4D II: TRACES (Individual reflection)

Artist statement:

We were inspired by a recent art exhibition in Japan called “Don’t Follow The Wind”, held within the exclusion zone affected by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. The artists involved in the project transformed abandoned homes and buildings into their personal art spaces. This prompted us to think about the state of homes after citizens fled the area, and the stories that their personal belongings can tell. By creating a space filled with inanimate objects and furniture, we hope to invite viewers to think about the people who could have lived here. Their real identities are never revealed, encouraging individuals to come up with their own interpretations. We also hope to generate discussion about the after effects of the disaster five years on.

Reflection:

When Ruyi first mentioned the prospect of working on an installation during our final project, I felt slightly intimidated. Conceiving an art installation has always intrigued me, but it’s also really intimidating and totally uncharted territory for me. I’m really glad I decided to work with Yiwen and Wilson, because we ended up working really well together and got even closer. We each took initiative to help out here and there, and our roles crossed over a lot because we were helping each other wherever we could. We were also on the same page when it came to ideas, and we were clear with our aims for this project, so misunderstandings were minimised. Overall, I’m really proud of our final installation despite the slight hiccups here and there like lack of resources or last minute booking of projectors. I wouldn’t mind expanding on TRACES in the future when time permits.

4D II: Sound and image

Original video: The Black Hole

The Black Hole is mysterious, thrilling, and ominous. My task: transform the style and mood of the video using only sound. I intended to keep the theme of mystery, since it is sort of the basis of the film, but decided to create a sense of nonsense and wackiness.

The video looks cold and monotonous, and I wanted to juxtapose it with music and effects from a completely different genre. I found out that this technique is called soundtrack dissonance. According to tvtropes.org, it is used to “pose a juxtaposition with the intent of making a thematic statement and/or widening our emotional distance to the events before us, thus allowing us to view the piece in a more removed, intellectual manner”.

Some of my favourite film scenes that use this technique include:

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Gory church fight scene paired with rock music

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXB6slJSbL4

WALL-E

Post apocalyptic scene paired with happy, cheerful music

My reinterpretation

In my version of The Black Hole, the main difference is the introduction of a weird, alien-like boing sound. It gives a odd, unrealistic feel, a vibe that stands out from a boring office environment. The soundtrack that runs throughout the video also brings out the mix of comic and mystery I tried to portray.

Apart from the exhausted sigh at the beginning of the video, I didn’t add any sounds (breathing, mumbling) made by the main character. This is sort of inspired by silent comedy, a techinique used in the 1920s, just to add more nonsensical and quirky vibe.

It was tedious matching sound effects from different sources, and making sure they didn’t sound too artificial with the video. But I had fun trying out different sounds, seeing what worked and what didn’t.

Editing process

Software used: Premiere Pro CS6

Screen Shot 2016-03-15 at 8.42.31 am

Apart from blending the sound effects together, I tried to change the atmosphere whenever he moved into a different location with ambient humming sounds or background noise in an office. I also played around with volume and pitch control.

Sound effects sourced from:

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/
http://www.freesound.org/

Song used:

Three Farmers from The Fantastic Mr Fox original soundtrack

4D II: Backstory and subtext

In-class assignment week 4, with Wilson Heng and Lau Yiwen

We’re all fans of the Hunger Games series, so we decided to dissect Katniss Everdeen’s character. After a brief discussion, we came up with a couple of personality traits: selfless, fiercely protective (of her loved ones), headstrong, desire to take good care of her family.

Family background: Katniss’s father died in a mine explosion when she was 11. From that moment, she had to provide for her mother and sister, using the hunting and gathering knowledge that she learned from her father. Over the years, she put herself in grave danger for the sake of her family’s safety.

Detail we chose to develop: her protective nature.

We decided to recreate this scene in the modern family context. The protagonist, Wilson, holds responsibility to take care of the father and sister after the passing of his mother. One day, Wilson returns home after a long day at work only to find out that his family have not eaten dinner. Frustrated, he rebuked his father for his incapability to take good care of the sister.

