'Chiaroscuro' / Digital Visualisations / M02

D I G I TA L VISUALISATIONS JEREMY BONWICK MODULE 02 THE LIVED IN ROOM

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Chiaroscuro

noun. origin; Italian.

1_ the distribution of light and shade in a picture.

2_ the use of deep variations in and subtle gradations of light and shade, especially to enhance the delineation of character and for general dramatic effect:

4 THE PEOPLE

THE SETTING

K (female, 70) and R (male, 68). K studied dentistry at university in the 70s, practiced for 10 years and gave it up to have children. Tried working part-time to begin with but couldn’t balance the working life with caring for children, she felt like she was missing out on the special times.

Since then K has rediscovered her love of drawing and painting. She now spends her afternoons on botanical watercolors.

R met K at university, he studied Arts and took a masters in journalism. He worked as a sports correspondent for 30 years.

Watching cricket overseas during the Australian winter until retiring to write his great novel this year — enthusiasm is abound, but it is not as smooth a process for him. Things are not necessarily the writers paradise he imagined, walks in the morning for inspiration, late nights by the fire to write. No. Mostly it is blank pages and wasted ink.

The couple downsized 20 years ago — with working children most of their relics are gone from the house. But there’s photos, vacation, graduations, weddings even. The house has two bedrooms — one master and a spare. The large dining/ living space doubles as an artistic space.

The pair have a decent sum of money, a pension and a super fund support them as well. They live in North Carlton in a 90s building which they have left relatively unaltered apart from some styling changes. The house has accumulated over the years — cheaper more common place objects from the 80s. The 90s is where they made their money, there is nicer pieces from this time. They relocated all their belongings when they downsized so everything is just slightly too big Some sporting memorabilia from R’s days as a correspondent, a framed print of the time his report made the front page. Bookcases filled with art books, tabbed and pages folded.

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THE SCENE At the dining table paper and pens — R is writing. He’s just stood up, at a juncture, maybe writers block, there’s a few scrunched pages, a notebook open, a nice fountain pen and some cheaper ballpoints. The TV is on in the corner, muted, a replay of the 2001 Ashes.

Opposite and across the room is a flurry of colour. Light streams in the window onto an easel; K has been painting. Her subject, a vase of tulips, catching the afternoon sunset’s rays. The painting is halfway through, the pencil sketch halffilled in by oil paints. R wishes he could be as productive. His wife is full of creativity, blossoming in her later years. He is stuck in the reflection, under the murky glaze of the TV’s glow not writing his great novel.

The key theme is the frustrations of the idealised novel writer.

And the relationship between someone who has found their way to age gracefully and someone who is redefining their life as a new retiree.

6 THE HUSBAND He is tired, his life is tired.

The past is his inspiration.

He is looking forward but all he can see is what’s behind him in the mirror.

He wishes his inspiration was as easy to find as his wife.

He wishes that this novel would write itself.

So he turns on the TV. Reads the paper, scrunches some paper and aims for the bin.

He misses.

(L-R, T-B) The TV showing a cricket replay and a newspaper from the 2015 Ashes series in England to show the old job. Being an older man, he feels more comfortable with a pen and paper, no laptops. But there is an old typewriter.

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THE WIFE Light.

Sunlight and colour, rushing back and forth, ideas brimming, paints flowing.

Her kids watch over from a picture frame as their mother embarks on her next great exploit. Art. An idea pops into her head, she grabs for her notebook and jots it down.

She pins up her work. She washes her brushes.

The light falls across it. The wet paint shines as it dries into the surface.

The art is in process, a painting of tulips. There is light, there is shade and there is detail, one of the flowers has been plucked for a closer look, taped to the angled drawing-board. She has collected leaves and sketches them, the walls have pinned watercolor studies.

8 COMPOSITION The main strategy in the composition is that of symmetry — the set up being used to suggest to highlight the differences between the two sides of the frame, there is an imbalance slightly favoring the left side of frame to allude to the wife’s more content whilst in contrast the husband is a mere reflection in a mirror, somehow less real and less fulfilled.

The mirror also act to confine and box in the husband, alluding to his lack of creativity and his discontent. There is an allusion also to him watching enviously from across the room as his wife paints in the sunshine.

The scene is cut in two also by the wall which creates a strong vertical element.

This splitting of the scene in two suggests a divide or conflict between the two sides, between the two characters and connotes their somewhat fractured relationship.

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The initial sketch of the scene established the main idea of the contrasting frame and the importance of the mirror as a tool to allow the viewer to see into the husband’s half of the room whilst also disconnecting each side.

BLUE HUE FILL

VRAY SUN

POINT ROOM LIGHT

TV

The scene is played out in two half rooms, each with their own character. The camera stays somewhat impartial, with a flat, straight forward, one-point perspective view cut by the door frame. The perpendicular parallel and perspective lines set up a rigid framework for the viewer to examine the differences between the two sides of the frame.

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Sherlock [BBC], ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ dir. Paul McGuigan, 2012 and ‘The Sign of Three’ dir. Colm McCarthy, 2014

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11 Contrasts, constraining and understanding.

