Moodboard
Colour Correction Outcomes:
Lighter Colour Correction:
Alternative
Lighter
When reviewing the Colour correction experiments I produced to achieve this Moonrise Kingdom look, some shots appeared too yellow to me. Although the focal point of the exercise, I didn't believe that it matched what I had taken away from the movie. As a result of this, I went back and created a second preset for a much lighter alternative of the colour correction to combat this (at the time, 'issue'). When reviewing both examples side by side, I was unsure which fits better. Even though number one appears too yellow, I have grown to like its more extensive and relentless blend of the greenery features seen in the shot. As this is the case, the lighter alternative is a more true rendition of the film's colour palette. For the time being, I have decided to operate with my first attempt at colour correction due to the slight yellow tint it gives the sky, (still considering the second option for when too much grain is created or the yellow becomes too unprofessional looking).
Original
While being additions to the colour correction part of my experimentation, I decided to introduce a form of non-diegetic text in both of these videos as a way of better conceptualising parts of my inspiration montage. I am very pleased with how the Rare Bird Watching one all came togheter. Although Samuel wasn't placed in the protagonist costume while holding a pair of binoculars up to his face like my previously storyboarded content, the combination between the colour correction and text came out as planned. Even though I had been happy with how the second example turned out, I am unsure how I will utilise that shot type within my inspiration montage. The colour correction is up to a satisfactory level of quality, but it feels too dull compared to the other concepts I have planned. The reading gimmick will have to be changed while the flat slide is introduced within another idea on the list.
As an overall conclusion, I am very pleased with the various outcomes I have achieved throughout this experimentation. My colour is finally reaching the dynamic and vibrant level of quality I once hoped to obtain in my previous projects. One thing I want to point out is the way this grading has allowed my shots to reach one step further towards the European art-house way of framing shots like specific periods of classical artwork. The example above closely mimics classical landscape paintings created around the 16th-century Dutch republic (United Provinces of the Netherlands) and Spanish by painters with the likes of Aelbert Cuyp and Jan Dirksz Both. When illustrating sections of my proper storyboards, I will hopefully use the location scouting images I took to further my understanding for shots I could end up shooting that utilises this framing in several different ways from the example given.
Planimetric
Composition
Before I move on to the next form of experimentation I have conducted, I want to shine light on the early traces of planimetric composition found within the second example of my non-diegetic use of text. Although the subject appears to be far away from the background, Samual's figure emerges in the foreground's three-dimensional space, having the bushes and trees in the back seem like flat planes relative to the camera position. As this isn't the finest example of the technique, I will refer back to it when developing storyboard panels and evaluating how prevalent its uses will be at various filming locations I have planned out.
Poster Creation
Saul Bass
Poster inspiration
As a part of my presentation strategy, I have decided to create a poster in the style of Saul Bass. After experimenting with my initial Dada collage idea, I was able to combat certain issues I faced with the creative process of producing a satisfactory final result that met the ambiguous ethos I wanted my advertisement to occupy. When evaluating my style influences, I decided to look into the legendary work of graphic designer Saul Bass and his extensive catalogue of simple geometric shapes and symbolist imagery that can simplify the film's narrative into one crucially vague but instructive design.
(Click to enlarge)
The main idea behind my initial sketches had taken inspiration from 'The Man with the Golden Arm', a famous poster Bass created for a film depicting a Jazz drummer with a serious heroin addiction, simply showcased by one crooked hand reaching down the poster. The apple being picked up is a nod to the surrealist up-comings of René Magritte, someone whose work I had originally planned to reference through various shots. As I had never worked out an effective spin on a number of his paintings, his influences became more conceptual than visual, assisting the research timeline I produced for my research document and the bizarre but comedic tone of Dada.
