Nausicaa -of the valley of the wind-

From what i can gleam from Nausicaa by Studio Ghibli on the subject of human nature is similar to what i have found other science fictions i have encountered (which i plan to discuss in my essay) That message seems to be that human nature at present is destructive and will lead to our demise if we do not evolve in the way we think and the way our mind as a species works. It says our nature can evolve, usually shown by the protagonists actions and their disposition but our current nature which while this part is fading is still one of violence and bloodshed.

One of the main focuses of the film involves the main character using a glider, this reflects her nature and how she is not a person of violent nature, one of the first things she does is save a man from a humugus bug via quelling its anger and bringing it back to the forest. She is then bitten by a scared creature to which she stays still does nothing and continues to try and clam it down to which it responds positively and licks her wounds. Her flying is a representation of her ascension from the old human nature and into a new more peaceful disposition.

There is more symbolic representation of that displayed early on in the film when a flying ship from another nation is plummeting to the ground and then crashes, the ship is built by (spoilers) a nation who are planning on resurrecting a great titan creature that where used on mass which caused the downfall of old human civilization, these creatures i feel represent our more violent primitive human nature since they destroyed the old society of man and the people who wish to bring them back to life wish to use them for violence and are the antagonists to Nausicaa.

 When Nausicaa is pushed to violence early on in the film when the antagonistic force first arises and kills one she cares for dearly she is stopped by a wise mentor character and when she realises what she has done she is horrified with herself, the sound of the blood dripping rings loud in her ears and she looks on in fear at what she has done.

Specialist Researcher: unsung hero... and a little elusive

I found this on the site  http://www.craftandtech.org/specialist-researcher/ and it says that the specialist researcher while important is a bit of unsung hero and is only really required on big budget films. Unfortunatly that makes it rather hard to track down any specific ones seeing as they are a bit under the radar of the public eye despite their importance.

If you like exploring new territory, Specialist Researcher may be just the job for you. A good Researcher is an integral part of any production team – but when was the last time you watched an outstanding film and said to yourself ‘I really enjoyed that, I wonder who researched it?’.The Producer and Director play significant roles in shaping a film, which is why they tend to receive the awards and accolades. On the other hand, a good Specialist Researcher may just be the unsung hero of a well-crafted and thought-provoking feature film.

What skills does a Specialist Researcher need?

• Curiosity and a resourceful approach to finding things out.
• Highly organised, methodical approach to work with the ability to sort through information and determine which details are relevant and which are not.
• The ability to be flexible and to adapt work quickly when requested.
• Good communication skills and the ability to work as an individual as well as within a team.

Specialist Researchers work closely with the Production Designer, the Supervising Art Director, Art Director and Set Decorator as well as providing backup in the form of detailed research to the entire Art Department. This may involve anything from finding a visual reference to inspire a specific set, or sourcing details that enable the Draughtsmen to produce accurate technical drawings through to researching a specific craft or skill that might be needed to make a prop. Supported by the Specialist Researcher, it is the Production Designer’s job to ensure that every detail on set – which can range from the interior of an alien spaceship to the contents of a Victorian drawing room – is as authentic and believable as possible. On fantasy films, although the sets are often part of an imagined world, the references used to inspire the Production Designer’s ideas are researched and sourced from the real world. On historical epics or costume dramas, painstaking research into the smallest detail is crucial and, as well as on-line research, it can often take long periods of time spent in libraries, museums and other sources of information.
The Specialist Researchers’ work is highly focused and is only required on big budget films, usually historical epics or science fiction and fantasy productions. This role should not be confused with that of live-footage Researchers who work with any film or television clips and stock footage for use in films. Specialist Researchers spend much of their time meeting with and talking to curators, academics and other experts to gain as much insight into a particular subject as possible. They usually begin work in the very early stages of pre-production, providing the Production Designer with original source material which can inspire the entire approach to creating the look of a film.
Specialist Researchers work alongside the Draughtsmen in the drawing studio and are also responsible for keeping up-to-date, well organised files of all research materials. They are expert in finding unusual references and information from difficult-to-access sources. They are employed on the film from pre-production and filming, continuing to provide back-up support until the last day of principal photography.
Although there is no typical career route to becoming a Specialist Researcher, the job requires a certain resourcefulness as well as an extensive knowledge of how the Art Department works. This can be gained by already having working as an Assistant Art Director or Art Department Assistant.
A wide range of talents is crucial to survival. As a Specialist Researcher you will have a major impact on the story a film tells and will be assisting in communicating knowledge to a much wider audience.
Though a film researcher may not be recognised as much as other members of a production team, the best Producers understand the critical role a Researcher plays in the success of a film.
 

