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Our group or as known as Ling Teh Kam-pany (Derived from our names), consists of Kam Yit Ling, Clara Teh Ke Wei and myself, Seng Yi Ling. And here, we present to you our very own movie trailer for our final 4D assignment of Year 1 Semester 1…

Movie Title: Yi(t) Ling
Genre: Fantasy + Psychological Horror

3 Act Structure

Beginning (Act 1)

Yi Ling is a shy and quiet person. Once focused on a task, she is far from being distracted. Sadly, she is ostracized by her classmates as she seemed rude and had a stuck up attitude. Her classmates disliked and gave her a hard time. Until one day, her new classmate Queenie decided to befriend her.

Rising action

To her dismay, Queenie sold Yi Ling out to fit in as she got ostracized by their classmates when she was seen hanging out with Yi Ling. She ganged up with her classmates and forced Yi ling into room rumored to be haunted for fun’s sake. When Yi Ling managed to open the door after much struggling, she was transported to another dimension where there were doors which led her to places as a ghost tailed her.

Middle (Act 2)

Encounters with the ghost tells Yi Ling that the ghost wants her to stay in this dimension and never go back. The spirit was motivated by loneliness which both characters shared and was enraged when Yi Ling refused to stay.

Ending (Act 3)

The ghost is in actual fact a manifestation as her alter ego. The other dimension filled with doors was a symbolism of change Yi Ling faced in her life. And the only way Yi Ling can get back to her world is by killing a part of her: Her Alter Ego.

References

We watched many horror movie trailers as a form of research and shared our experiences and views on past movies we’ve watched that could be of assistance to our movie trailer! 🙂

Crimson Peak (The Ghost was constantly present, but not shown blatantly.)

Black Swan (Killing of her Alter Ego)

The Babadook (Ghost was a manifestation of main character’s fears.)

The Boy ( Placement of background music.)

Placement of background music was very on point here – it had us 3 covering our ears and half shutting our eyes in fear to watch the trailer. The initial beginning of the trailer has a soft mellow piano tune when the female lead approaches the mansion, and the drastic change of music when they revealed The Boy to her sent shivers down our spine. The sudden change of music instantly let the viewers know what atmosphere the trailer aims to set: Simple life of the girl -> Horror of her lifetime.

Blair Witch Project (Handheld camera shots to show desperation and fear.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0

Coraline (Travelling into another dimension, and use of different colour for different world)

In Coraline, the saturation of her world is low and colours are dull like the reality she lives in. In the other dimension, she enters a door where saturation is high and colours are vibrant and lively like the life she yearns to live in.

Editorial

Blackout shots – Blackout transition shots are a recurring motif. It is used as a representation of time lapse. When used in our trailer, the following scene will be of another place and another time. In addition, length of transition creates suspense and indicate a tonal shift in the scene.

Color  – Adjusting of color to establish different dimensions were used. In the real world, colors are more saturated and was brighter; whereas in the other dimension, saturation was kept to a minimum and brightness was decreased to emphasize on the stark differences in both worlds, so as to make it more spooky.

Background music and audio – Music were used to build up the anticipation and gives the audience the emotion they ought to be feeling a specific sections of the trailer. For instance, mellow piano music at the start to give a soothing feeling, and high pitched fast paced music at the climax when main character was being chased down.

Parallel Universe – At the scene (0:45) where the main character exit onto the parking lot, the composition has a mirror image reflection on the extreme left of the shot, to enhance the parallel universe feeling.
Staircase scene shows main character running up the stairs away from the Ghost, but she remains on the same level as the stairway in the other dimension is an infinite loop (0:58 – 1:09) .

Shots Established

Still Shot was used at the start of the trailer, where a serene feeling is given of the school environment. (0:09)

Fast Pan + POV at the scene where main character looks around perplexed at the new dimension she entered (0:49) .

Dolly In and Out scenes are present at the scene to show the ominous door (0:30) and the scene where zooming in on her expression to show that  she is perplexed after opening the door to another location (0:48).

Mid-shot was used at the scene where main character is pleading the classmates to let her out. (0:40)

Handheld shot when the main character is running up the stairs. (1:01)

Low Angle Shot at the scene where 3 Classmates (Dawin, Jon, JiaQi – Thanks guys!) were gossiping about the main character. (0:22)

Trucking Shot was used when classmates (Thanks Queenie and Debbie!)were pushing the main character inside the haunted room. (0:35)

Close-up Shot was used when main character was wrenching at the door handle when she is locked in (0:41). And the part where the main character’s phone is ringing (1:25).