Here is a comparison of Hunger Games and our spin-off, Home:

Hunger Games Home
Death of Katniss’ father Death of Wilson’s mother
Mother is a reserved, withdrawn individual and ever since her husband died, she doesn’t seem strong enough to care for Katniss and Primrose Father slips into mild depression and sometimes believes that his wife is still alive. He becomes disconnected from his children
Katniss takes up the role to take care of her mother and sister Wilson steps up to become the sole breadwinner of the family
Katniss volunteers as tribute when her sister Primrose was chosen to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games, to protect her from being killed Wilson is very protective of his sister, and gets very upset at his father for failing to take care of her while he’s out at work

 

Scene = Goal + Conflict + Consequence

Wilson’s desire to protect + father’s inability to help out gets in the way of Wilson + relationship between Wilson and his father worsens/sours.

Past events that attributed to his protective nature:

  • Wilson’s mother has always been the core of the family that glues everyone together. She cooks and takes care of the house.
  • The death of the mother marks the turning point.
  • Father is traumatised and refuses to acknowledge the loss of his wife.

Present events that attribute to his protective nature:

  • Wilson is now the sole breadwinner of the family. He works long hours everyday to provide for his family, and make sure they’re safe and comfortable
  • He takes on the role of his mother to ensure the welfare of his family. He makes an effort to tidy up the house and ensure that they have eaten
  • He snaps at his father when he realises how the father has failed to do his part to rebuild the family

The story’s subtext and exposition is communicated mainly through the dialogue, followed by actions and props.

  1. The conversation between Wilson and father disclosed the death of mother.
  2. Will changes his tone in speech from concern to anger, displaying his strong will to protect and provide the best for the family.
  3. The messy table filled with newspapers reflects father’s weak mental state.
  4. Wilson is the only character moving about (and standing) within different scenes while others remain seated. It implies a contrast to how they are coping with the death of mother.

Script

script 2 script 1

We fleshed out a draft of our script to help us when we started filming. This screenshot shows our work in progress — we ended up changing the parent from Wilson’s mother to his father instead, because our male friend agreed to act for us.

 

4D II: Alter ego

I started this project by working out lists of fictional characters, public figures and people in my life that have made an impact on me.

Literary/fictional characters 

  • Merida from Brave — her fiercely independent spirit
  • Walter Mitty — he leaves his hesitant life to chase a man, has an unexpected adventure
  • Super Mario — spent a fair bit of my childhood being obsessed with the game
  • Jasmine from Aladdin — didn’t conform to an arranged marriage, despite it being a custom. Instead, she followed her heart

Public figures

  • Jennifer Lawrence — not afraid to be goofy and candid
  • Emma Watson — feminist and unafraid. She’s also really intellectual and I love her style 🙂
  • Estee Lalonde, beauty YouTuber — really candid and real with her audience, doesn’t put on a front
  • Jason Mraz — hippie, he has an avocado farm, uses music to spread love and environmental awareness
  • Kina Grannis — singer/songwriter who pushed herself to pursue music to get rid of her fear of singing in public

People I know

  • Deborah Emmanuel — local poet, writer and singer. Incredibly expressive and I love her work.
  • Faz Gaffa — my beauty editor. Carved a career out for herself + moved to America despite uncertainty all around her. She also taught me almost everything I know about being a writer.
  • Jackie — owner of Fingersmith letterpress. Went abroad for a period of time to learn about the art of letterpressing, then set up a studio in her backyard.
  • Siraj — my percussion senior, local musician. Very active in community service, recently went to Pakistan and Iran to do community work. His helpful nature is inspirational.
  • Vanessa — owner of Plain Vanilla cupcakes. Left her job as a lawyer to set up a cupcake store. She is very clear about the store’s aesthetic, voice and the people who represent it. Very passionate.

I also looked at my personal themes derived from my compilation of major experiences in my life, which are family ties and independence.

