Hostile Pitiable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIt8vZGn82I

To be submitted

Hostile Pitiable

Hostile Pitiable

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJGw3PMlmlM&list=LLRVIFGAwdWlyB8noA-E19FQ&feature=mh_lolz

Hostile Pitiable

Pledge Rough Cut Video

Pledge Me Updates and Rough Cuts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwQw0yXQQ4M

https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/Crowd/Details/219

The whale (painting on the glass animation)

Documentary Conventions to be Implemented in the Animation

 ‘legitimate’ representation of reality
Yes, although with a deeper subjective, perception.

 indexical quality of images

Yes, maps, television footage, personal interview footage


 referential quality of sounds

Sound connected both to the interview itself and supporting the statements and experiences of the interviewee


 naturalistic lighting and sound

Hand held camera footage of interview and paint on glass.

 functional, unobtrusive, unfettered editing

Smooth transitions between scenes, contrasted with stark harsh rigidity of soldier/interrogator scenes


 sense that the film provides a window in to
  some aspect of social or historical reality

Contemporary issue, the world is not safe for the foreign traveller, experiences reflect that. see:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/locked-up-abroad

 use of archival footage of varying qualities

Yes, home interview, maps and T.V

Sound scape and Narration

I have started to look more deeply at Chris Watson's work, http://www.chriswatson.net/, he records unusual and reactive sounds from different environments.


These audience responses to Watson’s work suggest that there are significant parallels between the visual music work of Len Lye and environmental sound art. Much like the visual imagery of mark making, environmental sounds that are familiar or even unfamiliar (but affectively tangible) can tap into our individual or shared memory repositories. With the potential to function as synaesthetic memory triggers, these sounds and images can also be spatially and temporally locating. While their referential qualities refer us to what is outside of the work, they ultimately refer us to our own bodies.(Lisa Perrott, Visual Music meets Sound Art: Exploring the Relation Between the Haptic Body, Referential Memory Triggers and the Locating Sounds of Aotearoa.)


I want my sounds to be unnaturally human, as only unnatural a human can be. Sounds of scratching, screaming, foreign mutterings, chains, pummelling bodies and blood splating, vommitting, heavy vehicles, the sounds of soft bodies being shaken around in hard environments. Punishing and discomforting to the ear, without rhythm, harmony or melody, unexpected, the audience blind and startled to what sound comes next.


http://www.harvestfilms.ie/silence

 

When presented as auditory close-up, and without the accompaniment of visual imagery (or the mediation of symbolic representation), Watson’s sound compositions bring the audience into a close and direct sensory engagement with the material and timbral qualities of the sounds. My experience was an almost levitated sensation of my body being completely enveloped by the soundscape. The sounds appeared to be moving past and through my body, which was situated within the spatial parameters set by the movement, closeness or distance of the sounds. (Lisa Perrott, Visual Music meets Sound Art: Exploring the Relation Between the Haptic Body, Referential Memory Triggers and the Locating Sounds of Aotearoa.)

Line, Space and the Subjective Reality

The line is an entity with no inherent indexical link to, or counterpart in, the ‘real’, natural,

world, but it can be used to represent the ‘real’, natural, world. The linear implies a glimpse of

human agency, of a subjectivity that can only be shown through drawing or with drawn animation,

not through the lens of a camera. (Birgitta Hosea, Drawing Animation, 2010) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/5/3/353

The hand of the animator is the most reflexive expression of their imagination and/or perception. Animation can display what would be otherwise subversive in the minds eye of the filmmaker. A step beyond the participatory documentary, Michael Moore used animation in his documentary 'Bowling for Columbine' to express history briefly and ironically, we have an insight in to the documentary makers mind, rather than what we see reflected in their actions.

Space can be manipulated to give the impression of events moving rapidly, slowly, or to express a characters feelings or struggles, or the space can be central to the meanings of the production itself. Never has wallpaper being so fun to stare at when it is alive.

Central to giving space experiential meaning is animation’sability to transfer such character encounters to viewers, allowing them to also find themselves caught between their expectations and the images that resolve on the screen. (Aylish Wood, Re-Animating Space, 2006) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/1/2/133

In our memories space changes can be manipulated and even the feelings we had about that experience can affect the way we recollect environments. In fact, it is proven that doctoring photographs can stimulate false memories in children and even sometimes adult recollections.