Canted angle shot are present when phone is dropped amidst the struggle when pushing the main character inside the haunted room (0:37), and the scene where the ghost is wrenching the door to be opened (1:14). This is to create drama and suspense.

Slow Pan is used at the transition scene where the main character looks into the mirror and the reflection looks back at her (1:39-1:42).

Challenges Faced

  • We tend to forget that the trailer is 2 mins and thus, eventually worry that our trailer does not convey our plot properly; but at the same time we don’t want our trailer to be a 2 min summary of the movie (given that it is a MOVIE trailer).
  • Finding an appropriate location which conveyed the intended feeling was not easy. Our main character’s setting is in a school environment and hence the school was used. But for the horror aspect we had to find narrow and dark areas within campus and that was difficult. Given that we even trespassed ongoing construction sites in school.
  • Suitable. background. music. was. really. hard. to. find.
  • Miss Ruyi mentioned that our logo and lobby music was not very appropriate for our Horror trailer, but our group felt that the logo was a good representation of our efforts as a group and the elevator music gave it a merry feeling. This will create the drop of emotions when the horror aspects of our trailer is revealed. 🙂
Feedbacks and Critiques
  • Bar chart results obtained from Ms Ruyi’s Google survey for our group were more towards the positive end of the spectrum.  (thank you!)
  • Sound effect can be toned down to hear narration of the alter ego better in the end.
  • The starting music doesn’t match with the rest of the trailer , perhaps a non jazzy music that foreshadows the story?
  • Show that the alter ego and the main character are two compelling personalities/ people by including more interactive scenes between the 2. Perhaps by voice over of dialogue between 2 person or a struggle between the 2.
  • Yi Ling can act! (Yi Ling says thank you >~< )
  • There were different shots to show the mood of the character.
If u guys have any constructive criticism or comments that we’ve missed out, do leave a feedback down below! WE APPRECIATE IT ?
Initially I was pretty apprehensive to do group work for assignments as I am a rather ‘lone ranger’ kind of person, and having to do group work would mean that there is potential conflicts etc. But I was proven extremely wrong as I felt that our group worked really well together and even bonded closer as friends! 😀 I am very blessed to have worked with Clara and Yit Ling for this project, and I couldn’t have asked for better group mates~
Our first and hopefully not the last group photo as Ling Teh Kam-pany :D

Our first and hopefully not the last group photo as Ling Teh Kam-pany 😀

Thanks lovelies 😉

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Our group (Clara, Yit Ling and myself) created this movie trailer for our Final Assignement 🙂

Genre: Fantasy + Psychological Horror

Beginning (Act 1)

Yi Ling is a shy and quiet person, but she was ostracized by her classmates as she seemed as though she had a stuck up attitude. Her classmates disliked and gave her a hard time. Until one day, her new classmate Queenie decided to befriend her.

Rising action

To her dismay, Queenie sold Yi Ling out to fit in as she got ostracized by her classmates when she was seen hanging out with her. She ganged up with her classmates and forced Yi ling into room rumored to be haunted for fun’s sake. When Yi ling managed to open the door after much struggling, she was transported to another dimension where there were doors which led her to places where a ghost tailed her.

Middle (Act 2)

Encounters with the ghost tells Yi ling that the ghost wants her to stay in this dimension and never go back. The spirit was motivated by loneliness which both characters shared and was enraged when Yi ling refused to stay.

Ending (Act 3)

The ghost is in actual fact a manifestation as her alter ego. The other dimension filled with doors was a symbolism of change Yi ling faced in her life. And the only way Yi ling can get back to her world is by killing a part of her: Her alter ego.

THIS IS NOT THE FINAL VIDEO 🙂 STAY TUNED FOR A NEWER, BETTER AND UPDATED MOVIE TRAILER.

COMING SOON BEFORE 15 NOVEMBER! 😉

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Assignment 3 was pretty fun to do as I tried to apply what we’ve learnt during lessons with Ms Ruyi, and having to work with subject matter which didn’t have facial expressions was quite a fun challenge to me!
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I carrot about you

Title: I carrot about you

Genre: Romance + Tragedy

Logline: A modern day vegetable love story.

