Artist Statement: Red Ribbon

Artist Statement

Presented as a complex, interwoven web of flashbacks, Red Ribbon is a short film that acts as a bridge piece between two of my other literary works.  The film focuses on Agnes, a minor but pivotal character in the story, offers a look at her personal struggle to stand up for herself.  This is a story about choice and determination—for in order to truly be free, not only does she have to make difficult decisions about her life’s direction, but she also must be prepared to contend with the consequences her actions will inevitably bring.  This is her story.  

For more information:

http://analoguefilmproject.blogspot.hk/

Credits

Angela Zhang  - Agnes

Rebecca Strunin – Agnes (voice)

Shaan Yeat Amin Ratul – Markus

RCT3 Community – Support and Custom Content

Veigar Margeirsson – ♫Mythical Hero♫

Tools and Programs

Adobe AfterEffects

Adobe Premiere

Roller Coaster Tycoon 3

Research/Inspiration

Research/Inspiration:



Letters from Iwo Jima/Flags of our Fathers
Directed by Clint Eastwood


The Battle of Iwo Jima was one of the bloodiest battles fought in the Pacific theatre of WWII. It is also the source of one of the most well-known and endearing photographs of the time, "Raising the Flag" by Joe Rosenthal. In Clint Eastwood's film, Flags of our Fathers, follows the lives of the frontline soldiers who participated in the event, and how it shaped their lives afterwards. An interesting premise, but one hardly different from other war films such as Saving Private Ryan, etc.

What truly makes Flags of Our Fathers truly different, however, is its companion sister-film, Letters from Iwo Jima. Told from the perspective of the hopelessly outgunned Japanese defenders, the film offers a poignant, tragic discourse on the topics of heroism, honor, bravery, and humanity. What is truly worth noting about these two films, however, is that one gets an incomplete view of the battle if one only watches one film. Flags of Our Fathers is told from the American perspective, while Letters from Iwo Jima is almost completely spoken in Japanese (with a few untitled lines in English). The two films complete each other and offers something greater than the mere sum of its parts. An ingenious decision made by Eastwood was to reuse the same shots and scenarios in both films.

Both films pay particular focus on the beach landings and the clearing out of "pillbox" fortifications--the shot of the wall of fire engulfing the defenders is the same in both films, but one observes two strongly divergent arrays of emotion between the two films. In Flags of our Fathers, the audience thinks little of it as the young private squirts the napalm in--in Letters from Iwo Jima, the same scenario brings only shock, horror, and a mixed sense of disgust and brutality.


Another focus is the fate of the US private Iggy Ignatowski. Flags of Our Fathers never truly disclosed the actual fate of the young soldier, only that he suffered greatly at the hands of his Japanese captors. Iggy's ordeal, however, is more explicitly shown in Letters from Iwo Jima, where he is brutally savaged and repeatedly bayoneted by frustrated Japanese troops. The decision to include the ordeal into both films not only strengthens the connections (by creating points of correlation) between the two films, but it also offers more insight (and explanation) for the seemingly senseless injustices committed during the battle (the shelling of the island by US warships is shown to have strongly affected the Japanese soldiers' morale and nerves). This, along with the depiction of American war crimes and rare instances of Japanese hospitality, offers a sliver of ambiguity between friend and foe.

This idea, that one must watch both films in order to understand a greater truth, is what makes Letters from Iwo Jima so special. My ISP film project will attempt to do something similar, as it is the "bridge piece" between my other works.


CLOUD ATLAS
Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski

It is difficult to describe Cloud Atlas in a single sentence. Based off the 2004 award-winning novel by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas consists of six different storylines in different time eras and locations, yet somehow manages to present them together equally and cohesively, under the tagline, "Everything is Connected." The scale of ambition in this film is unprecedented in modern cinema as the film jumps rapidly from a Pacific voyage in the 1860s to a 1970s journalist in San Francisco to a rebellious Korean clone in the distant future. In this sense, Cloud Atlas is a microcosm of the effects described above, as it engenders broad and overarching themes that are visible only from a generational level. Due to the extensive use of montage, time and space melt away and become insignificant, with the seemingly separate storylines held together by a new fabric dictated not by characters, place, or time, but by resonant themes and ideologies.

The deconstruction of time and space is what I want to achieve in my ISP. My film alternates between different times in the main character's life and reconstructs them according to theme, rather than time and space. For example, the climatic montage connects Agnes' emotional anguish with her decision to leave and the consequences of her actions simultaneously.

