5) TESTING WITH AFTER EFFECTS

The short video above, is the first test I have done with after effects.

What I am trying to do is to import in after effects, the digital matte paintings I have done in photoshop to animate them and use them as movie sets for "London @ the age of mechanical reproduction". 

What I am doing now is working on the matte paintings compositions and animating them in after effects following the narrative flow.

Matte Painting used in the short video

 

4) CONCRETE MODEL

The images above show some views of the concrete model, while I was shooting these images I have tried to play with lights and smoke in order to create a more interesting atmosphere, which could suggest the idea of a sci-fiction moviescape.    

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONCRETE MODEL

Formworks

Concrete

Mixing

Formworks +Concrete 

In order to create the set for the "Brutalist City" I decided to make a model experimenting with concrete, a material very spot on for the kind of architecture I wanted to represent. 

The aim was to create a model which could resemble a brutal and concrete cityscape, to be then used during the shooting of the movie. 

I decided to use plastic packages from different products as formworks for the concrete, because they seemed very suitable for the kind of industrial and repetitive shapes I wanted to create.

The outcome is quite interesting especially with the help of special lighting and post production effects although I am working on the concrete shapes in order to improve the composition and the quality.   

3) CONCEPT DRAWINGS

 

POST IN CONSTRUCTION....

2) FIRST SKETCHES FOR THE SET

Brutalist Island

Brutalist City

Post-Apocalyptic London

After I defined the storyboard I started sketching some ideas for the different sets I want to create for the movie.

1) STORYBOARD

(POST IN CONSTRUCTION...)

BUILDING "LONDON @ THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION"...

The following posts show step by step how I am developing my own cinematic and fictional environments to be shot in order to create the movie "London at the age of Mechanical reproduction".

What I am trying to do is to  apply different techniques in the construction of the movie sets,  blending together analogue and digital techniques. 

MY OWN PROJECT BRIEF

"London at the age of mechanical reproduction" is a fictional city expressly designed for a short movie, whose individual structures have been enveloped into a sort of urban machine.
It is an exploration of architecture and space through the lens of both narration and the cinematic experience; a collection of images of how London would look like in an hypothetical dystopic future where the architectural machine has become so advanced that is eventually erasing the human presence.
This mechanized city shows a visual narration and hint of a future exploration of the contemporary urban scenario.

In its fictional and imaginary background it questions the complex relation between humans and architecture and it attempts to investigate where the role of one of the two ends and the other starts. 

The picture above is a concept image, I created to give the idea of the architectural grey goo.



 

MATTE PAINTINGS....Creating fictional environments

Taking the analysis further and using as a starting point the study of the flatness in Japanese animation and my first attempt to create a moviescape through the use of flat paper silhouettes(see post "My first moviescape experiment") , I have decided to look at matte painting techniques and the use of this media in the history of cinema.

I have gathered together some information about the history of this media and how nowadays the industry is creating and using these techniques.

I have then focused on the analysis of the work of some of the most talented artists and designers in the field of matte paintings. 

Going through this research made me understand deeper how the role of spatial designers fits into the movie industry and how the discipline of spatial design is fundamental to create successful and striking fictional environments. 

DYLAN COLE

 

BLADE RUNNER, THE INSIDE STORY

 
During the Easter Break I had the change to read this book about the making of Blade Runner. 
The publication takes the reader behind the scene of Blade Runner and reveals all the techniques, drawings, sketches, 3D models and matte paintings used to create Blade Runner Environments.

METROPORISU ....Studying the use of flat images in movie sets

I was interested in studying how Japanese animation movies use flatness in the construction of the cinematic environment. 

Metroporisu is the Japanese Anime adaptation from the original movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang.

Metropolis is a futuristic city where humans and robots coexist uneasily. Robots are heavily discriminated  and segregated into the city's lowest level. 

Much of the city's human population is unemployed and very poor; many blame the robots for taking their jobs.

What it is really interesting and fascinating in the movie is the design of the structure of the city (spread through different levels) and the use of flat images to create the effect of a real 3D space.

What really interested me, and I would like to take into my project, is how the cinematic experience can transform a flat 2D image into a tangible and complex space. 

Here below there are some of the most significant images related to the movie environment and set.

NEXT STEP...

During these last weeks through books, movies and thinking I have almost set the direction I want to take for this unit, and I definitely want my final outcome to be a scaled model(as I have showed in the previous posts) to be used in the realization of my final movie.

In defining this I now know which technical and practical skills I have to pursue and gain by the end of the project and I have listed a series of things which are paramount for the realization of the project.

1) Study the techniques of matte painting and possible apply one on the background

2)Study and define the right proportions for the model and its components

3)Study of prospective rules to be applied to the entire set

4)Right choice of material for the different components of the model

5)Grammar of the shot to be used while filming (experimenting with light and shooting)

SKETCH MOVIE

I made this little and really rough "sketch movie" to start suggesting the story and the possible scenario of my final movie.

The movie has been done in a really short time and it doesn't need to be considered as a final outcome but more as an experimentation and progress of my developing project.

The movie starts with the scene of the elevator opening on the foggy sky of London, immediately suggesting the idea of a city enclosed into a machine.
The scene is then shift into what symbolically represents the clinical environment where the Architectural Nanobots are under experimentation, showing the architectural mechanical reproduction made possible by the nanobots.
The second part of the movie wants to represent the spreading of the nanobots through the smoke and the new landscape of the city, where gigantic dystopic buildings have taken over the city of London and they are now highly imposing their presence.     

LONDON AT THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION

MY FIRST MOVIESCAPE EXPERIMENT

Following as much as possible the references and techniques mentioned in the previous post  my aim is now to design and create the model for my moviescape.

The photographs show my first attempt although it is not very successful yet.

During the Easter break I will have time to refine and better study the technical depiction in order to construct a realistic and properly made final outcome.

BUILDING MOVIESCAPES

 

 This book gives a very interesting inside view into the techniques and skills applied in the making of some of the most iconic movies in Hollywood history.

The part I have enjoyed and analyzed the most is the chapter related to Blade Runner.

Another interesting reference is the website of DOUGLAS TRUMBULL a famous American film director and special effects supervisor, who was in charge of the whole model shop during the making of Blade Runner.

The link (http://douglastrumbull.com/key-fx-sequences-blade-runner-hades-landscape)  is connected to the video where Douglas Trumbull himself explains the techniques used to create certain moviescapes into the movie.

The three video below are a short-documentary on special effects used in small artificial spaces and model to create a natural and real effect while shooting.

OPTICAL PRINTING

MATTE PAINTING

ROTOSCOPING