 

A tad of Recording

I just returned from a spot of recording. This particular recording was done in and around the middle of town so i was mostly getting car sounds and other humming sounds to do with towns. I also got a car hum by sitting in my car with the engine on for a bit.

Another bit of recording i did today was in the college and this was mostly interior sounds and a few bits of electronic humming from various air vent'y type things and general machinery that you find in and around the college.

I will be continuing my recording when i get home and will be recording such exiting things as bird sounds and general countryside ambiance.

Sound Ideas

Okay i have screwed up, I don't have any sound recorded yet and we had a meeting thing Bec said i was going to fail and before that he saw my animation for the soundscape and said he could of done what i had done in two hours... it has taken me considerably longer, granted i am much less experienced than him he said i should be doing a lot more self motivated study, which granted i haven't done loads, most of my information about flash has come from Billy or general trial and error so i haven't learned bundles in my time.

I will be recording the sound tomorrow and on the weekend though so its not all doom and gloom and i should be able to make something good by Tuesday, this is a list of sounds i will record (i will record more these are just ones i definitely want to try)
Sound Ideas.

Throbbing beat: Cars passing, hum of an engine, Vocal?

Inside sound: empty room, my room, inside box

Outside sound: Moorland, outside my home, bird chirping sounds

Tendril creek: Hose against plastic, dragging a box, dragging food while pushing it down

Wall fall (Tendril hit): Meat hitting cutting board, Ball hitting wall, box hitting wall

Wall fall (Ground hit): Board hitting soft earth, board hitting hard ground, box hitting hard ground, box hitting soft earth

Tendril Dissolve: saucepan sizzle, fuzziness of top of open can

Specialist Reasercher Role

I finally found it, the official job description and role of the sort of researcher i want to do for Studio Practice and here it is.

Specialist Researcher

Specialist Researchers work closely with the Production Designer, the Supervising Art Director, Art Director(s) and Set Decorator, but also provide backup in the form of detailed research to the entire Art Department. This may involve anything from finding a visual reference to inspire a specific set, or sourcing details that enable the Draughtsmen* to produce accurate technical drawings, to researching a specific craft or skill that might be needed to make a prop. Supported by the Specialist Researcher, it is the Production Designer's job to ensure that every detail on sets, which can range from the interior of an alien spaceship to the contents of a Victorian drawing room, is as authentic and believable as possible.

On fantasy films, the sets are often part of an imagined world, but the references used to inspire the Production Designer's ideas are researched and sourced from the real world. On historical epics or costume dramas, painstaking research into the smallest details is crucial, and can often take long periods of time. Specialist Researchers carry out this detailed role. They usually work on a freelance basis.

What is the job?
The Specialist Researchers' work is highly specialised, and is only required on a few big budget films, usually historical epics or sci-fi/fantasy. This role should not be confused with that of live-footage Researchers who research any Film/TV clips and stock footage for use in films. Specialist Researchers spend much of their time meeting with and talking to curators, academics and other experts to gain as much insight into a particular subject as possible. They usually begin work in the very early stages of pre-production, providing Production Designers with the original source material that inspires their entire approach to creating the look of a film.

Specialist Researchers work alongside the Draughtsmen in the drawing studio, and are also responsible for keeping up-to-date, well organised files of all research materials. Specialist Researchers are expert in finding unusual references and information from difficult to access sources. They are employed on films for the entire duration of pre-production and filming, continuing to provide back-up support until the last day of principal photography.

