Final Major Project Boards

by Nicholas Mckay GDNM Yr. 3

HUEVO FILM Huevo is a short film based on the subject of human enhancement and what the future holds for our species. Human enhancement is the ability to alter any part of a human beings body to improve its base function. The film addresses the most debated aspect of this subject concerning the human race obtaining the ability to evolve at will, rather than abiding by the rules of nature.

The film revolves around an individual from the future who has the ability to broadcast messages to the past. He informs the viewers of the state of our future, which revolve around the subject of human enhancement while not being too specific of the details. What will the future be like for the human race and what are the social, cultural, economic and historical changes we can expect in an uncertain future? Huevo gives you a glimpse into the future. nickmckay.gdnm.org

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(a., c.) - Promotional images for Charlie Brooker’s ‘Black Mirror’ television series. (b.) - Poster from the animation film ‘Ghost in the Shell’.

RESEARCH In order to create a film based on the future of this particular subject of human enhancement, research was conducted on the topic, which revealed several varied theories. Many theorists had different beliefs and opinions on the subject of evolved humans. Cyborg theorists and Transhumanists believed we would merge and evolve with our technology to become more powerful beings that are not hindered by aging, with enhanced intellectual, physical and psychological capacities.

Posthuman theorists believe humanity will achieve the same enhanced abilities naturally and not through the dependencies of technology and science. These differing opinions on enhanced humans all pointed to the similar interest of humanity evolving and becoming greater than what it is currently. While uncovering these points of interest, there was also a debate between transhumanists, which revealed other interesting points and questioned whether humanity was ready for the ability to self evolve. Using the information gathered from this research, several films and television series were sought out to uncover what other individuals thought of this idea of cyborg beings and enhanced humans.

Of the numerous films and television series examined, a few particular stories were singled out. Charlie Brookers’ ‘Black Mirror’ television series consisted of several episodes that illustrate how technology affects humans and how some technological devices that seem harmless are quite capable of causing psychological harm to our being. The next story that was enlightening was Masamune Shirow’s ‘Ghost in the Shell’ film, which relates more to the tranhumanist idea of humans and machine merged and living as one entity.

After examining these articles and films, several points were gathered in order to create a manifesto, which focused on this concept of enhanced humans.

It was brought to my attention later that the concept of using a manifesto would restrict the ability of having different opinions and only focusing on one opinion. This lead to the creation of an essay, which spoke of a future with enhanced beings.

nickmckay.gdnm.org

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(a.) - Image of the character moodboard developed for the main character of the film. (b., d.) - Photos of the DIY Rotational Dolly. (c.) - Photo from a section of the script.

DEVELOPMENT After creating the essay, it was edited in the format of a script that would allow an actor to read it clearly and understand the flow of the film. In accordance with writing the script, the actor who was recruited for the film was consulted about the format of the script and whether the content was clear and if he understood it.

While writing the script, ideas were already forming as to how it would be visualised, so the script became a combination of a written storyboard and a script.

Following the development of the script, the visual idea for the main character of the film was also formulating.

A short synopsise of the character was developed, which consisted of personality, costume, diction, attributes and physical characteristics.

With the script partially finalised and the concept for the character realised, cinematography was the next focus.

After working on a previous film and gaining experience in the creation of the documentary film, further research was done on lighting, operating the camera, sound and the meaning behind particular shots when filming.

Through this research it was noted that a rotational dolly would be needed to help achieve smooth panning, zooming and tilting camera shots. But Unfortunately, this equipment was expensive and was unattainable due to funds. However, there were several videos during my personal research into cinematography that illustrated how to create a rotational dolly on a cheap budget of roughly ÂŁ20.

After the dolly was built and fully functional, it was time to scout for a location to shoot the film. nickmckay.gdnm.org

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(a.) Lighting experiments done at the Epsom Baptist Church Youth Center.

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(b.) Inside the Youth Center building of the Epsom Baptist Church. (c.) Digital Effects tests created after a day of test shooting. (d.) Photo of the open hall at the St. Martin’s Parochial Church.

DEVELOPMENT When searching for a place to shoot the film, the ideal room would have to be a wide-open space with either no windows or small ones to make sure there wouldn’t be any unnecessary light illuminating the room. It would also have to be dark to allow the focus of the film remain on the actors and not the background. While asking around there were several places that could have been used but most of the owners charged heavily every hour.

With time slipping close to the deadline, it was settled to use a room in the youth centre building at the Epsom Baptist Church, mainly because it was free. After acquiring the room, several tests were done regarding lighting for the character, camera movement on the rugged wooden surface and how the well the audio was captured in the room. With these tests done, several lighting shots recorded were used to develop digital effects that would be integrated seamlessly with the live action footage.

With these tests being successful in some aspects, there were others that required some fine-tuning. The rugged wooden floor made the camera movement shake continuously but could be remedied by placing a semi thick towel on the surface where the camera would roll to minimize camera shake.

The room had too many windows, which allowed too much light in the room. This was remedied by closing the blinds and waiting until it was dark enough to begin shooting. After these issues were dealt with, it was time to begin shooting.

nickmckay.gdnm.org

c.

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(a.) Scene from the short film demonstrating the desired lighting. (b.) DNA sphere digital effect that swirls around character. (c.) 3D model arm demonstrating cybernetics. (d.) Transforming pill relating to the various forms of anti-depressants.

FINAL The final film took several weeks of planning, testing, shooting, editing and rearranging but the final outcome was more or less achieved in the end. The necessary digital effects were incorporated in the live action shots and the camera dolly served its purpose well. However, in the final phases of shooting the film there were many unfortunate problems that occurred. The actor became ill during the first week of filming, which delayed the process for a full week.

A fine balance was needed when attempting to film, which was in part due to booking the equipment, making sure the room was available for the same day, having someone transport the equipment and shooting the film when the actor was available, since he also had a play to rehearse for during specific times in the week. Most of these problems caused delays in filming but the main issue, which could have helped even during these times of delay was having a few people available to help with setting up the equipment and altering the set when needed. There were a few people recruited to assist in filming but because of the other delays with the actor and the availability of the room, they were unable to help as desired. Due to shooting at night, filming could not begin until 8pm but setup took longer and less time was available to shoot all the scenes in the film. Because of this, numerous scenes were not recorded for the film and the planned storyboard was almost totally scrapped.

Various digital effects and images were added to fill in for the lack of footage and most of the film was salvaged because of the last minute planning and editing.

However, the film still demonstrates what was originally planned and the script still explains the concept of a future filled with enhanced humans while describing some of the social, economic, cultural and historical issues found in the future. nickmckay.gdnm.org