ISY is:
1.) a design studio founded in 2011 by a guy named Francis
2.) a story about corporate cold
3.) a positive message
4.) a project that reflects on Natasha's journey through design industry
1.) a design studio founded in 2011 by a guy named Francis
2.) a story about corporate cold
3.) a positive message
4.) a project that reflects on Natasha's journey through design industry
5.) A tale of voyage and return told from
the surveillance point of view
the surveillance point of view
Now that It Says Yes is defined, let's make it happen.
Week one
Jan 17, 2017
"BRIEFING"
I have a persistent idea to write a screenplay. There's synopsis and characters written out. I also have about 200 location pictures. They are to be included as illustrations. Chats and emails will cover online parts of action. For offline, I'm thinking screenplay style (this one). And there's a vague idea of the final format, but I don't want to talk about it.
Natasha opens a notebook and writes this down:
"BRIEFING"
- INT. STUDIO - DAY
I have a persistent idea to write a screenplay. There's synopsis and characters written out. I also have about 200 location pictures. They are to be included as illustrations. Chats and emails will cover online parts of action. For offline, I'm thinking screenplay style (this one). And there's a vague idea of the final format, but I don't want to talk about it.
Natasha opens a notebook and writes this down:
Input:
– synopsis;
– character descriptions;
– backstory, made into a puzzle;
– design principles (surveillance or freelancer's pov);
– story events and ending.
– synopsis;
– character descriptions;
– backstory, made into a puzzle;
– design principles (surveillance or freelancer's pov);
– story events and ending.
The pre-poster from yesterday:
APPENDIX APPENDIX
A book by by Ryan Gander and Stewart Bailey
It's a book that transcribes a non-existent TV show based on another book. The book is called Appendix, it's Stewart Bailey's attempt to make the works of the artist Ryan Gander from gallery format into a book format.
Complicated?
Not really. But a bit more self-reflective than my thing seems to be.
Illustrations are inserted in a small size so to be on the same scale as the text.
This might be useful for me.
Illustrations are inserted in a small size so to be on the same scale as the text.
This might be useful for me.
Jan 18, 2017
2. INT. STUDIO - DAY
NATASHA
There was 10 carriages in the first train and 11 in the second train. Otherwise, they looked the same. How many is in this one? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Twelve. Twelve? What why.
Natasha returns to her desk.
NATASHA
I started making the poster. It includes 'fashion mythology', 'urban landscape', and 'film scripts'. And some sub-topics. Will it make sense to anyone else? I really need to add some captions.
2. INT. STUDIO - DAY
NATASHA
There was 10 carriages in the first train and 11 in the second train. Otherwise, they looked the same. How many is in this one? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Twelve. Twelve? What why.
Natasha returns to her desk.
NATASHA
I started making the poster. It includes 'fashion mythology', 'urban landscape', and 'film scripts'. And some sub-topics. Will it make sense to anyone else? I really need to add some captions.
Jan 19, 2017
3. INT. HOME - DAY
NATASHA
I made 4 more editions of the poster. It's going well. It still needs captions.
A couple of words on how ISY came into existence. It was October 2011, and I decided to pursue a design career. Because I had very shaky self-esteem, I decided to begin in character to see how it will go. This is how Francis Riddle was born. Frances' studio name was It Says Yes. He described his studio as "a community of rockstars and groupies collaborating to change the world." This was the logo:
3. INT. HOME - DAY
NATASHA
I made 4 more editions of the poster. It's going well. It still needs captions.
A couple of words on how ISY came into existence. It was October 2011, and I decided to pursue a design career. Because I had very shaky self-esteem, I decided to begin in character to see how it will go. This is how Francis Riddle was born. Frances' studio name was It Says Yes. He described his studio as "a community of rockstars and groupies collaborating to change the world." This was the logo:
NATASHA (CON'D)
And then the website, let's see if I can find the site screenshot.
