Reflective Analysis

Task 1: Create a design plan for a specified character’s room, from a specific time/period

What was I trying to achieve?

My goal was to create an accurate design plan for a character’s room which was based prior to the year 2000. For my particular character I chose the late 18th Century. This is an era where designs are easily recognisable and there is plenty evidence and research readily available to aid me in gaining accurate knowledge about the fashion and architectural trends of the time period. Another goal of mine for this task was for my design plan to clearly represent the time period I had chosen for my character. This means I had to strictly follow the trends of the era and the technological limitations of that time. For example; electricity and central heating were not available to people in the 18th century therefore I made sure to use pictures of candelabras/candle holders and adding a fireplace to the floor plan. Another thing I was sure to specify was that wall to wall carpets were not a feature in the design plan as these were not in homes until the next century, so I illustrated this point by using a picture of a large rug instead of mistakenly using a picture of a carpet.

What challenges did I encounter?

The main challenge I faced during this task was accuracy. Yes, I made sure to chose an era where there was solid evidence for buildings, home furnishings and fashion, however there was a limit to all of this. As I was searching for examples of floor plans for houses in the 18th Century, I was surprised at the lack of concrete examples. Many floor plans I found were merely from people’s imagination and simply how they thought the houses were built like, I wanted something that was as accurate as possible. I experienced almost exactly the same situation when researching children’s clothing from this time period, there were a few examples but not enough that I could confidently say they were one hundred percent authentic. As I am not the biggest history buff and cannot call upon years of knowledge I had to rely on what evidence there was for my research and trust that the information I was finding was all true to the 18th Century and I could use it to be indicative of the era in my design plan for my character.

What concepts was I trying to apply and how?

I wanted to have a very clear colour scheme for my design plan as I know that it is all well and good knowing what furnishings and fashions to include but if you do not know what the colour scheme is, then the task is inevitably more difficult to create something of accuracy and distinction. I created the 3 colour palettes by finding paintings of interiors of houses from the 18th Century and using the colour picker tool in Adobe Photoshop. I made sure to have a variety of colour options as I felt that only having a small selection would hinder what I would be able to add to the design plan. I intentionally excluded the colour purple as purple is associated with royalty (Melina, 2011) and this association would not fit in with the character I created, therefore I stuck with hues of blue and red. 

What did I learn?

I learned that if you are trying to present a situation with a specified time period, research is key above all else. It is easy to make small mistakes which can bring the audience out of the experience, what I mean by this is that it’s easy to overlook small details which you assume are correct. However you have to be certain that what you are presenting is true to the era and trends of that time. Research must be meticulous and you must have solid evidence and reasoning for each addition made to a design plan as there is always someone who will question it.

Task 2: Source and film a location suitable for a setting scarce of humans

What was I trying to achieve?

My goal for this task was to create a short video (roughly 1 minute in length) to identify and location that could be used for a scenario where the existence of human life is scarce or non-existent. I intended my scenario to be the immediate aftermath of humans disappearing for an undisclosed reason. I wanted to simulate a feeling of calm, or an underlying sense of dread like a feeling of calm before the oncoming storm. I wanted to achieve this by having long and slow panning shots of the location and potentially having some shots in slow motion as to either build suspension or to relax the viewer in some way, I aimed to make that decision when editing the sound for the video, as sound is incredibly powerful in creating the desired atmosphere. 

What challenges did I encounter?

Due to unforeseen illnesses I was unable to become as familiar with the new equipment as I hoped to be. This was overcome by investing time outside of structured lessons to learn the new equipment. I also faced challenges in the planning aspect of this task, after being given the brief for this task I was overwhelmed with feelings of creative block. I felt the brief was extremely vague and that there were so many different ways that it could be interpreted that I could not settle on only one idea to actually film. This lead to procrastination of completing the task as I simply did not know how to achieve anything I wanted to create. I overcame this situation I had put myself in by thinking through each potential idea and breaking it down into small chunks such as what I would need, where I could go, how well could I do this in the remaining time and so on. This process helped me greatly boil down the task into something I felt I could achieve and be happy with.

What concepts was I trying to apply and how?

“We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.” (Berger, 2008, Kindle Location 38-39). This quote helped me understand that there has to be coherence with the narrative and the location itself. Location recces are intended to present a certain location in the best way possible to convince people that that specific location is the most appropriate for their own project. I intended my video to have a calming atmosphere, I achieved this by using long and slow panning shots to show the location clearly. With the addition of the music I created the atmosphere I desired to have in the final product.

“Seeing the world is not about how we see but about what we make of what we see. We put together an understanding of the world that makes sense from what we already know or think we know.” (Mirzoeff, 2015, pp.73-74). How we understand a scene is from the signifiers present within the mise en scene. Our subconscious understanding is based on previous learning and experience of the meaning of those signifiers, whether colour, fashion or architecture. 

What did I learn?

I learned that planning is vitally important but the necessity of having a strong creative vision is crucial. A clear idea about what you intend to create is key to a successful project. What I will also take from this task is the experience and knowledge about the equipment used as I intend to use it again in the future. I also now have a better understanding of how I work with a vague brief and exactly how I should tackle the feeling of being overwhelmed by a lack of obvious structure, I need to create a structure within the task that I can follow to meet the requirements of said brief and create a piece of work that I can say that I am proud of.

Task 3: Design and film a character introduction sequence

What was I trying to achieve?

