First draft of research poster

 

Mock script for assessment film

Mock script for assessment film                                                                                                                15/11/22

Figure 1: Film production on set: https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/film-and-television-production-including-foundation-year---ba-hons/

For my final project of my MSc degree, I will be producing a short film that will detail my perspectives on life using the technique of animation and the city of Dundee.  I have chosen this path because of how close animation is to my heart and how the city of Dundee has resonated with me.  The title for the film will be Seoras, which is Gaelic for my name.  

One of my primary influences for the film is the practice of rotoscoping by Richard Linklater in his films "A Scanner Darkly" and more recently "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood".  The films were animated using the software known as "Rotoshop", created by lead animator Bob Sabiston, and allows the animator to create keyframes of animation over the live-action footage whilst the software would create inbetweens which would speed up the animation process.  The effect that this has on the film is that it allows Linklater to create filmic worlds that are very identical to reality but are distinct enough in look and feel to be their own unique environments.  This also contributes to the themes present in both films: in Apollo 10 1/2, the narrative is a juxtaposition between the main character's dream of informally testing out an earlier iteration of the Apollo program and the daily routine of childhood life in Houston during the late sixties.  Because of the animation style used, the film blends in the two visions seamlessly, and we accept the idea of the character landing on the moon before Neil Armstrong as entirely plausible.  In "A Scanner Darkly", the film takes place in a plausible, dystopian future where technology has overwhelmed society, as has drug addiction, so the grip on what is reality has become blurred.  The style also fits the inherent theme of the main character becoming so addicted to the drug he is monitoring that by the end of the film, he has lost all sense of self-identity.  Since Rotoshop is not available for public use, my main objective with this influence is to create a similar look to the software and the films using the tools we have available at the college, such as TV Paint and Photoshop, whilst also maintaining my own adaptations on the practise so I'm not just copying Linklater.

Another vital influence for the film is the Pictish symbol stones located around the country.  Their meaning has been of much debate, and I will use them alongside the locations in my film to give them my own meaning, such as the Pictish bulls running giving an indication of unease and the deer giving an indication of connection with nature.  But the symbol that I will use is my own version of the Z-rod and the double discs, which has been suggested to represent a link between life and death, the duality of the Sun.  My interpretation of them will be of harmony between people and location: the protagonist will keep seeing them until they realise this ultimate meaning.  This art style will also give the animations a more rustic, carve-like quality and indicate their vital cultural connection to local culture.

Previously, I have done a degree in Film at Arts University Plymouth, and in retrospect, I didn't push myself enough for my final film in Year 3.  For this course, it will be my most ambitious thus far.  The project will consist of a mixture of live-action photography, 2D animation, rotoscoping and 3D animation and visual effects.  These elements will contribute to the plot of the film, which will focus on a self-inspired protagonist named Seoras who comes to Earth and lands on the outskirts of Dundee before venturing into the cityscape.  He is disconnected from the world around him due to his extra-terrestrial origins, and can see visions of life that are invisible to spectators.

The live-action elements of the film will be filmed at various landmarks around Dundee which are renowned as symbols of culture and past life.  Several examples of this include Dundee Law, Cox's Stack, Camperdown Park,  Verdant Works and the Tay Bridge memorial, the latter of which being chosen for the fact that it was my very first sight of Dundee and I was immediately impressed by its unexpected scale.  These select locations will work with the animation's placed on top of them to give them additional meaning as well as represent what they specifically mean to the main protagonist, Seoras.  The connotations will be logical to the viewer though, such as the site of Caird Hall being shown with a Pictish harpist, which is appropriate because of its musical productions and plays being shown, as well as Cox's Stack, which represents the Jute industry.   

Figure 2: Apollo 10 1/2 Moon Landing: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/apollo-10-12-reviewed-richard-linklater-unites-inner-and-outer-life

My choice of software for the project will include TV Paint, After Effects, Maya, ZBrush, and Premiere Pro.  They were chosen because of how they will compliment each other in their functionality.  After Effects will mainly be used for final assembly of shots and simpler VFX elements, such as inserting rendered obj models into scenes, TV Paint will be used for the hand-drawn, two-dimensional elements of the film, and Maya/Zbrush will be used to construct three-dimensional elements such as the whale and plumes of smoke.  Of all the programs, I have gravitated towards TV Paint the most, but I am aware of how indispensable Maya and Zbrush are in the animation industry.  I still have some degree of adapting to do to with the software, but I am confident I will learn the software enough to put it on my CV.