Oh yes, here it is:
And then the website, let's see if I can find the site screenshot.
Oh yes, here it is:
NATASHA (CON'D)
Clicking the little pink logo on the right did exactly this:
Clicking the little pink logo on the right did exactly this:
NATASHA (CON'D)
Okay. Enough history. I really have to go and do some writing now.
Natasha closes this window and opens another one.
In approximately two hours, she opens this window again.
NATASHA
In The Anatomy of Story, mr. Truby writes:
Okay. Enough history. I really have to go and do some writing now.
Natasha closes this window and opens another one.
In approximately two hours, she opens this window again.
NATASHA
In The Anatomy of Story, mr. Truby writes:
Having a number of heroes is the main way you create a sense of simultaneous story movement. Instead of tracking the development of a single character (linear), the story compares what many heroes are doing at about the same time. The risk is that you show so many characters at the same time that the story is no longer a story; it has no forward narrative drive. Even the most simultaneous story must have some linear quality, sequencing events in time, one after another.
[...] Notice that having lots of heroes automatically reduces narrative drive. The more characters you must lay out in detail, the more you risk having your story literally come to a halt."
– John Truby, The Anatomy of Story
[...] Notice that having lots of heroes automatically reduces narrative drive. The more characters you must lay out in detail, the more you risk having your story literally come to a halt."
– John Truby, The Anatomy of Story
Yeah. He's right. But what if the money is the hero. What if it's an internal investigation of Warner about where their budget fund went? And we are just discovering as much as we need to know at the moment. Like a detective.
Anyway. And then, he gives a couple of really cool suggestions:
Anyway. And then, he gives a couple of really cool suggestions:
■Connect the characters by making them all examples of a single subject or theme.
■ Make the hero of one story line the opponent in another story line.
■ Funnel the characters from many locations into one.
John Truby, The Anatomy of Story
■ Make the hero of one story line the opponent in another story line.
■ Funnel the characters from many locations into one.
John Truby, The Anatomy of Story
That's decided: everyone's going to Uttoxeter in the end.
Moving on.
Moving on.
Jan 20, 2017
4. INT. STUDIO - DAY
Natasha reads through the brief, over and over again. It's been five days since the start of this project, so it's time to frame it properly and come up with something smart to say on Monday.
NATASHA
So now I wrote some stuff and did a bit of research, and the poster, and dug up some ISY stuff. What was the brief again?
4. INT. STUDIO - DAY
Natasha reads through the brief, over and over again. It's been five days since the start of this project, so it's time to frame it properly and come up with something smart to say on Monday.
NATASHA
So now I wrote some stuff and did a bit of research, and the poster, and dug up some ISY stuff. What was the brief again?
— know & understand how to successfully negotiate, frame and execute a design brief within agreed parameters
— know & understand contemporary graphic design practices to an advanced level and how these relate to their own work through a developing confidence and use of a personal visual language
— know & understand how to apply a reliable design process to their work that recognizes that importance of and value of research, idea generation and development, analysis and judgement and presentation of final work.
— know & understand contemporary graphic design practices to an advanced level and how these relate to their own work through a developing confidence and use of a personal visual language
— know & understand how to apply a reliable design process to their work that recognizes that importance of and value of research, idea generation and development, analysis and judgement and presentation of final work.
NATASHA
First thing is easy: I'm my own client and I trust myself with turning my script into a book.
Second one: "understand contemporary graphic design practices" plus "relate to them using your own visual language" – that's probably research into graphic designers' work with literary content. Then I'll have to defend my point of view on this. Ok.
Third one gives me a micro-panic-attack. But basically it's that research, idea generation, and development should all contribute in a design process, which, in turn, must be seen in the presentation of the work. (I hope I got it right.)
And our abilities here are?
First thing is easy: I'm my own client and I trust myself with turning my script into a book.
