SOS Stage 1 - Grades + Feedback
Concept: Upside-down Forest
Concept Description: The principle of inversion of the idea of a forest - drawn from the 'forest in a boat' idea in the film.
Process Ahead: Work to be done a. The concept if 'inversion' / 'turning on its head' of accepted concept / images needs to be further explored - it need not stick to the boat and tree imagery but could go beyond b. extending the idea would mean inverting accepted notions of up / down, heavy / light, strong / delicate - what this means is that the heavy, strong, massive 'top' is supported on light, delicate, small bases c. the paper-fold trees done as part of class would need to be developed upon so they do not read as 'caricature' trees but are uniquely 'yours' and moreso depict the idea of inversion more powerfully d. as the 'weight' needs to be apparent, build the model upto the full one foot height e. atleast 2-3 iterations at a smaller scale would be needed of the 'inverted trees' / 'inverted objects' before one is finalised on and developed upon at full scale
Concept Description: The 'simplicity' of reality 'morphs' into the 'complexity' of a dream. Use of the medium of closely-spaced, stacked planes that go from being 'simple' forms to more complex ones, drawing inspiration from the animated sequence of the credits.
Process Ahead: Concept will need a. a re-watching of the credits sequence to derive unique 'morphs' that can be then translated into physical form b. a set of preliminary exercises to explore various kinds of morphs with different start and end-states c. once a sequence / set of sequences have been finalised for the 'final' outcome, the 'making' needs to be focused on - use of multi-layer / boxed-up card for each of the 'steps' / 'layers' would give the installation more 'solidity' and make the forms more apparent rather than single layer card d. what would also be interesting is that rather than a single form that gets more comples, there are more than one that morph to get 'linked' to each other as they get more 'complex'
Concept Description: A delicated, intricate inner core has extending arms that engulf and wrap it leaving no visible sign of its presence - the only way to discover the core is by unspooling / unwrapping the arms. Reference made to the 'shaving monster' from the film as well.
Process Ahead: Work needed on the following a. the overall 'outer' form needs to be 'definite' - if it forms a sphere, it needs to be a precise sphere b. the 'arms' need to be developed - rather than being simply strips, they could be stiffened using folds c. the 'inner' core needs to have a more 'seamless' transition to the arms - since the arms are actually extensions of the inner core, they should read as such and not read as 'add-ons' d. there needs to be a clear way for an 'outsider' to unspool and re-assemble the installation - simple ideas like sets of notches formed that the arms slot into could help this happen
Concept: Delicately [un]Balanced
Concept Description: A 'tight' loop gradually loosens up as tightly wound stories unwind into and infiltrate into the precariously balanced tower that these loops form
Process Ahead: Good translation of concept into a physical form. Work now needed on a. similar to the project above, the loops need to be made stiffer - not by multi-layered card, but by paper folding techniques - research these to see which you can adopt / adapt for your 'tower' b. the overall form at present has the loops extending only towards one side, while the other side is vertical - this side could also have a slight deformation / a curve so the entire form appears unbalanced and not just one side c. increase the scale of the installation - should be a foot high d. the 'wound-up' stories are very tightly wound up even towards the top whereas they could be looser as they unwind towards the top
Concept Description: A single 'time-thread' weaves its way across a Wall of Sleep assuming different characteristics on either side of the Wall
Process Ahead: Work needed on a. The Wall needs to have a 'thickness' that merits its role as a divider between the 'real' and the 'imaginary' b. explore ways in which the wall site on the base - can it, for example 'float' above the base with a few supports rather than sitting completely on the base? c. the points of crossing of the 'thread' from one side to another need to be thought through - are they merely tight slits? could they have closer reference to the film, for example the 'eye-shutters' ? d. the 'time-thread' / 'story-line' / 'train-of-thought' [however you wish to define the crisscrossing band] needs to be worked on - similar to projects above you need to explore ways to make the strip more 'firm' through paper folding techniques e. while the concept is richer and has more potential than the previous iteration, it needs to be visually,physically, experientially more powerful - you need to invest more time and effort in investigating various possibilities of the form that the 'thread' takes on either side
Concept Description: A static, stepped 'landscape' uncoils to reveal its nature as a dynamic spiral when held up from a point
Process Ahead: Good translation of concept and reasonably good workmanship. Needs to now explore the following a. the concept of a 'hidden' aspect could be explored more radically now that the first idea is found to work - for example, how about two spirals nested into one another - so when you open up, the second spiral drops down as well [small to large then large to small again] b. the stepped landscape could have a relation with the film - defining what it represents and conveys for you would help further developing it - to further increase the 'surprise' at the opening of the spiral - right now the spiral is pre-empted by a viewer as there is nothing drawing attention away from it in its closed position
Concept: Science of Shadows
Concept Description: A landscape of 'fragments' reveals itself to be a dramatic 'whole' when it throws its shadow upon a screen on being lit from a point
Process Ahead: Very good concept and the process of its emergence emerged after several prior attempts is commendable. What is needed now is the following a. the overall 'whole' being formed could have more references to the film that tie in with the 'reconstruction' theme - hands, horse etc ? - all built through fragments b. the 'drama' of the shadow could be explored further by working on the rear screen - for instance, a concave / convex screen would help to further distort the image d. could there be another aspect of the shadow where the 'real' fragments are two-dimensional but the shadows reflect a 'three-dimensionality' and 'perspective' ? c. 'finish quality' is finally to be worked on once the ideas are in place, prototyped and finalisedhave been explored
Concept: World behind Shut-eye
Concept Description: A seemingly inactive shut eye is opened up to reveal a world of activity within
Process Ahead: Work needed on the following a. the 'making' of the Eye - needs to be done as far as possible from a single sheet of card using cuts and your skill in 'surface development' rather than many pieces stuck together b. the 'inner world' needs to have closer reference to the film - where instead of direct replicas of 'objects' in the film, mechanics of the film could be depicted forming an interesting overall system - here you could use string / wire if you need to, but only minimally c. atleast two iterations need to be made and shown before the final model is made d. finish quality is vital
Concept Description: Using techniques of paper-cuts and folds from single sheets of paper, a space of lines is formed that goes from rectilinearity to curvilinearity
Process Ahead: Well produced work that needs to now have greater correlation with the film. Work needed on a. the overall 'form' that the planes together describe - rather than a cuboidal form, if for example the planes are trapezoidal, the overall form would be a truncated pyramid b. 'movement' of the lines and their connection from one plane to the next is important - last seen each of the planes were independent c. work to be in double-layer card for greater stiffness d. interconnection of the inner forms may be explored as that would also bring overall stiffness to the overall envelope
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