Appropriation- Del Toro

As I looked into the inspiration for Guillermo Del Toro for the previous exercise, I thought that using the same person but looking into their work in a different way would be useful in further developing my knowledge of said person, whilst also relating it to the ideas of Post Modernism.

I decided to choose ‘Appropriation’ as my starting point and then see if, and how, it links with Del Toro’s work.

Instead of looking with a broad spectrum in mind, I thought the ideas behind Post- Modernism and Appropriation would be easier understood by focusing in on a single piece of work or even a single scene within his films. With this in mind, I began to think back through all his films I’ve watched and ended up on ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’. As I had looked into the concept of Translation within our chosen pathway, I already knew what I was looking for. My chosen scene is inside the Pale Man’s Lair in which you can see where Del Toro has used the concept of Appropriation in order to create a mood and feeling about this character.

Post Modernism is sometimes described as being, 'a shift from production to reproduction' (Heartney, 2001, p6) and the case of Appropriation, the reproduction aspect is 'taking possession of something, or taking something over' (Ward, 2003, p210). This concept is usually referring to taking something without permission, however, the original artist in the case of Del Toro's source, has been dead many years thus meaning permission would be impossible.

(http://knowledgenews.net/picturethis/goya_saturn_devouring.jpg, Steve Sampson, 29/09/09)

The 'appropriation' of Goya's 'Saturn devouring one of his children' is used within the film 'Pan's Labyrinth' through both concept as well as elements being used as part of the inspiration and creation of the Pale Man character. Through looking at both this image as well as an image of the Pale Man, you can see that Del Toro has copied the eyes.

(http://media.photobucket.com/image/pale%20man/zoyd2000/panslabyrinth-paleman.jpg, anon, 29/09/09)

This direct copy of the eyes allows similar feelings to be conjured up between each character, especially if the audience is familiar with the Goya painting. Appropriation, in this case isn't as obvious as other examples, where whole pieces are taken and then just recreated over and over again. The most common examples of this would be the Queen's head and Mona Lisa.

Another example of Appropriation within this scene is the paintings on the wall of the Pale Man's lair. As the camera pans round, we focus in on a series of paintings depicting the events in which the Pale Man has taken part in. These look as if Goya's Saturn would have done this whilst also looking like the Spanish civil war paintings that he did. This is probably more of a 'Parody' of said paintings however, as they are not mocking the paintings, can it really be classed as a Parody. Its not Pastiche as Del Toro defiantly has knowledge of the paintings as well as the events which caused them. This brings us back to these paintings falling under the 'appropriation' category.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9YD2PFF31E, anon, 29/09/09) The wall paintings are 44 seconds in approx.


(http://www.worldart.com.au/images/goya-execution-of-spanish-rebels1.jpg, anon, 29/09/09)

I suppose that in these examples, appropriation is harder to see as they are used subtly unlike other examples where they are thrown in the audiences face. I feel that these examples are more like Appropriation than Pastiche or Parody as the 2P's are either mocking the original or have no concept them. In these examples, Del Toro isn't mocking the originals but rather using elements out of them as a homage to Goya.

Otto Kruijssen & Rory Snaddon

During one of the talks last year, we all had to pick out a page from a sketch book that we liked.
Although i dont usually like sketchbooks, iv found many that appeal to me and have begun to change my mind about them.

After taking this page, i began to fill in the gaps between the pages shown. All the black lines are what i have added.

ink dispersal

When penning out some ideas for the Maya part of Applied Design 2, i had an idea of ink dispersal.
Instead of just drawing the idea out, i set up a pint glass and set my camera to multi shot.
This is the result of my experiment.

Big Draw

As part of our applied design project, there was a 5 second short involved. This is going to be shown by 'Triangle' on Corporation Street in Manchester.

Here is my prep:



I drew each frame and then scanned it in and opening in an image sequence, this was then exported as a .mov

The .mov was then taken into After Effects and animated so that the scale changes at the end.
Masks were then created so that the animation was in the colours of the logo.







Finding suitable music was difficult as the style resembles Tetris but due to copyright laws, the theme tune was not allowed.
The style of Russian music closely resembles the style of Tetris and therefore was the best style for the animation.

In the end, i chose a piece called 'Euro Mania' as it had a pacey beat which tied in with the animations speed.

http://guymckinley.blogspot.com/

www.studioaka.squarespace.com

Guillermo Del Toro

I have decided to look into the inspirations and interests of Guillermo Del Toro as I admire his work style as well his creative input that he puts into all of his films. When looking into his work, I realised that he takes influences from many different things, many different aspects of the industry. These include Len Wein, creator of Swamp Thing, Dick Smith, Eyvind Earle, colourist on sleeping beauty as well as Symbolism and James Whale’ Frankenstein. These are but I few of his influences however, I have decided to look in to other ones in which the influence can be seen within his film work as well as the development for the films.

