Sketches
January 21, 2010
The sketch on the left represents suspense and the one on the right represents ambiance. I’ve decided to explore those two elements of movie soundtracks together to contrast them against one another. In the end both feelings should be emphasized by one another.
Research
January 20, 2010
Trying to visually summarize music soundtracks as a genre is a tall order. Even trying to describe movie soundtracks in terms of a genre seems nonsensical in the first place. The scores of movies vary wildly in rythm, timing, feel, meaning, and genre. It’s like trying to describe an entire wardrobe as if it were a t-shirt. But this extreme variation, itself, defines what this alleged genre means to myself and others. Other than that the main thing holding these songs together is their intended purpose. Horror, suspense, drama, comedy, and ambiance are all feelings that can be evoked by a quality score in a movie. I believe that my compositions should try to evoke similar feelings. Just like movie soundtracks, I want to make my compositions have radically different feels to them while maintaining a similar visual style. I think combining the elements of raw emotional provocation and radically different feels to the pieces I can best capture the meaning of movie soundtracks to me.
I found images on the net to reflect the previously stated feelings that I want to try and represent visually.
suspense, horror, drama, comedy, ambiance
Also money is a factor that ties these songs together. Big movies pay big bucks for their music. Something I can make a subtle recognition of in my compositions.
Sequence Project (Final)
December 2, 2009
Panel One: Natural color
Panel Two: Flourescent Colors
Panel Three: Transparency
Panel Four: Metallics
Panel Five: Expressive Line
Here is the plan for the order and idea of how I want to utilize each extension
natural/bw/expressive—————————————– thurman as paper weight on creator’s desk, with creator’s hands in shot
flourescent pigments (op/pop art)————————– Thurman laying in garbage truck
transparency (cubism)—————————————- Thurman repairs himself/ use transparency to show time
Metallics (art nouveau)————————————– metallic soda can contrasted to organic art nouveau type forest setting
Expressive line (expressionism)————————— thurman at river or thurman at home, or maybe falls asleep by river
panel one, work in progress:
Panel 1 is thurman the robot being used as a paperweight, it’s going to be the first in the sequence and be the extension that uses natural color.
———————————————————————————————-
panel two work in progress:
Panel 2 is thurman stuck in the back of a dump truck. It will be second in the sequence and use flourescent colors. I plan on linking the two panels by having the junk from the background of the first panel transition into the garbage in the background of the second panel.
———————————————————————————————–
Continued story: The creator has gone on to create bigger and better models of robots. Thurman, being the first functioning prototype that the creator made, is much less advanced than any of the new models. The new models laugh at thurman, they mock his primitive design and lack of any real functionality. Thurman complains to the creator buthis pleas fall on deaf ears. The creator in his obsession, just works day in and day out; sitting alone in his laboratory. Thurman is ignored, he falls into a state of disrepair. The creator doesn’t even bother to fix him or protect him from the cruelty of the new models. Eventually Thurman damages his leg while out exploring. He becomes nothing more than a paper weight. This goes on for quite some time. He tries to crawl around to find pieces to fix himself, but every time he moves the creator scolds him for not doing his job and holding his papers in place. Hurt by the creators callousness; he gives up hope and succumbs to life as a paper weight. Thurman stares at the same boring ceiling tiles in the same boring room, for months. One day the creator came into the study with a somber look on his face. Thurman smiled up at the man that gave him life, not knowing what to expect. The creator picked thurman up and carried him over to the trash can; all the while refusing to make eye contact with his early work. He tossed thurman into the garbage can by the desk Thurman stared longingly as he fell into the can; then there was darkness. He could hear the laughter of the other models from within his new tomb. Thurman reminisces on all the fun he had exploring the city and accepts his new fate. Five days passed, and the garbage can was emptied into a large dump truck. Thurman was somewhat relieved as he lay in the pile in the back of the truck, it was the first time he had been exposed to light for awhile. But at the same time he was deeply saddened at the sight of the city he loved to explore dissapearing into the distance. The dump truck came to a stop, and poured its’ contents out onto an even bigger pile of garbage. Thurman, landing on top of the pile, got a good view of his new surroundings. He saw more towering garbage piles in the immediate vicinity; but to the south he saw vast forests and to the northwest farmland streching to the horizon. Thurman crawled forward and rolled down the garbage pile. He looked around to find something to use as a new leg. He found a grody, used toothpick and inserted it into the socket where his old leg used to be. Somewhat mobile, he hobbled his way out of the dump. He approached the forest that he had previously seen in the distance. He looked and marveled at the wild plantlife and even tried to interect with some of the creatures. Thurman comes across a discarded soda can on the forest floor. He notices a trail of human footprints following the hiking path that he is standing on. He then comes across a river and looks at it with a sense of wonder. After a while it’s getting dark, and thurman looks for a place to sleep. He climbs (as best he can) up and oak tree to a hole in the trunk. He crawls into the little recess and falls asleep in his new home. Alternate ending: he sleeps under the stars by river.
Character project – story:
On a damp, gray afternoon Thurman stared out the window with an expression of longing. He loved the outside and had an unquenchable urge to explore it. But you see, because of a nasty thunderstorm that blew into town he was forced to stay inside. Thurman could never go outside when it was raining; for Thurman is a cheaply built automaton and can’t risk getting his circuitry wet. He watched the droplets fall from the sky and wished he could have more fun with his free time. He decided to put it out of his head and try to immerse himself with work. He found his creator and asked if there was anything he could do to help. The creator smiled and put the little robot to good use organizing the tools and papers that lay strewn about the creator’s lab. Thurman couldn’t help but daydream while working, despite how focused he tried to stay. He imagined the scalpel he was organizing as a great spear. Thurman posed in heroically with his new weapon, imagining himself as a famous hunter. The creator observed Thurman’s role play and could tell that the little machine must be getting tired of organization. The creator decided to send Thurman somewhere he’s never been before to cheer him up. He told Thurman that he needed a hammer from the basement. The thought of someplace new visibly excited the curious machine. Surely there would be great treasures to find in this new land. After activating a built in flashlight, Thurman descended the spiral metal staircase into the basement. With each step he took his metal feet clanked against the stairs. Eventually when he reached the bottom he could see a vast open area, overshadowed by towers of boxes. Thurman observed these skyscrapers of junk and proceeded further into the room. Once Thurman found the box that the creator said would have a spare hammer, he climbed and climbed until he made it to the top. There, he could see an ocean of things he’s never seen before. A plastic disc sitting on the top of the pile caught his eye. He tried to figure out its’ function but to no avail. He tossed the disc aside and was shocked when it floated gently to the ground. Thurman was shocked at this incredibly basic flying contraption and decided that he would take it back with him. Upon finding the hammer that he was tasked to acquire; Thurman returned to the creator and gave him the requested tool. The creator then dismissed Thurman to do whatever he pleased and walked away. Thurman picked up his flying disc and dragged it over to his charging station and set it near his other trophies. Despite the weather, Thurman had enjoyed the way he spent his day. He was able to make his creator happy and find a fascinating new object. Feeling content, Thurman pushed his back into his charging station and began his sleep cycle. During his shutdown sequence, Thurman hopes that tomorrow will allow for even greater exploration. His eyes go blank, his gears stop turning, and his limbs go limp. Thurman’s body lies on the charger, waiting for his next activation.