Synopsis using 3 Act structure:

(Exposition/Introduction) Cassandra the Carrot has lived a long and lonely life in the fridge. The other ingredients in the fridge has already gotten their partners: a dozen of eggs, a pair of apples and a pair of pears .

(Rising Action) One day, The Hand reached out and placed Cassandra on the kitchen counter. In awe because Carrot has yet to seen the warm outside world for a long time, she was happy. Then suddenly, The Hand placed a grocery bag beside her where she met Carl the Cabbage.

(Stakes getting higher) Carl and Cassandra fell in love at first sight. They were different from their own species and were very intrigued with each other. The other vegetables despised and talked behind their backs about their uncommon and odd relationship. But they didn’t care. They were in love.

(Crisis) One evening, Carrot was taken away from Cabbage’s embrace by The Hand as she was no longer fresh enough to keep. And Cabbage was placed in the cold dark fridge by The Hand. Out of misery and desperation, Cabbage rammed himself against the fridge door repeatedly to save the love of his life, in the process, damaging himself.

(Falling Action) Upon seeing the damaged cabbage when The Hand took the fishcakes out of the fridge, The Hand decided to cook the Carl . The Hand took Carl to the chopping board and he saw the remains of his lover: Cassandra’s peeled skin and carrot top. Carl’s heart was torn apart, like how he was being torn by The Hand.

(Resolution) Little did they know that they were cooked and served in different dishes, the bodies of Carl and Cassandra were reunited again on the dinner table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Expressions

My video does not include narration nor visible facial expressions. HENCE, I attempted to include expressions for my subject matters by the use of angle, proximity of the subject matters and the expression marks usually used in manga and comic books.
I used the 3 pink lines on each 'cheek' of my subject matters to indicate blushing.

I used the 3 pink lines on each ‘cheek’ of my subject matters to indicate blushing.

Mood and Atmosphere of situation
Camera Angles: Canted angles are often used  to indicate dramatization and shock during the Crisis stage where Carl and Cassandra were separated at the sink, as well as when Carl was damaged after he got damaged in the process to save Cassandra.
31-frame-editted

The two lovers were separated by The Hand by the sink

Timing of each image: Heavily inspired by La Jetee’s use of timing for each image to give the mood and situation of each scene, I set the timing for the images to be short (2 seconds) to indicate speed of each scene. For instance the scene where Carl was being taken away by The Hand from Cassandra, and the scene where he was brutally ripped apart by The Hand.
The process where Carl was taken away by The Hand was quick. Hence the image timing was quick too.

The process where Carl was taken away by The Hand was quick. Hence the image timing was quick too.

And I extended the timing for the images (~7 seconds) for the scenes where time seem to stop, to sink in the moment. Such as the scene where Cassandra and Carl were in love and admiring each other.
Time seems to pause momentarily for them as they fell in love

Time seems to pause momentarily for them as they fell in love

Reoccurring Motif: Inspired by the film American Beauty where the color Red was a reoccurring motif, I decided to use the red mug with the Chinese character ‘囍’ as the reoccurring motif. ‘囍’ means double happiness where it is usually used in traditional Chinese weddings. It acts a semiotic in my images to describe the mood of double happiness when Carl and Cassandra meet.

Time seems to pause momentarily for them as they fell in love

Time seems to pause momentarily for them as they fell in love, represented by the red mug.

The mug was seen again in the scene where Carl was kept in the fridge, but this time, the Chinese character  囍 was halved as he is now alone and not with his other half: Cassandra.

囍 is halved in this scene where Carl is viewed upclose

囍 is halved in this scene where Carl is viewed up-close.

Lighting: I edited the refrigerator photos to a blue-ish lighting to emit a sterile and lack of warmth environment, and increased the saturation level of the subjects that experience warmth/love in the fridge such as the coupled fruits and eggs. This is to emphasize that amidst the cold and lack of warmth environment, the coupled subjects obtained their warmth from their partner’s love. Whereas Cassandra the carrot does not have the warmth lighting like the rest as she is alone and at that moment unloved.
Blue-ish tone of fridge

Blue-ish tone of fridge

Pears in love has warmer tones as compared to the blue-ish background

Pears in love has a warmer tone as compared to the blue-ish background

Background music (BGM): 
BGM chosen are non lyrical and usually includes instruments and white noises. I didn’t want lyrical BGM to distract the viewers as the words may create a different meaning. I wanted to choose a BGM that conveys the mood of the situation, and that was the main point for me.

