Steampunk expressionist film project!

[Arkwright]

Hello all

I have taken the plunge and names a shooting date:

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,28754.0.html

So I thought I would set this thread up for the artistic side of things.

I have decided to start making short expressionist films based on the stories in Tales from the Asylum
http://thelastline.yolasite.com/, starting with The Call of the Deep.

I will be trying to keep close to the original story, although it will be in a stylised/theatrical form.

I started making prototypes of the Cultist masks last year, and I will post a picture when one is near completion. I have also made a policeman's pistol which just needs painting.

The great thing about this thread is that it forces me to finalise ideas and get them sketched.

Pictures to follow!

TTFN

Arkwright

[Arkwright]

OK some questions raised on this thread: http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,27309.25.html have prompted me to discuss music for The Call of the Deep and other projects.

I would like peoples comments and input here, because although I have ideas, I can't cover every perspective and you could come up with the killer solution.

The big question for me is - how much music to use, if any. Although I know that music can add to the impact of a film, I'm not sure how it would fit in and I'm afraid of shoe horning it in where it is not needed or wanted.

For the Call of the Deep, my main idea is to have the sound of waves running under the whole film to end credits. The opening credits will run with dialogue (sort of) from the Cultist leader. The visuals for this will be the titles swimming into focus intercut with closeups of the Cultist leader.
There are a few occasions where there will be incidental sound - drums for the marching cultists, perhaps a rising note to heighten the tension as the sword is raised. There may also be room some some low music/percussion during the fight scene. I certainly want the dialogue between Arkwright, Steam and Speed to be accompanied by nothing more than the sound of the sea. The end is a shot of a broken cultist maks with the words of the Cult leader repeated, fading out to black and the end credits with either a piece of music or (if I can think of one) a traditional song.

In addition to The call of the Deep, I will be doing some pre-production work for The StarGazer and Hollow Man. Naturally, I am still thinking on similar lines to the above; particularly as they are both narrative films dominated by a voice over. However, without the underlying sound of the waves, they could fall a little flat. So I am wondering about some music or snatches of song. Any suggestions?

I hope people will join in the discussion and I look forward to reading peoples replies.

TTFN

Arkwright

[B.Greco]

     I was thinking of maybe an underlying background music, something faint but enough that it could set moods, help with foreshadowing, things like that. Something that would "catch the corners of your ears" under the waves, but could rise and fall as needed. Just a thought.

     My only question is period music, modern music, or a mix of both in various doses?

[Arkwright]

You know - the more I think about it, the more I think I want the Call of the Deep to be the most lavish of the three productions.

For some reason the Ent theme from lord of the rings is also looming heavily on my mind. I think it is the use of the Angklung. The fish cult has a thread which stretches all the way to the South Seas and something like the Angklung would weave that in nicely. I also want lots of percussion, kalimba and (I never thought I'd say this) a rain stick?

So it looks like this is a fusion piece - but my experience is that the best Steampunk music is also a bit like that.

I still need a song of the sea for the end credits.

Hollow man is going to be almost music free. Some incidental music from Othello (Willow, willow, willow; put out the light and then put out the light) and a sad piano piece for the the end credits only.

The Stargazer is a bit of a puzzle. The character is recounting his youth and a great adventure, and yet I don't want to distract too much from the narrative. I'll have to think a bit more about that.

TTFN

Arkwright

PS I'm thinking of the Lyke-Wake Dirge for the end of Call of the Deep. Governess - do you know that one? Are you prepared to have a crack at it?

[B.Greco]

The Two Towers Soundtrack-10-Treebeard

is this the song you mean? Because this song seems so much like a perfect ominous piece, and it fits well with what I perceive your vision to be.

[Arkwright]

Yes - that's the one.

Now the trick is to come up with something with a similar feel, but doesn't accidentally duplicate it. Which is probably why I have never tried to be a full on composer - people would for ever be saying "that sounds like..."

Good luck with it.

For the closing credits I would to do a variation of this:

**Pentangle*Lyke Wake Dirge

My thoughts were - solo voice and low violin, nice and slow with words re-worked to suit the film.

