Final Project

For this assignment I wanted to create a short film using stills. The location is outside a registry office in a city. A young couple approach the building with the intention of legalising their union. Above them beams a fluro lit 'Entrance' sign. As they walk up the steps to the door the sign changes to exit. The couple stand contemplating this scenario, then abruptly turn and leave separately, suggesting the marriage was over before it began.

This has been a real learning curve for me. I hope to add to what little skills I have acquired.
This project pushed my ability further than I thought possible. Originally I was intending to create the film stills using photographs of people with props etc. but because of the difficulty working with others and their availability I decided to use a more readily accessible mode of production. This involved photographing toys in positions fitting the storyline. I then cut the figures from their backgrounds in photoshop and pasted them into a prepared background which was the stage. I used a simple video editing suite and was able to add music to enhance the overall effect.

Narrative

using my own digital photographs and the process of layering via photoshop resulted in a series of 3 images that themetically work.

I though my first results were not fully resolved and my second attempt saw me simplifying the first piece resulting in a semi opaque image of my drawing of the male nude figure lurking on the outside of an old weatherboard building. This representation was meant to convey a sense of man as the predator, but at the same time the walls form a barrier. There is the unsettling appearance of the figure being able to pass through this barrier.

My second piece is a photograph of a charcoal sketch of mine. In this piece I have added an image, cut and pasted as a layer - I have nicknamed this 'The Evil Presence'. I layered the webcam image of myself (below) locked inside a square cell, which could be interpreted as having nothing to fear due to being psychologically unaffected because of the protection of the walls of the cell.

For my third piece I have used a scene depicting the aftermath of a bushfire. Here I have placed a female nude - not the most comfortable place to deposit her - I could have chosen other unscathed scenes but I wanted to enforce the idea of a female exposed to the elements of life and chosing to overcome any discomfort as she reclines nonchalantly, oblivious to the appearance of the 'evil presence'.

Digital Experiment

An image of myself taken on a webcam

Class Presentation and Digital Collage

For my class presentation I chose Colin Lanceley who is well known for his vibrant and innovative collages.

DIGITAL COLLAGE

I have drawn my inspiration from the master himself! The sketch (entered in post below) by Da Vinci really helped in creating this project. I could see the potential for using these sketches in my digital collage and expanding on my theme of the inability of mankind to see the 'light'. Born into this world as innocents, darkness enters the psyche creating mayhem.
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Da Vinci

I found this Da Vinci page of sketches inspiring and would like to use them in the future for my own art work.

Images I found useful in my research

These images of kites were initially a source of inspiration for my narrative assignment.