Maya Camera, Ready to Go!

I hope so anyway!

I'm sure something's probably gone horribly wrong but for now at least I've finished following the tutorials :D

Maya!

Turns out, shaders are epic:

X Ray teeth:

Double sided page:

 Water droplets:

Blood Vessel:

This was awesome. I can't believe how realistic it all looks, my personal favourite being the water droplets, they look SO GOOD! :D

My Matte Painting , feedback please!

This is what I got up to during Friday's Photoshop session:

 There were two more images to go in between but they got corrupted somehow so  there's only the first part and the last.

 Below is the image of Nevada desert that I'm basing it on:

Here's what I've done today:

Here's what I've stopped at so far:

I want it to look fairly painterly and definitely glowing. This will be the view through a window in my scene, it' mean to be a stark contrast to the perfect 1950's house inside. I've had a good tweak around but I'd appreciate any feedback that's out there!

David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet', 1986

Fig. 1 Blue Velvet Poster

David Lynch's Blue Velvet is a trip into the dark underbelly laying beneath every idyllic 1950's community.  It places itself in the visual time of the fifties but combines this with much more modern fashions, this is interpreted by the audience as an 'anywhere town', a place they can relate to but aren't sure if it could exist.

Fig. 2 Idyllic lifestyle. 

It is the contrast between the idyllic and the underbelly that makes this film so intriguing.  Todd McGowan described that "The binary opposition that everyone notices while watching Blue Velvet is one between two equally fantasmatic worlds: an excessively ordinary public world of Lumberton that coexists with a similarly exaggerated underworld populated by Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) and his associates." (McGowan, 2007:91) The audience is welcomed into this binary opposite from the opening sequence, a glowing highly saturated image of a garden contrasted by a swarming underbelly of bugs and beetles underneath. McGowan goes on to explain that "If the public world of Blue Velvet represents an American ideal, its underside represents the typical American nightmare." (McGowan, 2007:91) Indeed, this is true as everyone that interacts from the Lumberton community is friendly and cheerful but those from the more city-like areas of Lumberton are dark and cruel.  The idea that such an idyllic America can coexist alongside such a sordid parallel is always a big worry to the public.  Something that can never be escaped is that belief that in order to sustain the good you have to entertain the bad to keep it from breaching the public's safe and homely community  Another point that McGowan goes on to explain is that "in the act of separating and opposing them, Blue Velvet renders visible this similarity between the ideal and the nightmare that fantasies usually obscure." (McGowan, 2007:93)  Blue Velvet, through its juxtaposition of Lumbertown's two faces, allows the audience to see that within both realms there is sexual desire and repression and a law that governs those within it.

Fig. 3 Dorothy and Jeffery's violent interactions.

The theme of sexual desire and repression is possibly the most dominant of all.  There are explicit scenes of sexuality within the narrative that allow the audience to understand the characters that live within the dark corners of Lumbertown.  The most prominent of these characters' is Dorothy.  She is a victim of the Frank Booth, the central villain to the film, forced to be a slave for his violent sexual deviance, she has become unsure about herself and her desires.  Isabella Rossellini, the actress that played Dorothy, expressed her views on the character: "In my mind she was a battered woman - someone who perhaps had Stockholm Syndrome...Dorothy masks herself because she is afraid of what she looks like...she wanted to look like a doll - perfect - to hide her madness.  The more she becomes a victim not to elicit sexuality, the more she does." (Lynch, Rodley 2005:126)  The character is always seen wearing bright red lipstick and blue eyeshadow on top of delicate pale skin.  Much like a doll, she is used for Frank's sexual violence and after is left alone until she's needed again.  The audience see her suffering but also her apparent enjoyment of it.  It is explained that Frank has her husband and son hostage so she has to work for him but, much like victims of Stockholm Syndrome, her sexuality has been warped to that of her abuser.  This is when she discovers Jeffery hiding in her closet.  She's consistently aggressive towards him but what started as anger turns into arousal.  Laura Mulvey points out that "The scene oscillates. Dorothy represents the 'monstrous maternal', the female villain...At the same time she is the vulnerable mother, threatened by the 'monstrous paternal', the male villain who confronts the child in Oedipal rivalry." (Mulvey, 1996:142) She started the scene as the aggressor towards Jeffery, asserting her power over him but the audience is reminded of Freud's Oedipal struggle between the 'monstrous paternal', Frank, and his dominance over the vulnerable Dorothy and his rivalry with Jeffery when he discovers him later.

Fig. 4 Franks sexual aggression and dominance over Dorothy.