Since the script has been set in stone now that production has been completed, I feel that it is necessary to inform viewers of the significance of the theme. 

In literature, an analogue “is an individual motif, character, scene, event or phrase that resembles one found in another work.” (Miller, 2011)  Etymologically, the word “analogue” is derived from the root word “analogy”, which in Greek philosophy, is a study of similarity and shared abstractions.  Analogia is used commonly by Medieval and Roman lawyers in the practices of reasoning.  To this day, analogical reasoning is a common way for people to grasp new ideas and understand the world around them.  These connections, be it thematic or deductive; in which one object compared to another creates deeper meaning and greater truth, are manifested in discourse and rhetoric in the form of similes and metaphors.  An analogue therefore is an abstract thematic bridge that drops all pretense of time, space, and objectivity, allowing it to connect any two objects together (no matter how different or contradictory they may appear) through thematic similarity.  A keen example is Harper Lee’s 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird: the titular mockingbird, a symbol of innocence, is used again and again to thematically unite the novel’s diverse range of characters.

The design of the art piece is based off the idea of hypertext and hypermedia, in which the story is conveyed through a jumbled amalgam of text, pictures, and video, putting it in the near-same category of interactive fiction (the sequence or omission of certain storylines will alter the viewer's perception of the work).  

Red Ribbon is short film/trailer that delves into the backstory of a minor (but critical) character in one of my larger literary works.  Torn between her estranged husband and her childhood love, the story focuses on her personal struggle to gain independence and find her own way. 

The other parts of the story (currently still in progress) can be found here:

The High Speed Rail Project: http://www.shyguysworld.com/index.php/topic,7636.0.html

The Story of Wulin Pass: http://www.shyguysworld.com/index.php/topic,5629.0.html

The film deliberately avoids explicit mention of any analogies or references; instead, it permeats the theme and presentation in subtle ways.  I am not content with comparing mere abstractions together to get the point across; instead, the film is designed to be an embodiment of the concept in general.   Overall, there are three different “levels” of analogue within the artwork. 

-          A recurring image; that of Agnes walking down a railway track is a symbol of life as a linear journey.  This is the only explicit example of an analogue that remains in the script. 

o   An older version of the script called for a reference of Agnes’ suffering to that of the Wenzhou train derailment, but this idea was scrapped because it was 1) deemed too cliché and 2) overextended the film’s scope. 

-          The structure of the film’s mis-en-scene is heavily based on the concept of analogue.  Instead of presenting the chain of events in a linear sequence, time and space are distorted and rearranged in a way that allows the viewer to immediately see the thematic connections between widely divergent events. 

o   For example, there is no technical correlation between Agnes’ running away from home and her accident: it is only apparent by the way the sequence is presented that one sees that both scenarios are the consequences of her actions.   

-          An analogue is a synthesis of multiple different sources, implicitly stated.  The film itself does not make extensive references to the larger literary work as a whole: it is fully capable of standing on its own, but its effects are greatly amplified if one is exposed to the other relevant segments as well.

o   The title of the installation may initially confuse some viewers in that the film does not reference any ribbon at all.  However, the ribbon is part of the installation, and viewers will see that the ribbon holds the installation together.  This fulfills a much larger analogy that this film (and the character Agnes) is what really unites the larger story together.

Citations:

Miller, Frederic P., Agnes F. Vandome, and John McBrewster. Analogue (Literature). N.p.: VDM, 2011.

Some may mistake my long bout of silence as a general ignorance of the Integrated Studio Project; nothing could be further from the truth.  I have been so busy working on it that I didn’t have any time to update this thing regularly.

Here is an approximate log of major progress milestones for this project. 

March

-          Script finished and finalized.

-          Storyboard complete

-          Actress says yes. 

-          Supporting Actor says yes.

-          Greenscreen studio reserved.

Mar 29-Apr2

-          CGI landscape design.

Apr 2

-          Production begins. 

Apr 4

-          Production concludes; post-production begins in full earnest. 

CGI screen samples:

Problems Arise

As of now, most collaborative proposals have failed.  There is only one person left, and I am not exactly sure whether or not this will ultimately work.  I asked too late.  Therefore, I am making preparations in case I will make my project alone, as originally planned.