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Use of Wally Wood’s 22 Panels to create Variety
Depth
Depth in Wally Wood's 22 Panels

Depth in Wally Wood’s 22 Panels

One big and one small object in Wally Wood's 22 Panels

One big and one small object in Wally Wood’s 22 Panels

Cassandra is often in the distance and blurry whereas the coupled subject matters are up close on the right or left, to create depth. My intention was  to create an implied line, to emit this feeling where Cassandra is looking from afar in slight envy of the loving fruits.

Depth is created here as eggs are closer to the camera while the other veggies and fruits are further behind

Depth is created here as eggs are closer to the camera while the other veggies and fruits are further behind

Contrast

Contrast in Wally Wood's 22 Panels

 

Use of dark foreground in Wally Wood’s 22 Panels

Contrast in color and tone is often used in the images in my video so as to allow the viewers to focus on a certain area only. This contrasts creates variety in the images and prevents them from looking flat and non- emotive.
Bright central subject matters against a dark background

Bright central subject matters against a dark background

Subject matters in the foreground are much darker as compared to central subject matters.

Subject matters in the foreground are much darker as compared to central subject matters.

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Conclusion of Assignment 2
It was quite a challenge for me to portray the feelings of my subjects as they were non- living and expressionless. I have learnt that the use of timing of each image, lighting, angle and music to give emotions to my subject matters and every tweak or post photography edits changes the mood and atmosphere the original image could convey! Ru Yi suggested that I should have removed the blushing effect  and startled effect over the subject matters as the music and color contrast was already pretty much self explanatory :0 . Nonetheless, it was a real fun for me in this project as I was able to be my own director and portray my expressionless subject matters the way I want to create a narrative story!
Cheers!
Seng Yi Ling

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Place of significance: My Grandparent’s House

Q: Why does it make you feel the way you feel? Are there any particular features or qualities about the place that evoke those feelings? Is it people, the environment or a combination?

I like to feel safe and stick to the things I am used to and familiar with, because I already know nothing bad is going to get to me.

My grandmother is very similar to me when it comes to preference. We both like things of the past. So she tries to retain the way things were when she first moved in the HDB flat, and never buys something new or modern unless the new replica of the broken product cannot be found anymore. Hence, the place is very much like the way I was as a child as far as I could remember.

The non-slip mustard tiled grid floors, traditional Chinese tear-off calendar, wooden rice container etc. looked the way they were for my whole life. Being in my grandmother’s house makes me feel like a little girl again every time I visit.

It is a combination of both the people and the environment really, that evoke those feelings of nostalgia, safety and lots of love. My grandparent’s house will not be the same as it is without my grandmother nor the feeling will be the same if my grandmother is living in a totally different house. I felt that difference the most upon the passing of my grandfather. Hence, the emptiness portrayed in the photographs is evident in my photos.

Q: What would you like to share with us?

Richard Billingham, Untitled (Ray’s A Laugh 6), 1995

I was quite inspired by one of the reference artist, Richard Billingham. He was able to evoke the personalities of his subject matter and scenario, while being frank and authentic. He say he feels better when he doesn’t use a digital camera as he does not want to keep looking at the photographs behind the screen be bothered by how he can repetitively take a better photograph and he no longer knows what is he doing, so he thinks it is better if he cannot see what he has done at that moment, and then look later when the film is developed. I could relate to how Billingham feel regarding using a digital camera or smartphone to take photographs, as I would be so concerned about how pretty a photograph looks, I forget my initial intention: to take a meaningful photograph instead. A lot of his inspiration comes from childhood, which is what captured my attention initially.

The reason I shot the photographs from a downward angle is because I wanted to recreate the perspective I had as a child: Small and curious. I enhance the colours to replicate how the actual scenario looked like off camera, it is because this is how I see things: In colour, the way it is.

