Creative Critical Reflection

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Union Within (Final Project)

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Compromise

Regardless of working on a project alone, this process has shown me that when ideas go from conceptualization to creation there will be compromise (even if it's with yourself).  What was originally thought about in my head had to adapt to what I was technically able to effectively produce. In the end I am contempt with the final product. In fact, I like it better than what I originally had in mind. My main concern throughout this process was to create something meaningful rather than trivial and I feel that the shots paired with the nostalgic music create an ambience of deeper realization.

Casting

When I first conceptualized the idea for the film, I imagined a male character as the lead; however, that was because the majority of main characters in films throughout history have had male lead characters.

The best  possible fit for my film ended up being my good friend Luisa. We started shooting and I'm completely happy with what she did with what I gave her to do.

Here is her headshot:

SOS how do I make sure the message is getting across

The concept of this opening takes longer to explain than it should. I truly believe that the simplest messages and story lines create the best films. So why did I make mine fairly complicated?

In my opening I really don't want to confuse the viewer, but rather intrigue them to continue watching the rest of the film. I'm going to strive to present the topic in a simple way which is easy to understand regardless of the fact that shadow integration is kind of abstract.

I'm also scared of the idea of the film seeming pretentious. I really just want to tell a simple story in a new way about an individual discovering their true self.

Yay music

The world is full of nice people !!! I thought it would be really difficult to get permission to use an artist's song, but to my surprise they answered the same day saying it was okay. I never realized how simple that process would be. This may partly be due to the fact that he is an independent artist who isn't tied to a pretentious label.

Anyways, I am excited to use the song since it effectively conveys the mood I want to employ in my opening. 

Practicality

So I've come to the conclusion that for practical purposes it would be easier to get permission to use an already existing song. The equipment at my disposal to record music aren't of the quality which I would want the sound to be. Although I would love to create my own score; however, my past garage band experiences alone are enough to convince me against it.

At first I was reluctant to do so because it seems very complicated to get a record's approval in such a short amount of time. There's no loss in trying though, and I can always resort to attempting my own score.

Casting and Recruiting

Although I haven't completely concreted the plot, I've begun the process of recruitment. I have a general idea of what I want the main character to look like so I've been contacting a couple acquaintances to see if they'd  be up for the challenge. I've concreted a student at my High School, David (also referred to by the nickname Africa) who is very musically inclined to help me in creating the score for the opening.

So far, this is my favorite part of the process because it is when ideas are transforming into actions which then turn into creation.

Picture this:

 Two hands are interacting with the sunlight. (Camera shots emphasizing on the shadows these interactions create) 

It goes dark.

A nostalgic piano melody plays.

Close ups and extreme close ups of different objects and there cast shadows are presented.

(Within the shadows mentioned above will be the opening credits.)

A pan up to the light source of the shadow, followed with a graphic match of the sun.
A pan down from head to toe, toe to shadow. (Simulating the direction of sun rays and emphasizing the importance of shadows by ending the movement there.)
A series of shots of the individual with his/her shadow present.
The piano music picks up.

A montage of point of view shots from the individual's shadow. (Giving the shadow it's own quasi ominous presence. Also, placing the audience in the position of the shadow since each individual is what is represented by their shadow. In other words, we are---- at least for the purpose of this film ---driven by the doings of our unconscious mind which manifest in our shadow. This shot allows the audience to integrate with the presence of the shadow. )

Medium shots of the individual and their shadow similar to the ones seen before, but now with an increasingly mysterious piano music underlying it.
Suddenly the shadow dramatically separates from the individual.
The music stops. The screen abruptly goes black.

end scene

The Shadow Work Process

 According to psychology and metaphysics, the shadow is a representation of ones's unconscious drives. In metaphysics, a field in philosophy which analyzes the nature of being (not actual physics), shadows are used to further analyze the self and reach a deeper stage of realization. Therefore, by understanding one's shadow one understands the hidden motives behind their actions, and consequently understands one's self more thoroughly.

Of course these philosophies on shadows don't mean actual physical shadows, but it would be cool to represent these ideas visually through real shadows in my film opening.