Typical career routes
Although there is no typical career route to becoming a Specialist Researcher, the role requires extensive knowledge of how Art Departments work which can be gained by working as an Assistant Art Director or Art Department Assistant.

Essential knowledge and skills
Specialist Researchers must have good general knowledge, combined with working experience within Art Departments. They should also be computer literate, and have a good understanding of research resources.
Key Skills include:

• resourceful approach to finding things out;
• highly organised, methodical approach to work;
• good communication skills;
• ability to interpret other people's ideas;
• ability to work as part of a team;
• knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures.

Training and qualifications
Specialist Researchers are likely to be graduates of Art, Architecture, Theatre, Interior or 3D Design courses. Some individuals may also undertake higher level courses in Film and/or Theatre Production Design. After training, it is equally important to acquire on the job experience of how Art Departments work. Individual course accreditation in certain subject areas is currently being piloted.  
Individual course accreditation in certain subject areas is currently being piloted. As part of Creative Skillset's and the UK Film Council's Film Skills Strategy, A Bigger Future, a network of Screen Academies and a Film Business Academy have been approved as centres of excellence in education and training for film.

Got from  http://www.creativeskillset.org/film/jobs/productiondesign/article_4682_1.asp

Lightstream getting on with it

Bec recived an email from someone involved with the animated exeter lightstream, in short it said what we had been told on the day, but unfortunatly it said it in a more blunt way and didnt include any of the praise we had gotten. I don't know whether this was a matter of tact, as in they thought all this very blunty but just didnt want to say it to our faces and tried to soften the blow a bit via some praising on the day, or whether somone had explained to them what had happened with us and then they just typed down a more abridged version of what they heard obviously under the circumstances sounding more blunt with the information and not bothering to include the things that we didnt need to work on.

Either way Bec after reading the email was understandably worried due to the conflicting reports of how the test went. When we got back we said everythign was fine and we just had some stuff to work on, but from the email it seemed like a much more serious affair. This is no one's fault really just a natural hiccup that comes from multiple individuals perciving news and passing it on, chinese whisper style really.

The crew are working on the lightstream now, while also working on the other modules we have going, I am in the role of the editor, the most recent thing i have done to assist the production is to make the storyboard and animatic. Stop, i know what your thinking, why is the editor doing the storyboard? It was because the one i received was simply not suited to being put into an animatic so after informing the producer he tasked me with doing the re-do over the weekend (He didn't tell the storyboard artist to do it because she was not there that day) So i did that made the animatic and then on the monday i just did some quick retweeks of the storyboard i had done (as directed by... well b the director)

I have also been tasked with a bit of animation, specifically leaf growing animation. I looked up the concept art we had of the leaves so i knew the style and made sure to have a look at some reference videos of leaves growing. When i watched the videos i was surprised by the fact that leaves (well the ones i saw) just sort of got bigger and bigger until they reached there full mass, there wasn't as much unfolding as i had expected. (Maybe i was looking at the wrong sort of leaf though i suppose, its unreasonably hard to find leaf growing time lapses on YouTube i must say)

Soundscape: Panic and Plan

Just realized i only have 6 days left until the soundscape project needs to be handed in yikes. I havnt even done any recording yet, though i have done a bit of animation for it and have a reasonable grasp on what i kind of want the soundscape to be like i still have yet to get physical with all this conceptual ideas.

The idea i have id a box where suddenly strange blue things snake into the box, they then smash the box open and reveal the outside. That is basically it, what i want to achive really is a nice interior wildtrack at first, and maybe a muffeled exterior sound, it would have to be a natural one so i would probably record that around my home somewhere. I was also thinking an interesting overlaying sound would be cars driving by but tone changed to make it sound more like an ambigious throbbing kind of sound. I'm not sure what sound the tendrils of blue will have, i will also need a sound that is the bashing down of the box walls, to figure that out i will need to know how they fall, or maybe i could experiment a bit with potential box wall falling down sounds, maybe be a bit creative test out some strange sounds for it.