TTFN

Arkwright

[Arkwright]

Hello all!

A quick update and a plea for technical help.

The Governess has now transcribed the Lych Wake Dirge and it is hoped to find quater of an hour to record it at the film shoot.

As scripted the film requires three gunshots. Obviously we are not using real or realistic firearms (there are legal implications that have to be respected) so I am looking at adding a digital effect. The problem is that most of the effects are muzzle flash for modern firearms. What I want is the smoke effect from older firearms, like in the 1910 Great Train Robbery.

Now I know there are animators and graphics people out there who know how to do this. Any suggestions?

Also - shooting script is complete, the majority of the props are built. There are some costume items to finish and the sets to paint. So much to do and so little time!

TTFN

Arkwright

[Captain Shipton Bellinger]

I take it you mean adding a digital effect in post-prod? Shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Fair warning - even with black powder cartridges there is a considerable muzzle flash, which would be especially noticeable in subdued lighting conditions.

[neon_suntan]

For atmospheric similar music to the Ents from LOTR and more likely to be out of copyright

I suggest The prelude to Act I of Wagners Siegfried - the first 4 minutes before the opera starts

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Richard Wagner - Siegfried - Der Ring des Nibelungen - act 1^ part 1

And for more dark ambient sequences

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Liquid Space 2

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Last Place 1 (Louder)

[Arkwright]

Capt. Shipton Bellinger

Point taken - but the flash is more elogated and "smokey" than modern propellants. Oddly enough, one of the closest representations in film is in Bugs Bunny!

neon-suntan - Yes Wagner is always a good fall back, but if someone is prepared to create something original, then I am happy to showcase it!

TTFN

Arkwright

[Arkwright]

Hello All!

26th and 27th of March 2011, The Call of the Deep was shot and wrapped.

Here are some photographs http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=288799&id=623113852&l=c9684c2ca0 that give a flavour of the weekend.

We are now in post-production!

I will be getting the paints out and working up some scenic stills. I have the editing to do, three special effects shots to work out, foley to record, one voice over to add and the soundtrack.

Mr Greco. Are you still interested in scoring? If so I might take the liberty of sending you a script with some rough times and some ideas about highs, lows, louds and quiets etc...

So, to sum up, still a long way to go, but we have the footage to work with!

TTFN

Arkwright

[neon_suntan]

Looks really good!

Will the final product be a bit like the Call of Cthulhu movie?

[B.Greco]

Unfortunately, some unforeseen things came up and I won't be able to do it. I hope you can find someone.

[Arkwright]

B.Greco - sorry to hear that. I'll ask around.

neon_suntan - if I remember rightly the CoC movie is a black and white silent. So this is the same except that it is colour and a talkie!

You've actually raised an interesting point. In pre-production, there was a debate about colour or Black and white. Like most of the Asylum stories, The Call of the Deep would work really well as moody black and white and if I had had the time and the money to shoot on location, that is what I would have opted for.

However, this project is definately 'no budget film' and I had to make practical and artistic decisions. The result is that we shot in studio (village hall) against a black screen. In black and white, this would have been lost. The use of colour also meens that we can use the light source as a means of setting the scene. Fireglow, reflected moonlight and lamp light in different locations and mixes.

The other aspect of the film is that I wanted to move away from the expressionist = black and white silent. There is a lot you can do with dialogue that is much harder to do with action alone.

That is not to say that I will make the same choices with other asylum films. Hollow Man will be a photo-montage. Stormwatch really needs to be shot on location. But they will all be expressionist films because they based on the idea that the audience imagination is an active tool in appreciating the story.

TTFN

Arkwright

[neon_suntan]

So without giving too much away, can you tell me how expressionist style will influence the look/feel/appearance of the film?


And as for music I do know these chaps who should be able to create something suitable for end title music...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Fires of London - The Psychogeographical Commission	DQ

Or this...

http://soundcloud.com/psychcomm/03-the-psychogeographical-commission-have-you-ever

[Arkwright]

neon_suntan - have you looked at the photographs?

