost things.  The film will use still and moving images and will either be silent or with music/voice-over in the manner of Sans Soleil by Chris Maker (1972) and maybe the look of Wim Wender 'Wings of Desire' (1987)

Zoe's Milanote Board: Lost Things Film

Inspiration: The Hunger

 The Hunger is a 1983 film directed by Tony Scott. It stars Susan Sarandon, Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.  This a film about vampires in a contemporary world.  The soundtrack is by Bauhaus and this stylish and beautiful film has some excellent shots and cinematography. 

The Hunger (1983) Susan Sarandon & David Bowie

The Hunger was directed by Tony Scott who;'[graduated] from college with aspirations of being a painter, he was soon tempted into making adverts with his elder brother’s production company' (Leader, 2013). As can be seen in The Hunger Scott's understanding of painting and advertising has clearly influenced the look of the film, every shot looks like a slick and sexy advert; 'Billed with taglines like ‘Nothing Human Loves Forever’ and ‘So bizarre… So sensual… So shocking’, The Hunger was essentially an art-house update of the wave of unashamedly sexy vampire flicks of the 1960s and 1970s' (Leader, 2013) .  The film was mostly shot in London as essentially the budget wasn't big enough for it to be shot in his preferred location, New York.  The Hunger has also the look of 1980s videos of Duran Duran and Human League and uses Film that adds to this look.

The make up and prosthetics were actually cutting edge at the time: 'The Hunger is considered a benchmark film in the history of Prosthetic make up. On this movie Dick Smith pioneered the use of PAX make up to colour Foam latex appliances and it was also the first time a prosthetic appliance was covered with hand laid hair/stubble for David bowies multi stage old-age make up. Its technical achievements are highly regarded in the SFX make up field.' (The Hunger (1983), 2004)

Reference

Imdb.com. 2022. The Hunger. [online] Available at: <https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085701/> [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Crisolago, M., 2022. Susan Sarandon On Aging and The Virtues of Being a Character Actor. [online] Everythingzoomer.com. Available at: <https://www.everythingzoomer.com/arts-entertainment/2018/09/13/susan-sarandon-acting-aging-film/> [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Leader, M., 2013. Looking back at Tony Scott's The Hunger | Den of Geek. [online] Den of Geek. Available at: <https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/looking-back-at-tony-scotts-the-hunger/> [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Cinematography.com. 2004. The Hunger (1983). [online] Available at: <https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/2869-the-hunger-1983/> [Accessed 25 February 2022].

Initial Ideas - Major Project

 My continuation route is Photography.  I have begun to think of some ideas of things that I might do for a small project in Digital Arts this term.  I have been thinking about something to do with ritual or habitual behaviour that I can capture as images. I am interested in ritual in everyday life and so I was thinking about capturing this photographically.

I might start by looking at Natalie Grono as she concentrated on the rituals of childhood and photographed her two daughers.  As can be seen from this image the images are in black and white and highly stylised and in this case staged.  So in fact this is a photographic construction of daily life.  The light and water coming down does have the feeling of a baptism and as with baptism the children are represented as pure and covered in light.

Natalie Grono: Baptism 

Natalie Grono: Offerings

This second image is clearly a take on Ophelia, as shown in Millais' work here: 

Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia, 1851-52, oil on canvas, 762 x 111.8 cm (Tate Britain, London)

'Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. The events shown in Millais’s Ophelia are not actually seen on stage. Instead they are referred to in a conversation between Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s brother Laertes. Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while.' (The Story of Ophelia – Look Closer | Tate, 2022)

The second image again is highly stylized and the light is again in the centre of the image and coming through the child's legs - in both cases the light is sunlight/natural light.  The images themselves are technically well shot however in terms of content if I was completing a ritualised image I may do something less stylized and perhaps with a little more grit as I think rituals that are personal rate not necessarily full of beauty.  I would perhaps take a more snapshot approach more in the way of Jurgen Teller, who shoots fashion.

Kate Moss by Jurgen Teller

I prefer the look of this image, it has a grungy, over-exposed feel.  The yellow light, the man standing over her taking the picture (the photographer) give this photograph the snapshot aesthetic which is more interesting, and although this may have been highly staged it has the look of being spontaneous.  I would like to explore this idea within my own work for this project.

References

The Guardian. 2021. Invisible Threads: the rituals and symbolism of childhood – in pictures. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2021/nov/24/invisible-threads-the-rituals-and-symbolism-of-childhood-in-pictures [Accessed 23 February 2022].

Tate. 2022. The Story of Ophelia – Look Closer | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia [Accessed 23 February 2022].

Software Testing: Photoshop

 I opened Photoshop and I will test Photoshop for the functions I need for my major project in Digital Arts.

I create a new canvas.  I did this clicking on 'create new' and then I clicked on Print in the top menu and then chose A3.  Then I checked it was portrait in orientation and the resolution was 300 ppx. 

I have added text using the Text tool on the left hand menu and then I changed the font to Modern No 20 Regular at 60 pts.  I then used the move tool to move the text to the left hand corner to make a rule of thirds layout.

I chose a picture from the internet to mock up my page and I downloaded this to my desktop and then went back to Photoshop and I went to File, open and then I checked the image size by clicking on image and then I selected the image and clicked on copy.  I went back to my canvas and clicked on past then used the move tool to line up the image.

I added further text using the text tool.  This was 36pts and the same font as I want consistency for my portfolio pages. 

I also created a logo on Tailor Brands and added this to my portfolio mock up page.  The logo itself I quite liked and could use this as my final design.

Website Creation: Home Page & Contact Page

 Today I set up my website using wix.  I began by choosing a template which suited my progression route which is Photography.

I have chosen the above template to edit.

I have changed the image by right clicking on the background and clicking on Manage Media, I could then upload my own image and replace the template image. 

I then changed the copyright by clicking on the text box and then clicking 'edit text'.  I also got rid of pages that I did not need by going to into the menu on the left hand side and then clicking on the the three dots and deleting each unwanted section/page.

I created a contact page and I connected my mail by using the wix form and editing the email to ensure that it was connected to my email. 

I then saved all my work so that it was ready and I would not lose anything.

Now I am checking my mobile view and seeing if it needs adjusting

Under the gallery of my own picture the site has pother pictures so I will remove this so that only my own pictures appear.  Otherwise this is looking good. 

Zoe Van-de-Velde: Promotional Video

 

This is my final video.  I have obviously not added my real CV here however this was fun to play with and I enjoyed creating something promotional that showcased my skills. 

The graphics and and videos on biteable are not too bad and there is an option to upload your own videos/images which in a real situation I may do if I was sending this to an employer.

Overall this worked well and ca be seen on my youtube as well as here and I can embed into my website if I wished. 

Biteable Video: CV

 Today we are making a short video which will promote ourselves.  To this we are using Biteable video software online.  I began by choosing a template

I then changed the photo by uploading a new photograph of myself and adjusting the frame. I Also changed the Background colour by going into Style in the menu and adjusting there.  I changed the text colour and added my name by clicking on this.

I changed the animation colours by going into animation colours on the left hand menu and this adjusted all the animations colours throughout the video 

I then added my 'Could I be the next Art Director' and added a short video of a fashion shoot.  I lengthened the timeline to make sure that the text was readable and clear. 

I then went to my first reason, again I adjusted the time length to ensure it was readable.   I changed the text and text colour and then checked the edit was working with another uploaded video.

I repeated as above on 'Know how to get things done' - the most important steps now are keeping this consistent and visually interesting 

I completed my final promotional slide using the same techniques as above

I finally added music and the video was complete!  Please go to my next post for the final video