My short list includes:
- Hush
- Mee-dee-uh
- Out of Control
- Acedia
I went with Out of Control as it is quite hard hitting, enigmatic and also reflects the way that society is out of control within my fictional motion comic but also the outcome that the main protagonist (i.e. the result of this media control), Smith experiences when Medicon is controlling and all powerful.
From researching present motion comics, it's quite apparent that they use climatic instrumental non- diagetic sound throughout. Using audacity, I'm keen to create my own instrumental piece to accompany the motion comic as sound is a very powerful component in suggesting the atmosphere and mood and creating that all important climax.
The 'sound' I'm going for is similar to that of 28 Days Later: 'The Beginning'
Particularly like this one as the sound is very eery and quite nerving. Also as it's one of my favourite films and the sound is particularly excellent in this one!
Another instrumental piece that I found quite interesting and powerful was The Darkest Hour (soundtrack):
This again, I find very climatic and creates a tense, nerving atmosphere- exactly the kind of feeling I want the audience to feel.
So going back to the narrative, I've come up with a basic outline which is outlined in my revised proposal below. Throughout the motion comic, the audience will experience the desperation of the main protagonist Smith, in not being able to 'cope' in this mixed up mediated controlled world.
Taken from Democracy in America (Tocqueville):
'In our days men see that the constituted powers are crumbling down on every side; they see all ancient authority dying out, all ancient barriers tottering to their fall, and the judgement of the wisest is troubled at the sight; they attend only to the amazing revolution that is taking place before their eyes, and they imagine that mankind is about to fall into perpetual anarchy. If they looked to the final consequence of this revolution, their fears would perhaps assume a different shape. For myself, I confess that I put no trust in the spirit of freedom which appears to animate contemporaries. I see well enough that the nations of this age are turbulent, but I do not clearly perceive that they are liberal and i fear lest, at the close of those perturbations, which rock the base of thrones, the dominion of sovereigns may prove more powerful than it ever was'.
Keat, N. (1994 ) The Authority of the Consumer. Routledge: UK. p43
I found this particularly poignant, as it basically argues that traditional patterns of authority are being eroded by the new spirit of democracy and the spread of individualism. Which in this fictional world is now being repressed again.
Smith is keen to hold on to this, remember it and not to be mixed up and succumb to the controlling Medicon. Through remembering the past, he is able to have control over his future and his own mind (to some extent). The final scene will see Smith citing this in a status update. Ultimately giving him the 'freedom' to speak his mind...finally but he is aware there will be consequences. Shortly after he has clicked 'post' a knock is heard at the door, sirens are heard in the background, the shot will cut to a close up of Smith smiling... He's done all he wanted to do. Yet the final message and social critique if you like is to reiterate the power of media control. In some aspect it can and will take over your life and cannot be ignored. Particularly how this can be seen in today's society with our reliance on television, newspapers and the Internet to name a few!
So this week was also spent researching Behaviourism. All in the Mind was particularly interesting as it gave me an insight into Government and the Behavioural Insight Team or 'Nudge' unit that was designed to persuade us to make decisions which are good for us and good for society. The 'Nudge' agenda then, uses pyschology to persuade us to change our behaviour. The example given was 'crossing the road without being knocked over'. It made me think of this example used in Web Media in 2nd year:
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| Controlling where to 'aim'- makes an everyday 'thing' into gameplay |
Government seek to persuade, cajole and strong arm us into changing our behaviour. This can be done if society 'doesn't get it' by bringing in new rules or even new legislations to force us to comply. So new ideas to get us doing the right thing seems to be a hot topic right now particularly as Cameron gave his cabinet the thumbs up to read 'Nudge' over the Summer. I may actually read a copy myself! UHHH CONTROLLING MUCH?!?! Cynicism overload happening right now!
The other was BBC Radio 4's The Sound of Fear. This investigates the particular music and noises that scares us and the reasons why. This particularly fits in with the sound used in motion comics to evoke a particular mood and atmosphere.
As my motion comic is set in a fictional future, I started to read around the Science Fiction genre. From reading Hartwell's (1996) Age of Wonders: Exploring the world of Science Fiction. Particular quotes stood out to me in my justification for my motion comic:
'One of the foundations of all SF: It has to be possible, so the reader's suspension of disbelief is not betrayed'- This is particularly vital for my motion comic as it's a social critique the audience must be able to recognize aspects of today's society in order to fully understand the meaning within the piece.
'The authentic SF experience is a perception of truth, reality in an unreal environment. The immediate and clear presentation of the palpably untrue is a distancing device of great power and effectiveness. The radical distancing from quotidian reality frees the writer from many of the literary conventions through which reality is represented in fashionable literatures from Zane Grey to Saul Bellow. From this point of view, the SFictional world of the story is an unreal construct built to deceive the reader- and the reader eagerly penetrates the deceit to find the core of truth. This is an ancient reading protocol invented by the exegetical readers of the Medieval Church, called allegoresis, through which the knowledgeable reader provides the allegorical interpretation (truth) for which the text is only a concealment ... Any kind of allegorical reading makes the reader feel clever, a perception that has not escaped the most popular allegorist writer today, Stephen King'.
The rest of this week will be dedicated to reading around the theories and ideas within:
Skinner, B.F. (1974) About Behaviorism. Penguin Books: UK
Perry, J.M. (1977) Lobbying for the People. Princeton University Press: USA
Gross, R. (2010) Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. 6th Edition. Bookpoint LTD: UK
Lehrer, J. (2010) How We Decide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company: New York
And also finishing my storyboard!
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