Visual Development

Digital Background Textures

| garygowran

I am creating the photo album page backgrounds digitally using layer styles; pattern overlay techniques, this involves using scanned textures in imaging software and managing the noise levels, blending modes and opacity levels to create as realistic a paper look as possible; drop shadows, enabling the illusion of depth and a gap between ‘paper’ levels, again using blending modes, opacity and also distance and softness levels; inner shadows, using a screen blending mode instead of a multiply mode to help create the illusion of the edge of paper standing out, augmented again using opacity, distance and softness levels.

Snowfall.

We have selected and scanned a number of different paper textures and colours for use in creating the backgrounds, main characters and background characters.

Paper Textures.
We have decided on using different papers for different elements in the film. The backgrounds will use wallpaper textures, the main characters of Dwayne and his daughter will be textured with tissue paper and the background characters will use mulberry paper. This will hopefully make them distinct while related. 

The Melancholic Wife Storyboards – Fifth Sequence

| garygowran

The lights come on and the Melancholic Wife must pick herself up off the floor and contend with the darkness of her melancholy again. She has managed to bring one of the ghosts of her former self along with her into this new arena of contention, the ghost floats free, still dancing. The Melancholic Wife draws the spotlight into her, assimilating its energy inside herself. She uses this energy to access her creative self expression, beginning to dance, move and project the light into the darkness, taking ownership for the moment of the space. The light, the white transcends the black, the Melancholic Wife and the ghost disappear in the brilliance as they join together. She pauses for a moment, honouring the coming together, she can bring the lesson which the ghost had to teach her with her back into the unromantic walls of her real life through the door which appears from the last vestiges of light.

McVerry Trust Production Design Concepts

| garygowran
Pre-visualisations for the McVerry Trust film proposal. My idea is to use the concept of a photo album to illustrate the journey that Dwayne expresses in his words. The underlying idea behind the photo album is to signify the transitory nature of being homeless, the photos represent Dwayne’s memories and experiences and the fact that they have no permanent home, he must hold them in a portable vessel. The cover for the album has at its centre a key, our access to Dwayne’s experience. 
The album cover with the key symbol as focus.
We travel through the pages of the album, each page with its accompanying photo and frame responding to Dwayne’s words. Dwayne has been in his home for a year so the frames are designed after the seasons beginning with;
  • Summer – we see Dwayne in a hostel and he’s about to move out, the frame has sunshine as its main motif, flowers bloom as Dwayne leaves. The colours are yellow, gold and orange tones.
  • Autumn – Dwayne is at home with his family. The frame embodies Autumn with a leaf and seed motif, a harvest festival feel, coming home. The colours are rust red, browns and muted greens.
  • Winter – Dwayne reflects on not being able to have people over to visit in a hostel. The frame attempts to convey this isolation through the cold tones of winter. The colours are blues, pale whites and purples.

Winter page concept.
  • Spring – Dwayne can have his daughter over to stay now, we see a picture of a young girl. The frame is flush with new growth, new possibilities, flowers and green leaves abound. The colours are vibrant greens and rich reds.
Dwayne then lifts the photo of the young girl from the album and we see him place it on a wall. He now has a permanent home for his life and his memories.

The Melancholic Wife Storyboards – First Sequence

| garygowran

The Melancholic Wife enters onto a white screen and begins to dance. As she turns back on herself floorboards rise from the white space below her becoming a floor beneath which creaks and overwhelms her with their noise and darkness. 
The Melancholic Wife uses dance to cope with her dark and troubled thoughts. But within her is a memory of dancing that feels embarassing and challenges her coping skills and the film will chart the journey through this memory. The rising floorboards of this first sequence represent the difficult memory rising from her subconscious. She is unable to fight off the hard feelings and she falls, descending into the void of shame.