Maybe the Edit Can Outsmart the Character

Very similar to the montage that will take place in Logan's secret room. 

The Imitation Game (2015)

From an editors perspective this film is fascinating to watch, it uses to montage theory to it's advantage to advance the story before the narrative itself. It's screen language of showing Alans face in a close-up whenever he has a Eureka moment but those moments that lead to something are always followed by subsequent close-ups of the rest of the team acknowledging something amazing is about to happen. It's like the film is a code in itself. It follows the main characters obsessive tendencies, there are close up montages of his work and his quirky habits. The film is edited to keep up with the pace of Alan's thinking, the film is smarter than Alan and shows you the pieces before he realises the answer. If only a machine can outsmart a machine, then maybe the edit can outsmart the character. 

You're never bored with what you're seeing, it moves fast but the viewer isn't left behind.

I chose to study this film because of the comparisons that can be made of Alan Turing and Logan. Both prefer to work alone, out of sight of other people. Both are obsessed over finding the correct answer. Both have to eventually share their ideas with someone who they don’t have a romantic relationship with. Both breakdown at the end of the film - the only difference is Logan can accept her revelation and grow, Alan never has the choice.

I believe I will return to this film a lot during the editing process so look for another blog post looking deeper into the enigma that is The Imitation Games editing methodology. 

Click Click Boom

So I could work on something other than a spreadsheet I set out doing a mini soundscape for Unmerciful.

This started with me and Mirella heading into the studio to do some recordings of the cards, plus the recordings of the door, leaves and general movement. The rest of the sounds used within the piece are sources online due to the fact that until very recently (like last 7 days recently) we didn't have a sound recordist and due to other commitments I wasn't able to go out and record foley myself.

Me in the studio. 

From here I spent a few days in Protools getting the general layout (mostly the flashbacks as, for now at least, I don't have a lot of sounds for the office). I played around with the atmospheres I could create using different card noises, joined with the glitch effects that the cards in the film triggers.

I tried to keep the guns to a minimum aka when they are actually stated in the script. As I have said previously I don't want this film to sound like just another war film because it isn't. This film is about the aftermath of war, war is the cause of the story not the story it's self. So you have children laughter, crunching leaves, enhanced everyday sounds such as writing, doors and clocks. 

I also added a music track behind it. Testament of Youth is a huge inspiration for this film and has orchestral music behind it, not all the time but enough to make an impact. I originally ruled out composing music for films this year because last year it didn't go so well. However when listening to the piece without music it felt hollow, like something was missing but I knew just adding more sounds wouldn't make it better. So I started messing around on the piano whilst the track was playing.

I originally had this piece spanning around 3 octaves but it was drawing the attention away from the sounds which isn't what I was going for. So I took some advice from James (from last years project) when he was telling me about an animation student who had composed an entire track from 2 notes. Simplified it. Then it just seemed to fit. Now I won't be composing anything for the actual film but I won't rule out searching for some music to enhance the sounds around it - war zones might not have music but offices/houses do.

A Testament of Youth (and 1st Year Rachel's Opinions)

Testament of Youth is one of my all time favourite films, visuals stunning, a literary masterpiece in it's own right and the sound design is phenomenal. The soundtrack is one of my go to pieces of music to listen to when I'm working. Whist this movie is a war film the sound design is actually quite beautiful. Orchestral music, lighthearted with a significant piano track. The sound design shows the horrors of war but that isn’t the main focus, it primarily shows the mindset of the main character Vera.

I actually wrote a review of this film when it first came out so here it is!

'When I first heard around Testament of Youth it was because of actor Colin Morgan, who I’m a huge fan of (See he's in the Merlin project and The Tempest project - I'm not crazy, he's just a great actor who apparently has similar interests as me). But for me to go to the cinema and watch it (therefore spending £10 on a ticket – it’s a serious commitment!) I have to do a bit of research around it first. I knew of the book before the movie was even brought up, a librarian recommended it to me when I was in school after I said I felt Private Peaceful didn’t capture the whole story, however I never got around to reading it. To 13 year old me Testament of Youth was just a sad story about a time I really had no interest in. 

During my research I found out more about the principle cast and watched some behind the scenes footage so I knew what I was getting myself in for, plus I also knew not to get attached to many of the main characters. A mistake I’ve made too many times.

