Monday, 27 June 2011
Research: Corpse Bride Teaser Trailer
This is an example of an animated teaser trailer - this is the effect I would go for if I chose to do an animated teaser trailer as opposed to an animated short film.
Research: The Sandman
This is a 9 minute animation entitled "The Sandman" - Mr Wroe suggested I watch it and use it to influence the type of animation I intend to create for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner".
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Research: Animation
If I do choose to create an animation, I would attampt to achieve a similar effect to Tim Burton's "Corpse Bride" - on a much smaller budget!!
I love the idea of basing Life-in-Death on Emily from "Corpse Bride"... and just making her look more intimidating and determined!
I love the idea of basing Life-in-Death on Emily from "Corpse Bride"... and just making her look more intimidating and determined!
First Ideas: "Berenice" - Edgar Allen Poe
"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allen Poe, first published in 1835. The story is one of Poe's most violent, and contemporary readers were appalled by the macabre elements of the story and the atrocity of the crime committed, going so far as to complain to the editor of the Southern Literary Messenger! Despite this, it is one of my favorite stories, and I would love to put it on camera!!
PLOT SUMMARY
The narrator, Egaeus, is a studious young man who grows up in a large gloomy mansion with his cousin Berenice. He suffers from a type of obsessive disorder which makes him fixate on objects. Berenice, although originally beautiful, suffers from an unspecified degenerative illness; a particular symptom of her illness is catalepsy, which he refers to as a "trance". Nevertheless, they are due to be married.
One afternoon, Egaeus watches Berenice in the library; when she smiles, he focuses on her teeth. He becomes gripped with obsession over her teeth, and for days he drifts in and out of awareness, constantly thinking about them. He imagines himself holding the teeth and turning them over to examine them from all angles. At one point a servant tells him that Berenice has died and shall be buried. When he next regains awareness, he finds a lamp and a small box in front of him; these objects fill him with unexplainable terror. Another servant enters, reporting that the grave of Berenice has been violated, and a shrouded, disfigured and bloodied body has been found, still alive. Egaeus finds his clothes are covered in mud and blood, and opens the box to find it contains dental instruments and Berenice's thirty-two blood-stained teeth, and a poem detailing visiting the grave of a loved one.
The Latin epigraph, "Dicebant mihi sodales si sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquantulum fore levatas" may be translated as: "My companion said to me, if I would visit the grave of my friend, I might somewhat alleviate my worries." This quote is also seen by Egaeus in an open book towards the end of the story.
PLOT SUMMARY
The narrator, Egaeus, is a studious young man who grows up in a large gloomy mansion with his cousin Berenice. He suffers from a type of obsessive disorder which makes him fixate on objects. Berenice, although originally beautiful, suffers from an unspecified degenerative illness; a particular symptom of her illness is catalepsy, which he refers to as a "trance". Nevertheless, they are due to be married.
One afternoon, Egaeus watches Berenice in the library; when she smiles, he focuses on her teeth. He becomes gripped with obsession over her teeth, and for days he drifts in and out of awareness, constantly thinking about them. He imagines himself holding the teeth and turning them over to examine them from all angles. At one point a servant tells him that Berenice has died and shall be buried. When he next regains awareness, he finds a lamp and a small box in front of him; these objects fill him with unexplainable terror. Another servant enters, reporting that the grave of Berenice has been violated, and a shrouded, disfigured and bloodied body has been found, still alive. Egaeus finds his clothes are covered in mud and blood, and opens the box to find it contains dental instruments and Berenice's thirty-two blood-stained teeth, and a poem detailing visiting the grave of a loved one.
The Latin epigraph, "Dicebant mihi sodales si sepulchrum amicae visitarem, curas meas aliquantulum fore levatas" may be translated as: "My companion said to me, if I would visit the grave of my friend, I might somewhat alleviate my worries." This quote is also seen by Egaeus in an open book towards the end of the story.
First Ideas: "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge portrays the events experienced by a mariner who has returned from a long sea voyage. The poem was published in 1798 in the first edition of Lyrical Ballads, and signified the beginning of British Romantic Literature.
The Mariner stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story.
