This test was completed for the portrayal of the government to the audience, my intial ideas was to be able to convey that they are machines. This is due to the way my Nan has been treated by them - for example, when they are contacting her about 'Joey' and his conditions, they send repetitive letters asking him to go back to work. Therefore, the question mark connotes confusion on their end and the business suits shows that they are a formal service.
I want to be able to further this test within the production by adding the political colours such as Yellow, Blue and Red. These will be replicated to show three 'screens' so that I'm able to do this successfully.
Photos Test - Under the Camera (2)
By dropping the photos under the camera it allows the audience to have an insight into the life Joey and my Nan has led. If I were to complete this for production, I would make sure I have shot the test with a HD camera so the images are as clear as it can be. Then, I would lose the square edges as to me, it seems to cut off any form of life to the images - making them appear 'boxed in' or closed off. This is the opposite effect I wanted it to have on the audience as I wanted the drops to be inviting and the images to connote happy memories.
(2)
The second test of the 'dropping photos' appeared to be too quick and you're unable to clearly view the images for long enough. I decided to make sure the camera was capturing images every 1/2 a second to be able to fully see who is in them.
(3)
This version of the dropping was a lot smoother than the previous two attempts, this is because I planned the frames correctly and made sure the camera was well enough focused to capture the family life I was trying to show the audience.
Opening Title - Test (Pixilation)
This test was shot to support the opening sequence of the documentary, whilst my grandad tells the story of how generous my Nan is. I used these images in a circle to show the 'circle of life' that Joey has lead, starting with Joey, then a photograph of my Nan and then my Grandad.
Opening Title - Test 1 (Pixilation)
Opening Title - Test 2 (Pixilation)
Opening Title - Test 3 (Pixilation)
Kaleidoscope Tests - After Effects (Clock)
By using the CC Kaleida tool in 'After Effects' I was able to use clocks to convey how hectic my Nan's life really is, the ideology behind the clocks is that my Nan's set of beliefs are to carry on with looking after Joey despite her age and the fact that time is against her. Considering that Joey was told as a baby he wouldn't live past 35, the use of clocks seems appropriate to depict how her life is so strained.
The second test was to test the timing alongside the sound, this was because the speed of what my Nan is saying was too quick for the kaleidoscope, therefore it had to be changed to make sure the frames flowed with continuity.
Brain Sezuire Test - After Effects
These tests for the seizures were loosely based on the work produced by Len Lye, his style has elements I would like to incorporate into my own work. The use of colour, shapes and symbolism works really well within his work and I feel it is a feature I'd love to encompass for the documentary.
(Len Lye - Kaleidoscope)
For the tests showing the brain seizures my uncle suffers from,it has a sense of irony. Due to his conditions being epilepsy, I wanted the audience to understand just how difficult it is to focus on one object when there are so many other things going through your mind. This is what the use of blue/red are used for, the blue portrays the epilepsy as the condition thats 'cold' within his personality, whereas the warmer orange/red tones are used to show his warm and caring nature trying to seap through.
Silhouette - Joey Walking
To convey how difficult it is for Joey to complete mundane tasks such as crossing the road or going out on his own, I used after effects and a silhouette cut-out to compile with the sound of my nan explaning that he's been knocked over before by leaving on his own. The street is a street that my Nan and Grandad used to visit on a regular occasion with my Uncle.
The speed of this test is slower than I'd hoped and was rectified with the second test, additionally, the hand was parented to a foreign object and I had to work back into the test to remove it.
I managed to remove the hand on the second test, although the speed of the walk hadn't improved. However, I did manage to improve this in the animatic as the sound speed was quite slow aswell. So it made sense to keep the movement slow as if to connote to the audience that they were watching him struggle to walk across the street - which adds a sense of realism in a documentary that lacks linear strcuture and takes form with post-modernism.
Difference Test - After Effects
The first attempt to produce this test was by using silhouettes to display how certain people view disability, with it being a topic that doesn't get a lot of coverage, especially those with multiple disabilities. The bulge effect helped when distorting the image to make it seem as though they are trapped inside their bodies.
The second attempt was a lot better in terms of movement and speed but still needed improvement. It worked well with the animatic and the sound that went with it.
The final version was a massive improvement in comparison to the previous attempt, the 'hex' tool worked really well with the footage. It enabled the image to come to life a bit more, as in my personal opinion using After Effects often compresses the images and makes them look flat. Whereas by using this technique, I was able to make it seem more realistic and experimental.
Elvis Presley - Test
Considering Joey doesn’t lead much of what is considered a ‘normal’ life, he tends to attach himself to a variety of objects and idols. Elvis Presley is one that has stuck with him since he was a teenager and it’s important I make sure that comes across in the documentary. Although, I’m trying to stray away from using the visuals to support the sound, this is a technique I couldn’t miss within the documentary. The test for the animatic was produced using After Effects, but when it comes to production I want to be able to use under the camera techniques with tea bags and sand on a lightbox – taking reference from the way Caroline Leaf uses it within her work.