Here are some examples of my experimentation in software thus far: (show clips of experiments)

At this time, I estimate that the project will take me through to at least the end of May, if not June.  My work does not require the intensive rendering or post-production necessary if it were fully 3D or 2D, but I will still need to produce the best quality animation possible for the film.  I recognise that I am not as experienced with this field of expertise as my peers, but I will still strive to make the most of every moment available.  The film will largely act as an allegory for me moving to Scotland and my self-development.  I recognise that my creative path is significantly different from other people on the course, and I will use this as an opportunity to show how I gradually connect with the environment I live in.   

 

Updated script draft: new title - "Seoras"

Updated script draft: new title - "Seoras"                                                                       10/11/22

Balluderon Stone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balluderon_Stone

FADE IN:

SCENE 01

EXT. TAY BRIDGE MEMORIAL - DAY

WIDE SHOT

Animation of alien-like life landing is projected on Tay Bridge Memorial.

Main Protagonist, Seoras, appears from behind memorial. As he enters the atmosphere, his vision becomes distorted and his hearing rings as he adjusts to new environment. Once he refocuses his vision, he can see Dundee riverside. This vision transitions to a painting-like perception, with a set of Pictish symbol double discs present in the skyline.

Seoras, then finds a red and black-striped jumper laid before him. He surmises it to be part of local culture and puts it on.

CUT TO:

SCENE 02

EXT. TAY RIVERSIDE. UNDERNEATH ROAD BRIDGE - DAY

PANNING SHOT

Seoras walks non-chalantly alongside river before stopping at the lookout point. He peers in towards the metalwork.

SLOW ZOOMING SHOT

He can see a Pictish style animation of serpent slithering up the metal work, and then decides to follow it up the staircase.

At the peak of the lookout point, Seoras is stunned to see a giant blue whale flying over the bridge, which is accompanied by another set of double discs. None of the bypassers surrounding him can see the vision and ignore him as a result.

He then proceeds to walk under the bridge, and can see visions of Pictish salmon swimming on the beams.

Further along the riverside, Seoras can then see a herd of Pictish bulls charging along a wooden wall. This is also accompanied by a set of double discs.

He is perplexed by this, and cannot figure out what they mean or why they keep reappearing. His attention is turned to the railway station.

2.

CUT TO:

SCENE 03

EXT. DUNDEE RAILWAY STATION

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras is seen outside the hotel/station structure. He peaks over his shoulder to see a projection of penguins walking in unison with the double-discs in their fur. Observing the life visible through the station windows, he can see a projection of a figure at work on a laptop in a train carriage, surrounded by books and wearing headphones. Another set of double discs accompanies this. He is slightly comforted by this.

CUT TO:

SCENE 04

EXT. VERDANT WORKS

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras walks towards the old jute works. He realises he has no funds to get in upon observing the contents of his pockets, but is intrigued to see footage of animated vision of jute being processed on the brick walls along with double disc symbols.

CUT TO:

SCENE 05

EXT. OLD MILL

MEDIUM SHOT

Intrigued by the vision seen at Jute works, Seoras walks into the vicinity of a refurbished mill site.

He gestures his fingers backwards, similar to a touchscreen, to view a black-and-white vision of the chimney producing smoke and the factory in full operation. The double discs are also visible on one side of the chimney.

3.

CUT TO:

SCENE 06

EXT. WEST WARD WORKS

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras walks towards a former print works site, and takes notice of the aging architecture. Another vision is visible, of a newspaper printing machine in operation, and another set of double discs accompanying it.

CUT TO:

SCENE 07

EXT. COMMERCIAL STREET

MEDIUM SHOT

A vision of a Pictish harpist is visible against the Caird Hall. Seoras arrives at commercial street, which is currently occupied by several chains and shops which are vacant. As he peers in closer, he can see a vision of a Pictish beast flying in between the buildings and slowly getting closer. The environment also begins to transition into an artificial, rotoscoped version of itself. This intimidates him, and he quickly departs.

CUT TO:

SCENE 08

EXT. COX'S STACK

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras is seen sitting on a park bench, overlooking the Cox's Stack tower. A vision of a long stem of jute growing up the brickwork is visible, along with the recurring double discs.