David Lynch himself explains that his portrayal of Lumbertown is as truthful to him as any other.  He expressed that  "This is the way America is to me.  There's a very innocent, naive quality to life, and there's a horror and a sickness as well.  It's everything." (Lynch, Rodley, 2005:139)  The sickness which is no more prominent than in Frank Booth's character.  He is a violent, merciless and as mentally unstable as they come.  Martha Nochimson explains that "Frank is Freudian, fearing too much similarity to women, but the spectator is overcome by the horror of too much dissimilarity to femininity in the secret criminal haunts of Lumberton, and of far too much control exerted over women." (Nochimson, 1997:103)  Within the narrative, the audience can see that Frank has some serious childhood trauma that dates back to his parents, most significantly his mother.  This is the reason for his hatred and violence towards Dorothy, a woman that he won't allow to look at him while he uses her body.  She may remind him too much of what he once was, emotional and fragile, an example of this is when he gets extremely emotional over music but once he realises this, he compensates with violent outbursts. Mulvey acknowledges that "Frank represents the 'pre-Oedipal father'. The lifelessness of life in the small-town home contrasts with Dorothy's shockingly direct sexuality... and Frank's horrific restless energy, always torn by violent emotion." (Mulvey, 1996:142)  His violent sexuality has been passed onto Dorothy and his emotional unbalance keeps her there, always changing from incestuous affection to aggression and pain.

Blue Velvet is an excellent example of how a mixture of different elements can merge and create a twisted but fascinating story. Erica Sheen and Annette Davison believe that Blue Velvet creates "a world where secrets and mysteries do exist; a world that so uncannily conflates past and present, image and reality, dream and wakefulness, that a social register of explanation seems absurd." (Sheen, Davison, 2004:68)  It is another example of David Lynch's unshakable ability to portray an utterly real world consisting of completely fictional elements.

List of Illustrations

Figure 1. Blue Velvet Poster At: http://www.moviegoods.com/movie_product_static.asp?master_movie_id=8253&sku=371475 (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)

Figure 2. Blue Velvet (1986)  Idyllic lifestyle. At http://www.fanpop.com/spots/david-lynch/images/11159942/title/blue-velvet-screencap (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)

Figure 3. Blue Velvet (1986) Dorothy and Jeffery's violent interactions. At: http://historiesofthingstocome.blogspot.com/2010/09/opening-time-capsule-year-1984.html (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)

Figure 4. Blue Velvet (1986) Franks sexual aggression and dominance over Dorothy. At: http://www.cavanarts.ie/Default.aspx?StructureID_str=29&year=2010&month=11 (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)

Bibliography

Lynch, David, Rodley, Chris (2005) Lynch on Lynch. New York: Faber and Faber Inc. 

McGowan, Todd (2007) The impossible David Lynch. New York: Columbia University Press.

Mulvey, Laura (1996) Fetishism and curiosity. Indiana: Indiana University Press.

Nochimson, Martha (1997) The passion of David Lynch: wild at heart in Hollywood. Texas: The University of Texas Press

Sheen, Erica , Davison, Annette (2004) The cinema of David Lynch: American dreams, nightmare visions. London: Wallflower Press.

Stanley Kubrick's 'The Shining', 1980

Fig. 1 The Shining Poster

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was based on a book by the author Steven King.  It is a psychological horror film in which the audience is forced to watch the mental deterioration of a father and his murderous rage that threatens the lives of his wife and son. This film is filled with interesting ideas portrayed both physically and metaphorically, with some scenes moving from the completely abstract to the horribly real.

Fig. 2 Elevator of blood.

 One of the most powerful scenes is that of a river of blood spilling out of an opening elevator.  This stunning image was used more than once within the film with no diagetic sound, only a track of what resembles white noise.  The river of blood is first seen completely out of context, to some it may appear to be nothing but an artistic achievement but it can be interpreted as a metaphor for the gallons of blood that the hotel has drawn from countless victims over the years.  Geoffrey Cocks explained that “fine words and traditional characterization were trivial compared to the power of images as a means to address larger historical and cultural issues.” (Cocks, 2006:186)  These issues he refers to could be those mentioned to the audience at the beginning of the film, the killing of many Native Americans in order for hotel to be built.  The audience is told that it was built on an Indian burial ground, so this combined with the tribal/Native American patterns mounted on the walls within the hotel signify that the blood is for them and by them. Their suffering has created a physical manifestation of their loss and the revenge they take on those within the hotel.  Cocks also believes that “a close reading of Kubrick's life and work suggests that the ocean of blood flowing from the elevator in The Shining is the blood of centuries, the blood of millions, and, in particular, the blood of war and genocide in Kubrick's own century.” (Cocks, 2006:185)  The genocide he refers to is that of the holocaust during World War II.  As Kubrick was of Jewish descent he may have felt compelled to try to draw attention to such an inconceivably horrible event through imagery rather than blunt realism as it is an incredibly difficult thing for any director to portray sensitively.  

Fig. 3 Jack playing the wolf.