So metaphysics has an outlined process which individuals can follow to come into terms with their "shadow" and achieve a deeper understanding of one's self. The goal of the process is to engage in a 'two-way' attention with your shadow. This process will be the basis of my narrative and will be visually communicated by representing shadow integration through unique lighting and cast shadows.

The process is as follows:

"1. Choose an experience in your life that you want to work with. It’s often easier to begin with a person with whom you have difficulty (e.g., lover, relative, boss). This person may irritate, disturb, annoy, or upset you. Or maybe you feel attracted to, obsessedwith, infatuated with, or possessive about this person. In any case, choose someone with whom you have a strong emotional charge,whether positive or negative.

2. Face It : Now, imagine this person. Determine and analyze those qualities that most upset you, or the characteristics that you are most attracted to using 3rd-person language (he, she, it). 

3. Talk to It: Begin an imaginary dialogue with this person. Speak in 2nd person to this person (using “you” language).  Ask them questions such as “Why are you doing this to me?” “What do you want from me?” “What are you trying to show me?” “What do you have to teach me?” Imagine their response to these questions. 

4. Be It: Become this person. Take on the qualities that either annoy or fascinate you. Embody the traits you described in “Face It.” Use 1st-person language ( I, me, mine). This may feel awkward, and it should. The traits you are taking on are the exact traits that you have been denying in yourself. Use statements such as “I am angry,” ”I am jealous,” “I am radiant.” Fill in the blank with whatever qualities you are working with: “I am__________.”

5. To complete the process, notice these disowned qualities in yourself. Experience the part of you that is this very trait. Avoid making the process abstract or conceptual: just BE it. Now you can re-own this trait in yourself.”"

works cited

Shadow Integration: The Complete Shadow Work Process in Four Steps | Metaphysics. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2015, from http://beforeitsnews.com/metaphysics/2011/10/shadow-integration-the-complete-shadow-work-process-in-four-steps-1266173.html

Use of Shadows for Experience

         

 Since I'm trying to create a film which presents shadows in a positive manner, part of my research has been focused on how to use shadows to create an experience,.

Doing so, I came across this artist Jiyeon Song who as his master thesis project used shadows to create an interactive Pavilion which a pedestrian can have a exclusively individual experience with. Although Song's product is very different from the one I am trying to create, his process of discovery and exploration with shadows is similar to mine. His one day pavilion "offers not only individual experiences through a time-based narrative but also provides delightful moments when words are revealed using only natural light and shadow".  

Song's Project: 

The concept of shadows revealing something otherwise unknown to the individual really attracted me to Song's work due to the power it conjoins to the significance of shadows.

Hmm... shadows revealing something otherwise unperceived... what a lovely idea (for a film?) .



works cited 

Song, S. (n.d.). Experiential Typography | One Day Poem Pavilion | Jiyeon Song. Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://people.artcenter.edu/~jsong5/thesis/experiments02.html

Physics + Art = Film

I've begun to have a fixation on a concept. A concept which with a process of analysis can develop into a tangible product. It may seem a bit abstract, but that just opens the door too many possibilities. What is going to be difficult is constraining a broad idea into a logical progression of moments for a film.

The idea (which keeps running through my head) is as follows: Shadows are the connection between the 2 dimensional world and the 3rd dimensional world.

I can't stop thinking about this because I keep finding different truths in it. When we are viewing a 3 dimensional object, the shadow it casts is 2 dimensional. In art, the effective depiction of shadows is what creates a 3 dimensional sensation in a 2 dimensional drawing.

This idea came to me during a physics lessons on rotational motion, where we analyzed the shadow of an object going in a circular motion and how its 2 dimensional shadow related to the motion of springs. This translation of dimensions through shadows was later was reinforced with the concept of chiaroscuro in my art class.

Now, I have to somehow develop this concept of the purpose of shadows into a narrative.

Andrew Huang is cool

Looking for interesting art direction ideas, I came across films by artist Andrew Thomas Huang and was instantly inspired, specifically by his film Solpsist.

 I would love to include in my opening similar techniques of digital and real images.

To view the films, I have provided a link below.

http://www.andrewthomashuang.com/Films.htm