"Sweet Changling" - Washing Machine

Sorrel and I were put in charge of making the washing machine for the shot looking out from the inside.

Sorrel found a washing machine door in the tip over the holidays and after our first meeting back we decided to get started on constructing something that would allow the camera team to shoot looking through the door.

I started by looking up photos of what it looks like from the angle the shot would be.

Above photos from Google Images

Then I drew up some designs. Luckily our washing machine door had the hinges still so the task wouldn't be too difficult.

 We showed these design ideas to Ashleigh, the technician in woodwork. We were told it would cost about £11.13 and we immediately started working on it. Ashleigh was a great help and I have learned how to use so many more tool in the making of this. I really wanted to get more confident using the machines in woodwork as it is definitely useful to have this knowledge when designing in the future. After completing this I saw that Woodwork are holding some Technical Skills sessions over February and I booked a session as I thought this would be an invaluable lesson.

I covered around the hole in metal tape so that you couldn't see the MDF if the door was opened. Ideally, we would put some sort of rubber seal there but you wouldn't really notice and we didn't have the time.

However, I think the finished thing looks good enough for the shot they want as its only a quick shot. Plus when we showed them they thought it looked amazing. So I guess that's just my critical eye telling me to make it as realistic as possible.

'Under the White Sun' - Set Decorating

Dirtying down the jukebox

Dan, Tom & Emily (Technical Arts second-year students) had made a jukebox for the bar set and on a very stressed Saturday night, before the first shoot day on the following Monday, I helped them finish off making the jukebox. They had done an incredible job and I think the dirtying down we had done together looked very effective on set.

Above: the dirtying down I had done with wire wool and a mixture of paints
Below: Proud looking Dan on set with the jukebox early on the Monday morning

Set Decorating

Whilst I waited for the print room to open at LCC I also helped paint some of the tiles to make them look dirtier.

'Under the White Sun' - Printing at LCC

As Jane had become ill over and had to take a break for personal reasons I thought it was best to take on the role as head of the department. I feared that the communication between the group had gotten very sparse and I realised I had no idea what anyone else had done/was doing.

I found the graphics list (below) from the Google Drive and went through all the uploaded graphics so far, noting down how much we had left to complete before shooting.

Above: Graphics Checklist

After going through the list I messaged the group and updated the team on what needed doing before the deadline date which I had set as the Thursday before the first shoot day on the following Monday. This would give me Friday to go into LCC and organise with Seb what he wanted printing, quantities and sizes. Below is a list he wrote out for me on the day.

RECEIPTS FROM COLOURED PAPER & PRINT CREDIT

Graphics ready to be dressed in the bar set

Organising and printing the graphics was quite a demanding task. I had never used LCC's printing room before and Seb was too busy to show me around, plus he had never used the room himself. I felt a little uncomfortable about being in this situation in an unfamiliar environment but I knew I had to get it done. I went in and the staff working there were lovely and very helpful which put me at ease. I was waiting in a queue for a printer for over an hour at the end of the day, I was exhausted but after seeing the positive responses from the film team I felt quite proud of myself for overcoming one of my fears. Asking for help is something I really struggle with and working on these projects have helped me get over that just a little bit more.

'Under the White Sun' - Beer Labels

We also had to design alcohol labels. Over the Christmas break, I was telling my family about what I was working on and as my youngest sister, Rose (aged 4), is incredibly talented I asked her if she would like to design and draw an image for a beer label for me. She came back within about half an hour with the design below (left) painting of a robot holding a beer, I love it. Working with my family is always nice as they're all very creative and often we have a shared way of thinking which makes collaborating really easy. She gave me full permission to use her drawing however I saw fit, so I created the logo on the left and she seemed very happy with that.

I created this second label after making the poster from my previous post. One, because we were running out of time and we really needed a few more different brands and two, in my mind, it nicely adapted into a beer label.

BEER TAP LABELS

The taps in the bar needed logos covering so I altered all the alcohol labels we had made collectively, into circular ones that could be printed for the taps.

I really enjoyed making the graphics for this group. I only wish that they hadn't been in the first shoot phase so that I would have had more time to do more for them.

'Under The White Sun' - Graphics

GRAPHICS

I emailed 'Under The White Sun' about working on the graphics in this film as this is something I was interested in developing as it was something I think I already have an eye for.

After our initial meeting we created a group chat so that we could discuss ideas, keep updated and on target throughout the Christmas break.

I wish I had more time during the holidays to work on the graphics but unfortunately I had my contextual studies work to do and I prioritised this over any LCC Collaboration work. On top of this I was working on the graphics for 'One Night' so I felt pretty swamped.

Sebastian Chan (Production Designer) had created a folder on the google drive with existing posters for us to use as inspiration for the style of poster he wanted from us. The following are the ones I used as inspiration.

I wanted to create a poster with the colours and shapes presented in these two posters. I thought about the kind of posters you see in a bar and that started to get me thinking about 'Happy Hour' posters.

Left: Happy Hour poster. Google Images

Right: My Happy Hour poster

I added Seb's CSEC logo to the bottom to make the graphics more coherent with the rest of the film.

The second poster I made was inspired by a poster (left) I had found when doing some research into the rising sun. I wanted to create something that incorporated the iconic symbol from the old Japanese flag.

Left: Google Images

Right: My poster

I used Adobe Illustrator to create both of my posters. I had used Illustrator a lot on my Foundation course but not much since then. I was a bit rust and had forgotten a lot of the tools and what I was able to do but after some googling and checking the DMC website I was able to figure it out enough to do what I had wanted.

I am quite proud of how my posters turned out and was delighted to find that Seb and the team really liked them too.

'Under the White Sun' - Graphics

Seb also made some flyers for the film and one of them was a wanted poster that he had not yet put a photo on. He gave me the task of finding a photo and editing it into his flyer. It just so happened that the previous day my sister had sent me a passport photo of hers that looked perfect! (We had laughed at the fact she looked like a criminal.) I edited the photo so that it was in keeping with the style, presented it to Seb and he seemed happy with it.

Left: Photo of my sister.
Right: Finished Wanted poster.

I had a lot of fun doing these posters and I think overall I'm pleased with how they turned out. Seb thought they were "very cool" and the rest of his team described them as "sick" so I considered this a job well done.

'Sweet Changeling' - Jelly Experimentation

Sorrel, Vicky and I decided to experiment making jelly early on because we weren't sure how long they'd keep/how much gelatin we should use/how to put objects inside the jelly.

It's safe to say our first test was a disaster. After arranging the food inside the moulds we poured in the liquid and all the food would move and float around making it very hard to keep them in place. The colours came out great and if we could keep the objects in place I think they would look fantastic.

We all agreed to do more research and tackle the task again later. After doing some research and watching some Youtube tutorials I learned that the best way is to pour in the liquid in small amounts, then put it in the freezer for a few minutes before adding more. I also read a trick to make a more solid ballistic jelly. This made me realise we also needed a lot more gelatin if we wanted these jellies to be sturdy and not fall apart.

The final jellies were a great success due to our research! Picture of the final jellies are on the last page.