Project – belladaiyunlang

October 28, 2017October 28, 2017

PROJECT 3: IMPOSSIBILITIES OF BEING

PROJECT BRIEF

Compose a one-minute video sequence in landscape format, HD resolution (1920 x 1080) pixels of the chosen location with the soundscape.

LOCATIONS

I listed down thirty places that I had never been to in Singapore. Haw Par Villa is the place that made me curious. I heard about it long time ago but had no chance to visit. Therefore, Haw Par Villa was chosen as the location for this project. Haw Par Villa is famous public park because of its range of Chinese folklore status. The status includes Monkey Mountain, Courts of Hall and etc.

I visited Haw Par Villa on a Saturday afternoon. The whole place is relatively quiet and, there was only a few foreign tourist visiting. I was attracted to the vibrant colours of the statues. The outdoor area of Haw Par Villa is bright with the blue sky, while the indoor area only has some spotlights shining on the statues. The contrast inspired me of my video. I did around 70 test shots with my phone when I first visit to try out different angles and scales.

SOUNDS

I started recording sounds before visiting the place. It is because interviewed some people about their opinions of hell. Most of them told me that their stressful daily life is like hell. Thus, I recorded thirty sounds with zoom recorder from our daily life, such as the sound of the curtain, door lock, turning off the switch, the MRT train moving and etc.

RESEARCH ON THE VISUALS

The video contents both still images and videos. Wide shots are used to show the environment at Haw Par Villa, while close-up shots are used to capture the facial expression and emotion of the statues. Both overexposure and underexposure are applied to show the peace and darkness. Flashing light effects are used to direct audience’s attention. Further, distort visions are used to evoke chaos.

Lastly, I referred to some experimental videos on Vimeo. Some are simply using colours to create the mood, for example, the video above (https://vimeo.com/143827409). Therefore, I applied colour theory to create visual contrast just like my first encounter of the location, the peace of the outdoor area and the darkness of the indoor area. Blue associated with stability. It symbolizes peace and heaven and has the calming effect. It forms a strong contrast with red, which associate with danger and power.

RESEARCH ON THE SOUNDS

Many say that horror movie is less scary when you mute the sound. Sounds play an important part in a video, and also has perspective like images. My video contents foreground and background sounds to create space of sounds. The rhythm will be regular and irregular at different parts, while the intensity will transfer from soft to loud to achieve the acceleration of the emotion. Also, there will be sudden changes of pitch, and speed to create chaos.

LOW-FI STORYBOARD

I did a low-fi storyboard and a draft video to determine the rough sound effects and the timing of each sense. The video starts with peaceful sense with soft cicada sounds like the morning. The sound gradually speeds up while the senses become dark and cruel. Several feedbacks are gathered after the first presentation, and it helped me to understand what still images, videos and sounds I need to add in and improve to achieve the idea effects.

EMOTIONAL GRAPH

After experimenting with images and sounds, I realized that the purpose of my video is to evoke certain emotion. Therefore, I rethink about the structure of my video and came up with an emotional graphic.

REFINEMENTS

Further, I added in flash of the scary image and random sounds at the beginning based on the emotional graph. Keyboards and some other sounds are added to boost the emotion of the video. According to research, the minor chords are able to evoke negative emotions, while major chords are able to evoke positive emotions. Thus, I experimented with minor chords and came up with a short background music for the last two third part of the video. Also, I punched my bed to create drums beats, as drums help to create a solid beat and rhythm.

The video is edited in Premiere Pro. Many video and audio effects are used in this video, for example, adjusting the blend mode and transpose ratio for the last one-third of the video to achieve the distorted effects.

FINAL VIDEO

I named this video HEW PAR VILLA, as ‘H’, ‘E’, ‘L’ and ‘L’ form the word HELL. This video uses visual elements and sounds to evoke fear. Yet, the senses are made to be a combination of fear and pleasure. All the sound effects are created by using the daily objects, such as plastic bag, bed, door locks. It is more like a symphony instead of horror movie trailer with jump shots. The precise structure and the uses of elements, such as colours, are able to bring the audiences to walk through a museum of hell in one minute.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as this is the first time that I creating my own soundscape. I used to edit video using existing background music, so I could follow its rhythm. However, I had to create my own rhythm. It required time and efforts for me to explore and execute. I am glad that my professor, classmates, and friends gave me constructive feedback along the way.

REFERRENCES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24957406

https://historyofdrumsandpercussion.weebly.com/role-of-drums-in-music.html

http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html

http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_560_2004-12-14.html

September 24, 2017October 4, 2017

PROJECT 2: THE SUBVERTED OBJECT

PROJECT BRIEF

TASK1: Convey the assigned object as a literal sign in 3 images.