Upon taking the photographs, I was trying to look at the parts in the house that caught my attention the most at that age. I recall climbing up the table counter from the kitchen stove area so that I can reach the ‘Mamee Noodle Snack’ in the cabinet my grandmother hid from me before dinner. Hence, this photo of the kitchen counter. (Photograph 2)

The area where I played ‘Masak Masak’ with my grandmother’s bowls in the wooden cabinet, mixing my milk powder formula with the raw rice in the wooden bucket. (Photograph 4)

The cooking area where I watched my grandmother cook as I snuck a few pieces of piping hot luncheon meat into my mouth the instant she plated them. But of course, I think she knew. (Photograph 1)

All of these scenarios ended the same: My grandmother carrying and scolding me in Teo Chew dialect while I writhed and kicked in annoyance all the way to the living room where it is ‘safer’ for me to play as my grandfather would be watching me while he dozes off.

Problems faced when I was doing this project is that I was unable to capture the entire scenario. Like for instance, this photo feels incomplete without having that table. But if I were to manually move the table into the photo I am taking, the photo loses its significance because it feels staged.

However, if I were to stand in a position where both the table and the scenario I want to capture can be simultaneously captured, it still feels wrong because there is an extra materials in the photo that I don’t wish to capture.

Doing a panoramic shot of my world feels very spherical and some objects have too much depth when it is actually rather flat. Hence, the photos I have taken feels… missing of some emotions, or too many elements to focus on.

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These are the 4 images I have selected that best convey the world that is significant to me:

reedit

Photograph 1: A panoramic view of my world

My World Photo 2

Photograph 2

My World Photo 3

Photograph 3

My World Photo 1

Photograph 4

To conclude, as I grow older I have learnt that society does not work the way it does at home. I have to learn to try new things, be adventurous and take a leap of faith. But very much, most of the times I feel that doing these are very daunting and foreign to me, and that is where I rely on things that remind me of my safe haven. Since childhood is something I can never ever go back to, holding dear memories of it and being in places that reminds me of them is the least I can do to comfort myself when things gets too scary, it allows me to know how much of a person I have grown into, and how much more I have to know and grow.

 

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Object of Significance: Yu Yee Oil.

Significance:

Yu Yee Oil has been with us for as long as many of us can remember. I believe that every Singaporean is able to recognise this brand just base on the packaging design and colour. It is a go-to medicated oil for children who has stomach-ache and an essential item for parents to apply this on the belly and bottom of the feet for their kids every time after their bath.

Yu Yee Oil is a significant object that greatly reminds me of my childhood. It has been with me since I was a baby.

Even today, I still use it. Not only because for its function to cure stomach-aches, but because the smell itself is very comforting. I even bring it with me to places I am unfamiliar with. A familiar scent that has been with me since childhood. A scent that is highly distinguishable. A whiff of it instantly calms me down. It makes me feel grounded. The moment the minty scent hits the back of my throat; a surge of warmth spreads within me and I feel all soft, mushy and warm; like a baby wrapped in a bundle. And I like feeling like that. A baby wrapped in a bundle, safe and sound with not a thing to worry about. And I think this is a way I can take myself away from reality, even if it is only just for a while.

References and Objectives:

I used maternity, family and baby photoshoots as visual references.

I wanted to capture the essence of family love, tranquility and purity. So I studied how the position of subject matters in the photos can help achieve the mood I wanted to convey.

photo ref

Baby photo shoot ideas pictures with baby girl with her cute headband looking up to the camera

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hence, with that, I wanted to capture these bolded words above in my photographs.

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My Story:

Close up of the object in a neutral background from various vantage points

Front view of object against white back drop.

Front view of object against white back drop.

Top View of object on soft towel

Top View of object on soft towel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Side view of object lying down on soft towel.

Side view of object lying down on soft towel.

 

 

 

 

 

Full Figure shot of myself with the object.

Normal Standing pose with the object.

Normal Standing pose with the object.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Full Figure shot of myself interacting with the object. Aim to capture my feeling about the object.

Cradling my object like a baby bump.

Cradling my object like a baby bump.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mid-range shot of me interacting with the object. Aim to capture my feeling about the object.

Playing with my object as though it is like a newborn.

Playing with my object as though it is like a newborn.

My Story Photo 3 My Story Photo 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close- up shots of me interacting with the object

My Story Photo 1Close up shot 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

My final top 3 photographs that I felt conveyed the mood of my story:

I deliberately wore white to create a juxtaposition between the bright and vibrant colours of my object. So that more attention can be drawn to my object and my expressions which I wanted to use as the main elements to set the mood of my story.

My Story Photo 2

My object keeps me safe when I am scared.

