sean christopher winwright : 1112788 sound and image...

Sean Christopher Winwright : 1112788 Sound and Image : MED019-3


Contextual Essay of LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON In this contextual essay, I will elaborate and discuss my creative sequential art short film titled LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON (2017). The centralised topic I chose for this particular project was ‘explore’, my reason is self-inscriptive because I wanted to explore to a higher degree photography in diverse yet linked locations, city symphonies. Edit together to show visuality of a story of exploring by the captured movement(s), montage(s), iconography and letter(s) in the word ‘explore’, individually placed on the timeline. Sound to create an echoes of the visuals with an album symphony, of Lungs (2009) by band Florence and the Machine to function as background sound to accompany the city symphony photography. Aim to merge the two contents influx to urge listener(s), viewer(s) and spectator(s) to explore, more. Exhibition is a click to upload, a click to view, a click to like or share exhibiting and distribution. The online distributing platform YouTube can facilitate an active broader reception, to exhibit to far greater viewers and spectators, than would be typically achieved by exhibiting at a locational exhibition. Explore being the main theme is reinforced by the trichotomy sub themes of the visuals of, for example nature in figure 1, movement in figure 2, and wildlife in figure 3. My reason is because the subthemes thematically and cinematically embody the main theme of explore with refreshing minimal, realism and arthouse styles multifaceted or singular adding to escapism elements for audience(s) to find appealing. LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON , I chose a tripartition of British locations for the production, three locational segments in the narrative structure linearly; a capital city, a city and a town. London, Cambridge and Luton, mirrors the reason in the self-title choice, with intentions to also reflect onto active audiences to explore by influence. From the compositions, framing and interlinked photographs, I captured on my canon 400D, with a 18mm-55mm lens. The first city symphony of London starts with the opening shot of an Interior/exterior extreme long shot of London’s skyline (figure 4). Framing interior movement and locomotion of people exploring in movement on/and transport (figure 5). Exploring to the exterior of London at eye level by the interlinked shots. The second city symphony of Cambridge commences from noticeable buildings of Cambridge’s exterior, having golden spots having locked and opened doors, give representation further visually to explore as in my simple opinion going through a doorway you are exploring and that's what I achieved in the progressive photograph in the interlinked arthouse framing in figure 6 and 7. In the third city


symphony of Luton I wanted to contrast the first city symphony segment by photographing exterior movement shots of animal locomotion for example ducks in figure 8 ‘exploring’ in movement, similar to (figure 5) of the public locations. The primary layer is of city symphonies, from still sequential images consisting of what enticed myself by exploring three locations(s) framed in an arthouse manner, withholding realism (figure 8) and minimalist components. Elaborating a city locomotion, character and taste by framing in photographs rule of thirds (figure 9), golden spots (figure 10) and leading lines (figure 11). The secondary layer of explore individually literates visually letters ‘E.X.P.L.O.R.E, in extreme close-ups or close-ups such as ‘X’ figure 9. The tertiary instrumental sound, is experimental in terms of sound being an album symphony an unconventional manner yet making it conventional; Florence and the Machine, Lungs (2009) album. An album symphony I propose to be the captured sounds of a music albums’ acoustic or instrumental versions, with each song in the album to then be sliced, rearranged and blended by editing together a snippet of each layered song together to be a new ‘song’ - not a mashup, compilation or a parody - an album symphony, which is edited in a nonlinear context; with a combined duration equal to a generic song duration. Relating, emphasizing and complimenting with the primary and secondary layers’ theme to explore influx. In reference to tell a story that embodies explore, where the photographs tell a story frame by frame sequentially in the three locational segments similar to English artist William Hogarth paintings of A Rakes Progression (1733) in figure 12. Hogarth work informed myself of sequential art because individually each detailed painting tells a story, though together the eight paintings show a linear story, a sequentially-broader story. Applying the context of sequential art of which LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON structurally is based upon, with a locational tripartition. In the eighteenth century with new technology such as photography - introduced and created by French Inventor Nicephore Niepce – influentially English photographer Edward Muybridge captured the first known sequential photography of a horse’s locomotion, in Sally Gardener at a Gallop (1878) in figure 13. Figure 12 Figure 13


In the decades that passed “Debates concerning the status of photography as art took place in periodicals throughout the nineteenth century” [1] and “By the end of the 1920s film had established itself as a medium of popular entertainment and news. Photography had also become a mass medium” [2] Reflection, in the preproduction stage, the research consisted of viewing influential relevant city symphonies films such as the experimental Man with a Movie Camera (1929). Arthouse films which include film noir La Jetee (1962) for structure and imagery influence, because the short films minimal subjects and locations at a standstill. All three separate locations, the three city symphonies merged together as sequential art to entice the active audiences to explore their surroundings more, an encouragement to venture. Even on your door step there is beauty in nature, wildlife and movement; a form of an escapism to a degree yet a realistic escapism. I did not edit the photographs either in terms of postproduction with the use of the image editing software Photoshop before importing into Premier Pro to arrange and Juxtaposition on the timeline to show a story of explore. In the production stage, after the primary location recce in Cambridge, I felt I would not need to reshoot/shoot as the content I felt could not be recaptured or staged at a later date to have the same elements which highlights LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON’s realism factor by capturing the zeitgeist of the locations unstructured and lead by impulse of to which I found appealing. What worked well in postproduction stage, I achieved merging the two layers – an album symphony with city symphonies – of which I feel worked well because the juxtapositions of the visuals it flows between fast and slow paces with the sound compliment the sound, in montages. LONDON CAMBRIDGE LUTON withholds oobscurely drama conventions such as starting how it finishes E.g. From Clouds in the sky DAYTIME framed by the sun in the prologue/title sequence (figure 14), and Trees in the sky NIGHTTIME for framing by the moon in the epilogue/credits (figure 15). The reason for the text choice is to reflect the clouds and the glow of the moon. I believe I conveyed and portrayed in each interlinked, sequential photograph a form of explore capsulated and framed. I explored myself with sound, not attending to match the visuals, yet echo the symphony structuring aspect(s).


Bibliography

[1] Wells, L (2015) Photography: a critical introduction . New York: Routledge. 14. [2] Company, D (2008) Photography and Cinema. UK: Reaktion Books Ltd. 9. Sonnenschein, D (2001) Sound design: the expressive power of music, voice, and sound effects in cinema . UK: Michael Wiese Productions.

Filmography

Sally Gardener at a Gallop (1878) Photographed by Edward Muybridge [Short Film]. UK: La Jetee (1962) Directed by Chris Marker [Short Film]. France: Man with a Movie Camera (1929) Directed by Dziga Vertov [Experimental Film]. Russia:

sean christopher winwright : 1112788 sound and image...

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