The impressionist look will be achieved with surreal set up shots, lots of close ups and stylised actors and acting. It is also my intention to add subtext through the use of the sound track. That is to say that the sound track and music will alert the audience to the pressence of things which can not be seen in frame.

I am also starting with a completely black screen and a voice over, which is a bit of an edgy device, but can be very effective if kept short enough. We then have a section lit only with a match and open flame lamp, that ends abruptly in darkness. I will then add the first establishing shot which will be a camera tracking along an abstract diorama. The action that follows is close up and cuts rapidly from shot to shot until the camera has broken the line no less than twice (in effect going full circle). There is then a brief pause in the action, the camera is drawn by sound and character reaction away from the main scene only for it to cut back into a second round of action. Once more the camera uses a scenic establishing shot to pull away from the scene of the action to the final denouemont. Fades to black for end titles...

Some of these things are, from the point of view of realistic film, deadly sins as they challange the perception of the moving image as something that is real. In fact there are a number of conventions in film that don't actually exist in real life, but are put in purely to create an illusion of realism. Things like the excessive depth of vision created by day for night, continuity of movement and not crossing the line. In real life we cross the line all the time, but we correct the situation using the running mental narrative known as thought. If it is dark, we actually see very little except for the image we focus on, but our mind fills in the rest of the world (object persistence and Gastalt). My own experience of combat is that sense of direction rapidly deteriorates as a result of a lack of continuity of movement. That is to say, people dissappear from view and suddenly re-appear in an unexpected place.

So, my adoption of an expressionist style is very much about not blindly following the flawed conventions of realistic film, but instead expressing through the medium of a moving image the challanging and unpredictable nature of the real world. I know that my moving image is not reality, but an expression of that reality. From the audiences point of view it is not period of action in which they are a passive onlooker, but a record of some past action that they are being presented with to comprehend and accept... or reject. But they have to actively engage with the story in order to do either.

Well that's the theory anyway, the reality is I have to cut some 3 hours of footage down to 10 minutes of narrative and make look strong and convincing. The hard work has only just begun.

Oh, the other thing will be that it is very dark and moody!

TTFN

Arkwright

[neon_suntan]

I DID look at the photographs which is what prompted my (albeit inaccurate) CoC postulations.

I'm really intrigued by the concept of breaking film conventions too!

[Arkwright]

Breaking film conventions.

Where to begin.

If you look at the great German Expressionist films, they seem to break every rule in the book. Which is strange, because many of the techniques of realistic film were developed for these same films.

The tradition follows on into film noir. Long periods of stillness or silence or darkness.

One of the most important and influential science fiction films of the 20th century (La Jetee) breaks the rules in almost every respect. There are long periods of blank screen with only the narrator speeking. There are no actual moving images, no dialogue. The soundtrack is sparce to the point of non-existance. Even it's length (28min) is non standard.

And yet it has such enourmous power. It leaves audiences stunned. In a good way!

The CoC film captures some of this because it is intended to reflect the time the story was written. It does so very well and has expressionsit elements as a result. But I don't want expressionsit film to be stuck in the past. I'm not trying to make a film that looks as though it was made in the 1920s or 30s. I'm trying to make a film that is modern and expressionist.

I am also aware that it could all go horribly wrong!

Arkwright

PS - I certainly haven't used the rule of thirds!

[The Governess]

ashamed to say I've only just found this thread...

I'm happy to look at scoring work or whatever I can do sound wise, let me know how I can help...
 
Should also caution you that I've already written a 'stormwatch' song for Broadarrow Jack...

[Arkwright]

Just a quick note:

Some of the backstory of the film and its characters is now available in Steampunk Tales Issues 9 & 10.

TTFN

Arkwright

[Arkwright]

OK Its official!

The voiceover for the beginning of The Call of the Deep will be performed by Shane Bryant.

More to follow - when I get the trailer finished.

Who would have thought that 30 seconds could take so long...

TTFN

Arkwright