(Maryanne Garry and Mathew P. Gerrie, When Photographs Create False

Memories, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand)

http://www.mccc.edu/~jenningh/Courses/documents/PSY101_journalpacket_2008_000.pdf

Caroline Leaf's work to me conveys that uneasy line between imagined and remembered as memories haze into events and imaginative recollections, truly documenting the subjective perception of the animator.

Reverberating space, then, can be approached through the ideas of

fluid and unused space. For example Caroline Leaf, whose work I discuss more fully later, animates in a variety of ways: sand on glass, oil paint on glass, scratching on film stock. While each of these is a

very different technique, they all share the property of fluid spatial

construction. (Aylish Wood, Re-Animating Space, 2006) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/1/2/133

In The Street, Caroline Leaf uses ink on glass, he technique creates temporal metamorphic spaces, trans-versing time and space to descripe perceptions of recollections.

The Street, perhaps Leaf’s most celebrated animation,

features images created using under-lit ink on glass, with individual

frames generated by small changes to the previous one. This

technique, combined with the narrative, produces two senses of

space. The first is one of enclosure, while the second is one of transformation.

The contrast between these creates the particular spatial

dynamics of the animation, where being held in abeyance while

waiting for a death in the family has to give way in the end to that

inevitable change. (Aylish Wood, Re-Animating Space, 2006) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/1/2/133

The idea of space transformed by different habitations is useful in

thinking about the content of Leaf’s animation, but it does not fully

address another spatial construction within her work: a tendency for

the insubstantial quality of the resolves to disassemble the relationship

between time, space and action. This allows transformation to enter

more forcefully into the organization of the images as the dissolution

of an image results not so much in a hesitation but in a complete jump

in time and space, where characters resolve from one to another, or

objects turn into other objects.

(Aylish Wood, Re-Animating Space, 2006) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/1/2/133

Her images are two dimensional, but the space she uses undergoes metamorphosis, creating the illusion of moving through the spaces, in and out and around, as well as her characters engaging with the spaces in this way.

Cel-animations generally, or the ink-on-glass technique

demonstrated in The Street, are two-dimensional images projected on a

two-dimensional surface, but depth is introduced through perspective

drawing. And because of this, a viewer of animation is able to attribute

a sense of depth to two-dimensional animation

(Aylish Wood, Re-Animating Space, 2006) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/1/2/133

The very process of animation is therapeutic in the sense that the animator feels they have some sense of control over events that they would of liked more control over. Animation can reconstruct events more suitably in the realm of thoughts and feelings of a memory, dreams and experiences clouded by emotion.

The very artifice of animation requires that the characters, situations, narratives and designs ‘announce themselves’ as different kinds of ‘phenomena’. This challenges the viewer to … invest in engaging with animated phenomena as constructs which may relate directly to the terms and conditions of human experience, but equally may offer more complex meditations on socio-cultural and aesthetic epistemologies. (Steve Fore, Animation Reenacting Ryan: The Fantasmatic and the Animated Documentary, 2011) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/6/3/277

As Craig Hight (2008: 14) has noted, while the visual images in interview-based works tend to preserve anima­tion’s usual reflexivity, the soundtrack maintains (in a term borrowed from Michael Renov) ‘acoustic indexicality in the form of interview sound-bites and especially expositional voice-over narration’, and as Paul Ward (2006: 122) writes, these animations ‘construct a “world” that will metaphorically emphasise (or dramatically undermine) what the viewer is hearing on the soundtrack.’ (Steve Fore, Animation Reenacting Ryan: The Fantasmatic and the Animated Documentary, 2011) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/6/3/277

Animation can both challenge and support the visual and verbal narrative, it is truly reflexive and clearly doesn't deny that.

