Category Archives: MEDIA

Character descriptions

Beecroft character descriptions-1s3s8qj

In response to the first class focus group session, I felt that each character required a detailed description as the students who looked over my scripts did not see the extremes in each of the characters. When classmates read through my scripts, I recall that they seemed unclear as to why the language was so over-theatrical. Without any background knowledge, Beecroft and Melanie, to new readers, could well have been ordinary and everyday folk. These group sessions definitely inspired the need for further explanation.

Subsequent group activities have also brought about Melanie’s name. In explaining to my peers of her malevolence, one classmate suggested that I call her Melanie… ‘Melanie the Malevolent’. From here, I began to think about villains that I could model her on further such as Ivan the Terrible. Though, I felt that Melanie would be closest to Shakespeare’s Lady McMeth (1606) for her greed and manipulation, accompanied by the brutishness of Charles Dickens’ Bill Sikes (1838). Spielberg’s Biff Tannen was the inspiration for her owning the police and the sadomasochism is attributed to James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s Saw (2014).

Scene 1 – Beecroft’s Exit Scene 

Beecroft Exit Scene-14en9au

This is the opening scene which is set up to be the catalyst for the rest of Beecroft’s story.

I have stayed fairly true to the script when producing the audio artefact however, the print at the head became a voice of God narration as I felt that these were essential details that an audio piece could not illuminate.

As it was initially written for a visual medium, there are still some minor textual remnants that would require a camera. For example,“A 30 year old tycoon dressed in Sass & Bide arranging plastic flowers. She is, slick, confident, beautiful though, she is as mad as a cut snake” (p. 1). This big print demands either vision or narration and despite using neither, I left them in there just in case I was to change my mind as to which form I would use at the eleventh hour.

I have purposely left the copyright © symbol in the script to emphasise how so much, of what constitutes as a human experience, has been privatised. The world’s artificiality is something that I feel comes across in this script as well as the audio artefact and I feel that it is here, at this tonal intersect, that the two texts speak to each other.

It was my hope that the words and the images that they symbolised, inflicted a dirty, painful, visceral sensation in the consumer. I wanted people to wince as many did when I played the class Anaal Nathrakh’s Pandemonic Hyperblast (2001) for my first class presentation. Though, having pushed this tactic of eliciting a reaction in the audience as far as what I regard to be a rich learning experience, I feel as though I can move on from the grotesque for now.

Scene 2 – Beecroft Meets Hailey 

Beecroft Meets Hailey-14lu5t3

As Beecroft begins the process of escape and codependency recovery, he stumbles upon the Free-Thinker Hailey, a jovial 30 year old gardener who later introduces Beecroft to the Free-Thinking minority.

Regardless of the fact that this scene was the first I wrote for this world, I feel that it is less groomed than the other work for this focus. Since I passed it over to class mate Brydan to have a read over it in week 2, I have felt somewhat disconnected from it. Though it’s worth noting that, since week 2, I have engaged with new writing concepts and eschewed earlier writing habits, my knowledge of writing for world and place has advanced further than I could have imagine. So in a way, I have grown out of this scene so to speak but this needn’t be the case. In order to reconnect with this scene and Hailey moreover, I believe that further workshopping with peers could be the answer as this is an important sequence and I’d be loathed to discard it.

Beecroft Synopsis

Beecroft Synopsis -yd2oy3

The synopsis underwent several manifestations until one night, I sat down for half an hour and smashed-it-out so to speak.

I was surprised how much I second-guessed the synopsis. On one hand, I wanted to deliver a nuanced description of the world, yet on the other, I was set on succinctly explaining the synopsis as though I was talking to a child. There were several variations though all shared the same goal of exposing Beecroft as a lying cheating fiend… which is an indirect comment on the dangers of gullibility.

In this writing process, a new character emerged, Gail whom I imagined as having a pivotal role in crystallising my premise of deception. As Gail is a last minute addition, I have withheld  expanding on her character for now. My main focus was to have people sympathise with the protagonist but at the end, feel betrayed.

Overall, I have enjoyed being creative and have relished reading up on villains and tragedies. I drew inspiration from Macbeth (1606), Metropolis (1927), Oliver Twist (1838) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Audiophonic Trailer

Jean-Luc Godard’s film Bande à Part (1964) is a key inspiration for the stylised elements of my audio piece. Like with Godard’s production, I have attempted to blur the lines between diegetic and non-diegetic sound. This is to contribute to the item’s awareness of its artificiality.  Ultimately through my production, I hope to highlight dishonesty in my work and in turn evoke an overall mistrust in the media as a whole.

