no FILTER REBECCA ELAND
Edition No. 1
The Dark Side Of The American Dream NO FILTER
is an editorial publication with an unedited and raw aesthetic.The magazine explores candid and controversial themes with strong Hitchcock genre undertones. There is a large focus on film and photography amongstbundles of textual material. Hues of grey, browns and dusky colours run throughout to create a visually fascinating publication, with an new age Hollywood noir thriller feel.
RESEARCH AND INFLUENCES
PHOTOGRAPHY
NO FACE
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR
THROUGH GLASS
HITCHCOCK UNDERTONES
PSYCHO
90’s REALISM
CLUB TROPICANA
CINEMATIC INFLUENCES
MULHOLLAND DRIVE
HITCHCOCK
Marnie
VERTIGO
PYSCHO
BASIC INSTINCT
NEW HOLLYWOOD LIFE
ON SET
MUSICAL INFLUENCES
THE EAGLES HOTEL CALIFORNIA On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim I had to stop for the night. There she stood in the doorway; I heard the mission bell And I was thinking to myself ‘This could be heaven or this could be Hell’ Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way There were voices down the corridor, I thought I heard them say Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely place) Such a lovely face. Plenty of room at the Hotel California Any time of year (any time of year) you can find it here Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys, that she calls friends How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat Some dance to remember, some dance to forget So I called up the Captain, ‘Please bring me my wine’ He said, ‘we haven’t had that spirit here since nineteen sixty-nine’ And still those voices are calling from far away, Wake you up in the middle of the night Just to hear them say” Welcome to the Hotel California Such a lovely place (such a lovely place) Such a lovely face. They livin’ it up at the Hotel California What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise), bring your alibis Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said, ‘we are all just prisoners here, of our own device’ And in the master’s chambers, They gathered for the feast They stab it with their steely knives, But they just can’t kill the beast Last thing I remember, I was Running for the door I had to find the passage back to the place I was before ‘Relax’ said the night man, ‘We are programmed to receive. You can check out any time you like, But you can never leave!’
ELTON JOHN CANDLE IN THE WIND Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled They crawled out of the woodwork And they whispered into your brain They set you on the treadmill And they made you change your name
And it seems to me you lived your life Like a candle in the wind Never knowing who to cling to When the rain set in And I would have liked to have known you But I was just a kid Your candle burned out long before Your legend ever did Loneliness was tough The toughest role you ever played Hollywood created a superstar And pain was the price you paid Even when you died Oh the press still hounded you All the papers had to say Was that Marilyn was found in the nude
Goodbye Norma Jean Though I never knew you at all You had the grace to hold yourself While those around you crawled Goodbye Norma Jean From the young man in the 22nd row Who sees you as something more than sexual More than just our Marilyn Monroe
LANA DEL REY
HOLLYWOOD MYSTERIES & TRAGEDIES
THE BLACK DAHLIA
HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL
JAYNE MANSFIELD
CONCEPT & CONTENT
THE NAME
NO FILTER is a term associated with photography and the expanding online world of Instagram.To #NOFILTER suggests that the image uploaded needs no alterations and was perfect captured in its natural form. NO FILTER magazine coveys realism and candid photography on it’s pages. ‘The Dark Side of the American Dream’, Edition No. 1 of NO FILTER, challenges the reality of the big American Dream and the glamour of New Age Hollywood. NO FILTER is cinematic and arresting but it does not sugarcoat or find the need to ‘put a filter’ on the world it emanates.
COVER MOCK UP NO.1
NO FILTER EDITION No. 1 THE DARK SIDE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
FRONT
BACK
THE SHOOTS
THE GIRL WITH NO FACE
THE GIRL WITH NO FACE is a photo shoot featured in the first edition of NO FILTER magazine. The photo shoot depicts limbs, hands and feet of the model only and therefore could be deemed an accessories piece. Set against the backdrop of a flowery and eccentric Hollywood hotel room, the clash of patterns and prints photographed amidst old fashioned colour tones gives a real sense of mystery and enthrall
Shot on location at Langley Castle, 2013
SHOOT MOCK UP
IMAGE CREATED BY REBECCA ELAND
CONTACT SHEETS
FINAL EDITS
SHALLOW WATER
SHALLOW WATER is a beauty shoot in Edition No. 1 of NO FILTER. The shoot takes inspiration from Hitchcock’s notorious Psycho shower scene where iconic actress Janet Leigh is stabbed to death by Norman Bates. As in the film, the shoot acquires a grainy, black and white aesthetic which means everything is kept very subtle with attention to detail. The shoot comprises of various head shots taken against the stark white tiled wall and distorted by the fall of the shower water and opaque shower curtain. The model showcases dramatic eye and lip looks which run as the water touches her face.
