Foundation 4D 1 – G7

There are 6 posts filed in Foundation 4D 1 – G7 (this is page 1 of 1).

Project 3: Interactive Storytelling – Proposal

Group members: Clemens, Peiwen, Sabrina, Syam

Research

We looked into the causes of social anxiety and decided to concentrate on the more popular cause which is self-consciousness.

Asking our peers who had suffered from social anxiety before, we also come across some situations which they found highly stressful, such as:

  • Eating outside
  • Being in crowds
  • public speaking
  • entering a conversation
  • being alone among strangers

They also shared some of the thoughts that they perceive while having social anxiety

  • Feeling demotivated for fear of being rejected
  • Feeling of always being judged
  • distracting oneself with hobbies
  • prefers isolation to avoid interaction

Reference: https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/top-10-list-feelings-social-anxiety-causes

Concept

Social Anxiety is more prevalent in youths today than before. It can manifest in any form, an insidious thought or self-doubt that triggers overthinking. Our project aims to depict the life of a single person affected by the afflictions of social anxiety and what it takes to overcome it.

This project will revolve around an individual, named Chen May B.  We will show what she experiences, what she sees and what goes on in her mind when she goes through her daily routine of school and in public. We have picked out a few places that we found out affects the most for people with social anxiety:

  • When entering a bus
  • When looking for a seat in the canteen/cafeteria
  • When walking through the crowded corridors

We will try to show what she looks at in her point of view and also try to make viewers hear what goes on in her mind when she goes through these situations.

Once we have the daily lives and established for the viewer to experience, we will then show how May B. will overcome her social anxiety. Everything from then onwards will slowly fade away to change for the better to show how May B. is getting better and on the road to overcoming it.

Execution

The way we plan to execute our project is by having 3 separate screens. These screens will be around the viewer – one in front, one on the left and one on the right. Each of these screens will be showing what happens in the daily life of May B.:

  • The left screen will show her experience when entering the bus
  • The middle screen will show what she experiences when on the looking for a seat in the canteen
  • The right screen will show her experience of walking through a crowded corridor

These screens will take turns to play in this order:

Bus (Left screen) → Canteen (Middle screen) → Corridor (Right screen)

And it will happen 3 times, showcasing 3 different days that she goes through and experience. As the timeline will occur at overlapping timings, there will come a point in time whereby the three screens will be playing together, thus creating a chaotic scene. experiences and will actually show the peak of discomfort.

The screens all go black and only the middle screen will show a scene. This scene will be a continuation of the last scene played and will show the moment of how May B. takes the first steps to overcome her social anxiety.

The extended scene will show a friend coming to keep her company and quail her anxiety.

 

Project 2: The Bromise.

Groupmates: Clemens, Joy, Nick and me.

‘A “bromise” was made before a friend went off to try and pursue a career in music but everything started to go downhill from there. From failed auditions to a break in a relationship. At his lowest point, he seeks help from someone who has always been there for him even before his journey began. But did he keep his promise?’

(Bromise: Essentially a promise you make to a bro. One that you can never break. ever. Stronger than a promise. – Urban Dictionary)

The Process

The task was to create a photo story based on someone whom you have lost touch. So getting together with my groupmates, we thought of coming up with tragic drama, initially.

Storyboard

Our initial idea was actually to start off with a present time looking at a photograph, having flashbacks of an event that is related to the photograph, and bringing back to the present time again, so it will all seem linked together. But after that, we sort of thought to scrap the idea of present and past scene as it was sort of redundant to the whole storyline which the main idea was to feature this friend’s life.

Another idea that we scrapped was the ending where the character, Jon, decided to commit suicide at the end when Nick did not answer his phone. To think about it, that idea was somehow too much and would not makes sense. It is more like we were trying to fit in a story with a suicide ending.

There were quite a few other scenes and last minute shifting there was added on or removed just to fill in the plotholes and make more sense in the film.

Artist/Film Reference

One of the film references that we used was the film Suzhou River by Lou Ye. I was particularly inspired by the use of black screens with dialogues in the film because I think that with just the dialogue and no visuals, the audience would be more focused on what the dialogue is about and also they are free to create their own visuals in their head.

Elements in the Film

There were quite a few elements that came to mind when creating this film as even the smallest detail could convey a huge part of the whole story.

Visuals

For the photographs, I tried to edit it in a way that the scenes with the character Jon in it will slowly desaturate as you progress on through the film. I did this to show the sadness and the downfall of Jon as he tried to pursue his dreams but went downhill instead. The scenes with Nick, however, remains the same throughout, no desaturating.

I have also thought of using the black screens as a way to split the different scenes in the film and also create more of an impact on the different sections of his life ending. Scenes that if joined together would not make sense and would be more abrupt. It also creates a breathing space for the audience.

Sound

There are 3 different sounds used in the film – sound effects, dialogues and background music.

For the sound effects, I tried to closely insert all the relevant sounds into the different scenes, like a door slamming, footsteps and even ambient sounds. All of these sound effects will make the scenes more realistic and will play an important role in joining all the images together to create the film.

The dialogues in the film are mainly to create and summarise the different scenes. For example, at the beginning of the film, the short conversation between Jon and Nick helps to summarise the bond and “bro-ship” between the 2 characters, which would take quite a long scene if gone with another direction.