In the woods just before the 'meaningful' conversation.

My first opinion of the film was it was amazing; it captured the essence of Vera Brittins voice perfectly, almost poetic. Cinematographer Rob Hardy possibly over uses soft focus just a bit but other than that I think the cinematography was outstanding. There are 3 scenes that stick out for me

(well from my memory) the first in which Vera tells Ronald that she wants to be a writer and Roland becomes the first person to tell her that she should write. It’s rather minimalist, a two shot between Ronald and Vera in the woods but he shot is so tight on their faces with soft focus it is the literal viewing of ‘nothing else in the world exists’. 

The next shot is the eye opener for me. It’s a crane, tracking shot of Vera when she has made her way to the front line, it follows her making her way through the lines of men on stretchers in between the medical cabins. She seems pretty nonplussed by the situation having ‘turned her mind off’ at the recommendation of a fellow nurse, however once she has made her way to the clearing the crane starts zooming out, Vera comes to a stop yet the crane keeps going and going, showing rows and rows of injured men. It’s the final wide shot that really indicates the reality and the brutality of the war, something that the director seems to have skirted around.

Finally we return to the soft focus, tight close up, this is nearing the end of the film and shows Vera beginning to rebuild her life. It shows Vera back at Oxford being shown a new life by her new tutoring partner who also served as a nurse in the war. You see Vera walking around under a blossom tree, admiring the world around her for the first time since she first saw Oxford in person. 

Vera as a character is highly intelligent and stubborn, at the beginning of the film she is in constant argument with her parents over her perusing her degree in English, the only thing she has ever wanted. When she arrives you see the joy on her face, the sheer pleasure of being there and you feel it through the smooth yet quick camera movements making the audience feel fully immersed in Vera’s mind. When I came home I mentioned to my friend that if you don’t connect with Vera’s Character within the first 20 minutes then the rest of the film won’t have as much ‘clout’ as it ought to. I mean that in the sense that the camera movements mimic her train of thought immersing you in this world, exactly how reading her memoirs in the 1^st person would do.

I also mentioned that the film skirted around the gruesome brutality of war, something I didn’t realise when watching it, I only realise now having looked at some reviews, critics are using this against the film but honestly, I didn’t miss it.  I believe that war films have become pigeon holed when it comes to showing gore and active combat, now there was no shortage of blood in my opinion and you see your fair share of severed limbs and dead bodies. But something that must be addressed is this is a honest and detailed retelling of someone’s life that was deeply effected by war, not a war story with a female lead. 

I also read that people thought there wasn’t enough ‘raw emotion’, again I have to disagree. It is my personal belief that those who think that people must completely break down and cry immediately when a loved one dies have not had to experience it for themselves, much less experience more than one at the same time. Peoples minds work in different ways and shock and outright denial cause delayed reactions and this is what I think we see in Vera. However something most people seem to have overlooked is Vera isn’t the best at talking, within the first 30 minutes of the film she has already had a huge argument with her parents, and been pretty rude to the others in her life, with her actions speak louder than words. To deal with her grief of Roland being sent to France she drops out Oxford to become a nurse, when Roland dies she doesn’t react until she has found some hidden letters in his desolate uniform, when Victor dies she moves to the front line, when Edward dies she runs into a field and submerges herself in mud to try and connect to his experience – she delays her grief by trying to be as useful as possible. 

Now I have no idea why this film is still on my mind at 3:00am it may be because I admire it, it may be because I see far to much of myself in Vera than I care to admit but most of all, I recognise that today I witness the slow demise of a young woman as she became haunted by experiences that still happen today. And I don’t think that has quite registered yet, hence the post-film daze.'

Back to present Rachel;

My opinions on this film haven't really changed and this film has greatly influenced how I approach Unmerciful in a very positive way. War might be in the cause of the story but its not the main character - sometimes I need reminding of this.

I Tried OK

I tried to make my own concept art however I'm not sure how well I conveyed my ideas...

Scene 1 Wild Man of the Woods

Here Emrys is trapped by the trees, constantly trying to get out but never succeeding until he becoming magical (shown by the orb beginning to glow). It is then he get's out of the trees and goes to the next scene.