He is comforted by this. He scratches his head, continuing to be puzzled by this symbol.

4.

CUT TO:

SCENE 09

EXT. DUNDEE LAW

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras walks towards Dundee Law, on a site overlooking the city. He observes the urban life transcending through binoculars, and walks towards a bench. He can then detect an off-putting smell, and looks towards the stone ground beneath him. A vision of molten lava is visible, alongside another set of double discs. He is moderately shocked in horror by this sight.

CUT TO:

SCENE 10

EXT. CAMPERDOWN PARK

MEDIUM SHOT

Seoras takes seat on a log by a set of trees, and is calm and content. A vision of a red squirrel and a Pictish style deer is visible on the oak alongside another set of double discs. He pulls out a set of binoculars and inspects them to check for any resemblance. Then an animated figure resembling a Pict approaches him, and holds out his hand. Seoras is confused by what this means, and then the figure points towards the double discs. The double discs draw themselves as separate entities at first, before joining themselves in unison through a broken arrow. He then realises that the double discs are a symbol of unity and then stands up to join his hand with the Pict.

CUT TO BLACK.

THE END

Updated Final Film narrative: Dundee promo

 Updated Final Film narrative: Dundee promo                                                                                      08/11/22

McManus museum: https://www.dundee.com/activity/mcmanus-dundees-gallery-museum

After discussing the narrative with my tutor and how much of a focal point Dundee was to the film, I am now developing the structure of my film to showcase the city and it's cultural significance.  Dundee has a number of milestones, including being one of Britain's first whaling ports, home to 10% of Britain's game development studios, the birth place of DC Thomson and a major hub for medical research.  From my visit to the McManus museum, I have also been inspired to create some more animated references to Dundonian heritage, such as the city's silversmiths and the prominence of the Black Watch in the city's history.

A nickname for Dundee was once "Juteopolis" due to the prominence of the Jute factories and trade, and I already have a reference for this in my list of test shots.  I also aim to draw reference to the city's love for dragons according to local folklore.  There is a local story of how a farmer had sent his daughters to try and get a pail of water, only to meet a grizzly fate at the hands of a dragon which resided by.  The farmer then alerted the lover of one of his daughter's, whose name was Martin, and then he raised an angry mob to kill the dragon, and the monument of this is Craigowl Hill, which commemorates Martin's victory over the beast.  This poem accompanies the monument: 

‘Tempted at Pitempton

Draigled at Baldragon

Stricken at Strathmartine

And killed at Martin’s Stane’

Admittedly, the more references included in the film, the more I will have to animate, and I have no intentions of straying from the film's ultimate flaneur narrative.  Other elements I will aim to draw from in the film include the silver industry which reached its peak in the mid 18th century.  Noteworthy silversmiths from Dundee include John Austen, Alex Cameron, William Constable and David Manston.  At this point, there are six major industries present in Dundee that contribute to the local economy.  They are energy, tourism, retail, life sciences, creative industries and contact, with strengths in training.  

The city's prominence with Jute was well established because of it's extensive trade with Dundee and the fact that the crop could be bought inexpensively, and at its peak, the Jute industry employed half of Dundee's population.  Dundee even had the largest jute mill in the world at Camperdown Works, which housed its own train station, foundry and school.   Dundee also owed much of its prominence to the fishing industry, which led toward the prominence of the whaling industry.

1903 Map of Dundee: https://svjmedia.nl/internationaljournalism/6512/the-dundee-frenemies/

Dundee Whaling Ship: https://thecourieruk.shorthandstories.com/scotlands-whaling-history/

Whale Sculpture: https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/giant-whale-sculpture-arrives-in-dundee-after-four-day-sea-journey-in-poor-weather-3423857

Gourepore Jute Mills: http://www.dhtcollections.com/item/Brand_ViewofGoureporeJuteMills_427_0_26331_1.html

Camperdown Jute Mills: http://www.dhtcollections.com/item/Brand_ViewofGoureporeJuteMills_427_0_26331_1.html

Jute ship: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1643&extra=thumbnailfigure_idm173