The use of quadrant framing in the BBC’s modern adaption of Sherlock Holmes conveys themes of dissociation and separation. The opposite shots were heavy influences in the composition of the final render, which seeks to set up a contrast, and an undercurrent of conflict, between the two characters of the scene.

Quadrant framing, unlike the rule of thirds which places significant objects on the lines drawn across the screen, splits the frame into four individual elements which act as their own mini-composition. This technique lends itself to symmetrical or strongly asymmetrical images, which sets up a power balance, or imbalance between the four quadrants — they are in competition with one another for dominance.

The top two images from Sherlock use foreground blocking elements to frame the halves or quadrants of the screen, setting up a tension between characters who cannot see eye-to-eye and want different things. Both are trapped and

visually boxed in, by their emotions towards the titular character.

The framing in reminiscent of an earlier scene where Sherlock, in emotional turmoil, is blocking out the world, positioned in a window frame surrounded by blackness. The old person who can possibly understand him is his brother who can enter through a door. The overall effect is a distancing of character from surrounds or from others.

The symmetric framing of Sherlock and John separated by Mary in the third series also works in a way to set up an obscuring, with both characters blind-sighted by Mary. A visual power interplay occurs between the pair, each believe they are in cahoots with Mary whereas she is manipulating them both at the same time.

Visually, these shots mimic the way in which the render is framed to create a dynamic between two opposing sides, one of which feels confined and boxed in by his circumstances.

12 Cornice detailing and picture rail suggest the vintage of the house and its heritage nature, the paint is a summer-y warm shade of white

A family photo hangs on the wall, a reminder of the wife’s previous role as mother before embarking on her painting career The wall has been plastered with prints and paintings that the wife has produced in her time painting, suggesting her heavy output and enthusiasm for her new found pursuit

The inspirations of nature lie heavy around the room, suggesting a positive energy

The table is busy, yet ordered, with paint brushes lined up or placed in water — this is someone brimming with creativity but also with a calm and collected mind

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13 Lines of symmetry to allude to the mirroring of the frame and encourage the audience to compare the two sides

Wallpaper to signify the age of the house and the artful taste of its occupants, originally intended to be forgotten half renovation to signify the character’s state of lack of direction and search for purpose, to symbolise him feeling incomplete

Newspaper, connotations of a certain age demographic

The table is bearer than the wife’s plethora of equipment, signifying the lack of enthusiasm and productivity/output To try and motivate himself and find his novel writing process, the husband has tried different media — a fountain pen, a pot of ink, even his old typewriter from the 80s in all its bakelite glory.

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T H E PA L L E T

The mood of the scene is highly dependent on the lighting — the choice of natural sunlight with a soft afternoon edge is driven by creating a relaxed and feel, reminiscent of watching dappled

afternoon light play on surfaces at the end of a long and hot summer’s day. The light carries a warmth and a life into the scene, picking up details and creating patterns on the objects of the scene.

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15 Mood board photos by Jeremy Bonwick

The vibrancy of these images is a good contrast to the other half of the images which will be darker and moodier to convey the conflict between the couple — specifically the husband’s jealousy that

his wife has found her creative output so easy and prolifically whilst he struggles in his pursuit of his great novel, shutting himself away in the darker room while she flourishes in the light.

16 THE LIGHTING The lighting has been used to convey the contrast in the two characters, setting up a juxtaposition between the overall bright left side of the frame with the darkness of the right.

The left is illuminated with a v-Ray sun with the edges of the light diffused slightly, along with the angle, used to suggest a late afternoon setting to match with the background plate out the window.

The right is lit by artificial sources (apart from the one shard of sunlight from underneath a blind) including a ceiling lamp and the glow of the TV in the background.

The choices of material aid in the overall contrast, with reflective metals, white paint and blond timbers used on the left, while darker timbers, a heavy patterned wallpaper and thick timber bookcase blend into the shadows of the scene.

SUMMER SUN The windows are open, possibility is abound, the afternoon sun playfully falls across the table, dancing merrily along the wife’s paints and notebook, the twilight of her life, but the beginning of her new journey

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THE SICKLY GLOW The room behind has the blinds drawn, the TV glows in the background and a sickly yellow tinted lamp illuminates the table — it is artificial, unwelcoming and dingy. Devoid of motivation.

THE CUTTING SUN Unlike the bathing sunlight of the wife’s studio, the sunlight her cuts harshly through the scene, disruptively falling on the TV, angular and distasteful.

The world is not as rosy for the husband.

18 THE T E X T U R I N G The texturing process focused predominantly on adding depth and age/ wear to the different surfaces. Bump maps were used to add roughness to the wall finishes to bring in imperfection to allude to the age of the house. For the wallpaper displacement was used to create seams between the sheets of paper as well as Scratches were added onto the table to as a second material as a blended vray material, this caught the light and reflected based on a reflection map on the second material.

The freshly painted areas of the art on the wife’s table is detailed with a reflection in the reflectivity map to suggest its wetness and it being in-progress.