Credits:

Melanie – Anneliese Milk
Beecroft – Daniel Bowden
Music score ‘In Dust’ written and performed by Daniel Bowden

[For further reflective commentary, please see the below blog link posted May 2o, 2017]

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/daniel-bowden/2017/05/20/as-close-to-real-as-possible/

References:

– Anaal Nathrakh 2001, Pandemonic Hyperblast, CD, FETO, UK.
– The Daily Script, viewed 30th May 2017, <http://www.dailyscript.com>
– Demme, J 1901,  The Silence of the Lambs, Orion Pictures, USA.
– Dickens, C 1838, Oliver Twist, Richard Bentle, UK.
– Godard, JL 1964, Bande à Part, Anouchka Films Orsay Films, France.
– Screen Australia 2009, What is a Synopsis? Screen Australia, Australia, viewed 25 May 2017, <https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/ae5708a4-05d9-4db0-b5fb-4f999fdfed57/What-is-a-synopsis.pdf>
– Lang, F 1927, Metropolis, Erich Pommer, Germany.
– Shakespeare, W 1606, Macbeth, UK.
– Zemeckis, R 1985, Back to the Future, Amblin Entertainment, USA.

Greenblatt, S 2002, A special letter from Stephen Greenblatt, viewed 25th March 2010, <http://mla.org/scholarly_pub>

Declaration and statement of authorship

Declaration and statement of authorship-1pjwhxv

In a class exercise, we were to choose one of our peer’s characters and write about them. I chose Justin Luh’s character Grease who is a robot. It is about Grease’s most embarrassing moment. It is written as if an interview and it goes as follows…

Grease:

So anyway, I was at the Boron baths. Boron nitriding it up. Replenishing, getting the rust and detritus out of my components. It’s something that you have to do… if not for yourself, for those who you work and live with. Like seriously, you are more relaxed, you’re less likely to fly off the handles at minor issues on the floor at work. Boron baths… they’re good. Do yourself a favour. Really!

Anyway, there was only a few of us in the bath… 4 to 5000, and I thought that I might nip out for an extra treatment… Liquid nitrogen scrub. But seeing that it was only me there, I thought I could shed some layers… you know, like down to my chassis. You really get to feel it that way. And anyway, I’m lying there and I notice a message on the portal from administration, so I link in to see what the message was about. BEEP. It said I’m not in today. I’m out getting a scrub too. BEEP. But remember that this room will undergo a deep clean at 12noon today BEEP. I look up at the clock… it says 11:58. Farrrrk!!!

And thats when it began. I was scooped up, dipped in what felt like mercury or something, I was shoved around the room and pushed toward the exhaust vent… Exhaust vent!! But I had another 30 minutes left on my credit! Nevertheless, the evacuations process had gone passed the rubicon and I was getting excreted early AND with no covers on… stark naked!

Before I knew it… CLUNK, I’m sitting in the fallout basin, not a shred on me, covered head to base in mercury, I started to discreetly tiptoe to the exit when all of those units… remember the ones that I had shared a boron nitride spa with, they all cascade through to the bin that I was at and are presented with my pathetic silver arse. They laughed naturally which as you know sounds like a machine gun.

Still to this day, that was the most embarrassing moment of my robot life.

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/daniel-bowden/2017/04/26/beecrofts-world-a-work-in-progress/

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/daniel-bowden/2017/04/21/presentation-day-feedback-pop-candy-and-other-sensations/

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration.

Beecroft Exit Scene-14d6t0v

I watched Darren Aronofsky’s 2000 film Requiem for a Dream and it got me thinking about psychosis and addiction, I wondered how I could apply this to the screen in my own unique way. As I only have limited experience into the aforementioned ailments, I turned to external sources for inspiration. Like for example, in John-Paul Sartre’s 1938 novel Nausea, the protagonist Antoine Roquentin suffers acute physical illnesses on account of his immutable obsession with his own existence. As a form of textual dramaturgy, I thought to start with Sartre’s notion as a baseline for writing Beecroft’s crisis and the belief that he is shrinking. “What’s my name then?” bemoans Beecroft to the evil, calculating and sociopathic Melanie who is both a byproduct of this world and a contributor. My intention is to imply the question, how do I exist? Or, do I even exist in this world? A celebration of Sartre’s original text but moreover, a lead into Beecroft’s later line, “[I’m] Shrinking. I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got nothing left”. And it is here we see the catalyst for Beecroft’s escape from Melanie, personal recovery and impetus to repair this broken world.

To paint more of a picture of the world, I have added a sequence where Melanie argues that Beecroft would be better off staying with her due to the toxicity outside. It also illustrates Melanie’s need to keep him close. “You’ve got everything you need. Can you imagine living like the riffraff out there? You’re lucky, and you’re too selfish to see it. What could possibly be wrong?” As to why she intends to keep him close is left ambiguous. This is because I feel that applying such narrative at this stage of the writing process may cloud my attempts to crystallise the world.