"Analogue" is a derivative of the world "analogy".  One compares something to another discreetly--the author does not go to great lengths to explain the connection or how it is relevant, but instead relies on the reader's intuition to come to an understanding of how they are connected, often, in fact, relying on the reader's personal knowledge of the reference to drive the point.

For example, one can make a simple analogue to the pain that one feels upon a heartbreak to the "being shot through the heart with an arrow."  To the uninitiated, heartbreak is difficult to relate to, but one can almost certainly imagine the pain from being shot by an arrow.  The strength of an analogy therefore depends entirely on how much the viewer is able to understand the undertones presented by the subject the author is comparing to.


For my project, the film's narrative structure will draw analogies within its own storyline.  The idea calls for a split storyline that cross-references itself as its characters share seemingly different hardships, but are actually similar (made through visiual congruence).

Opening Post

As of now, the following is pretty clear.  I am slated to begin work on my first 3d film project.  This film project will very likely become the most ambitious film project I have ever attempted to date.  Not only is this a true stereoscopic 3D presentation, but this will also be a CGI-live action hybrid, like my previous two projects.  The requirement that we address the theme of "analogue" is solved ingeniously--as an analogue is a reference to something that is not directly mentioned as of itself, my film shall be planned with and linked with others.  Together, we will split the film narrative into two structures, one from each person's perspective.

The idea of "separate, but entwined narratives" draws heavily from the film Cloud Atlas, but unlike the film, which is woven together into one and viewed as a singular piece, my artwork will be more faithful to the idea of actual "pieces" being scattered around.

Previous Posts

Below consists of posts that I made before I was aware that the diary needed to be on a blog.

February 2^nd, 2013

A new 3D test video crashed my computer today.  I have to be careful what resolutions (and what framerates) I can entertain for this project. 

January 30^th, 2013

It’s generally decided at this point that the film’s setup is a 3D film; it should entertain a mix of CGI and real-life graphics—just like my last, except this time, I may very likely have to balance two, or possibly 3 productions (to get the analogue theme).  The question is, with the previous script shelved, what’s the story? 

January 29^th, 2013

The wonderful script crafted a few days ago has been scrapped, or shelved; in any case, I won’t be using it for the ISP.  I personally think that it’s a wonderful and touching idea that draws definite resonance with Cloud Atlas, but I feel that the set requirements are unsuited to the task at hand—the scenes, while emotional, make it too ambitious.  I guess I could make it work (by a very long shot), but that would require simplifying the shooting locations and finding suitable actors, but I’m not holding my breath.  This script, however, will definitely not be forgotten. 

January 28^th, 2013

Talks with classmates have created a possibility of another collaborative attempt; the idea is to create two separate projects, with thematic resonances connecting each other.  Thus, the whole (both parties) is greater than the sum of its parts (the two individual projects).  Strongly, and unabashedly inspired by Cloud Atlas. 

January 25^th, 2013

Tests of new conceptual 3D presentation design deemed unsuccessful; the idea of uncrossed parallel pictures has fallen through; the eyes cannot focus properly.  Reverting to classical cross-eye 3D methods, however, generates true, stereoscopic 3D images.  3D graphics test generally considered a success.  The artwork design will have to be redesigned (and simplified). 

January 24^th, 2013

I attended one of the first local screenings of Cloud Atlas.  My brain is still spinning as I write—this daring and beautiful masterpiece will undoubtedly influence my filmmaking vision and style in the future. 

January 23^rd, 2013

New Musical Inspiration: I have been listening to pieces from Position Music’s Orchestral Series Volume 10; “A Father’s Love” conveys the atmosphere and feeling I wish to implement.  I have crafted a rough script that draws a triple parallel between 1) a young child struggling to overcome a balancing feat 2) a teenager having to deal with an amputation from an accident 3) an older woman dealing with the death of her husband.  This will be an ambitious project, one that may prove to be too large for the scope of this project. 

January 21^st, 2013

Box received.

January 17^th, 2013

Met a friend to discuss execution of 3D computer graphics.  Chances are, this project will RCT3 as well for the computer graphics. 

December 4^th, 2012

Attended Mindflex Townhall on new ISP (Integrated Studio Project).  Within twenty minutes of his announcement, I have settled on a design that will be very hard to shake off: a 3D film… in a box.  This is undoubtedly an ambitious concept, but I know that I can certainly do this.  I know I can.