Senior Project Summer Ideation

(This is a deprecated blog that transferred from another website, some images are missing)

This blog contains ideation and experimentation conducted over the summer for my senior project idea. The most recent activity will always be at the top of the post.

9/1/2024 - 9/8/2024: This section is some cinematographer research/pre-quarter assignment for VSFX406, "Concept Development Visual Effects" and includes films I watched and took note of both part of this assignment with cinematographers Rodrigo Prieto, Emmanuel Lubezki, and Vittorio Storaro. Below this is an excerpt from my other blog "VSFX 485: Undergraduate Independent Study - Environment Creation" which you can click on to view the full blog (excerpt from week 4) :

Film Research: Alongside this project I have been working on some ideation for my senior project next school year (Also posted in a blog here on my website). My goal for that project is to learn more about environmental story telling and create a sequence in which a camera explores an environment and the viewer and gleam a story from what they are seeing without any dialogue or real character beyond what personality the camera will have. Since there is a strong connection between that project and what I am doing here I wanted to talk about my findings so far.

The films I watched include (any film with a * before its title, I plan to watch more from that cinematographer/Director of Photography):

• * The Equalizer, (2014) DP: Mauro Fiore

• The Equalizer 3, (2023) DP: Robert Richardson

• Resident Evil, (2002) DP: David Johnson

• Resident Evil: Retribution, (2012) DP: Glen MacPherson

• * Resident Evil: Death Island, (2023) DP: Yun M. Watanabe (CG Film)

• Extraction, (2020) DP: Newton Thomas Sigel

• Extraction 2, (2023) DP: Greg Baldi

• Beyond The Wire, (2021) DP: Michael Bonvillain

• * Leon: The Professional , (1994) DP: Thierry Arbogast

I go on on my other blog to talk about each of these films as they relate to environmental story telling but the one I would like to focus on here is Leon: The Professional who's cinematographer is Thierry Arbogast. I noticed in this film a couple of things including the use of shadow/intentional light, use of closeups/dynamic camera moves. The foremost scene in which I would like to pay compliment is the opening hit man scene in the high rise in which cinematographer Thierry Arbogast captures Leon emerge from shadow and take out his target. Before this shot however we have a scene in which the room is very dark due to a security shutter blocks out all light from the windows. The mafia/gang members in the room then shoot the shutter full of holes bathing them in the light of the sun creating a symbolic relationship between the light, shadow, and the morality of the characters in the scene. The criminals were bathed in shadow, hidden from the public, but then were exposed to the light and "brough to justice" in a manner of speaking. Leon momentarily enters this light but ultimately retreats back to the shadows exiting marking his blurry relationship with morality and his profession. he always keeps in professional and keeps a clear distinction between this being a hustle or "job". He works with clients to take out targets with zero room for mistakes.

(Any paragraphs with a "**" at the beggining are films I really liked the cinematography of and wish to keep in mind while working on my own projects going forward.)

Rodrigo Prieto: The first film I watched by this cinematographer was Biutiful. I noticed a lot of tight framing of shots as well as an approach to the Dutch angle in which the camera was noticeably tilted but not quite to the extreme you would see in a classic Dutch angle.

The second film I watched was Barbie which I did not honestly find a lot to talk about in terms of cinema graphic style. The film covered a lot of various topics at a surface level and the shots felt mostly like a string of medium close ups with a few exceptions. This was a dramatic comparison however to the third film I watched.

**The third film I watched was The Irishman which was a nearly 3 hour long film. This film featured a lot of interesting VFX techniques alongside its cinematography which I would like to briefly mention. This film utilized a 3 camera system featuring its primary camera and 2 infrared cameras to capture the actors face at a high level of detail without the need for tracking markers or dots on the actors face. the narrative component of this film is often described as a "slow burn" and Prieto reflects that in his slower and deliberate camera moves with occasional long takes at pivotal moments of the story. This film is ultimately the life story of Robert Dinero's character Frank Sheeran after he became involved in the mob and the tight framing, similar to that seen in Biutiful, show the intimate nature of the relationships the character has, in tandem with wide yet lonely establishing shots help put the viewer in the mind of Frank.

**The fourth film I watched and have now added to my list of favorite films alongside Leon: The Professional is the film We Bought a Zoo. This film also utilized a tight framing of shots with little to no headroom which again, elevates the actors performances and made the scenes feel more intimate. Along side that this film uses a very warm color pallet including many earth tones which is also very present in Biutiful and The Irishman. Prieto uses handheld cameras when showing the animals of the zoo and frames the animals in context with their environment which helps ground the viewer and push the connection with nature. I also noticed a trend between this film and The Irishman where many of the shots involving a character in a car would feature a shot reverse shot approach that was almost from the POV of the driver. The camera would occupy the space the character would have otherwise inhabited.