Scene 2 Shakespearean Magic

Here Emrys is trapped in a circle (a nod to Shakespeare's Globe) it's set in space to show the vastness of Merlins legend. Next to it is a nod to the incarnation of John Dee by showing astrological constellations, these constellations shown are known for their longevity and are easily recognised.

Scene 3 Gandalf and Dumbledore

Emry's once again is trapped in the enclosure but this time is surrounded by representations of Gandalf and Dumbledore. The enclosure moves but does not let Emrys leave it's confinement - Emrys essentially watches the conversation between his 2 incarnations before freeing himself into the next scene.

Scene 4 Young Merlin

 Here Emrys is young and (seemingly) free. However he is surrounded by other incarnations such as Guais and The Great Dragon - these incarnations are prominent at first but then stay behind as the young Merlin gains knowledge and power.

Finally the animation goes through each scene backwards similar to that of Theory of Everything.

Before going back to a black screen where the original frame is shown - restarting the loop. 

This all matched up to my storyboards;

Scene 1

Scene 2

Scene 3

Scene 4

Which then matches up to my script;

I split it into 2 columns as this isn't a regular film script, this script relies heavily on the visuals to make sense just as much as the visuals rely on the sound. It also includes the Middle Welsh translation of the poetry which will be mixed in the edit to be spoken at the same time as the English version. Keeping it too it's roots but also making it understandable to the English audience.

Here is a link to my presentation for assessment day where I give brief notes on the entire production.

Also I'm aware that my drawing skills aren't amazing - but I tried OK.

#1stADProblems

From Creative Skill set I've discovered some of the key jobs needed to be a 1st AD

'They are also in charge of a department of other Assistant Directors and Runners.'

I've been working along side Phoebe on bother productions and also speaking with Anne to find some first years who would she thinks would be a good 3rd AD and good runners who want to get some new experience.

'Overall, they provide the key link between the Director, cast and crew, whilst also liaising with the production office, and providing regular progress reports about the shoot.'

I've been to the majority of the production meetings (when the script started becoming finalised) and have provided regular updates within my role, predominately my concerns over time needed to shoot.

'Before the shoot, the Firsts' main task is to create the filming schedule, working in careful consultation with the Director.  When drawing up the shooting schedule, First ADs must also be aware of the budget, cast availability and script coverage.'

For both films the preliminary shoot schedules are complete, Wallpaper maxing out at 8 days shoot, 30 pages of schedule.

For Unmerciful, due to a change in budget, I've brought the shoot down to 4 days. Only 2 including actors covering 6 pages.

'Preparing the storyboard, overseeing the hiring of locations, props and equipment and checking weather reports are all key pre-production duties for Firsts. '

I collated all the storyboards for Wallpaper into one big PDF and named each shot/scene to match with the shot list for easy referencing. I also made a PDF and named all of the storyboards for Unmerciful.

This is as much as I could do for now, as the scripts are still going through minor changes I'm holding off producing any more documents that are going to have to be changed in the coming months. 

The documents that are left to be produced are;

Day out of days; List of crew needed for each day.

Line Script; Break down of each shot in conjunction with the script supervisor to make sure that all lines are said within the scenes.

Crew/Actors list (with photos): Not essential as I know most of the people on set, but it will be useful for some of the newbies. I remember being on set and forgetting everyones names it wasn't fun.

Script re-breakdown; I've been breaking down all drafts of the script between 1st AD and editor for a long time, however now the the scripts will be changing after assessment (Hopefully not dramatically!) I'll be re-breaking down the scripts as the final drafts are sent to me.

Being a 1st AD currently is pretty much collecting as much information as I can about the scene, equipment and crew as possible and making an education opinion on how we should shoot these scenes. As soon as I believe my role is complete for pre-production I will hand all the information I have over to my 2nd/3rd AD and they can finish off all the paper work needed on the run up to production.

Always Trial and Error

I love researching projects - especially those of a magical quality - however sometimes you get stuck in a rut of writing. I also love writing but for a project of this nature I need to show you something. What I've learnt today is I cannot paint. I tried to come up with the concept through watercolour and it wasn't really working out for me. So I grabbed the painting and shot into photoshop and this happened.