3 Primary Colours
#FFFFFF
#226932
#C41E1E
After I had decided on an idea that incorporate a clever spin on the border like rectangles used to divide much of the images from important text (film information) on the art-house film posters I used as examples, I decided to complete another noteworthy design feature of Saul Bass' graphic design, the occupation of a strict three primary colour palette. Like many filmmakers, a vivid fiesta/cherry red has always stood out to me as the best possible attention attracter for any target audience. Although my initial idea displayed the red around the arm and apple, I soon realised that it worked better as the most primary colour on the poster, having a darker apple green split the apple's significance away from the elongated design of the hand. After this, I decided on a plain white that would bring a lighter atmosphere to the piece, operating as a base colour for the border background, production logo, credits and film synopsis.
As a part of my development, graphic design has always stood out to me as my favourite part of any practical project, being able to utilise my background in illustration and painting to create something I am artistically pleased with on both a visual and technical level. My photoshop skills were put to their limits during my first year on the course but were never utilised since, something I decided to get a hold on and practice during this section of my presentation strategy. At this time, I had developed a basic understanding of most primary tools and was capable of illustrating in several different fashions.
After I had created a Photoshop document in the size of (22" x 28"- A perfect scale used by many cinematic posters), I inserted a scan I made of my illustrations as a reference when tracing the desired outcome. I began to trace the hand with the polygon lasso tool as it had given me a more precise freedom than the normal freehand lasso. I would have used the illustration tool but felt more comfortable with this familiar technique. After I had traced the basic shape of the hand (creating the empty shape), I created a different transparent layer and coloured the space with the brush tool. After doing so, I did the same process to both the arm rectangle shape and apple, stalk and leaf (Creating several layers for each object and finally merging them into one smart object after the colouring process had been finished.) If you are interested in the process I took to trace my design, the short video below should show the very basics of the technique.
- Marquee
Select
- Lasso
- Brush
Texture Overlay
Final Results:
After the main objects of the poster had been drawn, I decided to insert a plain white background as the starting point for the border design. Before I created said border, I was determined to play around with the empty-space nature I had evaluated to be so effective in Saul Bass' work. Like the notes I had given myself on my rough sketches, I proceeded to move the object more to the right to free up a larger area for the film's title. After a while, I experimented with cardboard and paper-like overlays that supplied the hard blocks of colour with more character, having them appear more imperfect and rough when further complimenting the scissor cut imperfections shown throughout the collage-like element of the poster. Then I proceeded to blend these paper textures, an exercise that ultimately failed to satisfy my goals, only having dialled the opacity levels down to the layer which held each texture above the illustrated object.
To combat this minor issue, I decided to look for a tutorial that introduced me to the various basic functions of every overlay setting supported by Photoshop. I found this informative tutorial easy to follow and was able to grasp every different role each overlay setting brought to the table, experimenting with each one alongside my poster while watching said video. After some trial and error, I found the Darken setting to be the most appropriate to my original vision, so I began to further layer each texture chosen.
(1)
(2)
As an overall base holder for everything seen on the poster (whether it is text, the main object or border), I utilised Texture (1) due to its cardboard-like spots that covered a large majority of the screen, once again, giving more character to each solid block of colour. I believe that this helped the absence of any shading or uses of shadows. Texture (2) was later used to further the paper feel of the white background, something I found absent. It takes on a more generic paper feel than Texture (1) but is only used for the background layer of the composition. (Click on each texture to enlarge)
As previously said, I had lucidly experimented with the idea of a border-like rectangle that would divide the main object of the poster and the title of the film from the crucial text that displays the production team and film synopsis. After creating several mood boards of possible art-house posters that influenced my original idea, I noticed the blatant geometrical characteristic of the division between focal points that are meant to attract its target audience. This technique not only opened my eyes to the unorthodox use of empty-space that had created further ambiguity for the film's plot, but it carefully matched my initial vision for this piece of graphic design. Another catalogue of film posters that better justified their uses of this technique are the several 70s, 80s and 90s vintage horror posters like the Braindead example shown below. It uses its main three colours as a way of uncomplicating what is already a busy design, further complimented by the use of informative text found outside the focal part of the poster that showcases the various selling points (popular actors at the time - monster/obstacle that our protagonist will encounter at some point during the film's runtime.)
