Workshop: Styling for our shoot

Elle and I were excited to start creating our costumes and see what advice Kim Howells couldgive us. We popped to hobbycraft that morning to finish buying things for our 'cloaked figure' costumes, be bought:

3m of black material

1m of shiny black material

3m of gold chain

Black ribbon

Safety

Black netting

Other items from our wardrove which we thought could work

I was the lucky one that could to dress up in this fetching ensemble. We attached my scarf to the black of the cloak to create a make-shift train and the effect was nice on film when I walked. Kim Howells was very helpful, and seemed positive about our creation. She liked the idea of using a seperate piece of material to create the hood, giving the cloak a more layered and interesting look. We also discussed shoulder pads with her and sewing fringing on to them, which is a technique Gemma Slack uses. Kim said to think about the shape of the shoulder- round would look more 'nun-like' whereas square shoulders would look more high fashion. Elle and I decided to go with the high fashion look because we still wanted to create something stylish that does Gemma Slacks work justice.

I found this workshop very useful and it helped me realise what works and what doesn't. I was helped to discuss my ideas with another person and see how successful and realistic they thing it is.

Inspiration: Costumes

Whilst obviously the Puritan era is a huge influence there are also other things which have inspired me in relation to the costumes. I love this Dazed and Confused October 2008 cover, there is something magical about it and the structures clothing reminds me of Gemma Slacks work. There is also something rather unnerving and wild about the image due to the face of the model being in shadow and the way it appears as itf she is growing out from between the trees. This cloaked figure then reminded me of the film 'The Village' and the costumes used throughout. Even though the film is actually set in the present day the people of this small community are lead to believe they are actually living in a more primative time. The clothes are all very simple and conservative, created in plain, dark colours. Below are some film stills:

I likes the style of cloaks used and these are something which i would like to incorporate and recreate for the cloaked figures used. The ku Klux Clan, as starnge as it sounds, also sprang to mind with their pointed cloaks covering their faces, masking their idenity. That gave me the idea of covering the cloaked figures faces in our film also.

When researching into the masking of peoples idenities to create a frightening feel i immediately thought of Alexander Mcqueen's work and how he often used masks and interesting head pieces to create a startling look, as seen below:

The Ring: Video

This has been included for it's mood and disturbing nature. I like the idea of possibly still injecting some strange images now and then into the film to add to the feeling of chaos. I like how the creators of this clip have managed to turn average things such as brushing your hair into something unnerving.

Inspiration: Music Videos

1. Bat for lashes 'Daniel'
The black figures in this video grabbed my attention and whilst they are not visually what Elle and i want to recreate i liked the way they swarm and move around the singer to create a sinister, unnerving feel. The fact that their faces are covered gives them a lack of identity and makes them even more disturbing, which is a concept my partner and I have discussed to use when creating costumes for our cloaked figures.



2. Florence + the machine 'Rabbit heart (raise it up)'
I really love the colour tones used within this video and the wildness it has to it. The music video is very caotic and within our witchcraft scene we also want to portray this, but with a much darker feel. Clips are also layed over eachother to create a double image, maybe this is something we could consider for out film also?



3. Florence + the machine 'Dog days are over'
This music video again caught my attention as it is set in a forest. Like 'Rabbit heart' it has a fun feel to it however the clowns and circus concept gives it a slightly unnerving touch. I like it when they all crowd round her and also the throwing of glitter. This music video can still be used as inspiration and we are considering recreating aspects of it but adding a darker twist which fits in with our story and concept better.

Inspiration: The Crucible

The Crucible was something that came to mind immediatley and I thought that it would act as good inspiration. Written by Arther Miller in 1953 it is a dramatization of the Slame witch trials that took placet in Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693.

We will be using this as inspiration for our work, and encorporating the madness and havoc into our short film. Below is a short manmade trailer for The Crucible remake, i found it really hard to find any of the film clips and could not locate an offical film trailer. I have chosen to include this clip as it shows the witchcraft scene in the forest which portrays the dramatic mood and excitable feel we would like to capture during our film.

Below are some images which inspire me and help to visually explain our film concept:

OUR FINAL IDEA!

My partner and I had truly come to a dead end so we decided to go back and look at the designer in more detail in hope of coming up with some inspiring ideas. I noticed that Gemma Slack’s gothic work had an aged nostalgic feel to it and her panelled, dark and often constricting clothing reminded me of Puritan clothing worn in America during the 1600’s. This made me think of the Salem witch trial which obviously was a very desperate time for all those involved. Gemma Slack’s large headdress made form real human hair reminded me of the hats the men used to wear during this time era and I thought that we could create a short film promoting the designer’s work inspired by witch craft and cults.

We plan on still featuring a young girl walking across a field at dusk, being drawn toward something she is unsure of. Handheld camera will be used to create a tense feel and she will be dressed in plain smocks similar to those worn during the era previously mentioned. The ‘witches’ will be dressed in cloaked ensembles, with headdresses and veils so all of them but their hands are concealed. As the girl is being drawn towards the ‘witches’, flashes of them will be caught by the camera, but only brief glimpses to add suspense. She will reach the forest and as she travels through more tense eerie shots of cloaked figures walking through trees with candles will flash past her etc... She will come to a clearing in the forest where the ‘witches’ will all be gathered. Ribbons will be hanging from branches, blood will be splattered around and raw meat to signify a sacrifice. These cloaked will be acting bizarrely and taking part in some form of ritual, the mood will be very dark, tense and disturbing with lots of candles everywhere. As to how it will end Elle and I are not completely sure, we are going to research more films and see if we come up with anything that can inspire one.

Where to go from here?

