Unit X: Manchester Cathedral Tour

Manchester Cathedral Tour

Monday 11th April 2016

As part of the Unit X project a series of trips are on offer to students which can provide them a range of opportunities for inspiration for their project. I chose the Cathedral visit because I intend to attend all of the trips I can; therefore I can have a range of information that I can gather together to produce an interesting concept.

We were provided a tour around the Manchester Cathedral talking about the archives which have kept records of services since the 1600s and significant events which have affected the cathedral. The cathedral is huge with a very high ceiling and amazing craftsmanship in the stone and wooden carvings.

I took several images around the cathedral and was told about the Photography competition that was taking place at the time. (http://www.manchestercathedral.org/news/336/the-capture-the-cathedral-photography-competition-is-now-open)

I particularly liked the bust created by recycled hand guns to protest against crime, created by Karen Lyans. 

I also took the opportunity to light a candle in respect to the terrible attack in Brussels. 

 I enjoyed the visit and only time will tell if this has influenced my work later in the project. But either way I still feel it was an interesting tour full of history. 

Dogfight: Cartoon Short Concept

Shorts Concept

Codename: Dogfight 

Dogfight is a concept of a series of short cartoons starring two main characters with a rivalry. These two characters are both piolets of planes inspired by World War One era planes and they fight all over the world as they would be transferred to different hangers as the series would progress. However this series would be comical and they would get the better of each other using a series of ridiculous gadgets. This work was inspired by the likes of: Tom and Jerry, Wacky Races, Dastardly and Muttley’s Flying Machines, Looney Tunes and Tex Avery humour.

I started with initial concepts by drawing characters and backgrounds as well as notes of the medium in which the shorts would be.

I then went on to create mood boards for both planes and piolet uniforms to gather some visual references.

I was debating whether to have the characters, 2D and the backgrounds 3D which would make animating easier as the backgrounds and planes would retain their volume as 3D models whereas the characters would stand out as well as having exaggerated expressions and acting. The characters and planes would be polar opposites, the characters were even designed by the two different ends of a plane.

The two characters would have an unknown rivalry, as in no one is completely sure how it started, but every short will start with one character provoking the other. This is because I would want both characters to be relatable and likable where there’s no clear ‘good and bad guy’.

The planes are World War One inspired bi-planes, they are ‘dwarfed’ versions to make them more stylised for the characters. I intend for the planes to be an extension of the character’s personality.  

 I will continue to develop these concepts and finalise my designs for: backgrounds, characters and planes which will then be further developed later in production. 

I intend to create a short test to determine the style I want to achieve. I will create 3D backgrounds and planes and then animate the characters using 2D.

Unit X: Initial Artist Research

Unit X

Artist Research

After initial research for choosing the theme I wish to pursue, I chose to research artist’s interpretations of dislocation. I created a mood board of these artworks found online, as this was rather difficult since dislocation is commonly associated with the injury.

As you can see these artworks are often surrealist and where aspects of the work collide, as in one aspect is dislocated and should not be with the other. An example of this can be seen on the mood board on the right side, the old black and white army photographs combined with the colourful floral flowers.

Therefore from the evidence of other artists; dislocation can be associated with surrealism. I can take this point into consideration as I produce ideas for the piece to be produced for Unit X. 

Unit X: Initial Research 'Dislocation'

Unit X Research

Giselle: Dislocation

Introduction

As part of Unit X, we are required to complete research into the chosen theme. As our group did not clearly choose a theme before the holidays, this allowed us to freely research what we wanted to then share later our findings as a group. This would allow us to then share a range of diverse ideas which could potentially be combined into a inspirational original concept. 

Research

After initial mind-mapping and research into both themes of 'Love, Betrayal and Forgivness' and 'Dislocation' . I started with research into the definitions of all of these words to gain and understanding of what they mean. 

I chose to continue research into dislocation because after the viewing of the ballet, I found that I gained the most inspiration for the theme from the end of act one when Giselle descends into madness, more details can be found on the post 'Giselle Live ballet screening'. 

Definition

·         Dislocation (Dislocate)

verb (used with object), dislocated, dislocating

1.to put out of place; put out of proper relative position; displace:

The glacier dislocated great stones. The earthquake dislocated several buildings.

2. to put out of joint or out of position, as a limb or an organ.

3. to throw out of order; upset; disorder

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/dislocate [20/3/16]

to disrupt or shift out of place or position

to displace (an organ or part) from its normal position, esp a bone from its joint

http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/dislocate [20/3/16]

To research a theme I always begin with the definition because it is important to understand the meaning of the word. This is to ensure to not be confused with other words and to further examine deeper meanings and interpretations of the word. The word ‘dislocate’ is often referred to the injury where a joint is displaced from a socket. However, with the same principle in mind, I intend to explore the idea that Giselle had a place that she was, and then she has been displaced to cause her to be emotionally dislocated.

During Ballet

Refer to post ‘Giselle Live Screening’ [7/4/16].

Moment during end of act one when Giselle is betrayed by her lover, she finds out that he has already committed to another woman. Giselle begins a decent into madness portrayed by her begin let down and how the moment she takes the sword, the sword begins to control her. This escalates to the point where she stabs herself in the stomach which will later kill her. This is significant because of the discovery that person she loves has betrayed her, she ‘snaps’ and becomes a totally different character, whereas before she was the happiest girl in the world to suddenly be willing to take her own life.

Ideas- apply to display

The moment Giselle is betrayed is a significant moment during the ballet that stood out to me, because of this I’ve chosen to pursue the theme of dislocation. This is because I want to focus on the emotions and thoughts of Giselle during that moment and relate that back to the idea of how dislocated Giselle must have felt during that moment.