Second one: "understand contemporary graphic design practices" plus "relate to them using your own visual language" – that's probably research into graphic designers' work with literary content. Then I'll have to defend my point of view on this. Ok.
Third one gives me a micro-panic-attack. But basically it's that research, idea generation, and development should all contribute in a design process, which, in turn, must be seen in the presentation of the work. (I hope I got it right.)
And our abilities here are?
— effectively manage and self-direct a programme of study
— exercise high levels of independent aesthetic and functional judgements in the development and realization of their design work
— successfully deploy a range of appropriate visual languages, materials and technical skills to realize their design solutions
— demonstrate levels of production and presentation skills appropriate for employment
— evaluate critically their individual strengths and identify areas for further development and learning
— exercise high levels of independent aesthetic and functional judgements in the development and realization of their design work
— successfully deploy a range of appropriate visual languages, materials and technical skills to realize their design solutions
— demonstrate levels of production and presentation skills appropriate for employment
— evaluate critically their individual strengths and identify areas for further development and learning
NATASHA
No problems here. As Steve Roggenbuck said, the moon just does its fucking job.
Now I'll have to find some relevant people and projects, and compare them to my own ideas. Welcome to creative googling class.
No problems here. As Steve Roggenbuck said, the moon just does its fucking job.
Now I'll have to find some relevant people and projects, and compare them to my own ideas. Welcome to creative googling class.
Creative googling class
Film essays
Errol Morris
American film director primarily of documentaries examining and investigating, among other things, authorities and eccentrics.
Best known for his 1988 documentary The Thin Blue Line, depicting the story of Randall Dale Adams, a man convicted and sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit. At the time, Morris had been making a living as a private investigator for a well-known private detective agency that specialized in Wall Street cases. Bringing together his talents as an investigator and his obsessions with murder, narration, and epistemology, Morris went to work on the case in earnest. Unedited interviews in which the prosecution's witnesses systematically contradicted themselves were used as testimony in Adams's 1986 habeas corpus hearing to determine if he would receive a new trial. David Harris famously confessed, in a roundabout manner, to killing Wood.
The Thin Blue Line on Youtube
The Thin Blue Line on Youtube
Orson Welles
American actor, director, writer, and producer who worked in theatre,
radio, and film.
radio, and film.
He made a lot of stuff, his wikipedia article is huge, and I'm not sure how to research him in a way that is beneficial to my project. Citizen Kane? Don Quixote?
F for Fake. This one might be on point.
F for Fake. This one might be on point.
Initially released in 1974, it focuses on Elmyr de Hory's recounting of his career as a professional art forger; de Hory's story serves as the backdrop for a fast-paced, meandering investigation of the natures of authorship and authenticity, as well as the basis of the value of art. Loosely a documentary, the film operates in several different genres and has been described as a kind of film essay.
F for Fake on Youtube
F for Fake on Youtube
Chris Marker
French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and film essayist. His best known films are La Jetée, Le Joli Mai, A Grin Without a Cat and Sans Soleil
Chris Marker is a film director associated with Left Bank (or Rive Gauche) movement, which is a branch of a Franch New Wave movement, along with Right Bank (or rather Cahiers du cinéma magazine contributors, Godard among them). Left bank consisted of "older and less movie-crazed directors. They tended to see cinema akin to other arts, such as literature. However they were similar to the New Wave directors in that they practiced cinematic modernism."
Sunday in Peking (1956) is a film that defined his visual language (I swear on wikipedia). So: Sunday in Peking and La Jetee.
Sunday in Peking (1956) is a film that defined his visual language (I swear on wikipedia). So: Sunday in Peking and La Jetee.
Adam Curtis
English documentary film-maker. Curtis says that his favourite theme is "power and how it works in society"
I like "early career" section:
Curtis applied to the BBC and was hired to make a film for one of its training courses, comparing designer clothes in music videos to the design of weapons. He was subsequently given a post on That's Life!, a magazine series that juxtaposed hard-hitting investigations and light-hearted content. He was a film director on Out of Court, a BBC Two legal series, from 1980 until 1982.
