Thursday 27 October 2016

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Thursday 27 October 2016



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Latest version of the song (still in progress)


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Visual Development















LYRICS #6

Rewind to a girl (5)
Whose only pearls were her tears (7)
A lone soul treading lightly (7)
Upon the stratosphere (atmosphere) (6)

But when her eyes shut (5)
That girl(’s mind), like celluloid / like an asteroid (7)
Burns with a radiant vision (7)
A dream that fills the void (6)

Chorus 1 Option #1
Shall I be her? (4)
And take centre stage (5)
I long to be loved (5)
But can I ever change? (6)
Oh shall I be her? (5)

Chorus 1 Option #2
Shall I… be her? (4)
Step into the light? (5)
Be someone who matters? (6)
Who’ll be loved at first sight? (6)
Oh shall I be her? (4-5)

Forward to a girl (5)
For whom there’s no turning back (7)
She’s revamping her world (6)
She’s going on the attack (7)

Now to the dream lab’ (5)
Where she’ll mould a new future, (7)
Cut the past; dissolve the pain (7)
This / That / The girl’s her own creature! (6)

Oh shall I be her? (4-5)
Make the earth stand still? (5)
In the beam of my spotlight (7)
How I'll glitter and thrill (6)

Oh what I would do to be fifty foot tall (10)
On the great silver screen in front of them all! (11)
Perhaps I will finally feel complete (10)
With my very own star laid down at my feet (11) 
But what if this black hole just keeps / won’t stop / keeps on growing? (10)
Well no matter – I’m here – it is my calling! (11)

Yes, I shall be her! (4-5)
And invade all (nations’ ) hearts / And invade countless hearts (5-7) (6)
I’ll be their fire maiden! (7)
Their Devil Girl from Mars! (6) 

Yes I shall be her! (5)
And my name will live on (6)
I’ll go out with a bang! (6)
Never to be outshone (6)
I – shall – be – her! (4)

CHARACTER SKETCHES #9

Some drawings of the 'before and after' of Norma Green.


Monday 24 October 2016

CHARACTER SKETCHES #8

Monday 24 October 2016
Couple of ideas for the 'transformation' scene and how to put the robots at use


Friday 21 October 2016

CHARACTER SKETCHES #7

Friday 21 October 2016
I've made a few thumbnails for a robot mascot that will feature along with Norma Green. I looked at 1950's hair salon equipment and household appliances for influences.





Thursday 20 October 2016

ENVIRONMENT #1

Thursday 20 October 2016
Environment / Lighting test

CHARACTER SKETCHES #6

In regards to finding our character, we have settled for face we think could work well and are now in the process of figuring out its corresponding profile and hairstyle



Influence maps for environments/style/colours



Sunday 16 October 2016

CHARACTER SKETCH #5

Sunday 16 October 2016
The other day we realised our protagonist's outfit might do with a little bit more sci-fi vibes, so we looked into clothing worn by iconic B movie women, 20s and 50s futuristic fashion and new textures brought by today's fashion.











LYRICS #5

Upon receiving feedback on our draft, we attempted to re-tweak the song the way we imagined it but without too much success. However, the feedback has come to solidify how we see the structure of the story we want to tell, so we thought it might useful to post a (rough) break down of the purpose / key emotion behind each possible stage of the song:  

Verse 1

Intended as a flashback, the first verse should ideally convey that for years, our character felt terribly unimportant – not belonging anywhere, without a place to call home where she’d matter and feel supported.
This is meant to hopefully parallel Norma Jeane Mortenson’s childhood (as she still is a main inspiration to our short), a time during which she drifted from one foster family to the other, even staying for a while in an orphanage. The verse should therefore feel like a lonely roam, the hurt coming from the fact she’s being ‘cast off’, as no one really cares to see what she could put into the world.
For that reason, lines like “In the dark” or “All one with her fears” are not truly describing the state of mind we were hoping to tell (and might actually render the visuals a little static too). In short, she isn’t specifically scared (like an Elsa character), she’s just seen as insignificant, with a talent unrecognised.

Verse 2

The second verse should inform the audience that, although no one notices her, she hasn’t given up hope on making the tables turn. There is a spark of ambition, the seed of a dream in her heart, but she isn’t doing anything about it quite yet. 
(This verse could also be useful to introduce the first chorus and eliminate any sense of confusion as to ‘who’ is talking and whom she’s singing about.)

Chorus 1

The first chorus is a statement of this vivid daydream she’s been cultivating. It doesn’t involve any active decisions yet, as she opens it with some doubt in her voice, contemplating the person she would like to be. In theory, the chorus shouldn’t really contain anything about looks: she’d like to get others to appreciate her but mostly for her own sake, for what’s inside, longing for her worth to be valued. (In the next verse, she gets concerned with changing her appearance, but it’s a means to an end).

Verse 3

Here she’s embarking on a journey to step out of the shadows. She has figured out she needs to change in order to please, so she leaves the past behind and starts anew; counting on the fact that after she goes through a universally approved mould she could become ‘visible’ to the rest of the world. (Though it's a mould that doesn’t allow for a cancel button)

Verse 4

Now pressure’s built up and the fourth verse oozes with a sentiment of stage fright (as if she was right behind the curtains before they open). She’s come a long way, is she going to be a flop? Will her efforts get rewarded?

Chorus 2

The second chorus sees our character reveal her new self to the world. It’s a continuation of the previous verse where she wonders if she’ll make an impression.

Chorus 3

Applauded, confident, our character fully assumes her recently gained title and revels into the joy of finally being recognised and adored. It is however a title of ‘sex kitten’, since her physical image has come to prevail on everything else she had wished to offer.

