Halloween

I missed the showing of Halloween on monday, but i managed to borrow it from a friend just so i could recap. Im not the greatest fan of horrors, i think this may be because im very jumpy and even though i know what;s coming i still get scared lol... However having seen lots of horrors, i feel that the original old school films strike a lot more terror into the audience. I dont know if this is because they make films like Saw which i think doesnt serve that good watching, or because the old school writers can tell a much better story..



The film itself always freaks me out because the suspense builds to such high levels and no matter how many times i watch it and know whats coming i jump out of my skin.. The way in which the camera follows the movement of Michael Myers and manages to keep his actual identity hidden, i think is brilliant.. The only complaint i have to make is that you dont find out why he is attacking these people. But maybe you have to watch the sequels to understand the story properly.

The soundtrack is very powerful, it gives the film extra suspense, also the mask Myers wears is nightmarish. I think you could interpret the mask as an uncanny object because you never see his face until the end, so its down to your imagination as to why he has it, or what his face looks like...

The suspense in the film reminds of something that Alfred Hitchcock would have produced. Even at the end when you think Myers is dead, and you hear his breathing it just gives you shivers..

Sketch ideas

These are my three ideas that i have decided on taking further. Im still not sure which one to follow, but im more intrigued by the alleyway scene and the room scene. However, im not going to remove one idea just yet.

The first idea came to me when seeing a previous image lighting up part of a road. I got the idea of placing an old car in the scene with its door and boot open whilst the engine was still running, but nobody can be seen near the car. I like the feeling of uncanny for this image as it offers such a wide variety of possibilities that the audience would have to use their imagination so much..

The sketches arent that great, but they offer me the exact ideas i want to take further.. The first three images are for the street scene.






The second image above is from my alleyway scenes, these images have given me the most pleasure because i am interested in the detail that goes with them. However if i do choose these ideas for my final piece, i think that i could struggle with the amount of detail i had.. From these sketches im still unsure on the view i want to take on. I have looked at the way in which Marvel designers draw their streets and buildings, so i have been practicing them. In films i always love those dingy alleys that you know something bad could happen..



The final sketches are for my apartment scene. This was my first idea, however i think i need rework the viewing for this image. Possibly placing the camera in a doorway looking into the room.. By doing this you wont be able to see the whole room that has either been ransacked or missing an integral part. I had the idea of using the neon lighting you get from hotel signs to light this scene through the window, so basically it could be in fact a hotel room, or a block of flats next to a hotel..

More abandonment

After looking at 'The house of darkness' website i carried on looking for more derelict buildings that have decayed but still hold information from where life has been. Anyone who is looking for information on asylums or hospitals i have found an amazing website with loads of photos. Also for Jordan i noticed you talking about carnivals, there are a few of those to.. I think this would help Ruben as well. Check it out at http://www.opacity.us/

The lighting used in some of these pictures are beautiful, and yet they still give you that uneasy feeling. For two of my final pieces i am looking to use furniture to the scene, if anyone knows where i can see more images of images with things such as beds or chairs would be very helpful..

Pirates Cove - Barrel Texturing

Iv had a lot of joy from this tutorial so far. Like i said in my previous post about the pirates cove maya work, i feel that texturing and colouring the scenes are interesting.

House of Darkness

I found a website that was set up by some unknown american photographers who have taken to using special lighting or taking the pictures in the dark, to give the image a sense of eeriness.. They mainly capture images from mental institutions, but there are other places they have ventured to.

I am fascinated by lighting and how it can give you a totally different feeling compared to the day time but in the same place..

Robert Polidori

I came across this photographer when searching google for abandoned bedrooms... He has taken photos of the disasters in New Orleans and Chernobyl, this research is not for the perspective, its for the look of decay and abandonment that i need for my abandoned hotel room, or flat..

He has also taken pictures from the state of Havana in Cuba. however these have not been deserted, they are just poor areas which are not looked after.. Im not sure if they offer any relevance to what im looking for, but i enjoy looking at the images..

New Orleans









Chernobyl





Havana

Narrowing my ideas down

After a lot of brainstorming, i finally managed to single out three main ideas that i would like to pursue further. Know i now that we are only supposed to choose one area of interest for the final scene, but i'm too into all three of these ideas that i havent got to the stage of letting any of them go..

These ideas will have notes and mini sketches attached shortly, my scanner is currently on the blink, but hopefully tomorrow it will be fixed.

