Jonathan Williams

I wanted the piece to begin with the stillness that is depicted in Velasquez's original portrait by recreating the ambiance of a cathedral (such as echoed footsteps fading away and the echoed murmur of prayer) combined with the Pope shuffling around in his chair such as wood creaking, light breathing and his robes making light noises as they shift with the moving body of the wearer. This is to set up for a change in pacing and to ultimately build up to the scream which is the climax of Bacons portrait. I want to make the second portion of the piece have more supernatural tones, with ghostly whispering and a rushing of wind. As the piece continues the rush of wind will become greater and the whispers will become louder. We will hear the Pope begin to tense up, clutching his chair, trying to resist the alluring yet conflicting things the 'whispers' are saying to him. As he resists the voices will become more persistent and grow more impatient. The wind will become stronger, forcing the Pope into the back of his seat.

After playing around in after effects and learning the ropes, I finally came up with my dual screen project {untitled} because I can't think of a better name.

The final piece came through continuous experimentation with a technique called 'slit scan'. Historically, slit-scan originates from the development of panoramic photography.
One of the first recorded patents for a panoramic camera was submitted by Joseph Puchberger in Austria in 1843 for a hand-cranked, 150° field of view, 8-inch focal length camera which was exposed onto a Large Daguerreotype (a polished silver coated sheet of copper).

 The slit scan effect has also made appearances in films, most notable for its appearence in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, but used in a rather uniquely different way to simulate a sort of stargate-esque effect depicting what it might look like to travel through space and time.

I learnt this effect from this tutorial:


 The actual process of doing the effect took a bit of mastering, but once I had applied the effect to 8 or 9 clips I was getting pretty good at it. For the effect you have to drag your clip into a new composition, and then go Layer > New Solid , make it grey and then drag it into the composition. You then go to the Effects and Presets tab, and type in Sunset Gradient. The effect 'Colorize sunset gradient' should pop up and then you drag this onto your dark grey solid.


In the Effect Options tab, make the top colour black and the bottom colour white, then where it says Calculations, hit the Reset button.

Then pre-compose both layers using the shortcut CTRL + SHIFT + C. When given the option, one should tick the checkbox that says 'move attributes to new composition'. This means that the properties of the gradient will stay the same. After pre-composing both clips, go to the Effects and Presets tab and type in 'Time Displacement' and apply it to both layers. Drag the media file on top of the gradient solid, and then go into effect controls on the media and for the displacement layer select your gradient. This will apply the effect and you should hopefully end up with something like this:

Naturally you can change the displacement amount. This will increase the amount the image gets distorted and especially helped me to create quite a surreal aesthetic.

Keeping nature in mind

A thought crossed my mind whilst I was laying in bed one night. I was thinking about  how everything comes from natural means. Even 'manmade' things aren't fully manmade because more than likely the primary resource came from the earth. My point is, is that humanity and nature are the only two things that exist on our planet, and like siblings, have a pure connection with one another.

My images are a simple observation on the fragile relationship between humanity and nature. 


Below is the description of the piece:

After tutorials and some really good feedback I feel I now have a clear vision of where I am going with the photography stills project.

Recently I did a test shoot in a forested area. The idea being that I immerse myself into the nature around me. I got Megan and Lawrence to throw a load of twigs all over me, and then take photos of it and experiment with compositions. This was when the idea was in it's conceptual stage, because basically I was told to go out and just take photos and see what ideas spring from experimenting. And I am certainly happy with the ideas that have sprung forth from this visual brainstorm.

My idea is that everything that exists is categorised under two criteria: Man and Nature. Therefore the relationship between the two goes incredibly far back into the history books. I intend to reflect upon this complicated relationship between man and nature and explore how maybe we can reconnect on a new level with the environment around us, especially in this day and age when earths resources are strained.

Research

My research of this relationship is based on the advise of my tutor - to look at the Green Man mythologies, and relate it to old pagan rituals and their traces in the woods. 

But what is a 'Green Man'?  

A Green man is a a sculpture or drawing or some other representation of a face that often has grass or roots springing forth from the mouth/ears of it. This is primarily interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.

This idea of 'rebirth' is a rather fitting metaphor for the relationship between nature and man and I really want to explore this within the photos I will be taking in the near future.

Visual Inspiration

 

Screencap from one time I attempted this technique about a year ago

I am pumped for this project, especially since we are filming for it sometime next week. After speaking with my tutor, I received some sound advice: Find one effect that you are confident in, and base your twin screen around that. So that is exactly what I have set out to try and achieve, so here is the research that I've done


The effect I want to embark upon is a time displacement effect or, in Lenhams terms, a 'slit-scan' effect. Slit Scan is a photographic and cinematographic process in which a moveable slide has a 'slit' cut out of it and then placed between the camera and the subject to be photographed, often resulting in trippy photographs such as this:

HISTORY

Historically, slit-scan originates from the development of panoramic photography.
One of the first recorded patents for a panoramic camera was submitted by Joseph Puchberger in Austria in 1843 for a hand-cranked, 150° field of view, 8-inch focal length camera which was exposed onto a Large Daguerreotype (a polished silver coated sheet of copper).  

USE IN FILM

The slit scan effect has also made appearances in films, most notable for its appearence in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, but used in a rather uniquely different way to simulate a sort of stargate-esque effect depicting what it might look like to travel through space and time.

 

Prior to Kubricks masterpiece, a film called 'To the Moon and Beyond' (1964) opened at the New York World Fair. This piece was created using Cinerama 360, which is a 70mm single film process usingfisheye lenses and then projected onto enormous domed screens to give audiences the sense of being immersed into an environment they have never experienced before.

Application

tangent...

So hey, I need to start writing again because I miss it alot. I have been bad. I have not posted as much and I feel myself slipping because of it. I am slowly trying to break into a routine of good habits, such as early to bed, early to rise, eating properly and writing frequently. My scheduling has been shoddy and this needs to change, and fast.
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But anyway, I have been working on my photography project, exploring vast woodlands and taking photos of it.  A thought crossed my mind whilst I was laying in bed one night. I was thinking about  how everything comes from natural means. even 'manmade' things aren't fully manmade because more than likely the primary resource came from the earth. My point is, is that humanity and nature are the only two things that exist on our planet, and like siblings, have a pure connection with one another.

here are some more shots from shoot #3 of photography:













MORE INSPIRATION HERE:::::::>>

Unkown Artist