Trial Concept Art: Watercolour and Digital Editing

Trial Animation: Quick animation of the painting 

I also made a GIF of a trial I was working on in After Effects, this is very much a 2D render. In my head the lined structure is 3D and the particles move throughout out.

When creating this I was aiming more towards the opening scene however the more I look at it I see it representing the Shakespearean Age when magic was first introduced to the mainstream narrative. As you can probably tell painting/drawing is not my strong suit so I'm aiming to change it up into digital paintings by the end of the week ready for assessment. 

Merlin's Enclosure | Log Line, Synopsis and Treatment

Title: Merlin’s Enclosure

Log Line: Follow some of the many incarnations of Merlin through British History from concept to modern day sorcerer. 

Synopsis: Merlin’s Enclosure is inspired by the ancient Welsh tales of Emrys and follows the many incarnations of Merlin that have followed since the publication of Geoffrey of Monmouth's stories. This abstract animation, made for gallery installation, follows from the original middle Welsh poetry of the wild man of the woods all the way to the modern world's idea of Merlin within popular fiction such as Harry Potter and the BBC show Merlin. Within the 5 minute piece the audience will be introduced to the wild man of the woods, Shakespearean magic (and John Dee), Gandalf and Dumbledore and young bumbling Merlin. Before eventually have a quick run through of the entire story again, highlighting the connections between the incarnations ending the piece back where it started, wild man of the woods ready to start all over again. 

Treatment : Merlin’s Enclosure starts with Merlin the Wild Man of the Woods. A incarnation of Merlin from the original 14th Century documents of Geoffrey of Monmouth speaking of a crazed man who has been wandering the woods for years alone. Following the battle of Arfderydd, a battle in which killed King Gwenddoleu, the first incarnation of Merlin, a bard named Myrridin, ran into the forest in a frenzy scared of what he had just witnessed. From here he is described as eating grass like an oxen ‘his body wet with the dew of heaven, tell hairs were grown like eagles feathers and his like birds’ claws’. Within the animation it will explore classic poems such as Yr Afallennau (The Apple Trees) a poem written from Myriddins perspective adding ‘After Gewnddoleu, no lords revere me, ano sport delights me, no lover seeks me out. In the battle of Arderydd, my torque gold, today I am no treasure for the swan-like girl’. Along with other poetry including Peiryan Faban (commanding Youth) in which the line ‘Myrddin son of Morfyn was a white hawk’ is written giving the audience a bold, commanding images of the hawk. It is this incarnation of Merlin that goes through turmoil and devastation that leads to the wisdom future incarnations become known for. 

Next it time jumps to the British Renaissance and the age of John Dee and Shakespearean Magic. John Dee is the second incarnation of Merlin due to looks but also due to his closeness to royalty (mimicking the relationship between Merlin and King Arthur). A mathematician and astrologer by day and a magician by night, he would read the stars for Queen Elizabeth I to give her advice on when to schedule things including the day of her coronation. However he did also practice magic of the old Celtic Religion but was never sent to trial due to the fact he avoided the common give away signs of being a sorcerer which at the time included; flying on a broom, being old and haggered, being a woman who lived on her own, keeping an animal or brewing potions over a cauldron. Having successfully avoided the tell-tale signs he went about life speaking to angels and predicting the future. It was also the era of the magical spectacle and of people being amazed yet still scared of magic would lead the way for Shakespeare and his magical characters including that of The Tempest’s Ariel. This is the first incarnation of Merlin to include magic.

Bringing it closer to modern day the most recognisable face of Merlin is that of a combination of the characters Gandalf and Dumbledore. Both old with a long white beard, wise and powerful, the voice of reason in all the chaos. Gandalf is the creation of J R R Tolkien within his series Lord of the Rings. Gandalf has a similar origin story to that of Merlin including learning more about life and power by traveling in unknown lands, learning from those around him, in this case elves. He uses a staff to conduct magic similar to that of druid paintings ans he moulds himself to be that of which is needed of him at the time. The main difference between Gandalf and Dumbledore is that he lacks faith in himself and requires company to make the biggest difference. Dumbledore, the creation of J K Rowling in the Harry Potter series, is similar in looks and power but is also the safety net that the audience grow to love and depend on along the characters. There’s a familiarity of the overarching archetype which let’s him get away with things other characters couldn’t do, then when he dies the series turns darker leaving Harry and the audience to fend for themselves. These versions of Merlin already have the knowledge and tell you the right thing at the right time, the audience miss the hard part that got them too this position yet the only way the story can continue is if they are no longer there.