During the end of the act, Giselle re-enacts the moments with her lover to reveal they were all just a lie in front of both families of Giselle and the higher class. Despite being surrounded by family and loved ones, they do not recognise who she is and she feels alone as she has been betrayed.

Installations

I had a number of ideas involving installations to meet the Unit X brief. Previous ideas can be seen as part of the initial ideas stage where I had not completed any significant research.

I have had ideas involving mannequins that would make up an installation which would make up a scene or scenario relating to the theme I had selected. One idea based upon the idea of dislocation, the mannequins would be placed in a circle within a dark area that would surround the viewer. This would engage the viewer in the position of Giselle where the blank mannequins represent Giselle’s family and lover as she felt disconnected through the world. These mannequins would be accompanied by hanging shattered mirrors with strands that hold up the shattered pieces. This would represent the shattered reality that Giselle once inhabited before she was betrayed. This could be expanded upon where the viewer can upload photos of their friends and families which will then be projected on the faces of the mannequins to make the installation personal. 

Giselle (Live) 2016 Screening Manchester Odeon

Giselle Live Screening Manchester Odeon

Introduction

I watched the live broadcast of the Giselle ballet at the Odeon cinema in Manchester from the Royal Opera House in London. The show was performed by the Royal Ballet and this was a great opportunity for research with the Unit X project, as I have seen the Giselle ballet before.

Rather than trailers we had a speaker live from the Royal Opera House who spoke about the performance and showed us some ‘behind the scenes’ footage of the dancers practicing and talking about their characters. I found this useful because there is not dialogue within the ballet however there is some great acting through the body language, but the description given by the dancers adds that depth to the characters. 

Screening

The ballet is split into two acts, one where Giselle is alive and the world has a very positive atmosphere, then act two takes a very dark turn where it takes place in the ‘underworld’ with the ghosts of dead woman who dance men to death. Despite not being at the Royal Opera House to watch the ballet there, I still found it enjoyable.

There were moments within the ballet that really stood out to me, be it the dancers or the narrative. The first moment was during the first act when Giselle discovers than she is betrayed as her lover is married to another woman she begins to descend into madness to the point of her even stabbing herself in the stomach. In my opinion this moment within the ballet should have an entire act itself as this is the turn in act one which transitions into act two. However this moment is so striking and so sudden that it no longer feels like it should be part of act one or two. This moment was very interesting and would like to look into this further, an opportunity to explore this as part of Unit X.

One moment within the second act, the dancers would stand on the ends of their toes and then move them quickly to glide from one side of the stage to the other. I found that this was a fantastic effect to create the illusion of the dancers almost gliding across the stage, which made them appear supernatural. This is supported with the contrast of the movements of the dancers in the first act where they do walk expressively and it appears very natural, then during act two when these dancers would walk on their ends, they appear to glide like the ghost characters.

Act two also had an effect on me which was interesting. There were parts within act two where there would be around twenty dancers all dancing in sync which was amazing, however the colours of the contrasting dark colours of the background to the striking white of the dancers caused me to fade away into my own thoughts at times. As they danced they would just become blurs and shapes which made me think about the story of Giselle and about Unit X, which felt more like a trance as I was startled by the applause of the audience and the dance was over without me realising. This bizarre effect did not occur during act one, which leads me to believe the theme of the underworld during act two also had a similar effect on me as I fell into a trance as the dancers slowly turned into shapes and I was lost in my own thoughts. This would not have been achieved in had one of the dancers been out of sync or fell over, but due to their professionalism and there stunning dancing it had that effect on me.

Continuing discussing these thoughts I had, I began to think about the theme of dislocation. As discussed before with the end of act one where Giselle is betrayed, this was a very striking moment within the ballet. I started to relate this moment to one of the themes for the Unit X brief; Dislocation. This is because I stared to have a wave of thoughts about the emotions of Giselle and how she must have felt at that moment of betrayal, I started to think about how dislocated she must have felt from her loved ones and her reality. I started to think about I how I would express this and how this could meet the Unit X brief. 

Conclusion

Overall I found the Giselle very impressive and striking with the contrast of the two acts. The narrative of Giselle is a simple yet noble one as Giselle grows as a character and forgives the one who betrayed her. It was a different experience watching a live ballet within a cinema rather than a theatre, I would have preferred the theatre watching the dancers on stage. I will continue my research into Giselle and specifically the theme of dislocation. 

Tim Yip’s New Orientalism

Tim Yip at Whitworth Art Gallery

Wednesday 23rd March 2016

Tim Yip is an award winning designer who will be designing the set and costumes for the Giselle ballet. This talk introduced the brief for the fashion students by Tim Yip and offered the opportunity for the winning to collaborate with Tim Yip to produce the designs for the Giselle Ballet.

More details: http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/akram-khan-giselle/

The talk took place at the Whitworth Art Gallery from 6pm till 8pm, but he talk did finish an hour early. It was compulsory for Animation to attend this talk because Tim Yip is highly regarded designer and it was important for us to attend. Only three animation students attended including myself whereas the rest of the audience were fashion students and other people.

Tim Yip went on to talk about his work and projects, I was not able to hear most of the talk as he spoke very quietly. I found his answers rather short and limited when people offered complicated and engaging questions. Tim Yip did have his work playing on a PowerPoint on the stage, which I did not particularly like but can appreciate the work. 

I found this talk very disappointing and a waste of time as I felt that I had not taken anything away from this despite Tim Yip being highly regarded and that only a few of our course attended. This is not to say I do not enjoy speakers and listening to them, but it does depend if the speaker and present effectively.