Shot on location at No. 24 Brentwood Avenue,Jesmond 2013
TONE AND TEXTURE
CONTACT SHEETS
FINAL EDITS
THE CLUB TROPICANA Couture wear is showcased in the third photo shoot of Edition 1 of NO FILTER magazine. THE CLUB TROPICANA depicts a beautiful woman wearing various couture suits and gowns throughout. Set in an old Californian green house complete with wicker chairs and hanging baskets, the shoot contrasts nature with glamour whilst maintaining an old school club tropicana atmosphere. Symbolically, the shoot portrays entrapment as green houses retain heat and sunlight, the same could be said for the Hollywood lifestyle capturing ambitious young woman and trapping them amongst beasts.
Shot on location at Wallington Hall, 2013
COLOUR STORY
SHOOT MOCK UP
IMAGE CREATED BY REBECCA ELAND
CONTACT SHEETS
FINAL EDITS
HOLLYWOOD ARTEFACTS Hollywood Artefacts is an accessories story in Edition No.1 of NO FILTER. It features various accessories laid out and shot on an off white fabric. The accessories represent items that are stereotypically associated with old Hollywood. The flowers for the glamour and romance, the camera for the life in the public eye, the make up to uphold the image, the eyes and gloves to disguise age and the jewellery and wealth.
Shot under studio lighting, 2013
CONTACT SHEETS
FINAL EDITS
WRITTEN CONTENT 1
MY SOUL TO TAKE is the prologue featured in Edition No. 1 of the NO FILTER publication. The piece is written from the imagined perspective of a young Hollywood star who has become sucked in and consumed by the bright lights and glamour of Hollywood, yet she feels like an alien. She feels controlled and she feels as though she has lost herself in coming to Hollywood to pursue a career she had always dreamt about. MY SOUL TO TAKE is a short story containing simple yet beautiful imagery and emotions which are portrayed very personally in the first person. The piece maintains a strong sense of the abstract and plays with metaphors and similies throughout, in particular the metaphor of the swan. The story is influenced in part by the film Mulholland Drive and also by the life of Marilyn Monroe. The piece opens and sets the scene for the following content throughout the publication.
MY SOUL TO TAKE There is something about this place. Something disconcerting. They all wander around cool and confident but I believe, at least I hope, that underneath they are just like me. We are swans gliding aloof and elegant on the most beautiful lake you have ever seen, whilst underneath the gentle ripples, our legs are constantly racing, racing as fast as they can. It’s so hard to relax here, to really be who you are inside. I try my best to breathe but there are never moments to breathe or at least never moments to exhale and let go of it all. You can only inhale this air. Sometimes I sit back in that deck chair and just observe the chaos. It’s the chair that belongs to me, even has my name on it, but the chair really belongs to her. They all adore her. They shower her in adoration and want to believe that she is real so much that there are times in my day when she is my flesh and she is my blood. In those moments she becomes more alive than I ever am. With every beat of her heart, mine slows and slows and slows… ************************************** Home from the party I slip off my emerald gown. Givenchy they told me, a gift from Hubert himself. This is what they want; to dress me, to observe me, to speak for me, to consume me in my entirety. But no, I mustn’t let them. The bubbles are rising and the delicate scent of lavender fills me up. I climb in, the tap still running hot. Closing my eyes, I sink. I am a swan and it’s time for me to take my final bow.