Choosing a character

Finally, I decided to go with Merida from Brave as my chosen character to portray my alter-ego. Merida is a brave and headstrong girl who does not identify with the typical traits of a princess. Instead of being a damsel in distress who dutifully abides by customs, Merida openly rebels and defies her heritage as a princess. She just wants to be a normal girl.

I was really drawn to her strong yearning to be independent and take on responsibilities. But her ideals were foiled due to over-protective parents.

How I can relate: as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started being more independent, going on trips without my parents and seeking adventure more avidly. But my parents often tell me how much they worry about my wellbeing, and they seem unsure that I can take care of myself. They still generally let me do what I want, but I know they’re worrying about me every day. It has become a kind of inner conflict within me, deciding if I want to be selfish and do what I want/go where I want to go, or staying behind and being a dutiful daughter so my parents will stop worrying.

Final film

My final video was done in a monologue style the inner conflict between feeling thankful that she has a comfortable life, but still wanting more, in terms of being able to make her own decisions and not be bounded to what her parents think she should and shouldn’t do.

*This is a dramatisation of my actual feelings. IRL my parents are super supportive and even though they worry a lot, they let me do what I want in the end 🙂

 

4D II: Exploring Themes

We were tasked to find a film from the ADM library and watch the first 10 minutes of it, then pick out the main issues and themes of the film and finally put together a title sequence lasting no longer than 1 minute.

I picked The Breakfast Club, an 80’s classic, and one of my favourite films ever. The main points from the film: adults/society put(s) these seemingly ‘good-for-nothings’ in a box, casting stereotypes and thinking lowly of them. But the film teaches us that you don’t amount to what society thinks of you. We all have the power to make a mark in this world, and as long as you have supportive people (in this case, a bunch of unlikely friends) in your life, you can make it.

Another film that has a slightly similar theme is Kung Fu Panda. As an obese and clumsy panda, Po is an unlikely candidate to save his village. But he perseveres through it all and brings glory to his hometown, with the quiet support of his father.

4D II: Self Inventory

We were tasked to list major experiences in our life and categorise them into personal themes. I’ve sorted mine into three categories:

Independence

  • Taking a gap year was a huge and scary decision, because I always thought I would go straight to university after I got my diploma. It turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made, and it made me grow up.
  • Before I got into design, I was sure for a long time that I would be a journalist. I was an editorial intern for six months, and when my first article got published with my byline, it was a really huge milestone for me. My bosses believed in my work and let me work on stories independently.
  • During my gap year, I was a graphic design intern at an online magazine. It was a really insane and fun period in my life, and my boss gave me the opportunity to be directly involved in many big projects. One of them was a print guide for tourists in collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board, and seeing the final proofs for a layout I helped create meant a lot to me.

Family ties

  • My extended family had a partial falling out due to money issues. I was (and still am) really disappointed and sad that a couple of adults I used to look up to turned into completely different people when inheritance was at hand.
  • My sister gave birth to her first child almost 2 months ago, and my family instantly fell in love with baby Ethan. I always get excited when I know I’m about to visit him, and I almost always don’t want to put him down.

Travel

  • I did a road trip in Sydney, Australia in July 2015 with my boyfriend and it was such a lovely adventure. I felt so free, away from commitments and demands. We had a perfect itinerary of just the right amount of nature and the city.
  • As a graduation trip, I went to Bali with some of my closest friends in 2014. We were younger and more reckless then, and we made some pretty stupid decisions. All 7 of us got into minor motorcycle accidents throughout the trip, and we almost drowned when a strong current swept us away. It was a fun trip, but it made me realise how complacent we were for the sake of fun.

 

At first, doing this self-reflecting exercise didn’t seem too big of a deal, but since compiling a list of personal major moments and milestones, it’s painted a clearer picture of my personality, and how my experiences and feelings make me the person I am today. It’s also interesting to think of these personal themes that innately flow through me.