Outland

Outland is a new XBL game that's just been released, what struck me about the game was the setting. Outland is based in a deep jungle and visual art style really brings the atmosphere and mood to a boil. Though the story and game play has nothing to do with my own film the music however is incredibly engaging and it go me thinking about what kind of sounds I want in my film. I'll have to contact Mark early next week when we are back at college and my storyboards are done so we can begin work on theme music. Worst comes to worst I'm going to have to find some music; I could do much worse than the music in Outland, at times it sounds quite tribal but occasionally it has a harrowing edge to it, a sense of the unknown.  

Here's an example;

Woodland Adverts / Film Scenes

I've been looking at adverts and other various scenes from films that contain woodland surroundings and sounds/music. I think while I'm rebuilding my storyboards it'll be good for me to have a look at the camera angles, movements and frames in other work.

Here is an advert that I saw on Youtube, it shows one or two establishing shots but more importantly the music is created with wooden tools. Its not music I'd want in my film but I really like the idea of introducing woodwind sounds into many of the scenes I have in mind.

The other pieces I've been looking at were not available on the net so I watched them on DVD and took notes in my notebook which will be presented along with all my other works. 

• Lord Of The Rings; The scenes in which Frodo and Sam are leaving the shire. Its a hopeful journey at the start of their quest.  
• The X Files; There is an episode based purely in the woods, though its supposed to be quite suspenseful and frighting it does show some good camera and frame work. 

Fruit In Mythology

I've had to take a look at the symbol of fruit because of my scene with the apple, I don't want to send out the wrong kind of message. I've been taking a look on the net about fruit in mythology and here's what I've found;

Apple. Apples are brimming with symbolic meanings and mythic associations. In China they represent peace, and apple blossoms are a symbol of women's beauty. In other traditions, they can signify wisdom, joy, fertility, and youthfulness.

Apples play an important part in several Greek myths. Hera, queen of the gods, owned some precious apple trees that she had received as a wedding present from Gaia, the earth mother. Tended by the Hesperides, the Daughters of Evening, and guarded by a fierce dragon, these trees grew in a garden somewhere far in the west. Their apples were golden, tasted like honey, and had magical powers. They could heal, they renewed themselves as they were eaten, and if thrown, they always hit their target and then returned to the thrower's hand.

For the eleventh of his 12 great labors, the hero Hercules* had to obtain some of these apples. After a long, difficult journey across North Africa, he enlisted the help of the giant Atlas, who entered the garden, strangled the dragon, and obtained the fruit. Hercules took the apples to Greece, but Athena* returned them to the Hesperides.

A golden apple stolen from Hera's garden caused the Trojan Warf, one of the key events in Greek mythology. Eris, the goddess of discord, was angry not to be included among the gods asked to attend a wedding feast. Arriving uninvited, she threw one of the apples, labeled "For the Fairest," onto a table at the feast. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite* each assumed that the apple was meant for her. They asked Paris, a prince of Troy, to settle the matter, and he awarded the apple to Aphrodite. In revenge, Hera and Athena supported the Greeks in the war that led to the fall of Troy. People still use the phrase "apple of discord" to refer to something that provokes an argument.

In Norse* mythology, apples are a symbol of eternal youth. Legend says that the goddess Idun guarded the magical golden apples

Cherry. Cherries can symbolize fertility, merrymaking, and festivity. In Japan, where cherry blossoms are the national flower, cherries represent beauty, courtesy, and modesty. The ancient Chinese regarded the fruit as a symbol of immortality. One Chinese legend tells of the goddess Xi Wang Mu, in whose garden the cherries of immortality ripen every thousand years. Because cherry wood was thought to keep evil spirits away, the Chinese placed cherry branches over their doors on New Year's Day and carved cherry wood statues to stand guard in front of their homes.

Pear. In Greek and Roman mythology, pears are sacred to three goddesses: Hera (Juno to the Romans), Aphrodite (Venus to the Romans), and Pomona, an Italian goddess of gardens and harvests.

The ancient Chinese believed that the pear was a symbol of immortality. (Pear trees live for a long time.) In Chinese the word li means both "pear" and "separation," and for this reason, tradition says that to avoid a separation, friends and lovers should not divide pears between themselves.

Strawberry. Strawberries have special meaning to the Seneca of the northeastern United States. Because strawberries are the first fruit of the year to ripen, they are associated with spring and rebirth. The Seneca also say that strawberries grow along the path to the heavens and that they can bring good health.

My Take On The Fruits;

At first I was unsure whether it was appropriate to use an apple for the scene but after reading these brief notes I can see the apple is a symbol of peace, joy, fertility and youthfulness. An apple seems to me like a perfect choice for the scene I have in mind, unfortunately I think peoples perspective of the apple will always be religious so I'm now thinking of using a pear; a symbol of immortality, to return to nature would redeem him immortal, to live amongst the earthly spirits until the end of time. 
Strawberry's are another fruit which would be appropriate but again the strawberry is used in so many romantic films and stories, I don't want the nymph to appear in love with this man. He is a spirit being lead home, that's all there is to it. 

Crew Meeting

I had a quick meeting with Cameron, Milly, Ozzy and Ryan about my film. As the storyboards are not yet ready we discussed everyone's availability.
It seems we'll be filming during the week on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday as these are the days everyone is most likely to be able to help, I don't want to interfere with anyone's work.
I'll be working closely with Cameron because we are both doing short films so luckily we can share ideas, techniques and experience when needed.