The first influence I looked at is Jack Kirby (1917-1994). As co-creator of Captain America, Fantastic 4, X-Men and The Hulk, he was and still is, one of the most prolific and influential comic book artists. As an artist and creator of comics, he wanted to work in all areas of the industry including Story telling. This is similar to the way in which Del Toro works. Although he works as director and storyteller, he also works along side the costume designers for his creatures, adding his own style and creative input. The reason he does this is because he designs his own characters within his sketchbooks. This is also similar to the style in which Jack Kirby worked. Although he didn’t always draw the characters within the comics, he wanted to design them and so added his creative input. The inspiration for Del Toro’s Hellboy films (comic character designed by Mike Mignola) also came from Jack Kirby’s ‘The Demon’. He used the ideas behind this comic book as a basis for the personality and character traits of Hellboy. The Demon being a good guy with an evil image, ‘not quite a villain but always sparking with little flushes of chaos inside’

The next of Del Toro’s influences was a huge part of Hollywood. Ray Harryhausen mastered the art of Motion picture Special Effects, more specifically Stop Motion Photography. Ray Harryhausen loved to work by himself and this meant that the SFX that he worked on sometimes took 2 or more years to do. Harryhausen worked on many classic films, such as ‘Jason and the Argonauts’, ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms’ and many more. The idea of Stop Motion effects and the hand made characters/ monsters have influenced Del Toro’s creative style within his films. Within Guillermo Del Toro’s films, he prefers his creatures to be prosthetic creations as apposed to CGI. This can be seen when watching the special features on the HellBoy films. In this, most of the creatures are created using prosthetics and materials. This gives an organic feeling to the characters as apposed to a plastic feeling to them. Both Harryhausen and del Toro were influenced by the orgininal King Kong.

Another one of Guillermo Del Toro’s influences is the work of Stan Winston (1946-2008). Winston is a Oscar Winning SFX creator and make up artist. His portfolio includes many films including Terminator as well as the creating full scale animatronics of Jurassic Park. It’s this use of make up and animatronics along with Prosthetics that have influenced Del Toro to use this similar style. Guillermo Del Toro, in most circumstances, will create the creatures in his film, whether they need to be 8ft or 3ft. Anything beyond this would be harder to make and so, its this point in which he relies on SFX. Stan Winston as also worked with another one of Del Toro’s inspirations. Rob Pottin worked with Stan Winston on ‘The Thing’, one of Del Toro’s favourite films for prosthetically made creatures.

Guillermo Del Toro has been influenced by many people from all parts of the industry, and the last influence I will be looking at is Chuck Jones (1912- 2002), creator of Bugs Bunny. When looking for a way in which Del Toro was influenced by Jones, I found it hard to link the influences of the drawn animation to the films of Del Toro. It was after a while in which I found quotes by both of the artists which speak about their work whilst also linking them to each other.

Chuck Jones: ‘Animation isn’t the Illusion of Life, it is Life’

Guillermo Del Toro: ‘ All movies should be designed like animation, where the style is the substance’

It was at this point in which I realised that Del Toro likes to create his films in the style of a cartoon, so that the characters should affect their surrounds and the atmosphere, like they would do in Bugs Bunny, One of Chuck Jones’ animations.

smirnoff ice

This advert was aired roughly 2 years ago and is still one of the most powerful adverts that i remember on TV.
The things that draw me to this ad are the music, the visuals as well as the concept behind the whole advert.
The concept behind the visuals are of 'Extraordinary Purification'. The vodka is triple distilled and the ocean is now going through the same process.
The use of 3D to create the elements emerging from the ocean bed is used in a realistic as well of historical way. We see planes from WW1& 2 as well statues and pillars from the Temple of Alexandria.
The use of music increases the omnipotence as well as the extraordinary aspects of this advert. This is then enhanced with the character acting from all the sailors.

The use of 3D in this advert makes me want to go into this side of Moving Image industry.
I will further develop my research of companies who work in this way and style as its something i want to go into.

Agency

JWT

Director

Daniel Kleinman

TV Producer

Sarah Patterson

Creative

Rob Spicer, Adam Griffin

Production Co

Rattling Stick

Post Production

Framestore

Editor

Steve Gandolfi, Cut+Run

Kinetic Type- V for Vendetta

Out of all the examples on the net of kinetic type, i chose this one as i am a huge fan of V for Vendetta and the language within the film is almost lyrical in the way it is recited.
This example of kinetic type allows the audience to see what the character is saying, something which is used in foreign films.

Kinetic type, like this one, can show the emotion and tone of voice just by manipulating the size and shape of the text.

E.g LOUD quiet

oldboy teeth

The reason why i put this clip up as a separate entry is because i like this clip for different reasons to the other.
The main thing that attracts me to this one are the camera angles that are used during the scene. A mixture of close-ups and mid shots help to create a feeling of interaction. The audience feels as if they are there, administering the torture. Whether you find this an appealing or horrifying experience is down to the one viewing it.

Another reason why i love this scene is because the effects are unbelievably realistic, so much so that it makes you cringe whilst it is happening.