IDEA 1

My first idea is for the scene to be in a deserted road, possibly in the countryside somewhere.. And using lighting like from a previous picture on my blog i would use it to give the image that feeling of not knowing whats outside the light rays. At the front of my scene i am thinking of maybe modeling an old american styled car or a battered old van, with its boot and drives door open. As well as having the engine still running. Phill gave me the idea when he said about an old ice cream van in the lighting scene. I like this idea a lot, but once my concept designs are down, that could all change..

IDEA 2

The second idea i had was wen trying out the perspective in photoshop. My first drawing was that of a main street. In the scene i added little alleyways between some buildings. This gave me the idea of looking at alleways during the night. Because whenever you see them or walk through them, you feel either two things depending on what sort of alley it is. The first, housing estate alleys are usually very dark and when walking through them you feel like you are being watched. The there are the alleys in the cities which are used for deliveries or back entrances to places.

It is the second kind of alley way that interests me, during the day, they are filled with people doing odd jobs, cutting through to get somewhere, dodgy dealings and sometimes even crime. But at night all that is left is the smells, rubbish and atmosphere, i know you obviously get crime in these alleys, but i would feel they have a story to tell if you ever walked through them.. Scenes from Spider-man and Batman come to mind for this idea.

IDEA 3

My final idea was of being in a dingy old bar/pub where hardly anyone ever visits. And in the scene, the camera is looking up towards the entrance of the bar, but there is nobody there, not even the barman, and just slightly obstructing the view is two glasses, half empty. Im not so sure about this idea, but i think if it was just an ordinary pub, then the glasses would be insignificant, but because its a bit creepy, it gives the audience the idea of bewilderment and wonder as to who the glasses belong to...

Getting the hang of perspective

After Phills last lesson in photoshop where he introduced me to perspective view. It helped so much, it has given me a real idea on how to get the best out of my drawings by giving them the feeling that you can really dive into the picture.

This image is just a quick sketch using perspective guidelines. The reason for choosing a street view was just i felt it would be fairly easy to complete and show a great deal of depth. Obviously my projects will have nothing to do with this, its just for practice..



The secon is just an idea i had after looking out of my window.. You look out and its raining so hard, plus it the early hours of yje morning and your eye just catches the figure of a man under the bus shelter on the opposite side of the road.

Uncanny life

Carrying on from Madame Tussuads i remembered two films that are brilliant for the idea that no matter how much something looks and acts like a human, it never will actually that.

Toys 1992

The film starring Robin Williams wasn't a great success, however in this film you think that all along Williams sister is a bit strange like himself. But at the end of the film when all of the toys go to war, she gets destroyed and you find out that she has been a machine that Williams's father had created. It gives you the sense that anybody could be a robot and the only difference is they dont die.

The way she acts shows that robots are not exactly how humans should be. I cant find any videos on the end scene of the film, but if u get a chance, have a look.





Mannequin 1987

This film is about an artsist by the name of Jonathan Switcher who can never keep a job. Until one day he builds the most amazing mannequin, its so amazing that he falls in love with it. After some problems the mannequin ends up in a shop window. Switcher however manages to get to see the mannequin again because he saves the stores owner so she gives him a job. The mannequin then starts to come to life, but only when she sees Swither.

The film isn't that great, but once again going from a mannequin, who is hollow, has no feelings, and stays in the same position all the time. To becoming a beautiful woman seems really strange to me. Definitely give this a watch if u get the chance.

The Uncanny - Madame Tussauds

I have been thinking in great depth about what i will write my essay about and how i will give my images that feeling of the uncanny. After having the lecture from Phil which explained what the uncanny actually means, also using the 'Uncanny valley' to help us understand how it all works.

When seeing the prosthetic limbs and the mannequins, i thought further into it and what reactions people get from these things. Looking at the wax works at Madame Tussauds, mannequins and how they have adapted over time, sex dolls and other such things.

Madame Tussauds


When designing the stars sculptures, the team from Tussauds go to the stars themselves so that they can obtain all of the measurements so that models are perfect, there are over 200 measurements that they take. The base layer that they first use around the wire core is just normal modeling clay, it takes around 14 to 15 bags of clay to model a whole figure. However this isn't that peculiar, when it comes to the hands is when it starts to become a little creepy. They have to cast the actual stars hand and then cast them because they are so detailed. I think this is a little strange because when you do go to Madame Tussauds, you know that they aren't actually real, but it is basically their hands on an idea of what they look like.



Once the hands are fitted to the rest of the clay body, the model is then ready for molding. They mold plaster around the clay figure in different sections, so for example they mold the ears, eyes, mouth, forehead and chin in separate ways and then once they have smashed the clay, they fill the gaps in with more plasters.