TASK2: Subvert the object’s meaning and convey it as a symbolic sign in 3 images.

TASK3: Select 1 image from task 1 or 2, and create an A2 poster with this image.

TASK1: DENOTATION

The object I was assigned to is broom. As we all know, broom is a cleaning tool. It is simply formed with the broomstick, the head, and fiber. There are various types of broom, such as soft broom, hard broom, angle broom, desk broom and etc. In this project, I used two types of common brooms, which are soft broom and desk broom.

SUPER NORMAL
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2e/f8/69/2ef8692371e13941262845f10d88ccb8.jpg

Firstly, convey the literal meaning of broom in an eye-catching way is difficult, as this object is too normal to be appreciated to a certain extent. This reminded me a book that I browsed through years ago, called “Super Normal”. The designers Jasper Morrison and Naoto Fukasawa have compiled 204 everyday objects in search of super normal design. They believe that the normal objects exist in the here and now, it is easy to appreciate those as we just need to open our eyes. Similar concept applied to the broom. We just need to open our eyes to observe the life of broom.

Task 1 is a series of images that tells the daily life of a broom. It started from the morning to the night. The broom was waited to be used in the morning when the light shined on it. Then it got dirty with dust and hair. At night, it stayed in the corner and is nearly invisible in the dark. This scenario is commonly seen daily, and nearly no one pays attention to it. This series is to bring our attention to the super normal object around us and make it beauty visible.

I purposely kept the elements in the composition simple. Only what is needed is used. For instance, in the first photo, there r only the hand and foot of the user which is enough to show the interaction. Showing the body and face of the user might be distracting since our focus should be more on the object. Further, the second photo is a close up to the fiber and dust on the broom with a vertical and horizontal tile lines to represent the floor. Lastly, grey scale is chosen for this serious to minimise the elements. Only value is used to form images. Minimise the elements help the viewers to focus more on the main character, broom here.

TASK2: CONNOTATION

The three final images were done in different approaches, which I will further explain in the following paragraphs.

Task 2 was started with some in-class exercise to brainstorm the ‘new characters’ for the broom, as shown in the photos above.

In order to further explore, I used a website, http://relatedwords.org/ to find out the related words for more inspiration. The word “flawlessly” caught my attention. An Instagram scene flashed in my mind that a fancy broom was having high tea and taking photos to post on her/his Instagram. According to research, 68% adults touch up their photos before sharing them. It seems like people only wanna show the flawless side on their social media. This became the first concept in Task 2.

Numerous photo was taken at Lady M to achieve the best angle that meets the “Instagram standard”. The table was set for two, which is like two friends are having afternoon tea. Editing was done to blur the background, and remove the flaws.

For concept 2, I research on the meaning of broom in Chinese culture as it relates to me the most. There are many meanings of broom in Chinese culture. One is that broom is used to cleanse the body of bad luck. Hence, the desk broom is a metaphor for the lock that keeps the bad luck outside of the residence. In addition, the photo is in a circular frame because circle means harmony and perfect in Chinese culture.

By Chema Madoz http://www.museoreinasofia.es/sites/default/files/obras/AD01531_0.jpg

The last concept was inspired by photographer Chema Madoz. He creates composition only for the purpose of photography. It requires viewer’s participation in order for the photo to be complete. His photos lead the view to think.

In the last image, I used the desk broom. My intention is to create a lamp of darkness. The hair of the broom is stretched. The broom here seems like the lamp with dark light which is unconventional. It gives the viewer room for imagination. My personal interpretation is that I always stay up and do my work at night to rush for deadlines. It is like turn on the darkness when I turn on my lamp to do my work.

TASK3: TEXT & IMAGE

The first photo from task 2 was chosen for the A2 poster. Several texts were added in the poster to clarify and emphasize the purpose of the poster.

Firstly, the Instagram look alike layout is a signifier which signified that the poster is an Instagram post. It requires the pre-knowledge of the viewers to understand. The account owner Broomella is an influencer that has infinity likes for this post. We learned the meaning of infinity symbol to understand it represents infinity likes here. Moreover, the hashtag here denotes that this post is about plastic surgery, while the text “DrKimClinic” connotes Korean.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as it is the first time I am subverting the meaning of an object. Some of the photos require photo editing skills, while some photos need to be done off campus. Further, some photos can be improved, for instance, there are too many things need to be unpacked for the Chinese culture broom image. It required too many pre-knowledge from the viewers. Hence, I will take more considerations of the viewers in the future projects.

