Thursday 11 December 2014

WIM: Scene so far

Currently Maya is being extremely spiteful and not letting me render in mental ray which means my matte painting isn't showing up. This is what I've got so far, if it comes to the worst I'll have to take my render into photoshop and then import in the Matte Painting. 


I really hope mental ray works because I hate the quality of this image! I've honestly tried everything I could think of. I've tried turning mental ray on and off again, deleted all my shaders, deleted all the history on my models, reloaded Maya countless times, I'm extremely livid right now and I really can't think what else to do!


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Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980)

Figure 1. The Shining Poster 

The Shining is a thriller of a film in which Jack slowly descends into madness. Jack looks after the overlook hotel with his family however with little contact with anyone other than his family Jack starts to see things that aren’t actually there which convince him to kill his family.

The set plays well into the film first seeming like a huge place to explore and look through it seems innocent enough later on, when Jack is going crazy, It becomes a place of nightmares which is hard to navigate and escape from. “Instead of the cramped darkness and panicky quick editing of the standard-issue scary movie, Kubrick gives us the eerie, colossal, brilliantly lit spaces of the Overlook Hotel” (Bradshaw. 2012). By making the hotel seem innocent at first it makes the audience tense as to when the real horror actually starts.

Figure 2. The Overlook 

Some places in the hotel are also scarier than others.  We’re made to feel tense about room 237 in particular, paired with steady cam and a film that leaves out normal horror conventions this has Kubrick’s name plastered all over it. Larson mentions in his review “Why is Room 237 the only room the movie enters? Because it’s the only one we fear. Just about everything that’s scary about The Shining depends on where we are.” (Larson, S.D). It’s this tension that makes the film uneasy to watch, it’s an excellent way of doing horror.

Figure 3. Chopping down the door 

In the film however it is clear that there’s already something off about Jack and his relationship. As Clark notices “Kubrick presents a despairing view of American married life, where the lack of love and intimacy is accentuated by the claustrophobic surroundings.” (Clark, 2012). This could show that Jack could have been somewhat crazy from the start but the Overlook helped bring this madness out.

The Shining is an unconventional horror which uses a different kind of set to leave you on the edge of your seat.

Bibliography
Bradshaw, P (2012) http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/nov/01/the-shining-review (accessed on 11/12/14)
Larson, J (S.D) http://www.larsenonfilm.com/the-shining (accessed on 11/12/14)

Illustration list
Kubrick, S (1980) Figure 1. The Shining Poster https://m1.behance.net/rendition/modules/63162429/disp/582ccc71a712ad247c535b89bba14410.jpg   (accessed on 11/12/14)
Kubrick, S (1980) Figure 2. The Overlook https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2261/2172893762_af0c07b8e6.jpg (accessed on 11/12/14)

Kubrick, S (1980) Figure 3. Chopping down the door http://www.hwdyk.com/q/quizimage/shining.jpg (accessed on 11/12/14)
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Roman Polanski's Repulsion (1965)

Figure 1. Repulsion poster 

Repulsion is a film about Carol, a women who is clearly not well. The film takes us inside her mind and shows us her repulsion towards men and her sexual anxiety. Kendrick describes this film as “an intensely experiential film, bringing literal physicality to mental and emotional fissures.” (Kendrick, s.d). There aren’t many films like it so it can be indeed called experimental.

Figure 2. Closeup

Set in the Sixties this film is clearly challenging the notion of the sixties being a period in which people were sexually active. Canavese states in his article “Polanski mocks the sunny archetype of the free-spirited girl of the swingin' sixties by proffering a microscopic and intensely scary look at humanity gone wrong” (Canavese, s.d). This could possibly show that many sexual advances at the time were not always wanted, and could also show that those not joining in with society are seen as strange.

This film helps us feel the tension Carol is feeling by putting the camera close to her face so we can see her emotions. There is also symobilism in the film such as the rotten carcass which could symbolise the rotting of her brain.

 Figure 3. Wall of hands

The set is a big part of showing Carol’s anxiety.  Nashawaty mentions this in his review “Left alone for a week, she slowly unravels—haunted by strange noises, hallucinations, and walls of grasping hands pawing at her” (Nashawaty, 2009). As her anxiety gets worse the apartment does too. Cracks begin to show in the walls and the apartment becomes skewed and neverending. Towards the end of the film one of the corridors becomes infested with hands. This clearly shows us Carols fear of intimacy.

Repulsion is a great way of showing how someone with a mental illness may be feeling, it is truly using it’s set to its full effect.

Bibliography
Canavese, P (S.D) http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/3489 (accessed on 10/11/12)
Kendrick, J (S.d) http://www.qnetwork.com/index.php?page=review&id=2252 (accessed on 10/11/12)
Nashawaty, C (2009) http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20293064,00.html  (accessed on 10/11/12)

Illustration List
Polanski, R (1965) Figure 1. Repulsion poster https://www.movieposter.com/posters/archive/main/61/MPW-30800 (accessed on 10/11/12)
Polanski, R (1965) Figure 2. Closeup http://filmgrab.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/4934.jpg?w=1017 (accessed on 10/11/12)

Polanski, R (1965) Figure 3. Wall of hands http://projectdeadpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Repulsion-2.jpg (accessed on 10/11/12)
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Dario Argento's Suspiria (1977)

Figure 1. Suspiria Poster

Suspiria is a highly stylised film. Set in a ballet school, lots of strange things begin to happen. These strange things include perfectly made murders of some of the schools students.
Figure 2. Death Still

These murders within the film are shown in a stylised way as opposed to a realistic way. This makes the murders much more memorable. Brayton describes the film as “artistic in its violence, even by the standards of Italian genre filmmaking in the 1970.” (Brayton, 2012).
Figure 3. Lighting Still

The set only adds to the strangeness with the colours of the sets being extremely pushed. As Smith says about the film “there's Argento's masterful use of deep primary colours — the sets are bathed in garish red and green light (he acquired 1950s Technicolor stock to get the effect) giving the whole film a hallucinatory intensity.” (Smith, 2010). The film indeed is somewhat hallucinatory with the bright colours playing into the weird goings on within the film. It’s an interesting way to use colour, especially in such a dark film.
Figure 4. Set Still

The set of Suspiria is an elegant one, which is obviously odd for a horror film. Kermode interestingly says that “This is horror shot with dazzling energy yet with the visual depth and acuity of a Renaissance painting.” (Kermode, 2008). Comparing this film to a renaissance painting shows just how visually breath-taking this film is. As you can see in figure 4 the set is gorgeous and highly detailed and completely fits with the characters in this scene.

Suspiria is an excellent way of showing how using stylised methods can make a visually pleasing film.

Bibliography
(Accessed on 10/12/14)

Illustration List
Argento, D (1977) Figure 1. Suspiria Poster http://wrongsideoftheart.com/wp-content/gallery/posters-s/suspiria_poster_08.jpg (Accessed on 10/12/14)
Argento, D (1977) Figure 2. Death Still http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UX6zQnrIJHM/UMps4yajBXI/AAAAAAAAGpo/kgFTFnGDXRQ/s640/suspiria+03.jpg  (Accessed on 10/12/14)
Argento, D (1977) Figure 3. Lighting Still http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cQEAPbQ0xFs/T-zi7s8rTGI/AAAAAAAAAYA/dHbyUSsEIY0/s1600/suspiria7.jpg  (Accessed on 10/12/14)

Argento, D (1977) Figure 4. Set Still http://deeperintomovies.net/journal/image09/suspiria5.jpg (Accessed on 10/12/14)
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