The primary techniques I observed that I would attribute to Rodrigo Prieto's style are:

• Manipulation of color/color pallet as seen in The Irishman to show the somber and melancholic expression of Frank or to juxtapose the harsh urban environment against the supernatural dream like scenes in Biutiful.

• Framing- Many of the films I watched were very tightly framed which I find to be a stylistic choice and narrative choice to help show the intimate nature of the scene or the isolation felt by a character.

• Wide angle lenses were employed mostly in establishing shots that would then crash into a tightly framed shot which in the case of Biutiful showed the cluttered and chaotic nature of the protagonists life with the framing remaining tight as he battles with his illness more and more.

Emmanuel Lubezki: **The first film of the three I watched from Lubezki was The Revenant. This film takes place in the American wilderness and had many shots that reminded me a lot of what I envision for the Nordic forest scene that I talked about below this update. This film includes many long takes and uses almost exclusively natural light/natural driven light to help push the realism of this film. The long takes have a fluidity to them that simultaneously makes the camera a character and documenter. This idea is taken further by mirroring Leonardo DiCaprio's character Glass's movement, following the movement over the characters shoulder as he turns or even fogging the lens or splattering the lens with blood depending on the scene. In addition to those things we also see the use of a warm color pallet with many earth tones which makes sense in the context of this film.

The second Film I watched was Sleepy Hollow which employed widespread use of fog and mist throughout the film which aided the muted color pallet this film employed. There also was a lot of Chiaroscuro present in this film especially in the opening travel sequence with the carriage and the arrival to town. I would like to give this film a second viewing to look more specifically at the use of shadows like with Leon: The Professional. Much of this film used wide angle lenses to capture the dark and gloomy environment as well as dramatize the appearance of the Headless Horseman. Low angles and sudden camera moves help to create a intense feeling and make the Headless Horseman appear larger than he is in reality.

The third film I watched from Lubezki was Ali starring Will Smith. In this film I noticed that many shots had a slow push in on the characters on screen throughout the shot or sequence of shots. Also in many of the fight scenes the camera reflects Will Smith's character Cassius's feelings or state in the fight. Towards the beginning of the film the first fight scene shows Cassius getting blinded due to a dirty fighting tactic and the camera work becomes more shaky and out of focus to reflect this shift in the fight with the inverse happening when his vision is restored. A warm but muted color pallet is employed as well to give the film a more gritty journalistic feel to accompany the many photographers and commentators we see through the film especially in the fight sequences. Lubezki often switches the lighting and framing to be softer and tighter during the more personal or intimate scenes that would've been less public as compared to the high key lighting and often wide shots in scenes like press conferences or fights.

Lubezki overall utilizes a few techniques some of which I would like to watch more examples of including:

• Use and emphasis on natural lighting with The Revenant serving as a prime example (sunlight, fire light, or other environmental lighting)

• Use of low lighting techniques allowing for shadow and lack of light to play a role in films like Sleepy Hollow or Children of Men which I unfortunately do not have access to watch at the moment on my current streaming services.

• Long takes like can be seen in The Revenant which I would love to see more of. My online research suggests he uses them in many of his projects so I really want to see more of them.

• The Revenant and Gravity (which I have not seen in about a year) have 360 degree camera moves that fully explore the space so if I can I want to see if I cant make a collection of some of these to reference for my project.

• Often Lubezki's work features a muted color pallet with earthen tones which, again, work really well for my project idea.

7/30/2024: I've got my first reference pass! Lots of the current reference is either art or AI generated so part of my goal as I refine my ideas is too collect more real world reference if possible (due to the nature of some of these ideas though that may not necessarily be possible i.e. a space ship interior, or dream scape). The Image below can be clicked to expand and see better!

It may be hard to see in my image above so below are the WIP names and tag lines for each environment idea:

• 70's Dreamscape:

  • "Chromatic Nightmare" - "A kaleidoscope of chaos and dread"

  • "Mind's Labyrinth" - "In a world of vibrant lies, the truth is untwisted"

  • "Neon Purgatory" - "Psychedelic bliss with a shadow of fear"

• After Earth/Post Apocalyptic:

  • "Phantom City"- "A story told through the echo's of a fallen world"

• 1800's Nordic Haunted Forest:

  • "Eldritch Prospect" - "The Trees whisper tales of terror and gold"

• Sci-Fi Alien Inspired:

  • "Venture in the vents" - "Hidden in the vents, stalking in the shadows"

Aside from these workshop names I did want to note a few questions I have for Professor Pasquale come our meeting tomorrow morning (7/31/24).