Finally the latest version of Merlin from the BBC’s TV show Merlin is the insight to what would have happened if Merlin had arrived in Camelot before he was strictly needed or ready. A bumbling young boy with no control over his powers in a world that wishes him to suppress them, working under the now Prince Arthur as they work together to fulfil the destiny the world knows they must do. Speaking in a mixture of Old Welsh and Gaelic to practice magic, Merlin has his own Merlin’s (the archetype) to help him along the way in the form of Gaius and The Great Dragon. It isn’t until nearing the end of the show that he finally starts to take form of the Merlin the world has came to know, where he can make his own decisions based of wisdom and not impulse, questions the intentions of those around and uses his now honed powers to protect Arthur and the Kingdom. This Merlin is significantly smaller than the rest and audiences need to be on their side, rooting for the underdog to come full circle.

This animation is made for a large scale gallery projection with surround sound speakers in a hope of creating a total art piece that will immerse the audience. Audience target ages is between 15 - 30 hooking onto the feeling of nostalgia and comfort that comes with growing up with the Merlin archetype within the mainstream media. Each phase will have a different abstract incarnation of Merlin which reacts to a carefully curated soundscape but cannot move outside of the designated space given to it by a structure, the structure representing the British historical timeline. At the end of the piece, when all incarnations have been shown, the animation will reverse paying close attention to the connections between incarnations before finishing, with a bit of cinematic flair, back at the beginning with WIld Man of the Woods ready to loop.

Is it too long? It's long. Shortened version coming soon.

Baby Faced Merlin | Merlin's Fourth Incarnation

It is this version of Merlin that truly sparked my interest in the archetype. I watched Merlin just after it finished airing on BBC (2008 -2012) and I remember watching all 5 seasons in about 2 weeks. I had read a lot of about it and friends had been telling me how great it was so I decided to give it a go. Now it's on of my go-to comfort TV shows, the show I can watch anytime, any episode.

Merlin (Colin Morgan) anad Arthur (Bradley James)

Merlins magic in the show is the main focus for a lot of the first season as this incarnation of Merlin is a young boy (around 17/18 when the show begins) and is brought to Camelot before it's Golden Years. Here magic is banned but Merlin cannot control it - so he heads to see Gaius an old family friend who has extensive knowledge on magic but it also the court physician and advisor to King Uther. A King who we meet condemning a man to death after allegedly using magic within the kingdom.  

Merlin is quickly using his magic in secret and even helps save the princes life, resulting in him becoming Prince Arthur's personal servant. Setting up the ancient tale of Arthur and Merlin - however both of them have a lot of learn if they are to become the famous duo, this TV show gives them the time to learn and grow together.

Merlin performing magic

Merlins magic charms/spells are told in Old Welsh with the spells including the dragon in Old Gaelic, sounding different enough for them to sound different to those who don't understand the languages but magical all the same. The magic is done through a mixture of VFX and practical, in camera effects. The most iconic being the glowing of Merlins eyes when he does magic. 

Within the show alongside Merlin there is also 2 other incarnations of Merlin within Gaius and The Great Dragon. Gaius is Merlins advisor on all things magic and moral but it isn't until later in the show that Merlin starts using his own knowledge and experience to make his decisions. If Gaius doesn't know the answer The Great Dragon does, The Great Dragons has access too hundreds of years of knowledge including the future destiny's of the key characters. Including the Lady Morgana turning into the evil sorceress, Mordred being the end of Arthur and is the creator of excalibur. It isn't until The Dragon is freed by Merlin and causes havoc for Camelot that Merlin is given the powers of a dragon lord and can now control and hail the dragon when he's needed. 

Merlin speaking to the Dragon - 'Two sides of the same coin'

Merlin is also not a huge fan of Arthur, in fact the first time they meet they get into a bit of a fist fight. Which for some reason don't go in Merlins favour... eventually he learns his lesson.

