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.