Once the plaster is set, they tie all the pieces together with rope and dip it into hot water to keep the moisture in so that the wax doesnt stick to the plaster. They then pour the beeswax into the mold and wait for it to set. They then remove al of the plaster to reveal a complete wax head.



It then comes to the detail of model, their colour, hair, teeth, eyes and texture. This is when they turn something that is just the shape of a human, into a spitting image of one.


As technology has moved forward over time, the models have started to become more and more life-like. Even though the older models are freaky, with there clearly fake hair, and plastic looking faces. I find the newer models a lot more unnerving due to the expressions and character the sculptors can know give them.

The two images below show how the modelling has changed. In retrospect the models of the spice girls aren't the greatest, especially as they are shinny. Whereas the one of Kate Moss is more life like and gives me a feeling of unease, almost as if it could come to life.

Stepford Wives (1975)

Having seen clips from the remake, i thought it would be similar with the acting just different. I was suprised when that errie music started to play and the actors and actresses started to change that it was very creepy. The film had little inklings at the beginning, for example where they are just about to leave, and they see that guy carrying a mannequin across the road, which hints at what will happen.

Also when the two women crash their cars outside the shops and the woman gets hurt. She keeps repeating herself, and then the main character realises that they took the woman to the opposite direction of the hospital. At this point, i started to think of things that could have been happening to these women.


When the film really comes to life is when she stabs her best friend, but no blood appears, and all that happens is that she becomes broken. The women are basically robots made by the husbands to make their lives perfect.

The final scenes where she sees her robotic version was really strange, it was basically her, but her body improved. Those eyes though, something that you see in horror films.

I really enjoyed this film, it was well written, and the suspense that left you thinking what was actually happening to these women kept you hooked.

Rules of Thirds

When Alan first explained the rule of thirds, i was slightly confused on what it meant. So i researched where it is used and how, also looking at examples from films. I used the rule in the Shrek film. My image shows the Merlin as the main character of the scene because he is performing an action, but he is put into the right side of the rule, because even though he is an important part to the scene, Shrek is still in the centre, so that you know the story is evolving around him and his companions.

Repulsion: Roman Polanski

This film in certain aspects was brilliant. I haven't seen a film like it before. I mean it wasn't exactly the scariest film, but the camera use, by putting it up close to the actors, and the soundtrack freaked me out a little.

One part of the film really got to me though... When the guy who keeps pestering her breaks the door down, i actually wanted her to kill him because he was getting on my nerves so much. The way in which the corridor and rooms of the flat got bigger as the film went on, made you feel as if she had further places to hide.



The way 'Carol' Catherine Deneuve, used her eyes in the film gave the audience the presumption that she was in real pain.

After watching this, i had a few ideas for my final piece, and realized that i had been going in the wrong direction in regards to the dingy american bar. Obviously i could use that as a set, but i think completely misinterpreted the brief. However im now in full flow, and have a dozen ideas which i will sketch before i forget them.

American bar: Idea 1 continued

I also tried looking for the 'Leaky Cauldron' in the first Harry Potter film. However i couldnt find any images on that, so i looked at the environment within Hogwarts, and that dusty, dark feel you get that only happens when there is natural light, such as candle or torches alight.





Continuing on with the lighting theme, i looked at street lighting. The reason behind this was because i havent decided on a specific scene yet, and was tinkering with the idea of something outside.





I like the fact that a little piece of lighting can give you that creepy feeling, that there could be something just beyond the lights rays.

Maya tutorial: Pirates Cove scene

I really enjoyed producing this piece. Incoorporating maya with photoshop is something that gives me greater satisfaction with my final outcome.

I tried to texture the barrel using the wood attributes, however i cant seem to give it that look, as if has been left on an island for some time.

These are the steps i took to get to the stage i am at now.


Coin Texturing



Map Texturing



Gems, Pearls and Barrel Texturing

Idea 1 for unit 3: Dingy American style bar

I've been thinking about where to go with my environment project for a few days, and after looking at Edward Hopper's work, specifically the image where the audience are looking in on the bar through the window, i had a vibe about something around the pub style..

Unlike Hopper's image, i want to add more atmosphere into the image. Using lighting to give the scene a creepy, dingy feel. I have been having some difficulty in finding images and influences for this idea. After looking at my research so far, it would be very helpful if anyone has any ideas that could improve my ideas...

When in london a couple of months back, i visited Gordan's Wine Bar on a night out.. At the time even though i was taken in by the environment, i didnt think of taking any pictures. Also, it gets absolutely packed so the pictures wouldnt be that great.










The image where the bottle and glass are in the foreground really appeals to me, i am interested incorporating something similar to that in my image. The shadows cast by the candles in this bar are also something that i could use.