Storyboard Workshop

             Another interesting workshop which I attended was the Storyboard workshop with Deborah Truck again. Here are some of the tips which I acknowledged from these sessions:

• ·         Drawing is not the most important skill when you have to create a storyboard although most people think likewise. Far more valuable could be some initial filmmaking, av and photography knowledge which would enrich the creator’s imagination for shot setting.
• ·         The drawing skills which are required from a storyboard artist are only basic and could be developed by drawing more and more storyboards.
• ·         Storyboards usually do not include details of the interior since their main role is to illustrate the type of shot, not the props list. The drawings also do not include parts of the script, only abbreviation of the type of shot used (MS – medium shot) and the transition from the previous shot (cut to).
• ·         However an exception could be if you’re a filmmaker who is responsible for most of the key roles of his video (storyboard, filming, audio, etc). In this case you could add some information to the storyboard, such as notes, audio used, second for a shot, text, included in the shot, etc. in order order to schedule your vision for the different components of the final project and to safe time.

Guest Speaker: Photographer Pal Hansen

              One of the guest speakers during the first term was the NTU graduated photographer Pal Hansen. He is now a professional photographer who works mostly for magazines like The New Review. He presented some of his series of photographs on the topics Rasta people, Village people, Jewish family, Teen parents, Oslo to Utøya journey, etc (Not sure if I’m mentioning them with the official names of the projects, but the way he stated them during presentation).

               Anyway, the greatest part of the lecture included his recent work for magazines which was quite impressive. He revealed part of his muse comes from the idea to present  ordinary objects in an off-beat way punctuating the model’s personality. Besides, I was impressed by the way he is collaborating clothes, background patterns and art object in his photographs. 
               Due to my active assistance in some student photography projects, I noticed that these artist are usually building their desire impact by adding drama with black and white photography. Unlike the Bulgarian photographs’ I’ve been working with, Pal Hansen’s attitude about bright color possession in photography is bold and considered as an accent. Here I’m posting a small comparison of two photographs on the same topics (Portraits involving objects of interest). One is made by Pal Hansen and the model is Sir Peter Blake and the other is made by Kristina Kantcheva (Bulgarian photographer and a good friend of mine) while I’m modeling. 

References:

Hansen, P., 2012. n.d. [digital image]. Paul Hansen. Available at: http://www.palhansen.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=5&Itemid=26&limit=15&limitstart=75 [Accessed 07.01.2014]

Camera Workshop

                    One of our first workshops in the university was the camera workshop with Deborah Truck. During this 3 week adventure we passed through a basic introduction of the camera functions and terms in filmmaking.

                    During this workshop our special focus was on the specifics of interview shooting. Here an illustration of the typical positions of the interviewer and the interviewee. Usually, the interviewee looks in the interviewer who is left out of the shot.

                     Another essential part of interview shooting is the choice of moving images, picture illustrations expressing the questions or the answers which are called cutaways.  For example a cutaway could be a shot of the interviewee who is running in the street while he is answering a question about ho he keeps in fit. These images and videos could also cover some gaffes if they appear on the background or with the interviewee without the voice answer to be interrupted.
                     However, yet another valuable part of the interview’s impact is the choice of the background. It should be interesting, related to the topic, but at the same time to not capture observers’ attention too much in order to follow the interviewee’s thoughts. The background should also be carefully collaborated with the interviewee’s clothes. Mostly, it’s not recommendable the clothes to be black unless the background is bright enough for them to stand out. Here’s a good example of an exception of this rule where the black clothes are forming a great collaboration with the background.

 

                      The development of appropriate questions for your interview is also very important while creating the perfect interview. They should be open in order to require the interviewee to be more wordy. The preparation for the interview should also include a talk with the interview and his integration in the topics of the prepared questions but it’s avoidable to reveal the concrete question before the interview. Though, his answered would be planned and unspontaneous. The interviewee is also most likely required to include the question in the answer. This saves some time for adding cutaways instead of the text of the questions on the one-color background which is quite boring.

                      All things considered, our group of students filmed an interview which I hope I’ll find out soon and add some comments about our mistakes during it.

Creatives Guide to Nottngham - some critics

           Creatives Guide to Nottingham was our first collaborative projects set during our welcome week in Nottingham Trent University. Our groups designed a small guide brochure. Not only was our idea to present our observations and inspirations through the city but to navigate other people which have decided to come to Nottingham. We also outlined a target audience which was young creative and artistic individuals. My participation included the writing of the introduction text  and the creation of the PowerPoint presentation on the project.Here is the final variation which we printed and presented in front of our colleagues.