Additional ‘world’ expansion can be seen when Melanie laughs hysterically at Beecroft immediately after he expresses that he has “given up”. Her reaction is to suggest that his woes are trivial in this world, it highlights the division of the classes by juxtaposing the opulence of the wealthy and the desperation of the poor. This reaction, and perhaps even some of Melanie’s character tropes, have been inspired by the character Effie Trinket in Gary Ross’ 2012 adaptation of Suzzanne Collins’ trilogy The Hunger Games. I would hope that these reactions become leitmotifs that would occur after any mention of Beecroft’s shrinking. In a sense, these reactions are my own reactions to my original misinterpretation of Florence Parry-Heide’s children’s book The Shrinking of Treehorn (1971) — the source of my inspiration. But moreover, they are to emulate and in turn comment on stigma in mental illness —  which is entertained by this world’s inhabitants. These are themes that I hope to continue exploring throughout my practice.

To heighten an understanding of the effects that world has on its residents, I aim to apply audience and character interactivity by frequently blurring the lines between diegesis and non-diegesis. This I hope will cause insecurity and menace, as if a foreboding presence is looking over the viewer’s shoulder. I have illustrated this in Melanie’s introduction, “Each number needs a name”. I had envisaged that this dialogue would be delivered as a Voice-of-God narration and like a McGuffin, the point of view and audience expectation would be disrupted. I am hopeful that, such audience immersion may enrich the viewer’s empathy for the characters further.

• The Hunger Games 2012, DVD recording, Color Force, Lions Gate Films, USA.
• Parry-Heide, F 1971, The Shrinking of Treehorn, Holiday House, USA.
• Sartre, JP 1938, Nausea, Librairie Gallimard, Paris.

POP CANDY

Flavoured carbonated candy that creates a fizzy sensation when dissolved in the mouth.

The atmosphere of the class was a world in and of itself. It was almost a full house! And with the inclusion of our two guest panelists Lucy Schmidt and Michelle, the air bristled with excitement and anticipation. With a ferocity as if fired from a machine gun, presentations began almost as soon as the class had settled, aside from general introductions, there was little chitchat. Poised, focussed, astute and some noticeably tense, each class member waited for their turn to reveal their world.

For my presentation, I was fortunate in that I was number 15 on the running order and therefore was able to learn from presenters that went before me.  I noticed that some had received criticism that they were speaking too fast and as a result had compromised vocal clarity. This was something that I have fallen victim to in previous presentations where, due to excitement, nerves or just the need to get my story across, I stumbled over my words resulting in entire sections being inadvertently omitted. This is exactly why I decided, some days before this presentation, that I would write a prose and not deviate from the script. Though, this is not my preferred method of relaying information at presentations, it is particularly annoying as an audience member as one can feel detached from what is being posited. It can remove the human aspect and may leave people thinking that they may have been better off just reading the presentation.

Cue cards are a go-to method for many, though, with the assignment time constraints and the complexities of my piece, I decided to read my prose, off the page, verbatim. I had carefully timed the script to ensure that I would not have to rush, however, finishing about ten seconds early suggested that I could have slowed down somewhat. Regardless, I proceeded to improvise the final few seconds which I felt wasn’t all that bad.

Overall this method was the best for what I needed to achieve on this occasion and I was grateful for the feedback. The comments that the panelists made in relation to my world were; Stayci, “a beautiful rich world”, Lucy said it was, “the most well established world in my imagination” and then Michelle remarked on how it was “so juicy”, though, Michelle must have missed my opening and thought it was a book and not a one scene film vignette psychological drama. This was quickly clarified though I wondered whether I hadn’t been clear enough in relaying the form I am intending to use.

The comment that resonated with me the most, was Lucy’s thoughts on my description of the physical sensation of pop candy, “Using physical words to describe feelings, made me feel” she remarked. My affinity with Lucy’s feedback was less about fuelling my ego further, and more about a statement of confirmation, that my overarching strategy to create visceral sensations in all of my worlds this semester has been recognised.

For the year, I have endeavoured to push the boundaries further with the look to producing precisely these responses from people. Having been inspired by the likes of David Lynch, Matthew Barney, and metal music, I may well continue to apply methods to induce such reactions in works to come.

However, I understand that these artist’s productions are perhaps not everybody’s cup of tea so to speak. And likewise, my insistence on aiming for the grotesque may not be either. Regardless, viewing the process hereto purely as an exercise has been greatly beneficial for my future development as a media practitioner.

P.s… I feel as though passivity across the board is on the rise perhaps as a result of heightened bureaucracy on account of the exponential growth of the human population — like I am trying to describe in the world of Beecroft. As consumers, we are rarely given the opportunity to really feel what is being presented outside the underground and/or grind-house. When we dare dip the big toe into the warm milk of the mainstream, we have been immediately conscripted to toil like the poor sods in Beecroft’s world.

This is why I have arrived at the belief that it is healthy to exercise the exploration of pop candy and other sensations.