Soundscape

Life Drawing

Erica Russell

After the lecture we were given I decided to research more into Erica Russell, I looked at the forms she created with such fluid lines. I like the way that she uses colour to make the lines pop. Even with a static picture you can see the movement and flow. I really like her work and have tried some of my own poses in the style of Erica Russell however I have kept to two colours to, I think give a stronger over all image, for something that is still rather than being animated.

Head, Body, Tails

These are the characters that we came up with after our lecture on character sheets and heads bodies tails. I liked the exercise and decided to expand on the idea more. I researched into other examples and found different ways of creating characters. For example:


I like this take on Consequence especially the plant And I like the way it uses 'fairly' real things to create something completely new. I have created some of these to So some more exploration. I have also developed this idea into not only matching the heads bodies and tails, but also combining the elements throughout the whole character to create a more rounded character. 

Mark Making Storyboard

For this session we were asked to create a storyboard using the teach we had from Bec about mark making to create a certain feeling and emotion. This storyboard is for my personality and how it will progress when I get to know someone more, I open up and am more free and easy.  I chose the purple color as a timid color to portray the quietness of my personality because its a a light peaceful color, as the storyboard goes on the purple gets darker to portray the strength in my personality. 


I enjoyed the mark making exercise and have experimented with this further by creating marks that represent emotion using more colors I am also going to look at how mark making in patterns can also convey a message and emotion.

Character Development

For the carers project I have been looking at different ideas for characters, I first thought about how to portray the carers in a way that would respectful, and a character that would show the soft emotional side of a carer but also the strong side that deals with what they live day to day.





I first started looking at animals and the way people perceive them and the characteristic they portray. I decided to look at ducks because they are known as 'cute' animals. The are 'known' to have a soft nature. But I decided they did not have enough of a hard exterior that I want to come across through this character.

I then looked at an eagle for their strength and poise, they are delicate but also very fierce, however I thought that they would come across to harsh, with being known as a bird of prey so I have decided to not to pursue this animal as a character idea.

I then look at polar bears, I know that they are quite a vicious animal, but I was looking at the cubs, being quite vulnerable yet growing up into something quite tough, I also wanted to put a spin on the idea of a teddy bear, but add some strength. I wasn't sure whether this thought would be portrayed to an audience so I have decided not to use this animal either.







I then looked at a different aspect of the carers that I thought would be very important to portray through the character and decided that family in carers situation is very important. Meerkats are soft and caring, they work as a family unit, they are also quite tough when they need to be. 




I am not sure on whether to use an animal as a character though because I'm a bit concerned it would create the wrong impression or perhaps dilute the message that I am creating.

Primary Character Concepts after Carer Meeting

Straight after meeting with the young carers I did some quick sketches, using my graphics tablet because I like the fluidity of the brush strokes. With this first concept I was looking at a simple drawing taken from one of the carers did, it was simple. I then started to look at different things online from the mind map below, that people would stereotypically link with carers. I think this was a good way to start so all avenues would be open to me. The first concept was taken from one of the carers drawings, and I thought of creating a human paper-chain to represent family and sticking together.


I then started looking at something that I feel would be able emote more emotion and strength I then made the character more detailed below, to picture what the carer actually looked like I like the roughness and the colours that have been used however it doesn't have an identity yet and I will work on that.

Coraline Character Creation

I have found this video to demonstrate a way that characters are created and developed. With a lot of emphasis on the face creation and emotions.  

Character Animation

This is just a quick overview of the subject that I am going to research more into, this video from The Lord of the Rings Weta Digital department, it's a quick overview to some of the methods used from the very beginning to the end of production of a character.

Mise en Scene Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

In this part of the film the mise en scene that you can gather from this still is; the setting is very sophisticated and very ornate. Frodo is set in a huge background to show the audience just how small he really is in the world. The lighting is very soft, high-key lighting and is digitally graded to create a surreal atmosphere, and show the audience that it’s a nice place to be. The props, costumes and make up suggest that the character is happy, he also has a dark top on that contrasts with the rest of the scene making the focus him. Staging, the movement of the character in this shot is slow as he steps outside and takes everything in, the positioning is important too as it enforces the thought that Frodo is a small Hobbit in a very big world, it makes the watcher aware of what a big quest he will be embarking on during all three films.

This still however creates a completely different effect. The setting is very enclosed and claustrophobic unlike Rivendell you can’t see that far in the background or around the sides, this creates a sense of menace because you don’t know what’s going to be around the corner. The lighting is very dark low-key lighting to show the importance of the one character and the peril he is in. the light also illuminates the tunnel it suggest to the viewer that Shelob may emerge. The costume and make up is very different from before, the cloak Frodo is wearing is very dark he is also very dirty, showing the journey he has struggled with so far. There aren’t really any props because all of the focus is on Frodo trying to escape.

Video Portrait: Experimenting with close ups

Here is the video portrait that me and Jason made. We experimented with extreme close ups, compositing and split screen methods to show different ways of portraying our personalities in the video portrait.

Chaos and Order

This is the mood board that me and Jason collaborated on from the theme of Chaos and Order. The Centre line is the obvious split between the chaos and order, but then there is mix of ideas for both of the words, the colour scheme on the left was made dark and the content of the pictures, to us encompass the meaning of chaos. For instance the war images show chaos and the other images show anger and darkness.


On the order side the colours are more subtle and are 'pure' the idea of order is that something is very obvious and set in the way it is meant to be. The pictures that we have chosen, such as the DNA show the order in nature as well as the flowers and insect. A large theme running through the mood board is the idea of evil vs good. 


I think that we have done a good mood board and portrayed the concept of order and chaos, however I think that we could improve it by concentrating on a smaller amount of ideas for the whole board to create a stronger and more concentrated. I am going to make new mood boards to hone the ideas of chaos and order, and make some new ones to portray feelings that I will collect from the young carers.


We approached it from this angle because we decided to create a strong colour scheme instead of any real differentiation between the layouts of either side, this is because we felt it would look stronger if the colours were the main focus.  

A Scanner Darkly

I have added this as a point of interest it’s from the film A Scanner Darkly…I haven’t personally seen this film but I think the concept is awesome…It uses live action film and then the artists animate over the top of every individual frame, to create the effect you see.

I really like this because it’s very different from stop motion or 3D and it creates a unique finish, and like 3D you can create anything. Enjoy (hopefully).

Creature Comforts

Today we researched into the Creature Comfort series to explore different ways of portraying an interview, to help us with our Young Carers work based project. 


I like the way that they go around to the great British public and interview them about lots of different subjects, also that they don't always let on what they are asking and the audience have to listen and look at the scene to figure that out.


I also like the concept of an animal being used as the interviewee, to portray their personality and emotions at the time of the interview. The voices used in the shorts are the most important things and everything is animated and added to enhance that. I have started to look at ideas to help me with the Foley and sound-scape for the interviews with the young carers. 

When listening to the sounds intently on this video I found that a lot of Foley is used to create the background scene without taking away from the interview. The sounds are subtle but would be missed if they weren't there. There isn't a hugely noticeable sound-scape in the example that I have picked, but they are very important too. I also found that there are lots of different things in the background of the interview to add something else that enhances the responses and the interview responses usually connect with what is happening in the background, or the sounds that are used.


I really like this concept and they way that everything interacts with itself, however I'm not sure that this would be the right idea to portray the young carers, but I will take what I have learnt about the sound and use it in my project.