REFERENCES

Related Words, “broom” accessed September 14, 2017, http://relatedwords.org/relatedto/broom

Fstoppers, “68 Percent of Adults Edit Their Selfies Before Sharing Them With Anyone.” October 30, 2015 https://fstoppers.com/mobile/68-percent-adults-edit-their-selfies-sharing-them-anyone-95417

Xing Fu, “CHINESE BELIEFS ABOUT BROOMS” accessed September 14, 2017, http://shuangxingfu.blogspot.sg/2008/04/chinese-beliefs-about-brooms.html

Famous Photographers, “Chema Madoz” accessed September 16, 2017, http://www.famousphotographers.net/chema-madoz

September 1, 2017September 1, 2017

PROJECT 1: PICTURE STORY – CURATING SELF

PROJECT BRIEF

Accomplish the three tasks with various manipulation techniques in photography.

TASK1: ME

I used to be concerned very much about the judgments from others. It is like a tattoo that is indelible on my skin. I tried so hard to get it away. Eventually, I realized that the problems were not from anywhere else but myself. Happiness is my choice, which has nothing to do with others’ opinions. Why not just KEEP CALM AND EAT ICE CREAM!

In the test shots, I did experiment using a brow colour eyeliner that has a soft texture. After the consultation, I realized that the words written on my face were not harsh enough to express the emotion.

Thus, I changed the media to a black waterproof liquid eyeliner, and it looks more like tattoos. The font I used in the final shots is sharp, straight and messy. It creates an uneasy and unfriendly feeling as compared to the test shots. Further, I explored the different composition, and facial expression to achieve the best results. For instance, the first photo in this series was chosen because of its negative space that creates the focal point on my facial expression as well as its cropping below my eyes, which draws more attention to the emotion.

Inspiration from CHANEL’s Gabrielle bag campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4YzMQGkgM8

Additionally, the framing and arrangement of this series are inspired by CHANEL’s Gabrielle bag campaign. The first photo in this series was taken as portrait and rotated into a landscape photo. Its composition might seems wrong as we see the human in an upright manner normally. The ‘problem’ here hints the problem that I was facing. My figure gradually turns back to upright, which shows I am back to the right track.

TASK2: Object and Representation of Self

“We think with the objects we love: we love the object we think with.”

– THE THINGS THAT MATTER

According to the dictionary, an object is a material thing that can be seen and touched. For me, it is not just something that I can use but a companion to my emotional life. The object that I attach to the most is my earpiece. I bring it along with me not just because of the good sound quality. It companied me during the long boring rides when I was eating alone, and even helped me to get away with some awkward situation.

The test shots were taken to try out the framing and emotion. Several feedbacks were gathered during the consultation, which I had improved in the final shots.

The photos in this series are in different scale which tells the different story about the object and me. The long and medium shots here is to capture the environment, and how I react to the environment when I am interacting with the object. While the close-up shots capture the emotion with some environment. Moreover, many photos were taken to test the body gesture, facial expression and etc. Some are cropped from original shots to achieve a better effect. A few scenes in the background were captured accidentally, which I think is the interesting part of this Project.

TASK3: My World

I moved to Singapore years ago by myself. Sometimes, I am confused that where I actually belong to. There is one place here that when thought the ups and downs with me, which is Chinatown. It is like my wonderland, where I can escape from the reality.

At first, I was quite stuck at this task. I went to Chinatown for several times but have no idea what to focus on. Everything seems equal and it is difficult to spot the high light until my professor pointed out some of the test shots.

Night scene in Spirited Away written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki http://www.misucell.com/group/spirited-away-wallpapers/

People visit Chinatown mainly for the food. All the sign board lighted up with different designs. Some are hung horizontally, while some are vertical. A few restaurants even have more than one sign board. It seems like a competition that everyone wants to stand out. It reminds me of the movie that I watched for hundreds time since young, Spirited Away written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. There are some scenes when night falls, and night life starts. The background is so dim, yet the street seems so alive with the lights. That was how I feel when I walked around Chinatown like walking in the movie scene.

ALL IN ALL

This project is challenging as I need to convey the message as accurate as possible through a few photos. I was stuck at some point but able to find a solution with the suggestions from professor, classmates, and friends. Through this project, I started to pay more attention to details, the meaning behind as well as the mentality of the curator and how it can inspire me. Lastly, the techniques that I learned in class helped me to execute the tasks more accurate and efficient as I know the purposes of different scales and framing.