Within this incarnation you have baby Merlin, clumsy and not refined, knowledgeable and wise at  times but causes mischief alongside it. Then you have the classic Old Man Merlin, the age altered version of himself that Merlin uses when he needs to use magic on a larger scale and interact with Arthur without revealing his true identity. This version of Merlin gives the audience the Merlin they are used too, he's calm and collected then giving advice. But also very mischievous and likes to get away with saying and doing things young Merlin could never get away with.

Colin Morgan as Old Man Merlin aka Dragoon the Great

It is this version of Merlin that terrifies Morgana when she connects him to her destiny of being killed by the Great Emrys. Who has been Merlin all along but it isn't until this incarnation (Baby Merlin 2.0) that she makes the connection - because it couldn't possibly be Merlin Arthurs bumbling manservant who's going to kill here now is it?

He grows alongside Arthur and the rest of the characters, he's always trying to fix things which the majority of the time don't work as he planned them to. He's constantly trying, open to helping in whatever means necessary, a little gullible at times, empathetic, bumbling and loveable. People are always rooting for this Merlin, along side his own advisors who are also kind of Merlin.... a lot of Merlins but one main one. That makes sense.

Within the project this Merlin will be slightly smaller, clumsy and not fully formed. Yet I want the audience to be rooting for Merlin because ultimately he will prevail.

Gandalf the Grey (with added Dumbledore) | Merlin's Third Incarnation

Merlin by name wasn't used in mainstream, successful media for a significant amount of time. Possibly it's links to the British monarchy (or King Arthur, no matter how made up he may be) or because for a long time Hollywood was the leading distributer of films rather than the UK.

Of recent years the biggest, and most notable, incarnation of Merlin has been Gandalf the Grey from J. R R Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series.

Seen here are some of the most notable quotes said by Gandalf throughout the series;

Throughout the series Gandalf, unlike many of Merlins incarnations is still learning. He lives amongst the elves to learn more until he ultimately reveals himself to one of the most powerful people in the world. However at first he is surpassed by Saruman, seemingly in power and in wisdom. But it is the lessons he receives from the people around him e.g. Elves and Hobbits that he becomes wise beyond his power. Which freaks Saruman out a little bit leading to this betrayal but that's a different story.

Gandalf is the perfect example of Merlin, wise beyond what the audience and himself believes him to be, kind and courageous (even if he needs a bit of help occasionally), old and grey with a rather long beard and the source of encouraging words. Merlin is the one with the answers when nobody else has one, he got those answers after many years searching through the woods/world and piecing it together..... sound familiar?

Sir Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey

Gandalf uses a staff to conduct his magic/rituals similar to what is shown in the early paintings of Merlin the druid. Tall and menacing when needed but also soft and understanding when taking into consideration the needs of those around him. Peter Goodrich has commented, "one of the most fascinating aspects of the literature on Merlin is its multiplicity and how it transforms the core details of his legend to create a panoply of mages who are remarkably varied" (Merlin: A Casebook) Gandalf is very much a creation of Tolkein under the influence of Merlin much more so than a version of Merlin Tolkien has worked around. Unlike a lot of the Merlin characters Gandalf is flawed and the flaw is in fact a big storyline for the series - Gandalf doesn't really have faith in his wisdom or powers, in fact he is scared of a lot of the situations he get's placed in. It's his closeness with others that give him the courage to believe and go fourth.

Gandalf's intentions are pure, he believes in the hobbits and their hidden abilities more so than his own, he believes in the average person (represented through the hobbits) and that's what draws readers/viewers too him. Viewers are drawn to Albus Dumbledore for slightly different reasons.

Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. He is the source of all knowledge, the worlds protector and the only wizard to scare the great Lord Voldemort. When it is rumoured (or known if you're counting Harry himself) that Voldemort has/is planning to return to kill Harry Hermione says;

Because not only is Dumbledore the voice of reason and wisdom, he is also the most power wizard on earth and the only one Voldemort will not mess with making Hogwarts the safest place for Harry to be. Dumbledore does however have some faults, since he has this overarching wisdom he often makes decisions on behalf of the entire wizarding world. Decisions that weren't too great and there was probably another way to handle the situation. Including; leaving Harry with abusive relatives, not telling Harry about being connected to Voldemort, not telling Harry about horcruxes even though he knew were they were before he died and ultimately using Harry as bait to kill Voldemort. So nothing too major.

