Screen Language

Throughout this project, my friend from America who had never visited Scotland or the united kingdom was staying with me. We spent the first 9 days of the project traveling round and living in Scotland in quite a similar way to my daily routine. However the main difference I noticed, as when I visited America was many of the things that blend into the background as every day viewing when you live their permanently, which are drawn back into the forefront of your attention. I feel this is due to anything we view over and over becoming mundane.

Here is the first cut of the film I created which focuses on these mundane, but none the less mystical sights:

After showing this film in a crit and to fellow students, I realized that the main short comings were in its overbearing audio track, over saturated colour grading, and the feeling it was almost an advert for Scotland. Also the eyes at the end were deemed cliche which I agree with looking back on the decision.

I attempted to reduce this effect via the alteration of the audio track. This was done via recording the bellow voice sample from my friend:

After adding this, I chose a less overbearing song to fit in with the piece, as well as toning down the colour grading somewhat. I also replaced the shots of Edinburgh castle and one of the drink shots with that of the Necropolis in Glasgow. I believe this makes the film somewhat more mundane as intended. It also adds links to death which, as the video is intended to be set in a dreamlike position, I feel suits the piece.

I also replaced the final shot with that of the piece of my friend talking due to it appearing more subtly, that he has arisen from a dream due to him being in bed. The last few words, along with the video seem abruptly cut off, linking to what he is saying about being disturbed from a beautiful sleep. This was shot at the very end of his stay so fits well and links to the idea that dreams never really feel complete as is the case with a lovely holiday. Keeping with this dream theme, there are no faces displayed at any point during the video until the final awakening scene. This emphasizes this point and makes the face more noticeable: