Development of My World

As part of preparing for your presentation, you will upload a piece of work-in- progress that demonstrates your explorations toward creating a screen story inspired by the notion of ‘world’. The work-in- progress will be accompanied by a reflective statement (or statements, interwoven through the post) about the process of developing your idea so far.

In order for me to establish a vivid image of the world I wanted to create, it was important for me to first develop the plot. I found that for me, thoroughly fleshing out the plot first would help to inform the world, rather than creating the world first and then thinking of a plot to fit within it. I was aware that it was important not to get too caught up in the storyline and characters as this could lead to straying from the main focus of the world. During the Week 6 workshop, I posed a relatively broad idea to my classmates so that we could explore the concept and hopefully come up with something substantial for me to take away. Collaboration with my table proved successful, and as noted in a previous reflection, it truly emphasised the importance of having different perspectives and contributions and the effect this can have on furthering your own creativity. I jotted down most of the main points we produced (image 1) and when I came home I was able to then fully flesh out the rest of the plot and get into the nitty-gritty of the world in which the story was contained (image 2).

(image 1)

(image 2)

I considered this first stage of my planning the more technical side; it was then time to move on to the visual aesthetic of the world. One of the key words that was thrown up in our discussion was ‘dystopia’. When I first thought of a conventional dystopian future the main visual elements that came to mind were a grey, dull colour palette, a decaying environment and a generally overcast and gloomy atmosphere that altogether produce a distinctly morbid tone. One of the other main elements is that the population lives quite miserably. Images of Blade Runner (1982) first came to mind. Given that my world is set in a technologically advanced future it didn’t fit this visual description at all, however the underlying principles of a dystopian future were still at play; there is a new social framework implemented by a dictating government and a deep-seated misery that sort of resides in the entire population (yet in my world, is much less overt and generally concealed by overly cheery façades and feigned interactions with one another). So I decided to still classify my world as a dystopia, but one on the opposite side of the spectrum. This world is characterised by the opposite of those typical elements, being ostentatious, digitally futuristic and containing extremely modernised architecture rather than being bleak and environmentally degraded. In order to gain a sounder vision of this world, I brainstormed already existing places which loosely fit this description. Tokyo and Times Square in New York both stood out as places that contain vibrant colours, lots of advertising and high-buildings that make for an overwhelming kind of atmosphere. I typed these into Google images and collated a few photos that came closest to what I envisioned, and saved these to a folder to use as a reference point.

While I was happy with the type of world that had come out of this research, I was mindful not to neglect other options. One of the other images I had in mind when thinking of the aesthetic of this world (in particular the suburban areas) was a pastel coloured palette, similar the one used in Edward Scissorhands (1990). What drew me to this idea was that it highlighted the sameness of its worlds inhabitants; everyone has the same type of house, car, front yard and so on. I thought this could potentially work in the future of my world, yet instead of being the common housefront that you see in Edward Scissorhands, everyone’s houses would be super modern in architecture.

I thought this could work as a sort of government initiative where everyone’s houses are completely eco-friendly and contain the same futuristic features within it (for example, kitchens that self-clean or curtains that draw themselves up and down). Again, I used Google to source more images of what I had in mind as a starting point. However when I explored this idea further, I realised it didn’t work as well as what I had already come up with and decided against it. I preferred the previous over-the-top and colourful atmosphere as opposed to the sleek and monotone atmosphere of this idea, because I thought it had more room for creativity and made for a more interesting screen work.