Assignment 3

Assignment 3: UC what IC?

Description:

nU C what I C: Visual story

nVisual narrative – Telling a story with just 10 pictures.

n

Suggested Procedure:

nBuy, Beg, or borrow a camera or steal it, but don’t quote me on this…J Even 8$ disposable camera would do.

nLoad it with a colour negative roll/Memory Flashcard.

nWrite/Select a short story

nTry to communicate the story using no more than 10 visuals (no text) – I meant it NO words.

nCreate a storyboard of your idea/s in your sketchbook

nTranslate you storyboard into pictures using your camera

nGet it processed and printed (size 6x4 inches). Mount them neatly on A5 size paper.

Objectives:

nUnderstanding and overcoming constrains/ problems of representation

nUsing various representation techniques to communicate your ideas effectively

Important: Story should...

Aristotle’s Poetic

nHave a plot

nA beginning (hooking the audience)

nMiddle (drama, building tempo)

nAn ending (with a twist – requirement for this assignment)

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First i shall showcase my failed and discarded idea.

Draft part 1

Draft part 2

The story

I dont blame you if you look at the above, wide mouth, stoned, stunned, whatever. Because none of the people that i showed it to can get the story. Zero, zit, nada, non existent. The tutorial class is absolutely stumped as to what the heck am i trying to tell through the pictures. They were at a lost as to what i can do to improve it. Thus i decided to redo the whole thing. I think i was trying to squeeze too much information into a mere 10 frames. Too ambitious. 10 frames were way shorter than i expected. I should have attempted something simple yet effective. Which hands me the lesson of : it is easy to overload on information, however to get the message across, to be a good designer, one should know what to show, what not to show and how much to show. Also, a simple but precise message is a powerful and effective one.

Oh, in case you dont know, the summary of the story is....
It is the term break. Excited, i played and played. Suddenly it is the last day of break and i had not done any of the homework. Desperate, i tried something i seen in Heroes(the TVs show). And hey pesto, like Hiro Nakamura, i traveled back in time. Armed with the new power, i played again without thinking. Soon it is the end of break again and i tried the same trick. However this time, i concentrate too much and went too far back in time to the jurassic period, oblivious to the impending danger of being eaten by the T Rex.

Yeah, crappy i know. And the length of the summary serves to remind me again that i try to squeeze too much into 10 frames.

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And now, for the story that i will be using

I set out to re-shoot EVERYTHING and here are the drafts and story.

Sketch 1

Sketch 2

The Story

Well, there you go, i hope it is pretty straightforward. At first it seemed ordinary enough, two people playing chess. However at the end it is revealed that i am actually playing chess with my own. If you notice carefully, i kept two things consistent. My hand which is without the gloves and myself only appears at the right side of the frame. My hand which is wearing the gloves only appears at the left side of the frame. This is to set consistency in shots and naturally lead people to perceive as two people playing chess. The foreshadowing part is when the owner of the gloved hand is never shown. At frame, it is revealed that the owner of the gloved hand had a checkmate against me. I was shocked, before smiling to myself as i have been playing chess with myself all along. Showed it to a couple of people and they all agreed that this is much more easier to understand and flows well.



So, as i have said before, through this exercise i have learned that it is very important to be precise and simple so as to be able to communicate effectively.