I chose a specific timing in the afternoon to capture this image as the lighting from my window casts a shadow behind me. Shadow is casted towards the interior of the room which represented the internal darkness I have inside of me, and the bright light casted towards the exterior is a representation of my bright personality on the outside.

My Story Photo 3

My Object is soft and delicate to the skin like a baby.

My Story Photo 1

My object is small and close to me. Literally and metaphorically.

 

 

 

I attempted to create depth in this photograph as I brought my object much closer to the camera and pulled myself far behind. I wanted to show that a small and bright object like this, can also have a great impact in my plain white life.

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THE HALL OF REJECTED WORKS

These are just some of the photographs that failed the cut to get selected as my top 3 images because I couldn’t capture the emotions I want to convey in the photographs.

photo ref

 

 

 

 

 

editted

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I brought my hand around the object to draw the viewer’s attention by framing it, and tilting my head at that direction. I thought looking at it would provide an implied line in the direction of the object. I tousled and spread out my hair to give a more relaxed feeling. However, I felt that after the shot was taken the mood was more…sensuous than pure and tranquil. Hence this photograph did not make the cut.

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Physical contact is a way to draw people closer because of intimacy and entering of one’s personal space. Hence, I plastered the object close to my face and cropped a mid-shot photograph to a close-up photograph obtain this. My objective for cropping is to allow the viewer to feel closer to us (me and my object). And placing the object against my face is a form of physical intimacy.

Close up shot 1

This photograph failed the cut because my object’s function is not to be used anywhere near the face (application on face may burn). In addition, this photograph looks like a cosmetic advertisement instead, which totally goes against the function of my object.

 

This was a fun project! 😀

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So we were tasked to create a movie poster that represents our life story.

16-08-28-01-42-04-413_deco

Title: 回到最初 , Back in Time

Film Genre: Family / Documentary

Conceptual Idea: Yin and Yang. I played around with the colors and choice of clothing to further emphasize that I am an awkward present in the beautiful façade of the past.

Director’s story (ahem, me): I chose to use this playground as my background, as playgrounds like these are a rare find in Singapore. Traditional playgrounds like these, which are mainly made out of concrete are my favorite kind. I like how the concrete and tiles feels warm at night, and cool to the skin on warm and sunny days. Though colours are less vibrant, and more pastel than the typical plastic ones we see now; I prefer the traditional concrete ones because it feels more organic and sturdy, as though it is one with the concrete floors.

I spent a whole lot of my time playing in playgrounds like these while waiting for my parents to end work, and after dinner. And I made many temporary playground mates while playing typical playground games like hide-and-seek ( hence the pose).

Reason for it being a Mandarin poster because my family is mainly Teochew dialect and Mandarin speaking, hence the strong inclination to do a Mandarin poster.

Behind the scenes: Implied lines from the playground brings the viewer’s attention to the center of the playground, and then moving their eyes downwards to the 2 circles. I tried to go as far behind and crouched low. I tried to make myself look as small as I can, like a child playing a game of hide-and-seek.

Choice of color and tone: I picked earthy colors such as brown and green for the fonts to simulate the groundedness of the concrete playground. And edited the photo to give a yellow sepia tone to give off the feeling of nostalgia and reminiscence of my past.

In addition, my choice of clothes does not match the time period of the playground. I wore darker clothing so that the vibrant colors of the playground could stand out more.

Though I am the central figure of the movie poster, I wanted to create a contrast between me and the playground so that the viewers would look at the playground first, so as to imply that the traditional architecture is actually the key elements in this movie.

 

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Week 2 of Foundation 4D class was our first lesson for the day!

Our instructor Miss Ruyi Wong taught us about many different aspects that contributes to a good photograph, as well as what our eyes perceive.

Reference artists such as Cindy Sherman and Sally Mann were used.

My classmates also shared their about their favorite photographers and explained the reasons why so. And the photographers shared that I have gained a new interest in are @nguan and @sheiku. (I went by their Instagram account)

Nguan: http://nguan.tv/

Looking at Nguan’s works, I find that they are very distinguishable as it has a pinkish filter that no one is able to easily replicate, and the colors present are comfortable to the eyes.

The subjects matter of his photographs are usually doing mundane, everyday things. The subject matter sometimes look straight at the camera. I felt that he was able to capture a sense of tranquility in his works, as well as bring about nostalgia to something of the past. His ‘Singapore Project’ is one of my favorite projects that he has done as the scenes and the type of subject matter portrayed in his photographs are places I have been and people whom somehow I have met before. This sense of familiarity is very soothing.