Oldboy

I've always been a huge fan of foreign films and this is one of my favourite films.
Oldboy is based around Dae-su oh, a drunk who is forced into imprisonment for 15years without even being told why.
With no contact to the outside world and trapped inside of a cement cell (made to look like a motel room) he slowly goes crazy. Its not until the prospect of escape comes about that he begins to act regular again. He is then given 5days to exact his vengeance.

Out of the whole film, one of my favourite scenes is that one that i have decided to post. This 4 minute scene is shot down a long corridor, one man against many.
The thing that probably attracts me to this scene most is because it has the perception of a 2D environment whilst the audience knows that it is set down a corridor. The direction on this scene, the same as the whole film, is beautifully created as well as being original (something which isnt seen that often nowadays)
The way in which this scene is set reminds me of Brechtian Theatre and the breaking down of the 4th wall. This allows the audience to be a part of the film and draws them into this world.

Other reasons why i like this film, some of which are shared by Luke, are the fact that the whole film has a dull colour scheme, making the emotions and atmosphere of the film very dark and moody. It helps the audience be drawn into this underworld of shady characters and helps you empathise with the main character. The direction and acting also makes the audience want to empathise with the main character, spurring him on and wanting him to get through the ordeal and exact the revenge he deserves.

Illusion

The reason i added this piece was because of the nature of it.
This is all to do with colour perception and how colours look different when next to other things.
Believe it or not, the blue and green colour which you probably see before you, are in fact, the same colour.

It seems as if the lines cutting through the colour blocks are constant, but instead they change, meaning the impression of two separate colours is formed.

This piece is fascinating to me as it is really experimenting with colour, the same way that we did in our first year.

WHO IS KEYSER SOZE?

One of the all time classic crime films, The Usual Suspects (directed by Bryan Singer) is one of those films which you can watch over and over again.

The reason i like this film so much is due to how the story is played out and how everything falls into place as the film ends. This film is one in which everyone watches, and no one figures it out until the very end of the film. You dont see this kind of film much nowadays which is why it makes it such a good film. No one likes a film where you've guessed the bad guy as well as the plot when your only 5 minutes into the film, it just doesn't go down that well. Luckily, The Usual Suspects doesnt allow you to do this.

The script is well written and acted out brilliantly by a stunning cast. The film is directed very well and edited just right. This film encompasses all that you need to make a good film and delivers them superbly. A must see for all film fans.

WHO IS KEYSER SOZE?

The Orphanage

Presented by Guillermo Del Toro, This film by J.A Bayona is a moving story of an Orphanage which has been closed down for many years. One of the previous children comes back many years later to re-open The Orphanage only to discover that it holds a dark secret which effects all that visit.

This film is a moving piece which holds many emotions. The story behind this film is quite moving and allows the audience to be drawn into the story line. I felt that this film had something for everyone. The story line is moving but will also appeal to the mystery and thriller audiences. There are also aspects of horror and violence in this film which means that it is an all round film which seems strung together to make an amazing experience.

Although this film is in subtitles, i wouldn't let it put any of you off watching it as i think everyone could enjoy parts of it.

Casshern

As a fan of Asian films, I'm always looking for something which ticks all the boxes for my viewing pleasure.
This film is something that i stumbled across whilst watching Jonathan Ross' Asian Invasion.

Originally a anime, Casshern (Casshan) was made into a live action version whilst also using many animated elements. This film contains different methods such as CGI, silhouetted animation and even child-like snippets of animation to show that the character has a child's mind.

The story is based around a virus as well as the exploration for a cure. This leads to discoveries and terrible actions been taken. Whilst this is happening, a scientist is trying to grow limbs as part of the cure. The lab gets hit by a giant mechanical lightning bolt which causes all the limbs to form together to make the casualties of the cure exploration. They are then hunted down and executed apart from a few who escape. The scientists son has also died as part of the cure explorations and so, he decides to resurect him as well. As this action is against creation laws, there are consequences. His body is developing too quick and will burst open unless contained. He is in turn, put into a mecha/ organic suite which contains his body and gives him extra abilities. He becomes Casshern.

Although this explanation seems rather complex, this is the first 20/ 30 mins of the film which develops further and is able to explain the story line a lot better than i can.

If anyone fancies this, i have a copy which i can lend out. Its not the kind of film for everyone though so look into it more before you ask me

The Pianist

The Pianist is one of my favourite films of all time.
This films depicts the struggle of a Polish Jew in Warsaw during WWII. Alone and frightened, he struggles to survive day to day.
This film takes us through his life, from the begining of the war all the way to the end. It encompasses many aspects from the war and allows the audience to see the consequences of each action.

The film is beautifully directed by Roman Polanski. Due to the history of Polanski and how he was part of the holocaust, losing his mother and other family members, it meant that the film was directed to truly reflect the actual events that took place back then.

This film has many amazing sets which depict the true brutality and destruction of WWII as well as many scenes which show that respect for an individual can be between different countries.
You will understand if you watch this film.

All in all, i feel that this film is one of the great films of our time. This film has everything you would expect from a multi award winning film and then more. A must see for everyone.