Alternative Designs
After creating the border around my object, I started to consider several different ways in which I could position the arm in relation to it. Initially, it had stood away from it and wasn't connected at the top, meaning that more emphasis and attention had been brought to the entire illustration. Although this had been the case, the connection at the top, seen in the second design, looked more appealing as both the arm and border had used the same cherry/fiesta red. Originally, more space was left up the top for both my and Samuels's roles but was ultimately removed and shortened as I thought of several other ways I would incorporate text alongside my illustration. As seen on the left, I had rightfully moved the hand strategically to the right so more space could be utilised to introduce the name of the film, having the solid rectangle below be used to display both the production name and synopsis of the project.
And lastly, I need to add all of the text. To further follow up on my Saul Bass influence, I decided to begin investigating various accessible fonts I could use that closely matched his hand-drawn style of typography. After a while, a font by the name of mistebass had caught my attention due to its irregular geometric patterns that closely resembled the work of Bass, it wasn't too bold and wasn't geometrically correct when lining each letter to one another. Although other fonts like DoubleBass and Hitchock looked more artistically pleasing, they were priced at costs like 20 to 30 pounds, whereas misterbass was free. Due to this accessible nature, misterbass was chosen for my final design. After placing the title in the bottom left corner, I decided to examine some more of Bass' work when gaining a creative vision of an interesting way of integrating my and Samuels's roles. The poster he created for the 1959 film, 'Anatomy of a Murder' displayed a figure whose various body parts had occupied the tile of the film. This technique gave me the idea of utilising the hand rectangle as a placeholder for Samual's actor role (Having the text take on the same white colour as the background behind the arm.) When it came to my credit, I knew that I wanted to employ the apple green to highlight my director role. After some trial and error, I coupled this credit with the film title, being able to place it above the first word as both sets of text differentiated from each other due to their varying colours.
When writing my synopsis, I was quick to highlight a specific list of themes I wanted to communicate about my film's narrative. When the sentence first begins, the audience is introduced to the surrealist element that acts as the inspiration behind much of the bizarre oddities seen throughout the film's runtime. I explain the french setting while quickly displaying the obstacle our protagonist may face throughout the second act of the film. I discussed the importance of inspiration-taking in relation to relighting his flame of idea-generating, a device that grabs the audience and allows their imagination to wonder how he might return to his original 'pioneer' stance. After I had released that I had some more space than what I originally intended, I decided to create a rather comical production name that filled the empty area. By continuing my references to my favourite musical artists, Paul McCartney's Monkberry Moon Delight came to mind as the song's confusingly eccentric arrangements somewhat mimicked the same atmosphere I have strived to create with my own project. The name sounded stupid enough but had also complimented the 'food theme' I have going on with the film's name. (It doesn't have to make sense for it to work - many of the decisions taken through this project have all taken influences from the Dada and surrealist manifesto I read for my research document. A great work of art doesn't always occupy a groundbreaking metaphor - I enjoy the comical nature behind which further allowed me to experiment with a logo I created.)
![Paul McCartney - Ram [lp gatefold - jpn].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/0f053a_be9e7360bc94461f97248baeb9d68049~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_228,y_0,w_4647,h_2445/fill/w_633,h_333,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/Paul%20McCartney%20-%20Ram%20%5Blp%20gatefold%20-%20jpn%5D.jpg)
Due to the time restrictions I had faced, I knew that the logo should rather symbolise the name of the production company in the most basic format, having its features complement the rough scissor cut lines of the poster. The basic design I had created for the logo followed a bird's eye view of a round pie, referring back to the pie element of the name while having the basic geometry of the circle shape symbolise the spherical shape of a moon. The font and border around the name and logo of the product company followed a similar imperfect collage-like nature of Bass's style. I am very happy with how this little detail of my poster turned out so beneficial towards the final design, it is not overly complicated but is also creative enough when linking it back to the name.