Cameron; Lost spirit
Milly; Nymph
Ryan; Camera
Ozzy; Camera/Sound
Mark; Theme music

Storyboard Tutorial

I showed Jamie and Andy my storyboard, they said it still needs some work doing to it before I can start filming. They had some general queries about some of the scenes I had in mind as well as costumes and music ect..

• I need to think about the grave yard scene and what it would mean to the viewer. (I'm already considering cutting it completely in favour of something else, yet to be decided)
• I need to think about the scene with the apple. The apple is symbolic in religion because of the garden of Eden. I knew this before hand but I can understand why it would muddy the message of the film, I'm not trying to create anything with religious connotations what so ever. 
• I really need to contact Mark Weller as quickly as possible because the music is becoming more vital each passing day. The music will aide me in the quest to tell the story I want.  
• I also need to think about costumes, again this is still something that is the least of my worries right now but with dead line day looming I need to start putting in place what the characters will be wearing. (Over the course of the week and the weekend I'll hopefully be doing a test shoot with Cameron, this is an opportunity to try out various clothes and get to handle the camera)

They also gave me some paperwork to take a look at over the next couple of days, a few film scripts and more importantly a shot list for editors and a location prep sheet. 

While my storyboard still needs work I think the best course of action is to take a look at programs and films that contains strong images of travelling and woodland areas so that I can see how they piece together the shots. I'll also take a look at some fantasy films in general, I've already seen Pan's Labyrinth so I'll have to find some more, I cant think of many in all honesty.    

Rough Film Day Guide

I've planed that it will take about 4 and half days to shoot the entire film at each location. This will take place from the 5th to the 20th of May. I'll be editing the film as I go so that I'm not left with to much work during the run in to deadline day.

Half Day; Film at home and in the College staff room.
1st Day; Feniscowles and Witton Park.
2nd Day; Billinge Woods.
3rd Day; Cornholme.

A 4th day will be added in case we need to re-shoot any of the scenes again. If done properly on the day I don't foresee any problems.
Its quite possible we wont need this many days, four or five hours of filming per day is far more than I need but it's important to have enough time nonetheless.

Storyboards Complete

Today I have my Storyboards complete and now starts the process of scheduling days suitable to film. I've already contacted my film crew and I'm awaiting their reply.

There will be 6 locations to film; College Staff Room, My Living Room, Cornholme, Witton Park, Billinge Woods and Feniscowles.

I've drawn a rough estimate of how many days it will take to film and I believe it should be wrapped up in 3 and a half days with a further 4th day as backup just in case we need to re-shoot any of the scenes again.

Most of the filming will be done at Witton, Billinge and Feniscowles so travel expenses should be quite low.

When we return to College I hope my storyboards get the green light.

Slight Problems Ahead

Now that I've started the script and the story boards the weight of the project has now just landed on my shoulders with full force. Though I feel to be in control and still very focused I'm worried the film will follow the same trend as my other films; my 'El Campamento' had a lot of scenery shots and travelling and my binned CELL-i film also had elements of travelling and as this film is about a journey so I don't want to appear like a one trick pony. The only sensible thing I can do is cut away a lot of the travelling scenes and focus more on the building relationship of the two characters; this will have an effect of the films length however, at first I planned a 12 to 15 min short film but now I can imagine it being a bit shorter.

'The Monk' Gothic Novel

This story came to my attention just the other day during a discussion with a friend. I have only briefly taken a look into the story and its various themes but there is one thing that stands quite clear over anything else, something that would help my own story. The main character, Ambrosio, is a devoted monk who falls from grace as he is undone by the lust for his pupil Matilda (a woman disguised as monk). She is forever present, always on his shoulder pushing him slightly to do her bidding or break his morals, but the process is subtly done and the reader is unsure whether to trust her or not.

I think what's relevant in my story is to not allow the viewer to trust the nymph when she appears on screen during the early scenes. I want them to ask questions about her purpose, her agenda. Even before hearing about 'The Monk' I did want to create the same sense of doubt but every little helps and becoming aware of this story can only help towards my final piece.

There is a film apparently and I intend to watch it sometime in the near future.

Here is a short passage about the plot line;

The story concerns Ambrosio - a pious, well-respected monk in Spain - and his violent downfall. He is undone by carnal lust for his pupil, a woman disguised as a monk (Matilda), who tempts him to transgress, and, once satisfied by her, is overcome with desire for the innocent Antonia. Using magic spells, Matilda aids him in seducing Antonia, whom he later rapes and kills. Matilda is eventually revealed as an instrument of Satan in female form, who has orchestrated Ambrosio's downfall from the start. In the middle of telling this story, Lewis frequently makes further digressions, which serve to heighten the Gothic atmosphere of the tale while doing little to move along the main plot. A lengthy story about a "Bleeding Nun" is told, and many incidental verses are introduced. A second romance, between Lorenzo and Antonia, also gives way to a tale of Lorenzo's sister being tortured by hypocritical nuns (as a result of a third romantic plot). Eventually, the story catches back up with Ambrosio, and in several pages of impassioned prose, Ambrosio is delivered into the hands of the Inquisitor; he escapes by selling his soul to the devil for his deliverance from the death sentence which awaits him. The story ends with the devil preventing Ambrosio's attempted final repentance, and the sinful monk's prolonged torturous death. Ambrosio finds out by the devil that the woman that he had raped and killed, Antonia, was indeed his sister.

The Work Begins

Today I've started work on the script and the storyboards for my FMP. All the work done will be presented within my notebook and my storyboard folder. Hopefully a rough draft can be completed quite soon so that I can allow one or two people to have a read which gives me enough time before shooting to make a few changes where necessary.