One of the most prominent parts of local culture and historical reference that I aim to draw from is from local Pictish Stones, which are the craft of the Picts, a tribe dating back to at least 297 AD.   Pictish stones are intended as personal memorials of individual clans and myths.  The meaning of the stones has been open to much interpretation, and I will aim to create at least one animation of a Pictish symbol to draw the protagonist further through Dundee's history and culture.  The Picts were originally known as a warrior-like tribe, and were said to have spoken their own language, though also shared the knowledge of Latin with the other nations that resided in Britain.   Their stones have always resided in their original locations, near churches, by roads or on hilltops.  The stones are usually made of sandstone, granite, slate or whinstone, and have three distinctive styles: decorative, narrative and relief.  Even the way the stones are formed are indicative of their communications, whether they are carved simply with symbols or whether the carvings are more detailed and populated.  If the stones contained a cross, they were believed to be of a Christian descent.   One of the most prominent groups of Pictish stones are located at Aberlemno near Forfar, which depict a battle as well as several Christian images, a comb and a snake.  These pictish styles will be a great influence because I can draw from their carving styles and imperfections to create a unique animated sequence that is a depiction of local myths and folklore which the protagonist will be exposed to.   The animation will largely be drawn from what is known as Symbol stones, which will connote the value of life and past-time.  Even though Christianity has influenced a lot of Pictish stones, I will not be including any references to religion to keep the film more open-minded.

Aberlemno Pictish Stones: https://aberlemno.org/the-stones.php

Woodwrae Stone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwrae_Stone

St Vigeans Pictish Stone: https://arbroathfestival.com/programme/st-vigeans-new-stone/

On a further note, the word "Daedal" is derived from the mythological prisoner Daedalus, and who created feathered wings to escape the prison with his son Icarus, and Daedalus is Greek for "skilfully wrought".  

Pictish stone with harp: https://www.davidlyonsphotography.com/image/I0000UU31112tm3Q

Pictish stone symbols: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/media/4037/symbols_big.gif

I chose the Pictish stones for animation reference because they were the method used by the Picts to pass on their mythologies and mysteries.  Some of the stones were said to have been painted using natural minerals The symbols are also a unique choice of animation reference due to their rustic drawing quality, and carved nature making them subject to fading.  This style of animation could be done with either 2D or 3D software, but I prefer to use 2D because of it's resemblance to the original designs.  

One place of interest that I will use for reference to the printing industry of the city is the West Ward Works, which is currently used as an Art Hub for local creators.  The building was originally built as a fireproof mill in 1806, and was utilised by DC Thomson as a printing press until 2010.  Recently, the space has been used as the host site for the Dundee Design Festival and had space for three galeries, a cinema, and an auditorium.  The site is clearly a vital monument of the print industry and will act as a metaphor for the city's past and present life. 

 

West Ward Works art hub: https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/historic-dundee-printworks-become-new-aps18m-culture-hub-1452991

Bibliography

Harris, P. (2018) Post-industrial Dundee is reinventing itself as a hub of creativity, City Monitor. New Statesman Media Group. Available at: https://citymonitor.ai/economy/post-industrial-dundee-reinventing-itself-hub-creativity-3481 (Accessed: November 8, 2022).

Brown, R. (2020) Here be dragons! the story behind Dundee's famous dragon statue, SeeDundee. DC Thomson. Available at: https://www.seedundee.com/see/here-be-dragons-the-story-behind-dundees-famous-dragon-statue/ (Accessed: November 8, 2022).

Dundee and the Jute Industry (no date) naturalbagcompany.co.uk. The Natural Bag Company. Available at: https://naturalbagcompany.co.uk/jute-news/dundee-and-the-jute-industry/ (Accessed: November 9, 2022).

Kolesnik, S. (2021) Dundee - Scotland's lost industrial empire, ArcGIS StoryMaps. Esri. Available at: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/89b65e8f684a47bab7ccc058e0bb1570 (Accessed: November 9, 2022).

Gilbert, I. (1995) The symbolism of the Pictish Stones in Scotland: A study of origins. Dorchester: Speedwell Books.

Daedal definition & meaning (no date) Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daedal (Accessed: November 10, 2022).

Pyrgies, J. (2021) Pictish symbol stones: From pagan beast to the Cross, ARCHAEOTRAVEL.eu. Archaeotravel. Available at: https://archaeotravel.eu/pictish-symbol-stones-from-pagan-beast-to-the-cross/ (Accessed: November 10, 2022).

Treggiden, K. (2017) An old dundee mill will become one of Britain's largest creative spaces, The Spaces. Available at: https://thespaces.com/dundee-mill-to-become-one-of-britains-largest-creative-spaces/ (Accessed: November 10, 2022).