Audiences are drawn to Dumbledore because for the majority of the movies/books Dumbledore symbolises bravery and safety. Hence when Dumbledore dies the movies/books become very dark and unnerving - they don't have their protection anymore, they're on their own. Dumbledore resembles Merlin once again in looks but also in power and wisdom. He is often the person to tell you what you need to hear a the right time. J K Rowling has even gone on record saying that Dumbledore would often tell her what she needed to hear, like he came from the back of subconscious whilst writing. 

However it is the sheer power he possesses that connects him most directly with Merlin, the most powerful and knowledgeable man on earth with a traumatic past trying to do good. Now where have head that before?

Even though you could argue that Harry Potter himself resembles Merlin to some extent Merlin does actually have his own role by name in the series. The phrase 'Merlin's beard' is used to show amazement, The Order of Merlin is one of the highest organisations to be a part of in the wizarding world and it's a great honour to receive it. Merlin is the most famous wizard of all time and was apparently a charms specialist in Rowlings world - he was also a Slytherin. Nice to have some house diversity going on.....

Dumbledore is the only incarnation we see on screen that has the style of Merlin and the characteristics, Merlin has the name but no body, Harry has the characteristics in training to be come the next incarnation. But for now Dumbledore is the incarnation that is the most loyal to the idea and the most popular in the modern world. 

Plus when he breaks the rules he always leaves with a bit of flair.

Shakespearian Magic | Merlin's Second Incarnation

Did Shakespeare believe in magic? 

Rather unlikely.

However in renaissance England the belief that witches and wizards lived amongst us was real, which is a solid explanation of the sudden appearance of Merlin the wizard. 

In the original text/incarnation of Merlin it's never actually mentioned that he is a wizard or has any magic of any kind. It never occurred to people to ask how he was doing these amazing things until the renaissance because until that point the average person never really questioned the elders (elders being priests, older generations etc..). But the idea of Stonehenge being brought to England by magic was just too believable to question plus they didn't really have any other logical explanation. In fact that is a running theme within Merlin, he's always the answer when there is no answer.

John Dee: Mathematician, astrologer and magician.

John Dee was a mathematician, astrologer and magician known for standing alongside Queen Elizabeth I whilst demonstrating magic (but not official magic because that was punishable by death). She trusted him to the point of having Dee choose her coronation date after consulting the starts to make sure that the day was not going to give her and the country misfortune. 

John Dee was seen by many as one of the many incarnations of Merlin. 

Trusted by royalty but practicing magic of the Celtic religion. He also matches the new-age desciption of Merlin complete with the long white beard. 

It was also the age of the 'magical spectacle' in which characters like Shakespeare's Ariel was coming to stage and producing grand literary illusions. People weren't really scared of magic anymore they were entertained by it, but at the same time they didn't want to repeal the death sentence... so they just lightend it. Now people practicing magic would only be sentenced to death if they had injured someone, if you had just been caught using it then you would simply have a lifetime prison sentence. Which was nice of them. 

In regards to this project I see this stage as the true magical revolution, gone are the trees and suffering here you have magic and astrology. Out of this world understanding and amazement at magic, with just a hint of holding back. 

It was also in this era that some fairly standard imagery came into the idea of magic and superstitions in general;

Witches in the Elizabethan era

1. Using a broom to fly
2. Withes being old/haggard without a man to protect them
3. Women who live alone are withes
4. Known to keep animals, known as their familiar 
5. Brew potions over a cauldron (Wise women could mix herbs into different potions)

Whilst none of these directly address John Dee (because he was a man and women were the only ones seen to be evil enough to practice magic), it does give us an idea of how he went unseen for so long. 

1. Didn't fly.... in general.
2. Wasn't an old woman
3. He had a family, was married multiple times (not alone). 
4. Not known to keep animals.
5. Didn't create 'potions' he did however speak to angels/read the stars

So he wasn't a woman basically but that's an argument for another day. All in all this incarnation was a step above the other magicians of his time, meaning he got away with it. John Dee is the incarnation that started the idea of magic but didn't see it to it's full literary potential due to the fact that he was a real, documented person. 

I hope to take forward the higher quality of this incarnation, conducting magic but in a way that was widely accepted as truth in a world otherwise prosecuting people for attempting it. Merlin trying to help but still trapped within a social structure. 

