Presentation

Initial Idea

Our concept is derived from the networks part of our theme, looking into connections and links between events in day to day life.

We looked at Chaos Theory and The Butterfly Effect, and decided this would be a good starting point to build on.

The Butterfly Effect is the notion that small events have large consequences - such as a butterfly flapping its wings creating atmospheric disturbances that could cause a hurricane on the other side of the planet. This theory also relates to everyday events and paths leading to outcomes and consequences that could easily have differed if one thing in the sequence had diverged. From this we decided we wanted to make a short video piece exploring a narrative or chain of events in a mundane situation, looking at connections and networks and how everything and everyone is connected in the choices and paths they take, affecting others without them even knowing that it's happening.

Example of The Butterfly Effect in films

To start our research off we looked at scenes within films we were already aware of such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Mr Nobody.
In the following clips they show a chain of everyday acts in different peoples lives, all happening by chance but if any one of them had happened differently, the outcome would not have been the same.
These scenes try and explain this in narrated short stories.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button



Mr Nobody



Twin Screen Idea

For our idea, we thought of making our short film into a twin screen piece. This would enable us to show two different outcomes for the same person. Both screens will show the same footage for an amount of time, until in one of the films, an action is different to the other, and therefore the paths diverge and both sides of the screen have two different possible endings to the scenario.

Sugar Water


Summery of Film Plan

• Twin screen
• 2 different outcomes
• One main character - Nicole's Grandad?
• Follows path of small actions/events
• No narration
• Two screens, one on top of other
• No dialogue
• Primary location - Grandads house

Maps and Networks Initial Ideas

When we got given out maps and networks theme, I instantly began to think about where this topic could take me. As our piece is an installation piece I didn't quite know where to start as this was a very new area for me. I ended up having quite a few ideas of how I could make the piece an installation but not having any sort of thought of what I wanted to show behind it.
I was thinking along the lines of interaction for the audience as well, so what I was thinking was placing a giant map of the world on a wall and getting the audience to place a pin on where they're from. It would be displayed of course inside the uni, and there is a very diverse range of countries that are represented here so I was thinking it would be interesting to see how widespread it was.

It was inspired in a way by the work of Arem Bartholl, who did an interesting piece about maps and technology. He used large red map markers from Google maps and placed them in the spot that Google maps said the city centre was.

I found this an interesting notion and began to plan similar ideas. I quickly found however that I wasn't very invested or interested in this notion and realised that without those key feelings this would end up being a very dull project that I wouldn't be very motivated to complete.

Another issue with this idea is that it wasn't really an idea, there is no meaning behind it and it was a very shallow notion with no depth, so I quickly moved on.

I decided that I would probably produce something better if I 1) looked at subjects I find interesting and 2) considered collaborating with someone else so we could bounce ideas of each other, make filming easier and help spread out the work enabling us to do a better project.

So with that in mind I proposed the idea to Nicole who agreed with me and we decided to work together for the project.
We began by doing some mind maps around the theme and finding as many different possible directions we could go in as possible.

We spent some time thinking about what direction we wanted to go in from the theme, and decided networks/connections would be a really interesting route to go down as it's so broad and we could interpret it in so many different ways.
We came up with the concept of 'The Butterfly Effect'. This is the notion that tiny events can have large consequences - such as a butterfly flapping its wings creating changes in the atmosphere that eventually result in a hurricane. It is another name from a branch of mathematics called 'chaos theory'.
We originally thought of the sequence in the 2008 film 'Benjamin Button' as a perfect way to explain it.

Props

Props

An object used traditionally in theatre during a performance. They are usually fake copies of objects from real life, such as fake guns used in movies.
The earliest known props were masks used in the theatre of ancient Greece.

These masks were used in celebrations and rites to honour the Gods and were made out of organic materials that were placed on alters after the performance. They were used to help the actor vanish into the role and covered their entire face with just holes for the eyes and mouth.

The word 'prop' comes from the term 'theatrical property' and was used to describe objects used in plays to further the action.
Originally used in plays, musicals and circuses and over the years extending into television, film and other media.
Props are kept on a table/in a room backstage and are managed by the props master/mistress and they are in charge of all the items.

Props table

'Prop' is a that moved easily over the film and tv, and over the years a rising popularity of 'movie memorabilia' (often also including costumes) extended the after life of props as many collectors will pay a lot of money for items from films/shows they love. In some cases after the film has been released, directors/actors/producers/people who made the film will sometimes put items in an online aution or a charity event to raise money for a cause.

Sometimes the director will give a prop to an actor if there was something iconic linked to that character, such as in 'Lord of the Rings' when director Peter Jackson gave the main cast each something related to the character such as 'The One Ring' being given to actor Elijah Wood who played 'Frodo'.

The key thing for props is that they look real to the audience. They shouldn't be able to tell if a gun is made out of plastic, or if that giant piece of metal weighs next to nothing. The harsh lights and hd cameras also mean that even if a prop is real then it might not look it on screen and so has to be made to look even more realistic than the real thing does. If that makes sense.

Sometimes props have to be designed differently to normal for the sake of safety. For example guns and swords. 'Prop weapons' need to look real, but not be able to hurt anyone. Guns will fire only blanks, swords have dulled edges and knifes are usually made of plastic or rubber. The proper handling of the real weapons being used as film props is the primary job of the props master.