My goal was to create a character introduction sequence where I would utilise both cinematography and production design to show the audience a character and make it clear what their personality is.  My main aim was to present a character which the audience could easily understand to be the ‘comedic relief’ of the narrative. Another one of the goals I set was to make use of the knowledge of production design that I have gained over the course of this module. For example the inclusion of the ‘Nobody Knows I’m Gay’ mug is a clear indicator to the audience that the character is part of the LGBTQ+ community. This aspect would endear the character to certain audiences. Many aspects of the production design in this sequence convey to the audience that this character is subversive to the stereotypical norms of our current society. The use of the background music added to the comedic value of the character.

What challenges did I encounter?

Due to careful planning of the production of this task I encountered no significant problems or challenges. I had made sure to have a clear vision of what I wanted the final outcome of this task to be and thoroughly explained what was required to my sole cast member. Each shot was repeated several times to give myself a multitude of options when it came to the editing stage. 

What concepts was I trying to apply and how?

I decided to apply Hitchcock’s rule to this project. This is where the size of an object in the frame should be directly related to it’s importance in the story (Hardy, 2015; Truffaut and Scott, 1986). With this rule in mind, I focused on five props; the ‘Nobody Knows I’m Gay’ mug, the bottle of Jack Daniels, the Super Mario slippers, the book ‘This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, dude, don’t touch it’ and finally the character themselves in the final shot of the sequence. These props denote the character’s core values. In this sequence I employed Barthe’s enigma codes, specifically through the use of the Hermeneutic code and the Semic code (Howells and Negreiros, 2012). With the Hermeneutic code I deliberately avoid revealing the full character until the end of the sequence. I made use of the set and camera angles to achieve this. To apply the Semic code I made sure that every object in the frame had significance regarding the character’s personality (Sturken and Cartwright, 2001). I decided to use handheld camera techniques to imply a voyeuristic atmosphere while also providing a more intimate engagement with the character.

What did I learn?

I gained a better understanding on how to portray characters using production design and cinematography as key elements to realise characterisation through visuals instead of relying wholly on script and dialogue. My experience with this task will aid me in developing a broader grasp on cinematography and production design techniques. These techniques will be applicable to future projects as I aim to hone my skills in production design.  As this element is my main focus but I also intend to maintain a solid comprehension of cinematography styles and techniques, I will continue to expand my knowledge in that area. 

Task 4: Conceive and film a short artefact which exhibits aesthetic techniques, devices and processes explored during the module

What was I trying to achieve?

My aim was to inform the audience about how different colour combinations are implemented within production design, more specifically what the colour combinations are and why as well as how they can be utalised in costume design for a character. I wanted to create something that would keep the audience interested by making the video visually stimulating therefore I chose high contrasting colours for the majority of the colour schemes. Another goal within this project was to gain more experience with the Adobe Suite software, After Effects. I relied on my limited previous knowledge of the basics of the software while also gaining information from other outlets.

What challenges did I encounter?

The biggest challenge I overcame with this project was with my inexperience with After Effects. I knew exactly what I wanted the end product to look like and I found that the only way to achieve my idea was through the use of After Effects along side Premiere Pro, a piece of software I am much more comfortable and familiar with. I initially had reservations about using the software for the motion graphics as my inexperience was a large block in my mind. I overcame this challenge by searching for advice online and getting clarification from members of staff who are more experienced in using the Adobe software, these were the tools available to me during the editing period of the project. 

What concepts was I trying to apply and how?

“When a production team has sweated long and hard over the details of artistic design in a particular film, small but important formal differences can creep in as a result of colour change and alter the intended meaning.” (Howells and Negreiros, 2012, pp.255). In any project colour conveys meaning whether intended or otherwise. I decided to focus on three specific aspects of colour theory to illustrate the complexity of conveying meaning in film, although this plays a key part in the understanding of the narrative, audiences can be unaware of the many hours of work that production teams put into their projects. I wanted the video to be simple yet visually interesting for the audience. From this I decided that the information presented to the audience should be entirely visual rather than having a commentary explaining the colour theory points I was making. This is why each point about colour theory is made using coloured circles and text to explain the theory, to make it clear to the audience what information I’m trying to convey while also being visually interesting. Rather than talking about the meaning of colour and what colours convey emotion, I focused on the colour wheel and why certain colours are linked with eachother and why some colours should not be used together. While each section of the subject is split into different colour schemes, the subjects outfit as a whole is visually jarring and unsettling to look at (Bleicher, 2012).

What did I learn?

I gained new experience and knowledge in using certain After Effects assets and this helped me progress while editing the product itself and this new information will definitely assist me in the future with other projects I will be a part of.

Word Count: 2454

References

  • Berger, J. (2008) Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin Design Series, Penguin Books Ltd 2008. Kindle Edition.
  • Bleicher, S. (2012). Contemporary Color. 2nd ed. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
  • Hardy, R. (2015). What Is ‘Hitchcock’s Rule’ & How Can It Help You Tell Better Visual Stories?. [online] No Film School. Available at: https://nofilmschool.com/2015/11/hitchcock-rule-help-you-tell-better-visual-stories [Accessed: December 1st, 2018]
  • Howells, R. and Negreiros, J. (2012). Visual Culture. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  • Melina, R. (2011). Why Is the Color Purple Associated With Royalty? [online] Live Science. Available at: https://www.livescience.com/33324-purple-royal-color.html [Accessed 23rd November, 2018]
  • Merzoeff, N. (2015) How to See the World. London: Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
  • Sturken, M. and Cartwright, L. (2001). Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Truffaut, F. and Scott, H. (1986). Hitchcock. New York: Simon & Schuster.

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