Conclusion
>
Green Hue
+
Rough Cut Edges
In conclusion, I am extremely pleased with my final result. Graphic design has never been a reoccurring pastime while illustrating has. I have never regarded myself as an experience painter or illustrator but have taken pride in the skills I have been able to build and develop since my time in GCSE Art. Since the last academic year on the course, more specifically the Cross Media Campaign brief, I have experimented with a very basic catalogue of skills in softwares such as Photoshop and Gimp, but have never had the chance to move forward as a result of a heavy-duty task like this poster. Although the creation process may look straightforward enough, it has furthered my knowledge of blending modes and their corresponding uses while being able to reason for the various illustrative ways of tracing a sketch made on a scanned piece of paper. Other than the technical side of my abilities, the thought process I had taken while creating this poster has taken me out of my stagnating comfort zone. Being able to take influences from a legendary artists such as Saul Bass and repurposing them to the best of my abilities has created a pedestal for the high standard of work I want my projects to be reaching (Something showcased throughout my colour grading journey through 'Moonrise Kingdom'). And lastly, my problem-solving skills have once again allowed me to stay on track. The original idea for the poster (a Dada like collage which showcases the protagonist positioned similarly to René Magritte's 'The Son Of Man") failed to satisfy the previously mentioned high standard of work I have been striving to achieve. As shown on the right, the rough cut edges of my tracing around Samual, plus the green hue of the greenscreen had made the cutout look unprofessional. Although I could have spent the extra time precisely cutting out each imperfection, I decided that I didn't want to push my schedule back and moved on to another idea. Even though the poster shoot I had conducted for my original idea took time out of my schedule, I was able to later repurpose the photos and manipulate them as the final concept for my inspiration montage (Where the protagonist is shown indulging in a form of Dada collage creation - trying to add the last piece to what appears to be a photo of him and several topical figures of the lucid time period I had created for the film.)
Setdressing
and creation of props
For the final section of my Experimentation and Development, I have decided to tackle the set-dressing of my filming locations alongside a specific decade in time. To match the bright and joyful colour palates of each scene, the proper historical context for the surrealist period in time our artist is living through, and the various fashion trends we see him occupy throughout the film's runtime, I have decided to maintain a strict late 50s to early 60s look. In addition to this section of my Experimentation and Development document, I will also document the various props I have taken the liberty of creating to further fulfil the various important scenes I have planned on shooting.
Surrealist
For the final shot of my film, I have planned for the painter protagonist to walk off the screen while revealing the much anticipated final product of his painting venture. This painting is to be a surrealist reimagining of the complex and unrecognisable bone structure he finds during the last section of the 'Inspiration montage', having him use this as a reference guide. With my background in painting, I knew that I was more than capable of achieving a satisfactory final product due to my reliable skills with acrylic paints. The idea for the painting began in a similar style to Mark Rothko's emotive Colour Filed/Abstract Expressionist uses of basic shapes. Due to the general nature of colour portraying a greater metaphor for the protagonist's optimistic characteristic throughout my piece, I decided that this style convention could complement the simple way in which I have decided to format the skull's overall shape. After further planning, I became more interested in the overall physique of the bone basin, somewhat abandoning the Mark Rothko attribute as I thought that its traits were no longer in substantial use for my overall vision. In short, my new inspirations for the painting drew conventions from painters such as Jackson Pollock, Leonora Carrington and certain aspects of Picasso's Surrealist and Expressionist works. In regards to this, I believe that my influences can be seen within the final product I produced, as seen on the left [click to enlarge]. The skull's overall shape is divided into several distinctly different parts that don't connect. In relation to this, the space around these shapes is also occupied by the same geometrical patterns, having huge areas on the right side of the skull exhibiting the "Action painting" style of Jackson Pollok's paint splatters. When linking back to my original goal, I believe that the overall effect of this painting matches my original concept. Its simple-enough surrealist elements are hopefully able to allow the audience to question the boundaries of art, somewhat provoking their conservative understanding of the right and wrong approach a painter may take when creating a piece of art. I believe that my creativity was able to once again shine in the creation process of this painting, being able to use my aptitudes in painting to complete this final result in the short space of just three days.
