This is a very backwards blog, isn't it?

I don't know why I've left the storyboard till last, but I'll try re-ordering my posts for the sake of this blog.

When I was looking through print-outs of my photos, I originally wanted to make a contact sheet-esque  storyboard. However, I accidentally the photos and I quite liked this random aesthetic.

The 10 images are representative of each scene or stage in the clip and although very rudamentary, it does not detract from the very nature of the clip. Experimental.

The Clip - The Experiment

Please read post above for additional details

Apocalypse Aftermath

Wow, that was depressing. But 'depressing' is the mood I wanted to set for this clip and I've obviously done so well if even I think its depressing.

The BGM is very well suited, Les Jours Tristes, meaning sad day. Other than that, I used Adobe Photoshop to edit a few of the stills (but not much as I wanted to keep the raw, accidental quality of the photos) and Sony Vegas Pro for post-production. I slightly desaturated all the frames and added a 80's TV filter to enhance the dull look.

Storyboards - will be uploaded soon!

New World Order

Psychology is my minor.
Just so you know.

And here is a post with some of my ideas on what INDN + PSYC =.

By the last week of this project I became increasingly frustrated at my lack of motivation. And as I sat around at the desk, being disappointed in myself, it hit me.

As Max Ernt once said (I can't cite this or confirm that he actually said this, by the way), "All good ideas arrive by chance." And while I do admit, the idea behind my final clip isn't good, I would much rather submit this than some cliche narrative animation I found dull and uninteresting.

Also I'll quickly mention now, how were we supposed to "cite" the 300 words in APA style? What is there to cite? I should've asked this long ago. But then again, I should've done a lot of things.

Please consider the following my official 300ish words.

So, my realization.

Is it just me that goes through this horrible, painful process of mental stasis? I don't know. So I decided to make a film about it. Documenting the final days of this project, spent both at the studio and at home. This was, in fact, a study of the effects of the environment of the mental stability of a design student. This was the idea that kept me going for the last couple of days.

So what is the relationship between the environment and the output, or achievements of those in it? The environment for this experiment was quite mundane. The environment I was immersed in was typical of a 20-year-old female living in idle surburbia to be. Constant access to internet, food, chilled and warm beverages; the ease of getting to and from school; the thought of a deadline not yet triggering the reaction it needed to.

The final clip illustrates the frustration involved with having come to a complete halt in creative mental functions. It also deals with the nature of an individual within a bubble that let nothing out, and nothing in. It deals with the consequences of procrastination and the idea that there are always a select few that dares to challenge the brief in all disciplines. The idea that I found a "new way of seeing" came in real-time as it was only after I had seen the random footage of my workspace that it hit me. I decided to focus on the psychological warfare within one's own mind, rather than purely industrial design.

I would have liked to spent more time on filming this clip and I would like to make this clip into a longer short film that investigates the creative process more thoroughly.

The background music is Les Jours Tristes, by Yann Tiersen, and I was lucky enough to have permission from Yann and his team to use this song for my clip. Special thanks to Matt McGreevey from Anti-Records US for being especially helpful with this process.

Oh Boy - long post

Where do I begin?

First by regretting not having done posts throughout this assignment because now it's going to be difficult to explain my work. However, I think this last-minute-effort concept ties in really well with this.

My original concept for "industrial design" began with the group brainstorming, and as we all know, that went down the drain. Afterwards, I struggled to find alternate ideas for this project and began thinking in a more holistic way abotu design in general. This came to a point where I was willing to do the entire project in frame-by-frame, hand-drawn animation.

This idea was good. But I still did not like it, which is why I think I had come to a halt in production.

I was no longer satisfied with not only the quantitative output of my efforts, but the qualitative. The issue I was drawing about was unoriginal, cliche and expected. The initial idea being that one should let design take you places and that one should not be bound to a metaphorical box, or a grid composition in terms of imagination and creativity. Having said that, if I had thought of a different way to illustrate this idea, I may have produced a decent piece of work. However, I did not like the idea in the first place. I was stuck.

Another huge issue for me was incorporating industrial design into the clip as the methods of doing so were also cliche. I could foresee countless industrial design students filming in "industrial" environments, experimenting with materials and all those other things that come to mind. Expectations are not to be met, but exceeded - in my opinion, of course.

Back to me being stuck like Augustus Gloop up a chocolate drainage pipe.

From here on I thought of ways to reinvigorate my neural synapses, to see if I could think of a better concept. By this I mean that I sat around procrastinating - no longer animating my original narrative, eating, sleeping, browsing the net... It was fruitless and a complete waste of time. I read the brief over and over again, unable to trigger any creative response. This went on for days - a majority of this project and there I was. At the studio. After the "break" had started. With nothing but food-related rubbish and a blank piece of paper in front of me.