Curtis applied to the BBC and was hired to make a film for one of its training courses, comparing designer clothes in music videos to the design of weapons. He was subsequently given a post on That's Life!, a magazine series that juxtaposed hard-hitting investigations and light-hearted content. He was a film director on Out of Court, a BBC Two legal series, from 1980 until 1982.
“
If there has been a theme in Curtis's work,
it has been to look at how different elites have tried to impose an ideology on their times, and the tragicomic consequences of those attempts
it has been to look at how different elites have tried to impose an ideology on their times, and the tragicomic consequences of those attempts
His method is a collage-like cut-and-paste of archival footage and appropriare soundtrack. Wiki: "Instead of specially composed music because it 'creates a sort of monoculture', he uses tracks from a variety of genres, decades, and countries, as well as sound effects that he discovers on old tapes."
Adam Curtis' blog
an episode of That's Life (Curtis didn't make this one, but he did work on the show)
Adam Curtis' blog
an episode of That's Life (Curtis didn't make this one, but he did work on the show)
Patrick Kellier
Patrick Keiller is a British film-maker, writer and lecturer.
"Keiller uses the appurtenances of documentary - 'real' images, 'real' events - to structure a fictional narrative. Like Marker, Keiller's narrators try to connect a whole range of disparate phenomena, in an attempt to make sense of the chaos of modernity, but they always fail."
Michael Sicinski writes:
"Perhaps one way to understand Patrick Keiller's place in British cinema is to offer the following proposition: Keiller's films exist like space. Now, all films, even the least among them, engage with space to some extent, so what exactly does that mean? Here's one idea. Keiller has been an axiom of British film, particularly in its avant-garde and documentary modes, since the '80s, but despite garnering considerable respect and a fair degree of success, he has remained something of an "invisible man." The same, of course, could be said for Robinson, Keiller's cinematic alter ego/travelling companion, a man who is literally never seen. (Although there has been a fair amount of speculation as to the origin of Robinson's name, Keiller acknowledged in an interview that the most direct source was not Daniel Defoe's novel, but Kafka's Amerika, in which Robinson and Delamarche are two out-of-work itinerants.)"
I am sold. This is it.
Here's the watchlist:
Michael Sicinski writes:
"Perhaps one way to understand Patrick Keiller's place in British cinema is to offer the following proposition: Keiller's films exist like space. Now, all films, even the least among them, engage with space to some extent, so what exactly does that mean? Here's one idea. Keiller has been an axiom of British film, particularly in its avant-garde and documentary modes, since the '80s, but despite garnering considerable respect and a fair degree of success, he has remained something of an "invisible man." The same, of course, could be said for Robinson, Keiller's cinematic alter ego/travelling companion, a man who is literally never seen. (Although there has been a fair amount of speculation as to the origin of Robinson's name, Keiller acknowledged in an interview that the most direct source was not Daniel Defoe's novel, but Kafka's Amerika, in which Robinson and Delamarche are two out-of-work itinerants.)"
I am sold. This is it.
Here's the watchlist:
London (1994) — Robinson in Space (1997) — Robinson in Ruins (2010)
Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark (1969)
A television documentary series outlining the history of Western art,
architecture and philosophy since the Dark Ages.
architecture and philosophy since the Dark Ages.
This is here because this documentary series is what conceived the dialogue on image philosophy that John Berger continued in Ways of Seeing. Clark's is "a more traditionalist view of the Western artistic and cultural cano", while Berger held
"a radical/Marxist viewpoint". So this.
"a radical/Marxist viewpoint". So this.
NATASHA
So I'll watch all that and some of it will go to the poster which will be updated over the weekend.
Also, I really have to write the character comparison.
So I'll watch all that and some of it will go to the poster which will be updated over the weekend.
Also, I really have to write the character comparison.