For the inspiration montage, I needed to first justify the character's action by provoking him to set out on these bizarre adventures through the use of a book. The idea is that his curiosities lead him to read from a book called 'The Art Within Us', a motif that closely describes how one may receive inspiration when existing out of their comfort zones. To create this prop, I decided to follow a similar practice utilised in my past film poem, sourcing an older/aged book I could customize to my liking. I first discovered this old essay book that fit into the overall palette of the film, so I decide to work alongside its fairly empty covers and cut out a list of letters for the title. I used a dark cherry colour for the letters, matching the inside covers of the book, and proceeded to individually cut each letter out (using a basic list of tools comprising of small collage scissors and various arts and crafts blades), to get a more precise result. After finishing this process and sticking the title on, I decided to begin working on the front cover. After going through a series of ideas, I finally settled on the simple use of one of Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers against an orange background. The outcome of this exercise proves to be effective. Certain areas of the cutouts included the white areas of the blank pieces of paper, but on further tests weren't noticeable when recording. In addition to this book cover, I set out to create the various book pages shown.
​
Instead of using photoshop or another high-grade photo editing software, I was able to once again use my above-average skills in Powerpoint to create a similarly effective outcome of artistically pleasing book page designs like my previous film poem. The arrangements of the pages outlined the importance of the book in a large bold font that lets the audience understand the subject at hand without having to read the additional text below. Each page occupies its own designated artist who I recognised as playing a crucial role in the overall structure of my narrative, having the rectangle shapes behind them be overlaid with a painting from their vast catalogues of work. Once again, I am very pleased with these outcomes due to their effective way of communicating the narrative's plot without the use of dialogue.
In addition, I have created another book that I am no longer planning on using. This prop was to assist a section of my narrative I have now cut out due to its ill effects on the overall pacing of my story. The book was to assist our protagonist in identifying the bone structure's previous owner. If you are curious on viewing the pages, [click here].
For the previously mentioned bone structure our protagonist utilises as the focal form of inspiration for the final painting, I decided to repurpose my links to Georgia O'Keeffe's Pelvis Series. I no longer wanted to use the abstract geometric patterns of the paintings but chose to have their complex designs juxtapose the conceptual nature of the final painting. I began searching for a series of fake bones that would closely resemble my desired description but was unable to find something that looked real enough. Note: this next section may contain references to nauseating imagery, Proceed with caution. When taking matters into my own hand, I knew that I could build a close representation of my vision if I was given the right resources. I was able to get my hands on two lamb heads I could strip and take the bones from, meaning that I had the basic building blocks for this prop. I cleaned the remaining bloodstains on the bones with a basic cleaning solution I created, further polishing their surfaces to get a whiter look. After this activity, I was ready to begin the construction process. I created a paper-machete like paste out of cotton that could retain the same white look, applying this to the general joints I made from the three to four pieces of bone I had chosen. After the first coat, I went back and added extra layers of the paste for unstable areas that would crack easy.
Inspiration
From another influence point of view, I could safely say that I have once again been able to capture what I initially set out to create. Although not as large as originally intended, its design does a great job of juxtaposing the painting's overall plain geometrical characteristics. Although another very successful experiment, the cotton paste was prone to cracks early on in its creation. If I am to use this prop, I must avoid any pressure that might be applied to it as it could break at any point. In conclusion, these various activities have taught me a valuable lesson for the pursuit of independence. If I am unable to source a prop so important to the overall narrative of my film, I should take things into my hand and build it from scratch before contacting any external assistance.