The Creeping Waves....

Why does it suddenly feel like February is far closer than it actually is!

Anyway I'm currently on track to have the day-by-day breakdown for the film shoot by Next Monday (Nov 21st) which is good and makes everyone a bit less stressed. Just seeing everything planned seems to calm everyone down - me especially. 

Aside from that I've been working on the videos for the Indiegogo campaign. Having made one last year I realized that keeping attention is key so I had a look at some other campaign videos to see how they did it.  A short but sweet video, colorful and atmospheric, didn't give too much away but gave away enough to garner interest and high quality. To show we mean business. And also to make people trust us with their money.

This video uses footage shot on location by Klara and Tom, sound by Jonny and Duane, storyboards by Chris and excerpts of the script. A fairly good overview of the film I'd say.

A lot of this video was sheer gut instinct, I wasn't working with people (faces), I didn't have to worry about cutting people off on a strange frame or a blink. I did have to treat the locations almost as a character to try and relate what was being said and what was happening on screen. At the beginning I wanted the theatre to feel like a beach, the chairs being the waves, the stage appearing vast and open. I wanted the two worlds Logan inhabits to juxtapose to show her conflict - it may only appear that way to me but it makes sense in my head.

Video shot in G28 - this was originally supposed to join not he end of the other video but it didn't have the same atmosphere about it so it was decided that it would become a different video.

Once again it's keeping the flow of words rolling, keeping the audiences attention and ultimately showing that we are reliable (yet fun and semi-relaxed....) and just putting a name to a face. A lot of Indiegogos that don't have a personal touch to them don't do that well mainly due to the fact that people don't trust the internet itself, they do however trust the people on it. Occasionally anyway.

In this video Megan asked for a GIF however Adobe don't allow Mac users access to the GIF option? Not entirely sure why,  I did spend far too long looking for it, but I exported the video so that Megan can just drop this video into premier and make it into a GIF (hence the subtitles).


So that's my contribution to the Wallpaper campaign (along with my deadline submission). I hope you like it - the audience seems to have been happy with it if their donations are anything to go by! 

Download Knowledge from the Tree

Coming up the visuals of the piece is driving me slightly insane because I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving it as a 'Radio piece with visuals' but at the same time I don't want to over estimate my ability to make something 'graduation show' worthy through animation.

As I learnt in Y2 my animation skills are few and far between with my actual design skills lacking more so. This is something I'm trying to fix but it's not something that I can change over night, hence why I'm playing to my strengths within technical drawings and abstract shapes. I'm aiming to have storyboards done for this piece around Nov 22nd with the hope of animating them to a brief soundtrack in time for assessment. But first I need to do some research, so here that is.

Flow, A Short Abstract Animation from Snowleopard24 on Vimeo.

Like here for instance, I love the ending scene with the pink plants glowing and swaying.

Still image from 'Flow, A Short Abstract Animation

I like the vastness of the image and the serenity it brings with it's colour. It feels magical but is also representing science and structure, with nature and the human body being represented through the organisms glowing like electrodes in the brain. To me this demonstrates knowledge something Merlin without fail has throughout history. It's a similar idea to Avatar (2009 Dir James Cameron) in which the Na'vi are creatures who can connect to nature and acquire (download) knowledge from their ancestors.

Avatar (2009) GIF Found here

Here the Na'vi connect themselves to nature to help save one of the films main Characters

Nokta . from Onur Senturk on Vimeo.

In this film I'm drawn to the fact that the sculptures created still feel real, the audience is connected to the object and enthralled by it, they want to know more. One of the aims I have with this project is to make people are curious as I was when I was first starting to learn about Arthurian legends.

Whilst researching I found a really interesting tutorial that I may have to look at soon so I'm keeping it here for safe keeping.

After Effects Tutorial - Abstract Plexus Shape from graphicINmotion on Vimeo.

What I'm getting from this (very brief) piece of research is the flow of the piece and the colours I'm aiming to use. The colours will change throughout the piece but this has helped a lot with coming up with the colour scheme and getting ideas of the motion of the piece.

I also think I'm going to come up a narrative/story/script to this piece to help it flow a bit better, that will be coming soon!