This is some of the initial experimentation for the Forrest Gump project.

In the Mac Lab, we had a short Photoshop tutorial. I finally learnt what the ‘posterise’ and ‘halftone’ buttons did.

Here are my four quotes. Italics is for the rest of the quote (to provide context), bold is for the section I picked.

1

“I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning, even if I can’t remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world’s still there. Do I believe the world’s still there? Is it still out there? …Yeah. We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”

—Memento (2000)

The one film I would call perfect, without any hesitation. Funny story: when I watched it last year, I thought it was incredibly boring till about the 52-minute mark, and then suddenly it was genius and I had to rewatch it several times. But anyway, the quote. I like it because of its solemn truth, and its universality. The protagonist, Leonard, has anterograde amnesia – short term memory loss – and needs constant reminders of where he is, when it is, what he’s doing and what he needs to do. But then again, so do we.

Possible symbols:

• Mirrors -> kaleidoscope

• Golden retriever (Leonard just resembles one to me, because he’s always running errands for people who take advantage of his memory loss)

• Goldfish (myth that they only have three-second memory span)

Possible designs:

I want there to be a symmetry. A reflection. A border kind of like the frame of a mirror. One black fish amongst the white, to represent how different Leonard is from the rest by dint of his condition and yet how similar he is.

It looked too crowded and detailed for printing, so I simplified it.

I got an oriental vibe from the combination of the ornate frame and goldfish. Not the message I want to send, and I should have kept the oval mirror frame. Still, I think the goldfish is a suitable symbol.

2

“That’s being more rational than Bill led me to believe you were capable of.”

“It’s mercy, compassion, and forgiveness I lack. Not rationality.”

—Kill Bill (2003)

My favourite film since I was eleven or so. Man, it’s violent. I love it. It also has some of the wittiest dialogue I’ve ever heard, so narrowing it down to this one was tough. A former assassin clarifying to a former assassin colleague what she really lacks.

Possible symbols:

• Lioness (“The lioness has been reunited with her cub, and all is right in the jungle.”)

• Bride
• Katana

Possible designs:

3

“I ain’t gonna kill you. Hell, I’m gonna grant your greatest wish. I’m gonna show you a world without sin.”

—Serenity (2005)

So the protagonist Captain Malcolm Reynolds says this when he has the antagonist, known only as the Operative, in checkmate. The Operative usually goes around killing people who have failed in their duty with his sword, and he tells them their sin (of the Seven Deadly Sins). He believes in cleansing the world of all sin. After winning the final fight, Mal shows him exactly what that means: a planet of people drugged with a chemical meant to bring peace but which instead left them practically zombies.

Possible symbols:

• The operative’s sword
• Serpent from Genesis
• Egg – broken or intact?

Possible designs:

4

And finally, just for fun:

“Yes, you had ‘Zombies.’ But this is ‘Zombie Redneck Torture Family.’ Entirely separate thing. It’s like the difference between an elephant and an elephant seal.”

—Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Enough said. Employees of a horror management facility take bets on which monster is going to slaughter a group of teens.

I haven’t thought this through enough yet. I only put this design together:

Overall, I’ve been rather restrained. Not enough playing with elements and composition.

Stay tuned for the next batch! I’m going to try to be more fun.