It is in this way that the conventional reflexivity of animation harmonizes especially well with the use of reenactments in documentary film and video. Unlike animation, in documentary the trope of reflexivity is not a pre-requisite component of the form, but emerges either as a self-con­sciously deployed tactic on the part of the producer, or more prosaically as a section in the film that the viewer understands has been assembled with images of a different ontological status from those used in other sections of the work. (Steve Fore, Animation Reenacting Ryan: The Fantasmatic and the Animated Documentary, 2011) http://anm.sagepub.com/content/6/3/277

Paint on Glass: Exploring Super Real and Surreal

Many of the paint on glass animations remind me of impressionists paintings. However they often explore different levels of consciousness. Bringing vision to one of my favourite books The Old Man and the Sea, Alexander Petrov's animation explores the internal dreams and visions of the animations central character. However I felt that the animation could of explored the embittered struggle of the central character, I just hoped it was longer.

The Old Man and the Sea, Alexander Petrov

Explorations into paint on glass

Yuriy Norshteyn advanced the field of paint on glass, using multiple planes to create a greater sense of dimension in space. His work is incredibly intricate and beautiful and he has invested a lot of time in his works and has years of experience, nonetheless I find his work inspiring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRsXU4Q6a0Q

Empathy and Apathy

kinesthesis plays an important role in my animated documentary. Visualizing the antagonism, suffering and fear in the subjects voice is important and then further gaining a sense of fluidity and rushing from environment to environment. This is why initially I would like to use paint on glass for the first several scenes that represent the subjects perception of events. The environments where the paper doll characters of the authorities are rigid and bland, there movements synchronous, ordered, uniform. You get a feel that they just shuffle paper and people around, but are also like the walls that surround them.




I thought this might be fun to splice in to my piece after the subject says that he realizes he is in the custody of the Pakistani army.




Pakistan Military Song

Greater than Less than

This symbol really interests me, especially in terms of symbolic space, the subject always being on the greater side, his oppressors on the less than.

Paint on glass

I seem to be getting more and more drawn to paint on glass, I love the metamorphic qualities and how they can bring the hazy visions of memory into reality, but I also believe that paint on glass can delve into our darkest fears and explore that feeling of descent into blackness that is the onset of self-pit and depression.

 Example Paint on glass


Добро пожаловать Dobro Pozhalovat!

More Great Things Coming out of the Czech Republic

Amanita Design

Bus Model

Prisoner Uniform Model

Roots of Influence

The greatest influence in my stylistic direction is the work of Jan Švankmajer. His work reflects centuries of skilled Czech animation and puppetry. His works are surreal, innovative, experimental with forms and materials. He has not being afraid in his life to delve into many different materials, and animation techniques to present ideas.

Jan Svankmajer - Dimensions Of Dialogue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaMIR7uRTLo&feature=related


Jan Svankmajer - The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx8-MQACkpE&feature=relmfu


He has influenced other contemporary animators who have inspired innovators The Quay Brothers. The Quay Brothers have influenced me most in exploration of space.


"We Realized that with puppets and objects an entire universe and above all, an exploration of space could be created at the level of the tabletop. This provided us with an intimate theater, a tight collaboration between the two of us, a learning of all metiers and exploration of all their potentials."


Quay Brothers' correspondence with Chris Robinson



Quay Brothers - 1984 - The cabinet of Jan Svankmajer



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2wUjO6YvnM

Sep 11 - Marked Man - Stories - Story Archive - 60 Minutes - Shows - TV3

Sep 11 - Marked Man - Stories - Story Archive - 60 Minutes - Shows - TV3

60 minutes article

http://www.3news.co.nz/Muslim-named-as-NZs-only-link-to-Al-Qaida/tabid/371/articleID/225340/Default.aspx

Prisoners

3D

Concept for Guards, Soldiers and Interrogators

2D

Karachi Map

Rawal Pindi

Peshawar Map

Stop and Forgive

Untold Stories Animation by Zoom Animation

Sound scape and Narration

I am interested in blending the animation between a sound scape and the voice of the narrator/subject, much like the work of Samantha Moore, although darker, and more focussed on developing environment. sound scape, rather than ideas. I really like Samantha Moore's work and appreciate her work, her work is strongly emotive and the animations and sounds really support her voice narrations and the pace of her documentaries. For my piece I take influence from her ability to connect sound track with voice narration and animation, but I choose to focus on developing spaces and also reflecting animated environmental sound scape.

