MPM16 – Video Project “A Killer Secret”

Story Boards (2)

The Video

The Proposal – One Minute Video Assignment

“A Killer Secret” by Evin Lachance

I am creating a one minute film, that is fast paced, eerie, gruesome, and tells a strong story. The theme for my project is based on secrets–In essence, I want to take the viewer on a visual ride to showcase the power of a violent secret and what can happen to a person who knows it. For the project I have based the plot around a female character who has killed a person and now is washing the blood off of her hands, but there is a dual plot about a deceased person. My main focus is to show that this person who killed because of the violent secret is then, as you will see, killed by that same secret. The murderer washing the blood off her hands and the victim on the couch are the same person. Fast paced the clips intertwine with one another to tell the story of the two plots.The viewers experience with this piece through effects, coloration distortion, and fast paced jump cuts will demonstrate to the viewer my concept of the violent secret.
This piece is very gruesome. I am depicting someone who has just killed a person, and with the duel plot, it exhibits a dead person who was just killed, therefore there will be numerous amounts of blood. In every clip there is blood; blood coming off the hands; blood dripping from the fatal wound; dripping off the knife. I want a lot of blood to be present because I want to portray a brutal murder and death. This in turn will play a role in creating the atmosphere for the violent secret.
Through out the film there will be minimal sound, with the breathing of the murderer when we see her eyes, and the water going down the drain. The only continues sound is off clocks ticking. I choose this sound to depict that time is running out; that within everyone’s life there is a continuous clock counting down how much time you have left in the world. To also add to the atmosphere I have used color distortion. I have made the picture darker, with contrast and brightness, I have also added to the saturation, and taken away from the exposer. I feel this creates a dark and visually appealing layer to the film.
Many of the scenes within the film are meant to be symbolic.Turning on the water, represents the telling, of the secret/story. I have then placed a bowl of cereal that has toppled over and flung to the ground, to represent the act of surprise, that she was just going about daily life when she was quickly killed. continuing on I have a scene where she is whipping the blood over the mirror, thus distorting her face with the blood, this symbolizes that when a person kills another their image become mutilated and distorted. She then cleans the blood with a towel as in to clean up her life but when you finally see the murderers face her face is still half distorted with the streaks. She has a helpless scared look on her face, so there is a glimpse of her true self so half of her face is not distorted. I have also added the effect of a shakiness and also rippling effect during more important scenes. I feel this adds to the emotion of the film; scared, confused, secretive. Making the plot line about the same character, dead and alive, just shows a vicious circle the violent secret will create. Finally, the last scene is the blood going down the drain. This symbolizes that who ever killed her it was no accident–when she dies so does the secret she knew.
The power of a violent secret in my film is depicted very gruesomely through the element of blood. Having these controversial images with the blood dripping/flowing everywhere, being cleaned, smudged, I feel will add to that concept of power and mutilation. The concept of a secret to most is very warped, people fail to see certain consequences with knowing them. In regard to my character she knew the secret, killed for the secret, and is killed by the secret. My concept of a violent secret is very exaggerated but I feel those who see it through the medium of film will be able to connect with it, and in turn may reflect upon themselves in a similar situation. That is the reason why is should be released into the public because it encourages them to look at secrets and their effect in a new light.

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MPM16 – Audio Porgect #1

The Proposal

I will creating a narrative audio piece of the camp fire ghost story, The Portraits. The piece is meant to have a creepy undertone. In order to get the experience and effect I am looking for, I plan on using filters to distort my voice a little, I will be adding ambiance sounds, and also sound effects correlating to the story. The reason for this piece was inspired by Halloween. After watching a marathon of horror films, I began to remember telling ghost stories around a campfire. I am also creating this work because I feel story telling is not what it used to be. We live in a highly visual society when every word is matched by an image. I want to take the opportunity to go back to the roots of story telling, with of course adding a slightly modern twist. Within this project I have focused my attention on delivering an interesting story, compiled with great ambiance, and sound effects to paint a picture in the listeners mind. This piece will encourage others to remember similar times, focus on the words and sounds not just having to rely on images for a good story, also I hope they get a sense of creepiness that I am trying to portray.

While listening to the piece I want the listener to use their imagination to place themselves inside the story. The story starts with a hunter, I have given him the name Chris Mckenna to seem more personal, he is lost in the woods. In the background I have added wind to add to this effect. As he walks through the wood, represented by walking sound effect, he comes across a cabin that he enters, sound effects of knocking on the door and the door creeps open are added, I want this experience to make the listener feel alone so I have added a horror ambiance that continuously plays in the background, like in a movie when something is about to happen. Continuing on he is surrounded by portraits, adding more eerie sounds to add to the atmosphere. He turns around and goes to sleep, I discontinue the wind and add a whispering, as if someone other than him is in the cabin. When he wakes up, I won’t ruin the story, you must hear to understand, but I have made things a little more quiet as if someone is holding their breath,there will be little noise for the climax. Finally ending with a mass panic of running, heavy breathing, static, and eerie sounds to give the realization of something has happened and there is a mass panic to get away. Again all of the sound effects I hope will help clearly create the mental picture in the person mind. For the experience and through what I have explain above, ultimately I want the listener to be freaked out, I want them to think about putting themselves in that situation, I want them to remember the importance of story telling and its effect on the being.

The art of storytelling can be seen everywhere from performances on the stage, to film, to YouTube, to the News at 6 O’clock. Artist within this field can closely relate to the importance of what storytelling brings to a person. Me being the narrative voice for the project is very important. It can show and connect with others within the different fields because it is the voice that engages the listener, they use their voices to create a story, but I am also adding sound effects later to add depth. My chosen media is through Audio Narrative, this is a very classic style that has been used throughout the ages. It was important for me to explore the art of narrative in order to convey that raw concept of sitting around the camp fire. Finally this item should be presented to the public because it is a good story and idea, that people can appreciate. The understanding of story telling mixed with sound effects, and ambiance, to create an atmosphere people can relate to.

The Audio

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New Media History Essay – “Realism Through Video: New Media Artists”

“Realism Through Video: New Media Artists” – By: Evin Lachance

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