The Mariner's tale begins with his ship departing on its journey. Despite initial good fortune, the ship is driven south off course by a storm and eventually reaches Antarctica. An albatross (symbolizing the Christian soul) appears and leads them out of the Antarctic, but, despite the crew's praise for the albatross, the Mariner slaughters the bird. The crew is angry with the Mariner, believing the albatross brought the south wind that led them out of the Antarctic. However, the sailors change their minds when the weather becomes warmer and the mist disappears. This crime arouses the wrath of spirits who then pursue the ship "from the land of mist and snow"; the south wind that had initially led them from the land of ice now sends the ship into uncharted waters, where it is becalmed.
Here, however, the sailors change their minds again and blame the Mariner for the torment of their thirst. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead albatross about his neck to illustrate the burden he must suffer from killing it. Eventually the ship encounters a ghostly vessel. On board are Death (a skeleton) and his mate Life-in-Death (a deathly-pale woman), who are playing Liar's Dice for the souls of the crew. Death wins the lives of the crew members while Life-in-Death wins the life of the Mariner, a prize she considers more valuable. Her name is a clue as to the Mariner's fate; he will endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his killing of the albatross.
One by one, all of the crew members are killed, but the Mariner lives on, seeing for seven days and nights a curse in the eyes of the crew's corpses. Eventually, the Mariner's curse is lifted when he blesses the water snakes (despite cursing them earlier in the poem); suddenly, as he manages to pray, the albatross falls from his neck and his guilt is partially expiated. The bodies of the crew, possessed by good spirits, rise again and steer the ship back home, where it sinks in a whirlpool, leaving only the Mariner behind. A hermit on the mainland had seen the approaching ship and had come to meet it with a pilot and the pilot's boy in a boat. When they pull him from the water, they think he is dead, but when he opens his mouth, the pilot has a fit. The hermit prays, and the Mariner picks up the oars to row. The pilot's boy goes crazy and laughs, thinking the Mariner is the devil. As penance for shooting the albatross, the Mariner, driven by guilt, is forced to wander the earth, tell his story, and teach a lesson to those he meets.
After relating his tale to the Wedding Guest, the Mariner leaves and the Wedding Guest returns home, waking the next morning "a sadder and a wiser man".
The Mariner stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to narrate a story.
The Mariner's tale begins with his ship departing on its journey. Despite initial good fortune, the ship is driven south off course by a storm and eventually reaches Antarctica. An albatross (symbolizing the Christian soul) appears and leads them out of the Antarctic, but, despite the crew's praise for the albatross, the Mariner slaughters the bird. The crew is angry with the Mariner, believing the albatross brought the south wind that led them out of the Antarctic. However, the sailors change their minds when the weather becomes warmer and the mist disappears. This crime arouses the wrath of spirits who then pursue the ship "from the land of mist and snow"; the south wind that had initially led them from the land of ice now sends the ship into uncharted waters, where it is becalmed.
Here, however, the sailors change their minds again and blame the Mariner for the torment of their thirst. In anger, the crew forces the Mariner to wear the dead albatross about his neck to illustrate the burden he must suffer from killing it. Eventually the ship encounters a ghostly vessel. On board are Death (a skeleton) and his mate Life-in-Death (a deathly-pale woman), who are playing Liar's Dice for the souls of the crew. Death wins the lives of the crew members while Life-in-Death wins the life of the Mariner, a prize she considers more valuable. Her name is a clue as to the Mariner's fate; he will endure a fate worse than death as punishment for his killing of the albatross.
One by one, all of the crew members are killed, but the Mariner lives on, seeing for seven days and nights a curse in the eyes of the crew's corpses. Eventually, the Mariner's curse is lifted when he blesses the water snakes (despite cursing them earlier in the poem); suddenly, as he manages to pray, the albatross falls from his neck and his guilt is partially expiated. The bodies of the crew, possessed by good spirits, rise again and steer the ship back home, where it sinks in a whirlpool, leaving only the Mariner behind. A hermit on the mainland had seen the approaching ship and had come to meet it with a pilot and the pilot's boy in a boat. When they pull him from the water, they think he is dead, but when he opens his mouth, the pilot has a fit. The hermit prays, and the Mariner picks up the oars to row. The pilot's boy goes crazy and laughs, thinking the Mariner is the devil. As penance for shooting the albatross, the Mariner, driven by guilt, is forced to wander the earth, tell his story, and teach a lesson to those he meets.
After relating his tale to the Wedding Guest, the Mariner leaves and the Wedding Guest returns home, waking the next morning "a sadder and a wiser man".
