I really like the shots in this short film that are played forward and then reversed... It feels to me as though it gives the video a little bit of visual texture - breaking up/adding depth to a video that might be a little 'monotone' without those snippets of visual variation.
(Sorry I couldn't post the video here - I don't know how to link Vimeo to blogspot)
I have started to look into the details of possible story lines for my film. The variations between each basically revolve around how the 'Muses' are portrayed:
- talismans representing the separate 'costumers' eg. colourful canes for Anna Piaggi; layering for Susie Bubble; two-toned hair and bling for Daphne Guinness; Matching outfits with flambouyant head pieces for Anna Delloo Russo
- literal images of the faces of the Muses worn as a mask by the model
- life size paper dolls of the Muses being broken down by the simply dressed model
- Faces of the muses plastered on the central mirror prop and focused on at some point in the film
In an attempt to explore different paths for my concept these are what I have come up with however I am pretty set on the first two options. I'm in the process of researching the ideology of masks in the library in order to pad out the second option a little bit more. I will have images and text detailing the story board for the first two options by Sunday including any informative research I can pull from my library books.
I have completed my first practice stop motion film which I did with the help of my youtube tutorial... unfortunately the speed on the view time of each image is actually longer than the tutorial said which was already too long to create a smooth stop motion film... The thing is is that I do want to have elements of stop motion in my film and I want it to be semi obvious that those sections were created by a method other than straight video but I don't want it to alter the speed of the film any more than it needs to... I don't want it to look all of a sudden jumpy and broken. So perhaps stop motion is not an option after all. I am planning to do a practice run on Flash - as suggested by Paul Candy in our guest lecture today - as well as giving Final Cut a burl on level 7 by this weekend. Here's the iMovie practice run.
I asked my cousin who makes has studied films and dabbles in making her own short films for advice on my impending attempt at film making... Seeing as the only video creating/editing program I have is iMovie she sent me to this mini tutorial to learn more about stop motion film making.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipE3nCjI0IU
I am in the process of trying to create my own trial run which I will post as soon as its done. I am definitely a little apprehensive about the limit on how fast the change from one frame to the other is. I'm planning to inquire with Liam's guest on Tuesday on possible film student collaborations for the purposes of better software and editing skills...
http://vimeo.com/20650849 The above is 10 minute interview by Diane Pernet with Rick Owens. I thought I would look into what she does even if it is outside the time constraints set for the competition and I found this particularly interesting. There isn't any video footage of the interview being conducted rather a mosey-ing slide show of photos of Rick Owen's spring/summer 2011 RTW show. All the images are in grey scale and all are radiating this haunting kind of ethereal-ness which sets a contrasting and beautiful mood to an otherwise ordinary set of faceless voices...I wish I could figure out how to post the video directly from Vimeo...
An interesting suggestion was made today in relation to creating a genuine connection between my Muse's and my video. My character in full fashion garb - all colourful and flamboyant and voluminous - might want to be wearing a mask of the faces who's outfits inspired this fashion painting. Surprisingly there is already a connection with this idea and Anna Dello Russo - W Magazine documented Dello Russo's penchant for sticking her own face onto runway looks that she likes so that she can get a personal feel for the outfit...
As my character changes out of her outrageous bedroom attire (not bedroom attire at all but full fashionable fury) her masks begin to disappear through stop motion the same way the clothing changes through stop motion. It's definitely time to be testing this stop motion theory...
I'm just having a little scroll through some interesting folk that I often see when I'm doing my international fashion weeks catch up. The following also embody, much like Patrick McDonald, the modern costume dresser...
Anna Piaggi - journalist at Italian Vogue (style.com);
Anna Dello Russo - Editor at large and Creative Consultant for Vogue Japan (annadellarusso.com);
Daphne Guinness - designer, director of a few videos, fashion article author, scent creator for Comme Des Garcons and all around Haute Couture aficionado (http://whatchocolatebunnyears.blogspot.com); \
Susie Bubble stylist and fashion/style blogger of stylebubble.typepad.com
Anna Piaggi
Ellen Von Unworth (left) costuming herself in a menswear style reminiscent of Annie Hall/Annie Lennox with Anna Piaggi
Rosita Missoni (left) with Anna Piaggi
Karl Largerfeld with Anna Piaggi
as described on Style.com by Laird Borrelli: "...kiss-curled hair, pencil ringed eyes, colourful canes and fantastic hats..." Karl Largerfeld notes Piaggi's penchant for inspired style as "appetit graphique"
- she is literally a walking work of art from the colour of her hair to the contrast of her shoes and epitomizes a look that I think would work well as a portrayal of dressing as an art form particularly if I counter balance it with something very simple and trend orientated... I genuinely appreciate her constant and boundless combination of textures, prints and colours!
Anna Dello Russo
The motto immediately noticable on her blog/site: "I don't want to be cool I want to be Fashion" and was once described by Helmut Newton as a "fashion maniac".
- She embodies the eccentric aspect of designer dressing often going out in looks entirely from a themed designer show. I appreciate the way she picks up on the stronger and more fashion forward trends of the fashion weeks and builds a look that really portrays the theme from head to toe.
Daphne Guiness
Note the last 10seconds of this interview...
Described on whitechocolatebunnyears.blogspot.com as someone who's "...pursuit of style... [is] not an avenue for self-aggrandizing ostentation, but rather a process of spiritual discovery." As a descendant of the Mitford Sister's and heir to the Guinness brewery throne, she has always had the means to access haute couture and thankfully doesn't embody the category of monetarily endowed folk for whom money cannot buy style.
Susie Bubble
British born Chinese girl by way of Hong Kong who is a fashion/style blogger with a genuine interest in documenting designers that are new to the industry or generally under appreciated - this, in my eyes, gives her much more cred-ability than other fashion/style bloggers who persist in taking numerous, unentertaining and/or inspirational photos of themselves. In autobiographical list of "10 things about Susie Bubble" she notes - "My love of fashion was initially an act of rebellion against my parents and the 'popular' people at school - which then developed into something all consuming and now is my number one passion." I believe this statement again because of her in depth research and documentation of designers and creators of all kinds that aren't necessarily a visible blimp on the fashion radar. - She is a layering kind of dresser that feels a little less considered/specific in comparison to the aforementioned 'costume' dressers. She is eclectic and adventurous in her combination's of layers, textures, colours, prints and general ornamentation. Susie's genuine individuality is glaringly obvious and cannot be denied as a style that is totally unique, inspired and unhindered by commonly accepted understandings of what is fashionable.