Continuing with the same theme, Cocks explains the role of the wolf that the father, Jack Torrance, plays before he breaks into the bathroom.  He divulged that “any mention of the wolf in The Shining is a(n) (in)direct expression of a growing preoccupation in the 1970's on Kubrick's (and the culture's) part with the subject of Nazis, the Second World War, and the Holocaust." (Cocks, 2004:38)  The idea that Jack takes on this role is significant as within the narrative he is playing the dominant force that threatens the innocent party.  He becomes the symbol of all that is evil and his failing to reach his wife and son, the 'little pigs', represents the resolve that the Jewish community has to overcome the Holocaust.  Cocks also believed that their survival was significant, that "Jack Torrance's only victim (besides himself) will be Halloran, the black cook whose arrival at the Overlook Hotel...saves the lives of Wendy and Danny Torrance. By having an African-American as the victim of Jack's – and the hotel's – murderous rage" (Cocks, 2004:38-9) The film places the African-American man in the position of martyr, that his death saved the lives of Danny and Wendy Torrance.  The Nazi's racism, that extended not only to Jews but Black men and women, can be seen in the description from one of the ghosts, that Halloran is a 'nigger cook' and that Jack's son, Danny, is in league with him.  The brutal way Jack murders Halloran shows his twisted aggression towards him, he doesn't play with him as he does with Wendy and Danny but screams and kills him instantly. Perhaps showing his disdain for his racial heritage, that he considers him lesser than his family.

Fig 4. Jack's succumbed to madness.

It is this lack of emotion and mercy that suggests that his descent into madness is not only a display of how frail the mind can be but of the fear humanity has of the loss of identity and civility.  Jerold J. Abrams thought that  “what dehumanization amounts to is the loss of control over our lives and the absence of choice between real alternatives.” (Abrams, 2007:233)  In The Shining, Jack is constantly being told of different horrible things that have happened either in the hotel or the area surrounding it.  It's these seeds that were planted in his mind that grew and gave him the absence of choice Abrams mentions.  As he starts to lose his grasp on reality the horrible tales become the only sure thing he can grasp and thus his only control comes from his responsibilities to the hotel and doing anything to make sure they get done.  Abrams also discussed that “What is unsettling in Kubrick's films is that, like the ax-wielding Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in The Shining, we are always in danger of losing the masks of our civilized selves” (Abrams, 2007:142) It is our civilised nature that allows us to feel safe, the reliability that everyone is civilised means that there's little to fear.  However, when someone's mask of civility is removed then the person left behind is unknown to those still wearing their masks, and it is this not knowing that makes them so unpredictable and dangerous.  Civilised humanity fears what is bestial and unpredictable in nature and Jack is the prime example of what they fear most.  He acts brutally and spontaneously, unconcerned for other human lives, he is unforgiving and unrelenting until the end.

The Shining is a fascinating exploration of the fragility of the human mind.  Thomas Allen Nelson shared his view, that "The Shining concerns old projects and unfinished journeys, secret longings and frustrated desires, movements in reverse rather than movements forward, "interviews" with the Self's dark but hardly imaginary friends." (Nelson, 2000:211).  An excellent way to explain the many themes and narrative elements that this film holds.  It is one that leaves the audience feeling a little dazed and confused but also strangely satisfied.

List of Illustrations


Figure 1. Concept Poster (2010) The Shining Poster. At: http://chadtrutt.deviantart.com/art/The-Shining-Concept-Poster-184425983?q=gallery:movie-poster-fans/27066638&qo=46 (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)
Figure 2. The Shining (1980) Elevator of blood. At: http://www.mutineermagazine.com/img/blog/the_shining_blood_elevators.jpg (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)
Figure 3. The Shining (1980)  Jack playing the wolf. At: http://www.411mania.com/movies/columns/158633 (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)
Figure 4. The Shining (1980)  Jack's succumbed to madness. At: http://www.moviemail-online.co.uk/film/52641/The-Shining-(Special-Edition)/ (Accessed on: 16.01.2011)




Bibliography

Abrams, Jerold J. (2007) The philosophy of Stanley Kubrick. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky

Cocks, Geoffrey, Diedrick, James, Perusek, Glenn Wesley (2006) Depth of field: Stanley Kubrick, film, and the uses of history. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press.


Cocks, Geoffrey (2004) The wolf at the door: Stanley Kubrick, history, & the Holocaust. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Nelson, Thomas Allen (2000) Kubrick, inside a film artist's maze. Indiana: Indiana University Press

Kept Calm and Carried On...

After my mini wig out earlier I came back and I think I've fixed the major problems:

Perspective is still off, I need to sort out the angles of the walls & floor but I don't think the chair looks like it's falling backwards now which is a bonus!

Meanwhile...

For a break from the screen tonight I'll be skimming through a couple of books I've rented from the library for my essay.  The theme I'm looking at is the use of the 'haunted house' in horror films focus on the unheimlich and what makes it so effective.  The films I'll be looking at are The Haunting and The Shining, I might include another but I don't know if I'll need to.

The books are:

The Gothic by Gilda Williams

The poetics of space by Gaston Bachelard

Foul perfection : essays and criticism by Mike Kelley

The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. Vol. 17 : (1917-1919). An infantile neurosis and other works

Hopefully I'll get some useful quotes out of these bad boys but whether I use them or not, any useful material I find will be posted up here for reference.

Power Cut Frustration...

This is what I got to before my house decided to cut off the power but leave the lights on. Me being an idiot saved my work as a JPEG but not as a PSD so I'm having to do it again.

On the bright side though, it does mean that I can keep away from any mistakes I made with this image, it's still very rough but I appreciate any comments on it.