...the process.
It's challenging (obviously!) because it's so illongated, but here are some things that I started doing.
I did a similar process to margeaux, so I started with chicken wire so I can see how big I want the snout to be.
Here's the side, how it'll look, relatively speaking. The heavier metal part is the jaw.
YAY WONKY WORK! This allowed me to see how big I wanted things, or how small I wanted, and where it sits on me. The jaw rests on my chest, and moves when I breathe, which is totally cool, and I really like that.
THEN:
I was so excited, I transferred the same idea to wire so I could see if that length was possible. And to see if that length was what I wanted to do.
This also reminded me that this was so sloppy, so I wanted to restart for the legitimate structure. I wanted to, however, kind of keep that grid-like pattern because I just liked the look of it.
I liked the wrapped wire in the back, and this is when I decided to change the construction. I was going to make it more round on the top of the head (like a human) and have a giant snout.
SO I RESTARTED.
BAM.
It's a little smaller, which is totally cool, because it looks a little more believable. It's clearly not done.
top view.
SO.
I'm debating on wether to leave it as a wire structure, or use a clearish laytex-like material to drape over the wire. I don't know.
I want to do a mask.
No,
I want to do a full on exo- skeleton.
Does this mean doing something like my arm from last semester?
In all it's wonderful flaws... yes.
I want something to cover my entire body. (Or just my back!)
I want to make a wolf.
I guess a wire wolf pelt. Kinda.
Okay, why the hell a wolf?
Wolves represent a fierce mysteriousness as they walk against landscapes.
off we goooooo
TEN WORDS YEAH
-Childhood
-Morality/Death (oh yay...)
-Decay
-Native American Masks
-Bodies of Water
-Exo-skeletons
- Poetry
-Contrast
-Cinematic space
-Interaction
I hung the same dress I was wearing in the video, in the foam core structure. Then I projected the video on the dress hanging inside the structure. I wanted people to not only pay attention to the video, but also the structure itself. By making the video project behind the dress, it hides the projector and it also gives the video three- dimensionality.
So.
I defined cinematic space as capturing a movement over a period of time.
I wanted to use video for this project because I felt like it does well capturing things in the moment. Well, not exactly capturing, but more like seizing or stealing a moment in time. You're not exactly asking the subject if it's okay if you steal a moment of their time for your artistic intentions. You take control and take the shot. With video, you're able to control what people see.
In suicide, the person is seizing their own moment. I wanted to create the same feeling through my video. I was stealing a moment that I created-- and just for a second-- have someone feel my loss, my pain, and my friend's complete and utter loneliness and sadness. (Although, I don't think I'll ever be able to fabricate that.) With video, I was seizing time-- a mere 20 seconds-- to show the viewer loss, and hopefully reflect onto their lives, and remember of all the loss they've gone through, and remember them.
With my friend's passing, I wanted to remember her, to say goodbye, to wish her well in the life that she chose for herself; the afterlife. My concept, Hall of Dead, allows me to create a space where she could go visit me, or rather, I can go there and transcend life and death itself to say hello. I wanted to create a space where the living and the dead could meet-- even if that is a split-second.
About my video:
My friend killed herself through sleeping pills and a bathtub full of water. From my understanding, it takes about 20 seconds after losing breath to suffer from brain starvation (no oxygen to the brain) and die. I used 6 people because there's a saying that when you kill yourself, you effect at least 6 people around you. I also wanted the 6 people to be as close to mourning as possible, so with all of them wearing all black with hoods, it has a connotation of a funeral service. I'm wearing all white because I wanted to be ghost-like as possible. By picking white silk, I wanted to create a look that I am a spirit that the wind goes through. I didn't want to have a forceful commanding presence in the video. I wanted to have a powerful, strong but delicate presence in the video, to represent how fragile life can really be. I wanted the video to reflect transcending life and death itself to reach out to her to say goodbye.
If I was going to do this project again, I would pick different material. I wanted the structure to be light and fragile, but as a classmate megan said, it's still foam core. People can make the connection that it's foam core, a cheap material.
8 feet of foamcore. (Imagine bringing that down from Denny Way!)
FINALLY CUT
I'm suprised how little foamcore I used. I wanted to keep things consistent and not have little seam marks, but I guess I just need to think things through.
The dress
How I pictured it as well. I wanted it to be similar to a Waterfall. Waterfalls are used usually in monuments, symbolizing the passing of life.
We had a lecture today on what is cinematic space, led by Bob Campbell. He explained to us what is cinematic space. He gave a full insight on what is cinematic space, and the study of film.
One of the things I took away from his lecture was that film/cinematic space is moving poetry without words. It's like reciting a poem, but express only through movement.
I also took away understanding film more. He broke down the rule of thirds and showed consciously or unconsciously what shows the character's feeling (or how the director wants you to feel). And, this all depends on where you hold the camera! If you have the eyes around the the upper line in the rule of thirds, it means the character feels a positive feeling, and if the eyes are around the lower line of the rule of thirds, it means that the character feels a negative feeling.
