After lots of researching, worrying, sleepless nights into trying to hone down my semiotics plan, through subliminal messaging to visual metaphors over the past few weeks, I thought I'd found what I was looking for. It was pointed out that I had found a better, simpler research topic now. I was also challenged on my visual metaphor of my pocket watch idea. To recap, my idea of the pocket watch as it floats through space at the beginning and ending of the piece is to represent on the conscious level, the possession of the Captain and to suggest the time period. On the subconscious level my idea is that it's a metaphor for hypnotism as the whole piece is about perception, is it or isn't it real, hallucination or spiritualism, ghosts or illusion? It was suggested in my presentation that this is just referencing. I tried to explain that the pocket watch's hypnotism plan was the subliminal level and that it only came across as referencing because I had given this information over already, but i'm not sure i communicated this well. Since then I have tried to find some reference material to back my idea up. At present I am reading "Metaphor & Film" by Trevor Whittock which is proving to be invaluable. There is a quote of Aristotle
"It is proper, to derive metaphors... from objects which are closely related to the thing itself but which are not immediately obvious"
my reasoning is that the pocket watch is closely related to hypnotism but not immediately. If i was to swing it in front of the viewers face then that would be the relation (or the reference as it was challenged) to hypnotism, which isn't the intended visual act.
Reading on into the book, it states an argument for visual metaphors that:
"...metaphor challenges the received catergories by means of which we realize our experience, may metaphor not be setting up false connections and weakening our grasp on the real world?"
this also reflects my idea of the hallucination and what is real and what is not.
Having only recently decided on the actual visual style, and now being abstract, it was stated by a couple of people that they couldn't visualise the outcome, or that it kept changing. I'm going to be frank that I was under the impression that the whole process is about evolving an idea and to let it change and grow and not to have a definitive structure from the start and be unswayed into developing it. So I really didn't understand where the problem lay at this stage. For me the visual developing comes from the testing and design, the pre-production process which has only just started, so to be honest I have no idea if there is a problem in these comments.
I do have a concern about one other comment regarding the Exposition. As this is a big chunk of my project and part of the whole concept therefore I am needing clarification that it is possible for the installation of a projector rather than just being shown on a computer monitor.
So summing up, the stress levels are pretty high at this stage already.
Sunday 13 November 2011
Semester 1 - Crit Week
Hosted the second meeting of the semester for 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students last Monday. Things went smoothly again, people were chipping into the conversations and giving advice where needed. Some good art and ideas coming from everyone.
Reflection on myself, as I said in my post of the 1st meeting I will only try to spur people into talking more if I feel their presentation is lacking, but I'm not going to push them as i want to maintain a pleasant atmosphere where people can feel relaxed and then open up more.
The subject of sketchbooks came up, where one member of the group felt awkward and uninspired about having to draw in separate sketchbooks for each module, which broke his flow. I too have noticed this problem so i suggested he tried separate sheets of paper and then at the end of the semester binding the appropriate work to their module into hand made sketchbooks. Coding was another concern of a few in 2nd year with the Entertainment Design module. I just tried to reassure them that as artists they didn't need to be worrying too much in this area, and that if in future they were to work with coders, which they will in semester 2 and 3rd year it was that they knew a simple understanding of how it works so that there weren't too many frictions between artists and coders. Also if they're worrying too much at the start they will always see coding as an enemy and therefore steer clear of it in future, but coding can enhance some art projects and so they could miss out. So taking away the worry at the start they could eventually take on coding on their own terms and try out methods gradually.
So to sum up from my view, the meeting was good and didn't seem like a chore as it sometimes had in previous years.
Reflection on myself, as I said in my post of the 1st meeting I will only try to spur people into talking more if I feel their presentation is lacking, but I'm not going to push them as i want to maintain a pleasant atmosphere where people can feel relaxed and then open up more.
The subject of sketchbooks came up, where one member of the group felt awkward and uninspired about having to draw in separate sketchbooks for each module, which broke his flow. I too have noticed this problem so i suggested he tried separate sheets of paper and then at the end of the semester binding the appropriate work to their module into hand made sketchbooks. Coding was another concern of a few in 2nd year with the Entertainment Design module. I just tried to reassure them that as artists they didn't need to be worrying too much in this area, and that if in future they were to work with coders, which they will in semester 2 and 3rd year it was that they knew a simple understanding of how it works so that there weren't too many frictions between artists and coders. Also if they're worrying too much at the start they will always see coding as an enemy and therefore steer clear of it in future, but coding can enhance some art projects and so they could miss out. So taking away the worry at the start they could eventually take on coding on their own terms and try out methods gradually.
So to sum up from my view, the meeting was good and didn't seem like a chore as it sometimes had in previous years.
Thursday 10 November 2011
Sunday 6 November 2011
Visual Styles
Trying to draw together visual styles from other people's ideas/work to help generate ideas for my own.
Steering clear of photorealism that I originally thought I would try to create. instead the idea of playing with refraction, lighting and moving textures within Maya have come to mind.
Steering clear of photorealism that I originally thought I would try to create. instead the idea of playing with refraction, lighting and moving textures within Maya have come to mind.
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