Pictures
On the right hand side of my blog, I have included some of Gustave Dore's illustrations for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner". The pictures I have chosen to include are a combination of my personal favorites (particularly the game of "Liar's Dice" between Death and Life-in-Death at the bottom) and crucial moments in the narrative (such as the death of the sacred Albatross). These etchings by Dore have fascinated me for months, and in fact inspired me to create my own animation (based on these drawings)! I think you will agree they are quite beautiful.
Planning for my Main Task
I am very excited to begin my main task! I have two good ideas for my project, both of which I am very enthusiastic about!
The first idea I have is to create a 4-5 minute animation for Samuel Taylor Coleridge's beautiful poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". I came up with this idea several months ago (as, being one of my favorite poems, I am passionate about the story) and even found the perfect soundtrack to accompany my animation! I had originally intended to create my animation using a computer program (Mr Wroe recommended FLASH as reliable) thus creating an animation comprised solely of CGI (which would be a laborious process, but give credible results). However, a major issue I face if I attempt this is the sheer scale of frames I will need to create a 4-5 minute motion picture (Mr Wroe and I calculated it would be somewhere around 7,000 frames!) Furthermore, technical issues may hinder the development of the work I create. When speaking to Mr Wroe, we discussed the idea of creating puppets/models of each character (in the style of Time Burton's "Corpse Bride") and creating a 3D set complete with lighting and 360 degrees' camera access! I would then photograph each scene and movement several times, before uploading my photographs onto a PC/Mac and running them like a flicker-book, giving the impression of moving image. This would of course be wonderful to do and would be visually impressive and very creative, however, it would take an extraordiany amount of time to create the figurines and the set (time which I am not sure I have!) In short, I would love to create an animation for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", but I just don't know how feasible it is going to be!
My second thought is to create a trailer/short film based on the short story "Berenice" by Edgar Allen Poe. "Berenice" is, in my opinion, the finest short story ever written, and I feel it would be a fantastic narrative to convey through film - portraying Berenice would be a dream come true for me, as Poe is one of my favorite authors! Creating this would be much simpler than creating an animation (as far as timing and difficulty are concerned) however, the only issue I face in doing "Berenice" is finding a suitable location - the majority of the narrative takes place inside a Victorian bedchamber. However, if I could find a suitable location, it would look fantastic!
I am equally passionate about both these ideas, however, at the end of the day, the piece which I create will be based on practicality, i.e. what I can possibly achieve on my own!
The first idea I have is to create a 4-5 minute animation for Samuel Taylor Coleridge's beautiful poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". I came up with this idea several months ago (as, being one of my favorite poems, I am passionate about the story) and even found the perfect soundtrack to accompany my animation! I had originally intended to create my animation using a computer program (Mr Wroe recommended FLASH as reliable) thus creating an animation comprised solely of CGI (which would be a laborious process, but give credible results). However, a major issue I face if I attempt this is the sheer scale of frames I will need to create a 4-5 minute motion picture (Mr Wroe and I calculated it would be somewhere around 7,000 frames!) Furthermore, technical issues may hinder the development of the work I create. When speaking to Mr Wroe, we discussed the idea of creating puppets/models of each character (in the style of Time Burton's "Corpse Bride") and creating a 3D set complete with lighting and 360 degrees' camera access! I would then photograph each scene and movement several times, before uploading my photographs onto a PC/Mac and running them like a flicker-book, giving the impression of moving image. This would of course be wonderful to do and would be visually impressive and very creative, however, it would take an extraordiany amount of time to create the figurines and the set (time which I am not sure I have!) In short, I would love to create an animation for "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", but I just don't know how feasible it is going to be!
My second thought is to create a trailer/short film based on the short story "Berenice" by Edgar Allen Poe. "Berenice" is, in my opinion, the finest short story ever written, and I feel it would be a fantastic narrative to convey through film - portraying Berenice would be a dream come true for me, as Poe is one of my favorite authors! Creating this would be much simpler than creating an animation (as far as timing and difficulty are concerned) however, the only issue I face in doing "Berenice" is finding a suitable location - the majority of the narrative takes place inside a Victorian bedchamber. However, if I could find a suitable location, it would look fantastic!
I am equally passionate about both these ideas, however, at the end of the day, the piece which I create will be based on practicality, i.e. what I can possibly achieve on my own!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)