Bridge

The bridge is a moment where she takes a quick break to reflect on her success and considers whether or not it can bring her happiness/peace/satisfaction. She therefore briefly ponders if she’s lost something, now that she’s also the public's property. But being caught up into the Hollywood machine, she lacks the time to truly think about it twice and simply carries on, giving it all she’s got.

Chorus 4

The final chorus should if possible be a nod to Marilyn Monroe’s fate and legacy, to how much she impacted pop/celebrity culture and came to personify the tragic side of stardom. To this day, many things still revolve around her persona and memory, so the idea of ‘being remembered’ should come in to balance the ‘being forgotten’ theme that was present in the first verse.

Thursday 13 October 2016

LYRICS #4

Thursday 13 October 2016
This is what our song looks like so far —  we don't think it's at its best potential yet but we'd like to go ahead with this one (we'll provide a .doc if needed).

Rewind to a girl
With tears just like pearls
And a voice to remember

She's out of focus
Yet grows ambitious
As day by day she wonders:

Shall I... be her?
Someone never overlooked
Whose performance matters
Who's got everyone hooked?

[Originally written as: (just to show the intent behind the first chorus ie. in wants of being important and cared of, but not specifically in 'queen' way)]
*Shall I... be her?
Someone others notice
The one who can matter 
Whose life is always bliss*

Forward to a girl
Revamping her world
And building on what she lacks

With so much at stake
She fears that she'll break
But now there's no turning back

Oh shall I be her?
And make the world stand still? 
When I appear all in glitter
A most sulfurous thrill

Yes I shall be her
Space siren - stars of stars
I'll be their fair fire maiden
Their devil girl from Mars!

[Bridge]
Oh what I'd do to be 50ft tall
On the silver screen in front of all
Perhaps I'll finally feel complete
With my very own star at my feet (=Hollywood Walk of Fame)
Or will I maybe lose something?
(Well) nevermind/no matter, it's my calling

So I shall be her!
Go out with a (Big) bang
In me the universe will find its centre
Never forgetting how I sang

Tuesday 11 October 2016

CHARACTER SKETCHES #4

Tuesday 11 October 2016
Been looking at the variations of Julien's last sketches and bring that into the ones I've made here. 


Sunday 9 October 2016

LYRICS #3

Sunday 9 October 2016
I've looked at Phil's feedback and Julien's notes and have written another draft. I don't believe this is the final version, as it does need some more feedback and tweaking.

On my own I’m the invisible woman
I’m the girl that all see through
It’s almost as if I am glass
By myself I am unseen, it’s true

Day after day I had wondered
Will I ever be adored?
How I longed to see into my stars
And find out what future I’d forge

So shall I be her?
Shall I be the siren of the stars?
The goddess of allure
The Queen of couture
Shall I be that girl on the silver screen?
Shall I be her?

I thought I was dead
Turns out I’m alive
I can see brighter days
Ahead in the Milky Way’s sky

I can now hold my head high
In the knowledge I’ve won
I’ve reached incredibly heights
I’m a star larger than the sun

So shall I be her?
Is a question answered
I’ve found myself at last
Lost in a space so vast
At last I’m seen and I’m heard
Shall I be her?

Fear had me trapped in and enslaved for so long
For I had no idea of what treasures lie beyond
Lack of love and of faith had kept me in the ground
But now I’m a girl knows how to outstand
I’m the star with a thousand faces on the platinum screen
Oh yes I’m this galaxy’s very own Queen!

So I shall be her!
That’s now what I say
No need to ask any other way
I’m my very own diamanté
Can’t you see that today is my day?
I shall be her!

Thursday 6 October 2016

LYRICS #2

Thursday 6 October 2016
Snippets of lyrics based around Cat's draft and Phil's response. It's not quite there yet obviously (the number syllables are a mess again) but I feel like it did help, as it raised questions such as the type of rhyming structure we'll be using and how to approach each verse etc. Ideally I'd like the song to have a real sense of journey, but conveyed in a small amount of lyrics — from an insecure but starry-eyed alien to exuberant diva; either the end line could bring a sense of loss to this, or the bridge, which would allow for the song to return to a more upbeat mood at the end.


Just having a blast draping herself in the milky way!

CHARACTER SKETCHES #1

When it comes to narrowing down the design of our main character, I decided to look at wildlife as a visual reference. Originally I looked at b-movie monsters/costumes as that's a theme that Norma Green is inspired by, however I felt to get a more original concept I should look at primary sources like animals and nature.

Tentacles


Julien had suggested that Norma's hair could be tentacles, as it fits with the sci-fi theme and also saves us from using nhair in Maya. Also we had thought about tentacle legs for Norma, and she would move around almost like a snail, maybe with the tentacles moving at the same time however this is something we plan to speak with Alan about, so nothing is concrete quite yet.


Eyes



To fit in with Norma's alien look, I imagine her eyes to be very dark. Though I'd like to narrow down on the patterns her eyes have, as I think that completely black eyes can sometimes look a bit dead. I focused mainly on nocturnal animals and creatures when looking for visual references.


 Hands



Seeing that this character has tentacles for legs, it may look a bit strange for her to have human hands. When sketching her hands I referenced from tropical breeds of frogs and amphibians. One of the most well known b-movie monsters of all time, the swamp monster, was heavily based off from amphibians. I also didn't want to reference from generic alien drawings as that may result in the character designs looking generic.


These sketches are all very rough, nothing is set in stone yet, so it would be great to have some feedback.
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