'Pelvis Series'
​
r
t
R
o
o
m
A
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|
Basic List of Props
For a huge bulk of my filming, I had been about to get in touch with the art tutors inside my building when wanting to scout for an art room which closely fit the workshop atmosphere I had intended for my story to take place in. After a few Back-and-forth interactions with the tutors, I had been able to book what seemed to be the perfect filming location for my intended mise-en-scene. As seen in the pictures above, the abundance of artworks, painting stationery and rough layout supplied a close representation of my planned scenes, something later ruined by the strict list of rules I needed to follow whilst filming. During the exam period in which the students who occupied this room found themselves in, I wasn't to touch or move anything to assure that their work didn't go missing. Although a huge setback that had made me rethink large quantities of my planned content, I was still able to rather set-dress sections of my scenes that didn't include me moving various items. I moved a table from one of my classrooms downstairs into the room and began set-dressing it for the protagonist's desk, still being able to utilise the number of props I had booked. As seen down below, I effectively set-dressed the desk when considering the amount of ill empty space seen in my last film poem, trying to productively clutter every part of the table to assure a fuller God's point of View Frame. The table cloth used, originally a bed sheet I had purchased from a charity shop, worked perfectly alongside the colour grade I have been utilising throughout much of my first edit. The exaggerated yellows of Moonrise Kingdom were able to bring more colour to the overall beige tone of the sheeting, having the flowers introduce a more elegant palette of hues to the God's Point of View framing. The vintage nature of the phone, vase, cup and saucer, Kodak camera and rusting paintbrush all helped in the assistance for the production of the specific decade in time I have tried to recreate.
This and the other majority of God's Point of View shots were filmed at my house as a result of time restrictions. As you can see, I didn't use the entirety of the table's surface area but had given myself more room to work with just in case. Even though that shot isn't colour graded, I believe that much of the vintage look has already been communicated through the aged look of the book pages seen in the top left corner, the older designs for the cup and saucers once popular in every household and the older/damaged appearance of the 'inspiration book'.
With my initial marsh filming location, I decided to still set-dress a small area to the protagonist's right when highlighting the various equipment he had prepared for his painting activity. After purchasing the striking red picnic blanket for this scene, I knew that I wanted to find props that further complimented this colour. I first started by sourcing both the red lid jars and the red set of watercolours we see our protagonist interact with. I later found the darker notebook, paintbrushes and suitcase that allowed the lighter brushes our artist picks up to stand out more. As seen below, my practice of the God's Point Of View rig has allowed me to further my exploration through Wes Anderson's style. The way to view these God's POVs is like handcrafted paintings I have assembled from scratch, being in control of every minor aspect of the frame, having the power to change anything I wanted when deciding that it didn't meet my original expectations. Something I realised when continuing with my filming is that my inability to fully arrange the room I had been given ultimately disrupted my use of the late 50s and early 60s period in time. This form of inspiration became a more lucid boundary than a literal one, being able to play around with a more vintage appearance while also accepting the various immutable variables I couldn't alter to my own liking. In conclusion, the final project outcome could probably benefit from a sticker following of my original concepts, but the overall lengths I have gone through to achieve this older look have elevated my mise-en-scene to a very desirable level that furthers the artistic nature of my shots, something I am satisfied with.
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Before rounding up my Experimentation and Development, I would like to document my use of the Compass way of panning in relation to my previously mentioned room arrangement issues. At first, larger sections of my shooting script dedicated to the subtle camera movements of this Wes Anderson/French New Wave way of panning had been cut out due to the cramped nature of the room. After various attempts at salvaging this effective technique, I created a way for our protagonist to move through the three-compass points without having to consider various modern technologies like computers or electric whiteboards being in the frame. Although a success in framing, the way I had planned on shooting the shot didn't allow me to have the focal length focused on the character at all times (This being the case as each point had been at a varying distance from the last). As a result of this, I began thinking about how I may utilise a whip-pan technique between each compass point. I had consulted one of my friends who had built up an extensive knowledge of the gimbal stabilizer over our second year on the course and had directed him to time a 15-second sequence that had the motors of the gimbal move the camera at each spot of the pan in relative durations in time. I planned to have three different sets of shots that had the focal length focused on each compass point used, cutting in between turns to achieve the whip-pan look. As seen on the left, this technique worked very effectively. The audience isn't shown any of the mise-en-scene disrupting pieces of modern technology around the filming space while fully understanding the protagonist's thought process and movement around the room when preparing to begin painting.