          In the very beginning I decide not to add a post about this project and to wait a few months after the start of my MA. Thus, I’d be able to add a more critical review of our work. And here are some of corrections which I would add:

·               It could be more specific – In our attempts to cover as large territory as possible we’d lost our intersection with the target audience.  Our categories in the guide are Introduction, Art and Culture, Bookshops, Coffee House, Local Fashion and Nottingham Dialect which turns it into a normal guide for the mass audience. We’ve added few information for various niches instead of developing one concrete conception. Now, as I’m already involved in our target audience surroundings , I would propose the guide to be based on only on placed which young creative could observe but some activities which they could really be involved in. Though a better idea is our guide to propose 10 places or events where people could do workshops or ask for a practice period. This would have also made our exploration a lot more useful.

·               Another part of the guide which could be more refined and extraordinary is the outlook of the brochure. The fold is quite typical and the only colorful tool of impact is the text which in my opinion isn’t enough to capture the artists’ attention. However, the illustration on the front is interesting and creative and I can congratulate one of our colleagues for drawing it.

·               Finally, the chosen words for the title and text inside were also a little weak. The whole idea of branding the creative part of Nottingham cannot reach the audience without a names which could immediately grab their sight. And the “Creatives Guide to Nottingham” text could act as a smaller interpretation sentence.

Carcass - knowledge acquired

       Carcass was a 4-week long project which enabled us to get up to speed for our main project during our MA phase of education. Although it was considered only as a starter, during this period I managed to gain much useful knowledge in the pre-production field which I’ll try to sum up in the next few paragraphs:

        During the project we were required to draw the set which was essential while acquiring our initial draughting skills. Draughting sets as a part of the designer’s work could be improved mainly by many practice on illustrating different rooms and halls. The more you draught, the better you become. A key role to the white paper work is also added by the knowing of some key terms.

·            The elevation is a drawing which shows the look of the walls in the different sets. For a normal square room the extended elevation would look like a rectangular from the four continuously running walls with separated with a line on each corner. There could be different elevations depending on the complexity of the shapes which are illustrated on each wall. There should be no furniture and any items on the elevations unless its part of the walls. Elevations could be from one side, front, extended or section in terms of which enable the designers idea to be understood more easily. One example for that could be if the walls are covered by one color, striped or simple shaped wallpapers. In this case an extended elevation is enough to illustrate their outlook. On the other hand, if there is a complicated shape or drawing on the walls there should be separated zoomed elevation for this particular wall in order to allow the depict even the smallest details.

·             The set plans represents the sets looked from the top. There are two types of set plan – with and without furniture. The set plan without furniture is drawn on the same sheet as the elevation because  the walls on the set plan are marked with the same letters on the elevation. And the other set plans with furniture are drawn on the studio plan. While draughting a set plan it’s important to think of the possible camera position and to leave enough space for cameras (3 squared meters). Plans always include door, which has to be drawn open in order to mark the space they will take. It’s also very important every piece of paper to include a box with the name of the production, name of the company, the location, director’s name, designer’s name and contacts, the scale and the drawing title (examples : “Studio plan Pinewood D”, “Jim’s flat – set plan and elevations”, etc.)

·              Another obtained skill during this short project concern the script breackdown.  This process basically includes the coloring of the script paper while marking the different elements. The elements include parts of the day of each scene (night scenes in one color, day scenes in other), all the props in a different color, names of the characters in another color, etc. Thus, a script also could give an idea of some of the required props for a production and their type. Which the active props (involved in the characters actions),the dress props (part of the background) and the prop makes (which should be made especially for the production) would be. The other props which aren’t mentioned in the scenery should be written in a piece of paper divided into the rooms they’d be possessed
                 As a part of our educational enrichment were also some initial product design skills, acquired while drawing our own ideas for prop makes (*different types of props were also some of the new terms). In the beginning I had missed to add dimension but afterwards in my feedback I met  the their requirement.
                  Finally, another useful outcome of this project was that we came across some computer programmes which could be very useful in the field of set design such as AutoCad, 3D max, ect, which we could start to build our skills on.

Some mini-book pages

           The mini book which is planned to be part of my portfolio is now still a draft, because some of the visuals still don't look quite professional. During the working process, I plan to replace the hand-made set plans with some with are made on Autocad, to develop the visuals on Photoshop and add dimensions and more angles on the prop makes. Anyway, here I'm posting some of the draft pages of the book to present the main outlook which I'll follow.

The Cover

As I already mention, I designed a whole visual frame of Carcass story which will be converted into a mini-book, including all analysis and work made by me during this project. Here's the cover on which you can see the logo, the author of the script. In order to imitate a real film cover I've also added my name for the different roles of the step-by-step process.