Samantha Moore, Doubled up

3D City Sound Scape

Perspective

I have thought a lot about aesthetic and dream like memory, transitioning sequences. However in order to create more vivid imagery for cells and areas where the subject spent a lot of time, I need to have more dimension and look at using models.

Previous students Bendik and Jesper obviously worked together well and spent a lot of time in the planning, architecture and construction of their spaces. Technically these guys are excellent, however my themes are quite deep and respective of these two animators I am trying to present very serious and sensitive experiences. Their work is admirably very light hearted and fun. However, in my work I am looking for something emotionally hard hitting and even somewhat frightening.

I do admire the time they spent together constructing and designing their environments. And I am definetly interested in this for the design of my subjects cells.

http://bendik-jesper.blogspot.co.nz/

Images that resonated with the subject

Paint on Glass

I, like the previous student Joanne Williams am inspired by Caroline Leaf's work. This student wanted to use a multi plane effect and I find this also very purposeful for my ambitions. I find that for presenting memory and events it represents these in a dreamy flowing manner connecting events and disregarding time, enabling more to be presented in a smaller amount of time. Also it can connect, scenes seamlessly, the paint just flows. It is also able to cross the divide between the real and imagined, metamorphosis is easy with this.

Rotoscoping

I wasn't sure whether I was going to introduce the subject visually in my piece. However upon looking into rotoscoping techniques and partially inspired by "A Scanner Darkly".

And "Waking Life".

Here is an example of rotoscoping an image of the subject. I find it emphasises and deepens his expression, bringing the atmosphere of his emotions to the surface of the image.

I e-mailed my lecturer and she advised that I would need plenty of audio and visual archival material to support and give authority to my piece. My piece focuses on the narration of the subject and images drawn to support this narration. But I feel that introducing the narrator in an animated context, may better link what he is saying to what is being presented.

 In fact I have some ideas of how he might be introduced as actually having a hand in the animation. Therefore directly linking his account to the production, verifying validity and authenticity.

One Blurry Nightmare

I would like my piece to merge between memory, fear and horror. A surreal and ever changing environment, only held in place by strong visual character and object representations. The denim masked guards, torture devices, silhouettes, foreign voices, unclear whisperings, commands, screams. Environments will merge into one another, getting brighter and darker based on  subsiding and residing fears and awareness. Environments are harsh and do not retain any familiarities or anything worth remembering, drawing attention to the violent characters, their threats and brutality.

Conversing with Aotearoa/New Zealand | Watch the Documentary Film Free Online | SnagFilms

Conversing with Aotearoa/New Zealand | Watch the Documentary Film Free Online | SnagFilms

Ideas and Materials

I have started to make a visual diary, although disorderly and chaotic, I hardly want my work to be orderly and transitionally linear. That is not the way we recall memories or experiences, otherwise how would we gauge the impact they have on our lives. The first recording although workable, my subject wishes to do a more comprehensive recording, so I have booked out some equipment and plan for an interview next Thursday.

I plan on drawing some parameters of what the subject should talk about, however ethically I have given the subject a promise of seeing the transcript and listening to his own recording before we go ahead. Also I have used some images to give him a picture of what it may look like and promised a final copy for himself.
I plan for the piece to be broken into five parts, each part covered in 1-2 minutes. They are based on the environments the subject passed through. Firstly bus and checkpoint, secondly military holding, third the first interrogation facility, fourth the second more secured interrogation and torture facility, lastly the old British converted prison.

Materials I plan to use are acrylic paints, modelling clay, coarse texture gel, wire, various metals, painted and unpainted brick, silhouette puppets and rice paper, wood and cloth materials of different thickness's and colours, water and flakes of rust, possibly dead insects. I need to use a lot of back lighting and small leds to created dark contrasts creating internal and external environments. A multi plane set up is certainly a consideration.

First Project, Beginnings

My first project is about Mark Taylor, the New Zealand man accused of being linked to Al Qaeda. The purpose of this documentary is to interpret Mark's psychological and emotional interpretation of the environments he was held in while being interrogated by the Pakistani military. The focus is on environment and perceptions. I have already begun to record Mark Taylor and we have looked through some images that resonate with his recollections of the experience.