1. I am strongly weighing my options between Unreal Engine 5 and Houdini and trying to figure out which software would be best to use for this project (Certainly they both have their positives and negatives, but I think If I work as an individual one may be better than the other). I feel like due to the lack of a character and the emphasis on the environment UE5 might be a better choice for me as the ease of adding and modifying assets is increased drastically compared to Houdini. I'm thinking about stencils, fog, maybe water, Lumen etc. If I want to add blood somewhere or a scratch on a surface etc. I can add a stencil to a surface super quick compared to grabbing the asset, importing it to substance or other software and then modifying the map, reimporting it etc. That being said, I still want to place a high focus on creating a cinematic experience observed from the camera that retains the highest quality possible.

2. I mentioned in my previous post I wanted to dive into sound design with this project and I am curious what your thoughts are on including sounds that would be emitted by the creature or other character of screen. I'm thinking sounds like breathing, scratching, a heartbeat, a distant growl or roar etc. not dialogue or recognizable human speech/expressions. I know this is far off (would most likely be a spring quarter part of this project) but I think some of these decisions with sound can help inform some of what should be present in the environment.

7/28/24: I wanted to make a quick post to note some media I have been consuming lately that I want to come back to and explore a bit more. Both HERE (Under the Week 4 Post) and in a game titled "Still Wakes The Deep" which is a narrative driven horror game taking place during the 1970's on an oil rig. I came across this game on YouTube and it seems the environment is fleshed out to such a high degree that you can figure out who some of the characters are and what they do etc. just off visiting their living quarters. I want to check out this game to explore these living quarters but also to see what other environmental story telling this game has to offer.

7/2/24: Following a zoom conversation with Professor Pasquale I have determined that I would like to explore the world of environmental story telling. I am playing with a few ideas at the moment which ill explore here a little bit in the coming days, however the base goals are:

• Create a full environment capable of exploration by a camera

• Elicit feelings of disgust, unease or fear within the viewer

• Subtly tell a story through details in the environment

• No visible character, either the camera is the character or a character is implied/hinted at in the background or through other indirect methods

• explore day for night shots in the same environment, old vs new etc.

• This is a bonus- Sound Design! I would love to also either create my own sound mix or work with the Sound Design department to aid in the creation of the creepy or unsettling vibe I am trying to create. I think having distant sounds of floor boards creaking or a eerie lack of sound in a once busy square would greatly aid in this venture.

Here is my current working list of basic scene ideas:

1. Taking place in the 70's this environment would be a twisted, psychedelic, mental landscape within a Asylum patients mind. - Ideas for camera/story telling: Camera is POV of patient who seems to be distressed and confused but eerily calm. I'm taking inspiration from old government programs like MK-Ultra and thinking, "What would this patient be haunted by in their drug induced dreamscape"

2. "After Earth" post apocalyptic landscape with remnants of a civilizations past. A heavy source of inspiration behind this idea is the Tom Cruise movie Oblivion from 2013. I think the idea of a hunter/hunted POV with the camera moving between a ruined house or museum etc.

3. 1800's Nordic haunted forest or abandoned gold mine town. There is a lot of Nordic Folk lore out there so with this one I would like to take a deeper dive into the creatures and myths of Nordic Folklore to create an environment devoid of life save for the few clawed trees remaining, where all you can see are the clues left behind by such beasts. The camera POV would be of a shaken explorer who bit off more than they can chew.

4. Sci-fi futuristic space ship. This environment would take a lot of inspiration from films like Alien, The Thing, or Prometheus. The goal with the camera would be exploring the perspective of the hunter. Where do they travel, what do they leave behind, who are they watching?

I also want to clarify my intentions with the use of camera as I had described above. I don't intend to create an environment and then pretend the camera is a character and throw it in the scene, more over I want to use subtle cinematography and framing tricks, along side subtle movement to imply the perspective we the viewers are observing and draw you into the world the camera is exploring.

In my next post I plan to share reference/mood boards for each of these environments and also share some information that I am going to learn from a classmate Reese after we meet this Friday. Reese is going to share some folklore with me from some Asian countries from which I may modify the Nordic Forest idea or add a new idea to the list to explore.