Design - Carcass

              "Carcass" added much knowledge to my CV collaborating product design, set design, fine art, film knowledge and even architecture. That first bigger project for the student year was such an adventure that inspired me to come up with a unique visual frame which once again tested my Photoshop skills and took me hours of standing in front of the PC. I decided to write a bit more precisely revealing the steps some of the visuals are create in order to make the articles more educational. Thus, as an advertiser I know that the most important part of each product creation is its visual equivalent - the logo.

                  This is the logo. The bright blue Carcass inscription is the main logo of the screenplay and the other inscription - Step-by-Step - marks the working process which I'd passed through. The main logo represents a pulse extending the letters. That pulse is actually the spirit of the main character - Lucy - which haven't given up to search for nature and spirituality although the artificial technical world she lives in. So the main idea of the logo spreads the two main sides of the confrontation in the script - the dead body (carcass) and the sparkling pulse, surviving in it. While creating it in Photoshop I used 2 different layers - one for the inscription "Carcass" and the other on which made a line imitating pulse with the Line tool. Afterwards. I merged the layer and then added this specific effect from Filter/Stylize/Wind.
Here you can watch a tutorial for creating a similar effect:

Sketches/ Visuals of interior sets

             The colored sketches of sets are very important in terms of representing an actual concept of designer's perception. Unfortunately due to my limited ability to draw and stain on computer programmes such as Photoshop and Illustrator, the following images have been drawn on a piece of paper by pencil and afterwards colored with crayons. Each picture will include a short comment about the solutions taken during the drawing process.

The Stimulation bar              

The description of stimulation bar includes- "riot of muted colors'',"simply, soft, ...furnishings", "mahogany table". It is really easy to imagine from that drawing but my Stimulation bar is actually a very dark place based on the concept of stimulation.Two of the opposite walls are painted with soft dark brown and the other two are blue, stimulating an imaginary space into which each "table" is representing a different planet by an inserted in the walls sofas and music sounds. Characters have chosen to sits on the table which actually which stimulates The Earth which matches with the idea of "the low tones of the sea washing up against a beach". The bar is also stimulated of its built in the wall form and the lack of space for bar tenders. There's just a great form of a glass made from lights (one proper solution could be tubes painted with lighting paint because they will look more muted than directly using fluorescent lamps). The floor will illustrate the "riot of muted colors" with moving outlines of psychedelic forms on a brown background. The restricted light coming from the stars and planets on the walls as well as few small lamps on the bar wall will allow these moving objects to bulge as a focus in the hall.

Lucy's Flat

Lucy's flat is a small but arty space due to our group conclusion during the discussions of the project. As you will later see on the set plans, it is a half dome which costs some restrictions in teems of furniture possession. For that reason I decided to mix the presence of a bed, a sofa and a table by adding a convertible sofa and hole on the floor from which a table would come out if possible. On the script there's no process which requires a table in the scenes in Lucy's apartment so it is just an "in case" addition. However, here comes the "arty" part of the set which include the bright sofa color and the futuristic painting on the wall. One of the possible solutions for the painting material is also using fluorescent lamps in order to look enough futuristic.

Jim's Flat

As a comparison to Lucy's, Jim's look quite "grey" and toneless. The used colors are brown and grey. The floor with a very thin flat carpet. The wall are covered by metal tile which can be turned into a window mode. The shape consists of two oval and two straight angles because it's inside of a lot bigger dome and is on the lower floors of it. The size and form of the room allow furniture so I decided to add one commode and a shelf on the angle. The commode isn't actually required because most of the object are screen and 3D projected but at least is a space where the character could put his devices. I've also added a cup on the table to bring a little vitality to the room. 

Exterior location and adaptation

            One of the requirements for the project was a photo of exterior location which could be famous or local (taken by us). I chose the Armadillo (The Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow) for a couple of reasons. 

Anon., n.d., n.d. [digital image].
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow

• It has a similar shape to a dome so it fits to my concept of the story;
•  The construction looks very stable. It may not be approved as Martian building after careful consideration of architects but the building has the look which could convince the unacquainted observer eye of its safety;
•  The night lights in front of The Armadillo which actually make it looks quite Martian had already mislead me that the building is perfect for my exterior location.

Adaptation

             

                    Normally, as part of a production, each exterior location has to be adapted in order to play an appropriate role in the scene. As I already mentioned, in my opinion that building already looks quite Martian in my eyes so the main part of my adaptation includes green screen which would be put behind it. In addition, to fit in the scenery its front windows will be covered with metal plane due to the fact that my story draws a world which do not include windows. All the view from inside have been replaced with screen simulations (as the script also suggest by using the term "window mode"). Here I'm posting a drawn variation of the already adapted Clyde Auditorium. The sketch also presents my view of possible advertising forms on part which includes sign which moving commercial videos and 3D projections of moving images of promoters holding the advertised products.