March 2017

There were 6 posts published in March 2017 (this is page 1 of 1).

Foundation 2D (II) Project 2: Zine – First Draft & Consultation

After putting together the first draft of my zine, one major obstacle I faced was the lack of pages for this assignment. I did not want my narrative to seem rushed and I still wanted to retain the minimalist quality to my work so this will be an ongoing challenge.

These were some of my design inspirations going into my first draft:

Here is my first draft with Mimi’s general comments below:

I decided to go with hand-written typography to give my text a more authentic and personal feel. I also tried to give the whole zine a more open look limiting my spreads to having not more than two photographs. Here are the main points I gathered from today’s consultation:

  1. Mimi felt that I should explore on using fonts instead of handwriting because she loved the font used on the back page.
  2. The photos are not being given enough airtime because of their size so perhaps I could explore letting some of them bleed to the edges.
  3. The cover image could be stronger and we discussed doing a swop of images that will be applied to my next draft.
  4. Mimi was not here for the centre spread on pages 3 to 4 so I will rework that.

Stay tuned to the next update! 🙂

Foundation 2D (II) Project 2: Zine – Ang Mo Kio Revisited & Concept Development

Today’s Sunday, 19th March 2017, and I finally made my second trip to AMK. The purpose of my trip was to find more interesting photos and angles I could take of the dragon playground and boy was I inspired.

For starters, I found a piece of cake someone had irresponsibly disposed beneath the playground:

This gave me inspiration for more narratives and dialogues about letting something/someone eat away at something that mattered. The destroying of something once perceived as beautiful or perfect.

I took out my macro lens and got to work. I haven’t decided yet however if these new photos will fit into my zine’s concept.

Which brings me to my next point:

CONCEPT

Based on my previous post, I decided to do a narrative on a relationship going sour which will be accompanied by images from the playground which will act as a motif or juxtaposed and symbolic scene where it all takes place.

After coming home with my new photos, I tried to begin writing my narrative but somehow it all sounded very forced. I did however come up with a title:

This is Where We Fell in Love

Here is a concept I came up with for my previous 3D assignment which was shelved completely due to a lack of resources. The text in this document came from authentic message exchanges and I decided to use these to form my narrative. This was way more personal and bore more meaning to me.

[CANCELLED] Installation Concept: The Beauty of a Broken Heart

I will continue to work on my layout and weave the copy into the images I have of the dragon playground. I have begun the process tonight and it truly is a very slow and reflective process that I find is mildly therapeutic.

Till the next update!

Foundation 4D (II) Project 2: Sound & Image – I DO

Our second 4D assignment proved to be one of the most tiring projects yet! Over two weekends, my team and I worked tirelessly to come up with a concept and script, shot/equipment list, cast actors and even do a re-shoot as we were unable to capture everything we needed during the first filming date.

Here’s a look behind the scenes (filled with some shots/locations that were not used in the final cut):

 

In case you were wondering why there was a need for a character in drag (although who wouldn’t want a character in drag?), we felt it provided some subtext. The character was distraught and left to wonder what his ex (Isaac) saw in Isabel that he could not provide or embody. He therefore ‘get pretty’ and dolls himself up for the big day and is in search for some sort of resolution.

In the end, he decides to let go and walks away.

After production came post where my teammate Vanessa and I went through the tedious task of recording foley for our film. Here are some snippets from the night:

Dripping water onto a plate to create the sound of water dripping from Isaac’s face (0:15-0:16)

Overlaying the sound of the makeup brush being taken out of a jar (0:41-0:43)

Wetting the rim of a plastic container to make the sound of the tap squeaking shut (0:14-0:15)

To see a full list of the foley sounds we recorded click here

For the full production script click here

And finally, I present to you the final film:

Foundation 2D (II) Project 2: Zine – Research/Recce

ANG MO KIO

“The name Ang Mo Kio in Hokkien literally translates to “red-haired man’s bridge”, where ang mo is a colloquial term for a Caucasian person. The maps showed John Turnbull Thomson’s bridge over the Kallang River, near what is now the junction of Upper Thomson Road and Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1. With the clearing of the land, several villages sprung up, which eventually became known as Ang Mo Kio.”

– an excerpt from Singapore Infopedia http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_230_2005-01-25.html

After doing much research on Ang Mo Kio, I decided on my angle:

Pursuit of a New Ang Mo Kio

This title ignited thoughts of finding the modern-day bridge that tied the people of AMK together and also possibly discovering a bridge that has stood the test of time and can link us to the past.

Bridges bear so many meanings in today’s context. In this zine, we will explore the various bridges that have connected and continue to connect the people of Ang Mo Kio, both to one another and with the rest of Singapore.

Bridge Symbolism: Connector, transition, bridging a gap / gaining new information

 

I had shortlisted four places to go to, namely:

  1. AMK’s famous dragon playground – one of the two left in Singapore
  2. The AMK junction where the original ‘Ang Mo Kio’ once stood
  3. An old underpass that connected Ang Mo Kio to Hougang/Serangoon Gardens
  4. AMK Town Centre

However, because of my busy schedule and having the bad luck of recent rainy days, I only managed to go to the dragon playground but that got me super inspired.

In terms of zine content, I decided I wanna go with a photo-oriented zine that interplayed between imagery and poetry (that I intend to write). I feel the bridging theme coupled with images of the past and the many mysteries they conceal or reveal is an interesting concept that i would like to work and develop on. Stay tuned for the next update 😉