Today we had another tutorial with Geraldine and Olle, we explained our idea inspired by 'The killers' music video but again, or idea was critisized. We were told that the storyline was unoriginal and now we are both completely lost and unsure of where to go from here. With only 2 weeks until we have to present our ideas to the class we are getting worried and frustrated and are wondering whether we should completely start from scratch or continue to develop our romance idea.

Idea: Desperation in Romance

Listening to my itunes The Killers 'When we were young' came on which immediately made me think of the music video and how beautiful it is. I love the mexican feel the video has and the soft natural lighting used throughout. Montage is also used to create an atmospheric mood, a technique i have been looking at closely during this project.

This gave me the idea of using this video as inspiration and making a film based of a girl desperately wanting to be with a boy but knowing she can't be for one reason or another. It would begin with her walking through a field or a wood at dusk, not much of her face would be visible, just closeup shots of her feet, her hands brushing branches/bushes, long shots of her from behind, handheld camera would be used. She would close her eyes and a very fast short montage would be screened, then there would be a long shot of her again before the main montage would begin. This sequence would be her memories of being with this boy eg. them playing outdoors, images of them kissing, at home etc... These happy memories would continue for a while until we would see him turn away and walk from her, possible across the field they were playing in. There would then be a close, quick montage of a letter being written, the camera would be close to the paper and highlight certain words of 'desperation'. Other images from her memories would flicker in between the shots of the letter, growing faster and faster. The film would end with a long shot of her standing alone outside.

Evaluation: Current thoughts

Whilst Elle and I have got some ideas which have interested us we have decided to continue to look and research other areas incase something else comes up. During out tutorial with Geraldine she said that we still needed to explore and develop our ideas. We are both becoming fairly frustrated with this project and have seemed to come to a mental block concerning which direction to take our work. I think we are both waiting for the idea/concept to come which we both immediately embrace and fall in love with, but it hasn't arrived yet. We will continue to research and keep developing our knowledge of film in order to produce the best possible film we can.

Our ideas so far:

Idea 1:

Elle and I have been discussing a narrative for our short film. We really like the idea of using a dark, disturbing montage similar to that in the TRUEBLOOD opening sequence but we weren't sure on a story line that could we stitched around it. When thinking of what we personally would find disturbing we thought that this montage could be a person's thoughts or emotions and who scarier to think these things than a little old lady? The scene would begin with a person going around their daily life in their house, the audience would not know the identity of the person, we would only see parts of their home like a used glass, a mess bookshelf etc... Throughout this scene we would hear them humming away, possibly a nursery rhyme and then the doorbell would ring. The person would make their way towards the door and when it is about to open the disturbing montage of memories would occur. The scene would end with the door opening revealing who the person thinking these things were.

Idea 2:

We then thought instead of using this old woman and portraying her in a negative, disturbing way could be make her the victim? Could this memories be a montage of her life and the happy memories with the husband she has lost?

Photographer: Martin Parr

I have always been a fan of Martin Parr's work. I really like the snapshot quality to his images and how he has the ability to turn the most average object into something fantastically interesting. Wanting to keep a natural and truthful edge to my film I thought that Martin Parr documentary style imagery would be relative to look at and maybe give me some ideas for shots to include in a montage sequence

Inspiring Director: Floria Sigismondi

During a tutorial it was suggested that Elle and I look up the work of Floria Sigismondi. Her videos are edgy and quiet often dark in mood which is something that we would like to include in ours. The music video that she worked on with The White Stripes really grabbed my attention. The gothic feel reminds me very much of Gemma Slack's collection and I like the way in which she has used fast paced editing and speeding up of shots. The camera angles used in some places are also very interesting, capturing peoples movements in a way which is slightly unnerving as it feels as if the camera is 'spying'.

Inspiring Director: Chris Cunnigham

Chris Cunnigham's work is fantasically edited and his ideas are you innovative and individualistic. He has created a personal style which is immediately recognizable if you are familiar with his work. The video below really interested me, I like the tone of colour used throughout the video and it's overall disturbing storyline and feel created through mood and the use of documentary style camera work. Like the TRUEBLOOD video quick clips and editing is used to create an edgy and tense atmosphere:

Ideas: Desperation and Darkness

Definition of desperate: 'Being filled with, or in a state of despair; Hopeless; reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire.'

After studying the TRUEBLOOD opening sequence I decided to research into images signifying desperation which could be recreated in video form to be included within my short film. First are some film stills from the opening sequence itself displaying images of depressing people, places and the wilder side of religion:

Here are some other images portraying desperation:

Inspiration: TRUEBLOOD

The opening from the television series TRUEBLOOD was something that instantly popped into my mind. Set in America’s deep south, it consists of a depressing montage of images showing seductive, seedy and often disturbing clips of people and places. A strong religious feel is portrayed throughout which links in closely with Gemma Slack’s collection and I think the music fits perfectly, adding to the trashy, wild feel to the short sequence.

I think that this clip is simple yet very effective and atmospheric. I really like the use of quick cuts, sped up images and the documentary style in which it is filmed. The short video has really inspired me and I will be using these concepts as a basis to my own work.

Briefing: The Cut

Today my partner Elle and I were briefed for our new project 'The Cut'. We have been asked to create a short film inspired by designer Gemma Slack, incorporate a 'desperate' mood and look at including 'darkness' as a camera technique. Film has always been of great interest to me so I am generally excited about this project and can't wait to get started.

When I was told that my featured designer would be Gemma Slack I wasn't particularly familiar with her work and slightly skeptical about using a designer I knew little about. However after researching her work I see now that I have been given the opportunity to learn about a very interesting designer and I’m looking forward to create a piece of work inspired by her. Her collections have a strong gothic feel and she uses a lot of leather, harsh patterns and strong edgy shapes. She has taken inspiration from religious crusades and medieval armor which I found as a really interesting aspect of her work and I will consider incorporating this within my film.