Lastly, is the background music. I would not consider it as ambient sounds as the background music actually plays throughout almost the entire film and also at the end. An acoustic guitar instrumental is chosen as a guitar is in a way symbolic of the main character, Jon. When the guitar music starts, it represents the start of Jon’s music journey, and when it stops, it shows how he feels like the end of his dreams. There is also no separate guitar sounds being played when in the scene he is playing one. This is because I would not want to create a clash in guitar music and also would not want it to be a determining factor in the story, like why he did not get the audition or did not receive good feedback when busking.

Conclusion

I was really really excited in creating this film as I have never actually created a film before but I have always had scenes play in my mind whenever I listen to music or look at images. This was a good assignment for me to try and express all those and really hoped it worked. Although i still feel like there’s so much i can improve on, like in terms of my concept and the missing plotholes, I still learned alot just using sounds and still frames to convey a story.

Project 1: Picture Story – Curating Self

Task 1 – Object and representation of self

I bought my first camera using my own savings as a motivation and push to develop my photography skills further. Over the years I have slowly developed my photography skills by collaborating with various people in the photography industry as well as being able to work with different models and strangers that wouldn’t mind me taking photos of them. It has become a platform for me to socialise and open myself up to others, and when I work with others, not only do I learn and get to know them, I also get to know myself, my own limits and discoveries.

The camera grows with me, like how I always try to improve myself as a person, I also try to improve my photography skills. It has changed how I see things, like how my eyes will seem to frame objects and environments even when I do not have the camera with me. It has become something that I have been known for lately – a photographer – and it has become part of my identity.

I tried to achieve the style similar to Nan Goldin for this task by trying to include shadows and strong lighting in the photograph.

Fig 1.1

Figure 1.1 shows the camera against a neutral wall that has shadows of plants on it. It represents how I started my photography journey by taking pictures of plants, and nature and the environment.

Fig 1.2

In Figure 1.2, the use of light acts like a spotlight. The photographer is now in frame, in focus.

Fig 1.3

In Figure 1.3, i try to make it look like I’m an emerging photographer with the play of shadow across my face. The shadow of the camera in the background also symbolises the different cameras that i have worked with to make the photographer I am now.

Task 2 – My World

The location that I have picked is my polytechnic – Temasek Polytechnic, specifically the School of Design there. I chose it as a location as I feel like that is the place where i truly feel like i found myself and where i kickstarted my design journey.

Before I joined the school, I did not know what graphic design was or what the design industry was all about. All I know was that I needed to go towards an artistic direction in life because that was the one of the subjects that I was performing well in. Most of the people around me had no similar interests as me and i felt like i was alone in trying to pursuit something that i would love to do. No path ahead was clear to me at that time.

So I got to know about Temasek Polytechnic School of Design from my older sister, who was then doing Interior Design in that school. She felt like that was a good place to take my next step in education and Temasek Polytechnic has a well-known Design School. So after much contemplation, I decided to go for it, and jump into the industry.

That was a decision in life that I could not forget. When I was in school, I felt like I was among people that I could relate to. I wasn’t the outsider anymore, but rather part of a big family with the same mindset and thinking. Finally somewhere that I could fit in, somewhere I could be myself.

Fig 2.1

Figure 2.1 shows a common area in the school where designers go up the stairs to go to class. I’m shown leaping or jumping in the photo in this series, similar to Natsumi Hayashiara, as it symbolises me taking a leap into the design world. It also shows motion and movement symbolising the constant fast-paced lifestyle of the design industry, rushing to places for deadlines and submissions.

Fig 2.2

Figure 2.2 is a shot outside of the school and also shows me leaving the frame of the photograph. It symbolises me leaving the school. A reflection of me can also be seen in the glass window symbolising the school being my past, and my thoughts and memories are still with the school.

Fig 2.3

The vibrant colours in Figure 2.3 shows that a designer creates a colourful and interesting world. The upwards staircase motion shows my upwards journey to be a better designer.

The most challenging part of this assignment is the definitely the fact that I cannot fully be behind the camera the entire time. Taking pictures of myself is already a challenge by itself. I am unable to know how the frame will look like when the shot is being taken since I have to be the one in frame. Hence, I feel like this assignment is a real challenge and i wasn’t able to showcase my full photography ability.

Project 1: Research & Process

The first object that comes to mind when choosing for the assignment is my camera as it is my hobby and something I have picked up recently. It is something that I would go to if i needed some thing to do to get away from work or to fill in my free time.

For location, instantly the first thing that came to mind when thinking of a place that is significant to me is my polytechnic – Temasek Polytechnic. Just like the camera, my polytechnic is a place that I will forever remember and will always go back to, even years after graduation. It has become a second home for 3 years, and will always be.

It would be great to feature the item and the location that both helped to create and sculpt the person I am today.

Inspirations

I never knew Nan Goldin until I saw her name in her brief. When I first saw her images, I would think that the photos looks a little over exposed, and like someone used the flash too directly at the subject. But when I looked at it again, it actually makes the photo look interesting and artistic. The flash actually creates a focus on the subject, creates shadows on the others elements in the background.

I have always inspired to create similar works to Natsumi Hayashiara. I first got to know her from a colleague during my National Service, who was inspired by her as well. I really think her photos are really interesting in a way that she tries to fit the concept of her floating in photos into her daily lifestyle. It creates a boring mundane chore look really amazing and unique, making you think and look twice at her photos.