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THE TV

THE FOUNTAIN PEN

The TV was unwrapped to create the outlines for the texture maps — the simple shape being brought to life by the diffuse, bump and reflection maps applied. The picture on the screen sits behind a glass pane with a light source in front to create a glow around the edges.

The fountain pen suggests the husband has invested in his new novel writing pursuit. The material is an example of a multi material which is applied to one object with different regions

THE MASKING TAPE

THE AMAZON BOX The ad hock nature of the wife’s studio is aided by her balancing a pot on top of a cardboard box, the symbolism is that she is constantly ordering new materials and tools for her painting — evolving her art.

Adding some details into the painterly scene, to allude to the process of painting, masking tape scraps were used. The process to create them was using a plane with a material added with an opacity map. The plane was warped to give the impression of its form.

20 REFLECTION

The initial process of the task was setting up the narrative framework, an enjoyable process of building the world around the scene and its characters. This manifest in a two page document which outlined the characters, this became a reference during modeling, a lens through which every objects was viewed and justified, each thing in the scene has a symbolic purpose or to build the picture of the character. For example the leaves that sit on the wife’s desk suggest her constantly looking for inspiration, a positive energy of her new painting career, always on her mind. In contrast the husband turns to the distractions of the TV and newspaper to escape from his writing.

He is not consumed by his pursuit. This is one example of how the scene is built on contrasts, with each side mirroring the other but setting up a conflict between two halves — whereas the wife is inspired by nature which dominates her side of

the frame, the husband’s old VHS is his inspiration, a less natural, pure and simple inspiration which is rooted in the past alluding to him being unable to settle into his noel-writing retirement.

The modeling process this task focused on objects which were unique or hard to find, or a particular shape for narrative purpose, or for ease of applying material.

The complication with downloading assets, especially models was a forfeiting of control. Unlike things modeled from scratch, other people’s objects were often unwrapped in strange ways, using nonvray materials or bad maps. The material process became very important in replacing and tweaking the appearance of the objects downloaded. For example, a different timber texture was used for the bookcase, a choice of a darker oak over the original melamine sheets to fall in line with the heavier, darker tones of the

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husband’s side of frame.

The composition was a main focus in the visual conveying of the narrative, setting up the camera early both established the strong symmetrical framing as well as allowing the scene to be built by what would be seen with other details obscured. The composition, strangely, was quite ambiguous to others at first glance.

Often the mirror was missed and instead assumed that the other room extended backwards instead of being reflected.

This ambiguity was intended, to make the viewer feel a bit uncomfortable about the right side of frame, mimicking the husband’s tension.

If more time had been allowed for this task, it would have been good to continue to add objects to the scene to build the character. Also the material process could be refined to add more age to objects,

roughing up edges and scratches to build the realism. This was considered in the process, but could always be improved and added to.

22 THE PROCESS

The TV was modeled very basically in Max with the knowledge that it would be blurred and in the background of shot. The details would be provided in the texture mapping as well as through displacement. The important element was adding the bulge to the front glass to give the distinctive shape. The style of TV is from the late 90s to suggest the older age of the couple.

The planes used to create the masking tape had the ‘editpoly’ modifier applied to give some undulation to the surface to catch light and create shadows. The same texture map was used for both with an ‘unwrapUVW’ modifier used to rotate the map upside down.

Displacement was used on the chair material to give the fabric a rougher appearance, the age of the chairs suggest that they would be well worn which is added through scratches in the timber material’s reflection map and through a fraying in the bump map of the fabric covering.

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The books on the shelf in the background of shot were also very basically modeled with a subdivided rectangle used as the base for an ‘editpoly’ to ad hoc-ly move the faces up and out to create shadows. The front surface is mapped with a box unwrap to very simply apply a diffuse texture which undulates with the rectangle.

Given the scale of the A1 render, many of the objects downloaded would not look roughed-up enough, one example being the notebook which was very regular and box-y. This object, being in the foreground has to be altered to bring realism, this was done through displacement which extended the pixels on the edges via a map of page edges, this gave the impression of a notebook carried around, with clipping pressed between.

24 REFERENCES

3d_addict, ‘bic’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/459781 Banism24, ‘Free High Stool 3D model’. Retrieved from https://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ ID/1336663 Binyan, Parsley and Picture frame files from lecture content, Retrieved September 9th 2019.

Deckorator4, ‘3D Bouquet of tulips model’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ ID/1270600 Dendrobyte, ‘Pencil and Drawing’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/866040 Designconnected, ‘Sonora’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/1185806 Designconnected, ‘3D Dana Chair’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/1180431 LemingPT, ‘Designer Table’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/479724 Matz models, ‘Painter Tools’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/842385 Poliigon, ‘Wood Flooring Mahogany African Sanded 001’. Retrieved from www.poliigon.com/texture/woodflooring-mahogany-african-sanded-001

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Rainbowvfx, ‘Book Case_01’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/881409 Rkataky, ‘Type Writer’. Retrieved from www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/747324 zarinachudo, ‘New York Times’. Retrieved from 3dsky.org/3dmodels/show/ghazieta_the_new_york_times