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Academic Proposal

 Rationale 

 Rationale 

My journey through Creative Media Production has been a successful reflection of what exactly compelled me to my current love of bizarre filmmaking. I had always been fascinated by the weird and unconventional forms of cinema shown inside my household, picking up illustration from a young age as a way of mimicking the abnormal imagery I had been exposed to, repurposing it for my own imaginative projects. I, unfortunately, found myself struggling to adjust at the beginning of the first year, having my inexperience with the editing software and camera equipment limit the ideas I had in mind. Throughout the briefs that followed, much of my lengthy written work caused me to evolve my research and evaluating methods while having my practical skills begin to stagnate due to the restrictive covid rules established at the time. Throughout the second year, I have been able to create a perfect balance between my visual and written work, being able to finally deliver on the ambitious ideas I was once hoping to achieve. I did this through my development of camera techniques, building and practising a portfolio of the fundamental camera rules like the 'Exposure Triangle' and the 'Rule of Thirds', having the content make sense before I delve deeper into the experimental side of my inspirations. As my confidence began to rise, I have been able to achieve things like the 'Gods point of View' shot type by thinking outside the box and combining a series of equipment parts into one giant rig, continuing to develop my invisible form of editing through constant practice while introducing an illustrative aspect to my written work, having exercised an industry-standard for storyboarding. My favourite experience throughout the two years on the course has got to be my short film project, the directorial role I undertook that allowed me to solely focus on the film's overall visual style; the pacing between each scene, creatively separating the heavy dialogue sections between the two main characters, thinking of more individual shot-types while drawing inspiration from several artistically pleasing film releases. Due to the previous success of my art-house film-poem investigating the dark unexplored places of the creative arts world, I will try and examine how Patti Smith's venerably existing literature created a more non-fictional experience for the surrealist narrative structure I was hoping to exercises throughout my Extended Final Major Project. I will focus much of my attention on providing this short-film fusion of an idea with as much invisible editing as possible, having each shot seemingly transition into the next, still treating the non-diegetic typography as somewhat of a character, experimenting with several practical and non-editorial effects that allow me to get creative with older practices of cinematic special effects. 

 Project Concept 

 Project Concept 

The core concept behind my project will follow a similar narrative structure as my previous film poem. This rather art-house approach to a linear narrative with little to no dialogue will act as a social commentary for the unconventional ethics many surrealist artists take when conceptualising and perceiving the everyday events around them, later transforming the most common occurrences into timeless works of art. The male protagonist in the film will be introduced during the preparation process of his new painting, having the entire plot revolve around this mysterious artwork created throughout, only revealing the final product during the film's last shot. This rather basic concept will destroy the audiences' set expectations once the painting is revealed to be of a stupidly simple nature, juxtaposing the serious and professional tone previously examined by our protagonist. My interpretation of the character's motives lies within his growing distaste for the commercial side of art, despising what many of his peers have become while constantly provoking the elitist upper-class consumers with his jokingly simple art style, a mocking factor that entertains him after seeing the monumental lengths people reach when interpreting his paintings. I want to introduce a specific movement or politically motivated protest that gives away a lucid understanding of the time period he is living in, initially inspiring our artist to create the previously mentioned work of art, introducing an extra layer to the film's narrative. The setting of this story will take place somewhere in the heart of France, allowing me to revisit much of the 60s music I had collected for my previous project, creating a comprehensive score that matches the film's desired atmosphere. I will once again utilise the same Wes Anderson typography approach when introducing the audience to a specific location or item important to the overall plot. While still utilising the God's point of view rig I had built for my short film project, much of the framing through this film will appear flat and rather two-dimensional in depth of field, having many shots appear to emulate the general structures of famous paintings created by artists such as René Magritte and Man Ray. A crucial aspect for the success of this piece will be the in-depth storyboards I produce for each section of the film. Much like my film poem, I will create a justified list of alternative shot types that allow me to experiment with issues that may occur, playing around with specific areas of the edit that feel slow and harmful to the main narrative. Throughout my project, I want to experiment with a greater list of inspirational attributes that convey a very personal reflection on what I enjoy about my favourite directors. Peter Greenaway's muted sun-washed colour palettes used through his 1988 comedy-drama 'Dronwing By Numbers' will assist the film's overall cottage-like aesthetic, having Wes Anderson's cleverly crafted montages aid the heavy exposition dump for the different inspirations our artist encounters halfway through the film. The odd fragmented, discontinuous and long-take editing techniques of the French New Wave Cinema will allow me to utilises a more grounded emphasis on the small attention to detail, creating a strong re-watchability factor that makes the audience notice different aspects of the set design every time they watch the film. 

 Evaluation

 Evaluation

During the following weeks, I will complete a structured weekly diary that will enable me to reflect on the various sections of my brief completed throughout that week. To make sure I don't fall behind on any of my objectives, I will examine my diary each week and evaluate areas where I can add extra detail, but also examine areas in which I can move on from if I'm ahead of my initial action plan. When selecting to receive various forms of constructive feedback for particular sections of my storyboarding, filming and editing processes, I should get in touch with my assigned project tutor, allowing me to better my overall course work to a more substantial distinction level. If my tutor isn't available, I could try and run several different focus groups that involve my researched target audience and college peers, understanding what I could be doing to better target my film's narrative towards their likings while having a professional opinion that overlooks the technical areas I am lacking in. The last form of reflection I undertake will be in the form of my end-of-project Evaluation that evaluates the creation process of my final product, exploring what went to plan, areas that could have been improved on, various ways I grew as a creator and my future aspirations after the project finishes. 

Action Plan

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Bibliography and Initial Research Sources

For the research section of this project, much of the sources examined will vary in style, looking at a diverse collection of archived print media, various websites that assist my target audience profiling, books that examine the specific period of movies I want to take inspiration from, and finally, online focus groups that include my target demographic of individuals. Although I will be updating my overarching Bibliography as the project goes on, here are some of the initial movies I want to examine to better formulate my desired  mise-en-scene (studies and articles conducted on distinct areas of the visual style):  

Surrealist Manifesto & Surrealist Ideologies:

Wes Anderson's Style:

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