River Thames
Theme: Depression
Concept:
To use a projector to project words, sentences or images that inflict depression communicate through art and visual storytelling to send a message to public about the awareness of depression.
Planning and initial execution
Thames public awareness and evidence
Motion Picture Inspiration
Melancholia by Lars Von Trier (2015) and Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais (1851-1852)
Why I chose Lars Von Trier as inspiration?
= I decided to choose acclaimed director Lars Von Trier as inspiration because he personally is battling with depression and anxiety and translates his thoughts and messages with his films which are powerful. The film Melancholia depicts the thought of depression. " A commonly reported symptom of clinical depression is warped sense of time" quote by Nerdwriter1, everything feels like like slow motion which I personally can relate to. How the horror of depression can bring an individual down on it's darkest realm. I personally want to use the slow motion technique that he uses in his films to portray the message in my own interpretation.
2nd Inspiration- Sir John Everett Millais, Ophelia
= The painting "Ophelia" itself is perhaps the most famous depressive representation in all of literature. The painting follows the story of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" when Hamlet murdered Ophelia's father, eventually Ophelia let herself fall into the river and letting herself drown. The painting perfectly correlates with the movie that was mentioned above and using it as inspiration of it's symbolism would be perfect for the project.
Still Photo Inspiration
Mr Iozo- Kiss Land series
Why use color and a projector for the project?
The reason why I wanted to incorporate a projector with colourful neon signs is that it contrasts the dark message that is being spread across, most of the frame in the shot is in darkness as the shoot is going to operate at night, so using the projector and fill lights as the only available lights on the set would be an significant challenge but would result in the effect that I want and more emphasis on the image.
Reflection of inspiration
Equipment
Dell 4320 projector (rented from kit store)
2.6kVA Portable Petrol Generator -- To power the projector, laptop and other electronics
Initial Location: Clifton Hampden- The reason I am going out of London for the shoot is because it has cleaner water for the model to step in as that I need the model to be in the river for the concept.
Initial concept:
I wanted the model to be in the river and a projection using words involving different languages and words relevant to the theme of depression to be projected onto her as that would emphasise the theme of depression I was looking for.
Developing the concept and tutor's feedback:
I explained the concept on the tutorial to the tutor's. They said that it was too dangerous for the model to be in the river as it needs risk assessment and if the model or anyone in the shoot gets hurt it will create heavy consequences. They seem to have no problem with the concept as long as it is safe, the equipment that I explained is fine, they just gave me a question how I would carry all this equipment into the location. The location also needed further research as I only researched one location for the shoot and other locations located around the River Thames might be a better option.
Changing the concept and location:
(First and 2nd week of March) After the tutor's feedback, elements in the concept had to change due to safety concerns. Instead of putting the model in the river, it would be a better option placing him or her on the edge of the river and project neon words onto her and capture the Thames as the background.
(Last week of March) Instead of using words to project onto the subject, I will project the image of the painting "Ophelia" by Sir John Everett Millais, as I think the change will be an great enhancement to the message of the project. As mentioned before in the inspiration section, it is considered one of the most depressing paintings of all time and by projecting that image instead of words it will add a much more richer dynamic and symbolism I wanted in the first place to the image I'm going to create.
Errors and encounters over the shoot:
The video shoot had errors such as the generator not operating properly and models not replying to messages.
Solution to the errors and encounters:
Since the generator had not worked properly so I had to change the visual style to the concept and use photoshop in my favour to overlay the painting image of "Ophelia" to the images I took of the model instead of projecting the image onto her. Fortunately I found a model last minute after the main model and the backup model have bailed on me hours before the shoot so at the end of the day, the shoot has turned out well and completed.
Chosen Models:
Main Model-- Clarice Vitkauskas ( Way Model Management)
Backup Model -- Amber Tsui (Calcarries Model Management)
Model found on the day -- Karo Kaleta
Budgeting Estimate:
Conclusion:
The results are still up to quality even though there were mistakes and unfortunate events happened in the shoot. It showed challenges I never faced before and made me more confident onto photographing on a larger scale in the near future.