WRITTEN CONTENT 2
NO FACE is a creative writing piece in Edtion No.1 of NO FILTER magazine. The piece accompanies the photo shoot THE GIRL WITH NO FACE which is effectively an accessories shoot featuring the model’s feet, limbs and hands only, positioned mysteriously and oddly around an old fashioned and elaborately decorated hotel room. The piece reads like a poem, with metaphors and repetition throughout. It explores the concept of portraying emotion through the face and body and how vital the role the face is. The message of the shoot and the ending message of the written content is that a woman can still be fabulous without her face, because through fashion and accessories, she can be whoever she wants to be.
NO FACE It is all in the face. The gateway to the heart, a shortcut to the soul So much can be said within a single expression, a subtle movement of the lips or a quick shift in the eyes… And oh the eyes! Those instruments of deceit, those masters of seduction… what are we without our eyes? Shock, pleasure, and humour… what would become of the comedian who occasionally shows face or the lover who cannot help but lose all control in that final euphoric and pinnacle moment? It is all in the face. The arms are expressive too, sometimes. There are those two fingers that appear in a flash and disappear just as rapidly, Embrace who welcomes friends and family alike and the fingertips that run so delicately up and down his spine in the earliest hours of the morning… But no, it is not enough. Not enough to just feel that skin on skin without the warmth and comfort that comes with looking up into those big, knowing brown eyes. The body too can show emotion… Vulnerable and childlike is the ball of bones curled up in the cold, round top bath, whilst in the nightclub the slow winding and rolling of the hips entices a mate like a spider in a web. In the hall they are statuesque on the rubber mats as incense smoke winds down the open space infusing their minds with freedom and serenity, although their bodies maintain a position of power and control. Then there was the little girl who sat on that red brick wall her legs swinging subconsciously, just high on life. Our limbs, our bodily parts do understand how to feel. They learnt from the face that there are simpler ways to explain and express ourselves than to merely speak. Speech is lazy, an ironic example of an action without words and anything can be said but not everything can be felt. For the tongue lies just as much as the eyes try too. Without our faces we are blank canvases, mannequins on a runway able to transform into and become anything and everything we desire. There are no obstacles; she can wear those risqué Alexander Wang boots, her face unable to give away that she is self-conscious. There is no one to judge her beauty, only her style and her accessories and because of this, she is invincible. No face.
WRITTEN CONTENT 3
CLUB TROPICANA is a creative writing piece in Edition No. 1 of NO FILTER. The piece sets the scene and aesthetic for the photo shoot of the same name. Playing on the metaphor of a tropical habitat throughout, the feature imagines Los Angeles as a jungle inhabited by animals in designer clothes. Everything seems wonderful but all the creatures seem to have an ulterior motive or a dangerous aspect to them. The piece ends on the concept of the Club Tropicana, a carefree, neon lit bar where all the animals get together at the end of a hard day in Hollywood.
THE CLUB TROPICANA Go downtown to the LA jungle, palm trees lining the golden streets, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams leading you all the way up to the heartbreak of the Hollywood Hills. Beware of the predators. Six feet tall and Amazonian the gazelle poses, observing your every move. This season they disguise themselves as the snake; shiny green scales on their Jimmy Choo’s and mini skirts give their clever camouflage away. The leopards are far easier to spot. With Dolce on their backs they prowl the pavements territorially, basking in the heat of the sun. The Queens. Tread carefully, take only what you need and make your way across nomans land. Back at the Hotel California the candles flicker softly and the watermelons are fresh and thirst quenching. The waterhole. Red-blooded Penguins in bow ties serve the forbidden fruit, their veins pulsating at the prospect of a catch. Lust, temptation and desire overwhelm but resistance is essential to survival. Fight your way through the tangle of banana leaves, spiked branches and exotic foliage. Sit down slowly, your silk dressing gown, draped around your slender shoulders, ethereally brushes the Italian mosaic tiles. Wrap your lips around sweet Pina Coladas and lean back into the wicker of your chair. The heat of the glasshouse warms your bones and eases your mind, slip into a euphoria of fresh life and vegetation. Hot, hot, hot. Drift off to where the stars go brightest but just for an hour or so. Siesta. Later inside the bar the colourful, feathered birds in bright Versace swing their hips from left to right as the amateur in the Hawaiian print shirt imposes his moves on the crowd, the male ego. The neon lights glow pinker as the pack jumps and moves together as one. Bodies swaying, heads rolling, beats dropping‌ This is the Club Tropicana.