The paper wasn't actually blank, it was a blue graphing paper that I had purchased with the intention of using it in my initial animation. Little did I know that this would become the backdrop of my final clip.

James (the tutor), if you took the time to read this entire novel (almost) then you will surely know from my final clip that it is NOTHING like what I had been working in class. I am going to say, right now, that this IS my development.

Usually I loathe "development". Sure, initial ideas aren't perfect but with me if I find a fault in my concept, I will probably start all over again. So with this in mind, I will now begin uploading the work I was doing, then begin explaining how I ended up where I am at now. There. Development.

Long post, heres a potato

Blog V: Locovisual - The St James Theatre

St James Theatre in 1986 - Now Showing Delta Force, starring Chuck Norris. Rated R13 (McGIll, 1998)

“Don’t let theatres be pulled down. The building of theatres seems to be an art we have lost.”

-          Lord Laurence Olivier, October 1948 (as cited in McGill, 1998)

The St James Theatre on Courtenay Place, downtown Wellington is an iconic structure with a magnificent presence. Built in 1912 with the architectural direction of Henry Eli White, The St James Theatre is considered the Shakespeare’s Globe of New Zealand (McGill, 1998, p. 2). Clearly, the St James Theatre has Baroque and Rococo influences. White, being a frequent audience to the performed arts called this ‘cheerfully theatrical Rococo’ style 'Louis Quinze' as this style was extremely popular in 18^th Century France (McGill, 1998, p. 12). 

fig.1 the St James Theatre Stage (McGill, 1998), fig.2 Borromini's Carlo alle Quatro Fontane, Rome (Millon, 1961)

fig.3 laurel-crowned theatrical masks above the royal boxes (McGill, 1998), fig.4 Kloster Oberzell bei Wurzburg (Popp, 1913)

The façade of the building features many half-columns and pediments that frame the windows but do not serve a structural purpose. These are then decorated with plasterwork. The interior of the theatre is ornamented in this style but also with Greek comic and tragic masks, cupids and caryatids on columns which again, serve little structural function. The interior is beautifully painted and ‘gilded’ in gold with a large ceiling lamp that resembles a dome found in some of Borromini’s work in the Renaissance (Millon, 1961, p. 63). White also took into account the comfort of those not seated in the Royal Box, by using a shallow curve and minimal columns to maximise the visibility and audibility of the stage. 

St James Theatre in December 1997 nearing its complete refurbishment (McGill, 1998)

Those who identify with the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19^th century may find White’s use of ornament and material (incidentally, cement, plaster and metal framing) something of a ‘false magnificence’ (Pugin, 1843). However the St James Theatre is more than meets the eye. White was concerned with not only the location in that it uses rimu and totara, and that White, a Dunedin born man was selected as the architect. White also stayed true to the function of the building – a theatre. A theatre is a place of opulence and drama and although very heavily ornamented, the St James Theatre is a masterpiece of New Zealand architecture and theatricality. 

The St James as it stands today.

Reference

 McGill, D. (1998). Full Circle: The History of the St James Theatre.  Te Aro, Wellington, New Zealand: Phantom House Books

Varriano, J. (1986). Italian Baroque and Rococo Architecture. New York, USA: Oxford University Press

Millon, H. A. (1961). Baroque & Rococo Architecture. New York, USA: George Brazillier Inc.

Popp, H. (1913). Die Architektur der Barok – und Rokokozeit in Deutschland und der SchweizI. Stuttgart, Germany: Julius Hoffman

Pugin, A. W. G. (1843). An Apology for the Revival of Christian Architecture in England.  London, UK: John Weale

Blog V: Locovisual - A Preface

This blog assignment is the last one EVER from DSDN 171 (sad)

From attending 171 I have learnt a few things. DO NOT LEAVE BLOG ASSIGNMENTS UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE!

And then there's the y'know design theory, history, APA citation and all that unimportant stuff - ha. As if.

It is currently 2pm. T-minus 10hours. 3 of which I will be spending at work. So fingers crossed I get this done.

About the actual assignment,

I have chosen to write about the St. James Building on Courtenay Place not only because of my obsession with Classical literature and architecture, but because of the historical significance of the building itself. Hopefully I won't babble about too much with the writing and actually get somewhere academic with this.

Lastly, I have failed to incorporate chairs into this piece, but I will find some way of mentioning seating.. You'll see...

UPDATE: SPOILER!
I've snuck in a Transformers reference and its 322 words?! 22 words over the limit but I hear that its 300 plus or minus 10%... So I win. HA.