Sheiku: https://www.instagram.com/sheiku/?hl=en

Sheiku’s works are something that I draw similarity to a contemporary artist, Damien Hirst’s work. Similarly to Damien Hirst, Sheiku’s works are bizarre, unconventional and it include a shock factor. Sheiku turns ordinary objects into something extraordinary by introducing ready-mades and dissecting the object into something unrecognizable when put together.

His works on Instagram are either not captioned, or captioned with something vague or irrelevant. I would like to think that Sheiku wants us to explain his works in our own interpretation. For instance, upon seeing the above image, a short self-interpretation of this work comes to my mind…

“You trampled on my raw and beating heart when my love for you has grown and almost blossomed.”

Different emotions are evoked upon different ways of seeing Sheiku’s works for me. First comes shock (from choice of subject matter), second comes curiosity ( for why did he chose these objects and what do they mean?) and then lastly, a mellow emotion will wash over me as I try to interpret his meaning to his works.

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What I have learnt during lesson!

The study of signs – Semiotics has started since 1900s.

Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.

Semiotics can be defined into two parts of signs.

  1. Signifier — The form of a sign. The form might be a sound, a word, a photograph, a facial expression, a painting of a pipe, etc.
  2. Signified — The concept or object that’s represented. The concept or object might be an actual pipe, the command to stop etc.

Signifiers are different in different cultures. Examples such as Justin Bieber flashing a double backhand peace sign seem harmless, but to some parts of the world it may seem offensive. (honestly speaking I still have no idea why was it offensive, my search results on Google was negative frown Do tell me what it means if you know thank you!)

A unanimous signifier that everyone recognizes for example is a Life Buoy!

 

Everyone who sees it will know it is a buoyant support such as a lifebelt for keeping a person afloat in water.

Icon, Index, Symbol

Icon has a physical resemblance to the signified, the thing being represented.

Index is indirectly connected with an object

Symbol is not a representational image. There is no direct resemblance to the object.

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Iconoclasm is the act of attacking/ assertively rejecting cherished beliefs and institutions or established values and practices.

Metaphors & Association

Modern Advertising relies heavily on visual metaphors.

For instant, in the Alice in Wonderland cartoon version Miss Wong showed us, the bird calling Alice a ‘Serpent’ is a metaphor and assiociation to an ‘bird egg stealer’ as she is very big (because she ate some bread that made her grew into a giant), and her size is associated with the length of a serpent.

Or another example showed in the slides by Miss Wong is this advertisement for a beauty product. A ‘skin as smooth as peach’ is associated with a baby’s bottom.

As a peach is highly associated with a bum because of it’s shape and texture. This ad is advertising it’s product in such as way that, if the consumer uses this product, their face will be a smooth and youthful like a baby’s bottom. (yea right…)

Applying what I have learnt about Visual Metaphors onto another advertisement, I chose to use this anti-smoking advertisement…

In my own interpretation, this is a very strong anti-smoking ad as two subject matters are involved. As smoking is usually seen as doing harm to oneself, this advertisement raises awareness to smokers that not only they are doing harm to themselves, but also to other; as depicted by the second subject matter inside the smoker (literally and metaphorically INSIDE the smoker).

This image is highly grotesque to me as putting an unborn infant in view of direct contact with a cigarette is disturbing and uncomfortable to look at. In this case, I find that this advertisement has achieved it’s objective to induce a sense of pity to the innocent baby, against the act of smoking. Thus, encouraging smokers to quit smoking, and pregnant women to quit smoking for the sake of their offspring.

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Miss Wong then let us out to take some photos, using what we have learnt in class. I tried to find signs of semiotics in the scene I was taking.

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A bright orange cone is a sign for drivers and onlookers to be aware, and a tool to redirect traffic.

Seeing that the cone is placed near the wall with a white tape stretched across, I deduced that the cone is to draw attention to others that the paint on the wall is wet. So do caution.

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Directional arrows show where drivers should head to. Reflective yellow and black arrows on the bend of the wall warn drivers to be careful of the bed. 2 parallel white lines tells drivers to keep in their lanes.

With that, this concludes my lesson review for week 2!

Not only have I viewed images, advertisements and present day scenes with a new eye; I think that more thought will be placed when I look at things or before I take a photograph in the future.

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.