WRITTEN CONTENT 4
HITCH is a creative writing piece in Edition No. 1 of NO FILTER. The piece accompanies the photo shoot SHALLOW WATER. Both the shoot and writing explore Hitchcock’s themes and film genre. Hitch looks back on how Hitchcock created tension and built fear within his films, something new to Hollywood at the time. It also gives an insight into the unique qualities of some of his more credible works.
HITCH Hitch they called him. A man with a daring ability, the ability to take a nightmare, a nightmare you may not yet have conjured up yourself, and turn it into a reality. He was a man who understood certain things, like how to make the skin crawl and the hairs stand ridged on end. He knew how to pluck tension and suspense from out of nowhere and most vitally he had an innate understanding of fear. He knew exactly what it took to truly frighten a human being and that is exactly what he had in mind. ************************************************** After, when the film has finished and we have climbed unaware into bed is when it begins. Fear grips us at the times when we have space and time to kill. The moments where we have far too much time to reflect and think are the ones where our palms may start to sweat and we pull all of our limbs under the covers as a means of caution. Sometimes the mind wanders off on its own accord. We assume we are fine, that tonight will be okay. I’m not scared. But Dreams have thoughts of their own, they think conceptually and they are bold, unafraid to venture into territories that the body would not dare. They extract darkness from places that we have only ever known, and only wish to know, on screen and create experiences from them that sometimes feel so real. They wake us up at three in the morning, our veins pulsating and our hearts palpating. We do it to ourselves. We are the ones who conjure up those scenarios from the sounds we think we hear in the middle of the night and every shadow in the darkness becomes the figure from our cruellest nightmares. They are all spooks of our own creation. The things we see on screen stay with us, they attach themselves to our memories and they come back to haunt us when we least expect it. That face.
We feel as though that face will haunt us forever, that every single time we close our eyes we won’t be able to shake that arresting and harrowing image. And how can such an iconic moment be created from a mere scream? A feminine face of terror that has holds such great significance to our culture. The dark shadow behind the plastic, opaque curtain haunts every shower, as the water runs over the face, one eye remains open, wide. On edge He knew. He knew that it was that scream that would alter the face of Hollywood horror indefinitely. Sexuality, violence and deception became forever encapsulated in grainy black, white and grey. Tonight, the man from the motel becomes your worst nightmare. And just up the coast in little Bodega Bay, the blackest birds begin to gather on the old telephone line. They perch silently in their rows. Eyes black and beady, they watch the children. There is a fear there that had never existed before and yet is heightened in mere seconds. The birds. Then there is red. We already associate a flash of the colour with danger, with passion, with anger. Imagine a fear so intense that every unpleasant detail from the past is hurled right back up at the very sight of red. Dearest, darling Marnie, her tragic and tainted childhood forever preserved in her complex adulthood. She was scarred by masculinity and not loved quite enough by her mother. Red haunts her. Sometimes people, real people, are the ones we are really afraid of. The actions of a living, breathing man can prove more devastating and terrible than anything any ghost or spectre could ever do. Hitch they called him. The man with a daring ability, the ability to take a nightmare, a nightmare you may not yet have conjured up yourself, and turn it into a reality. He was a man who understood certain things, like how to make the skin crawl and the hairs stand ridged on end. He knew how to pluck tension and suspense from out of nowhere and most vitally he had an innate understanding of fear. He knew exactly what it took to truly frighten a human being and that is exactly what he had in mind.
WRITTEN CONTENT 5
THEY WILL COME is the epilogue for Edtion No. 1 of NO FILTER. It personfies Hollywood throughout, giving it a persona. The narrator describes how people flock to her with their big dreams and aspirations and basically acknowledges that the majority of their dreams do not come true and Hollywood has a darkness to it too. The piece ends the publication and the final words “But still...they will come� summarises the theme running throughout, that of the aspiring Hollywood star and the realities they might face. The ending also nods towards the modern day, as still making it big in Hollywood remains a dream for many.
THEY WILL COME They come to me because they desire fame, they crave money and they believe that this life is their destiny. They come to me because I have proved my worth time again. Because I remain at the pinnacle of human aspiration, the mother and the father of all lost hopes and dreams. They come to me because they believe that I will change their lives forever; that they will never have to look back and in my presence they will make something of themselves. They come to me claiming to shine far brighter than all of the other aspiring stars in my moonlit sky. They come to me with their rouged lips and their wide eyes. They come to me innocent, untouched and a whole person. And inch by precious inch my lifestyle begins to take its toll. They lose their faith in me. They feel rejected; too old and never talented enough. They are self-destructive and unreasonable; just kids caught up in the dark side of the American Dream. They are demanding and troubled; their souls saddened by the harshness of my reality. In the daylight they are frightened by the truth of me, of the way I really look when my lights have faded, when the lovers have left and they lie in the dirty sheets fragmented and confused because afterall, this was their choice. But still... They will come.
PRINTED COVER CONCEPT
HENRI ROUSSEAU
COVER MOCK UP NO.2
FRONT
A5 HARDBACK BOOK
BACK
FINAL COVER DESIGN
I have chosen this Palmeral Cotton wallpaper print as the cover (front and back) design for issue No. 1 of No Filter. The print fits with the 50’s/60’s Hollywood aesthetic of the publication and has a textured look to it which will be heightened when it is printed in hardback. The spine may have an alternative block colour. I have edited the contrast and darkened the image from it’s original state as I feel it creates a more dramatised feel. The paper throughout NO FILTER will be a recyled, off white one with a slight texture. The hardback cover is be 13.5 by 20.5 cm and encased with a sleeve in the same print. The publication is perfect bound in the style of an old German style hardback printed book cover. The publication will come in a black crocodile skin zip clutch bag, this emulates current trends as well as hilighting the fact this is a high end fashion magazine. The title font for NO FILTER is Fine Style, which was chosen because of it’s classic, simple and bold style. This font is also used for headlines throughout the publication. The written peices throughout the publication are in the very classic Adobe Casion Pro to give the aesthetic of a book or novel.
TO EVALUATE I always find that when it comes to fashion publication my ideas are flowing and I am excited to get started. I began my research over summer 2013 after seeing David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, a noir thriller set in Hollywood. The film inspired the concept behind my publication and my passion for old Hollywood and cinematography also fed this. I began to look at photography trends, the No Face one really stuck out to me, and from there I developed the concepts for three of my photo shoots. After gathering images for each of the areas I was researching into, I was able to fairly swiftly decide on the content of my publication, which then grew and developed as the process went on. The name of my publication also came to me very early on. I wanted something relevant, on trend but also adaptable. No Filter felt very fitting to the modern day and also in keeping with the concept of the illusion of Hollywood life. Originally I wanted an A4 magazine with a photographic cover but as I looked into this I felt I really wanted to produce something unique and something that would push my boundaries a little more. I chose to publish No Filter in the dimensions 13.5 by 20.5 cm, similar to those of the printed German books in my research. The printed cover felt so right with the dramatised and fictional aspects of the rest of the publication. I feel as though I really enjoyed the writing process. Creative writing is one of my passions and to get the opportunity to write so many pieces was great. The pieces tell different stories of journeys in Hollywood, largely metaphorical and poetic. They are very conceptual and allow the reader to take what they wish from it. I added the prologue and epilogue nearer the end of the process, it fitting so well with the concept of a book.
I enjoy strategically planning each photo shoot and due to the fantastic locations, models and the time I allowed myself to do this, I feel pleased with the results. However, I do feel as though something I could improve on is the sourcing of the outfits in the photo shoot The Girl With No Face as I was throwing anything with a print onto the model and to me it doesn’t necessarily have the same elegance as some of the other shoots. Overall the feel of No Filter is exactly what I had envisioned from the start. It has a very cinematic aesthetic and really creates a story for the viewer from all aspects. It is one of my favourite pieces of work to date and I hope to continue into the publication, creative directing and styling direction!