Narratives of the Unconscious

Visualisation Narrative of the Unconscious

Cultural and Contextual Research

Following on from the previous project the enclosed workbook and posts are an attempt to explore the narrative of the unconscious through a psychoanalytical exercise around the mind structures if the subconscious. As a starting point the ideas presented have been applied to the creative narrative both within a workshop enviroment and through individual development.

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A visualisation exercise that was prompted by various depictions to reveal the inner and outer subconscious. Whilst taking part in this exercise my partner drew my descriptions. For this particular process my journey started on a beach that then lead to a cave that was blocked by a massive boulder. Following a wooden path I then came upon a derelict office building where I made my way to the reception. Here I followed a spiral staircase down to a dark cavernous underground. There was a room with just one window that had bars and dim light that shone through. In this room was a featureless shadow that towered in the corner and spoke the words, ‘it will be okay.’

Leaving this room I then came upon a gigantic pink blancmange that I proceeded to ascend. On my way up this mountain I encountered an angry fat man. Dressed in a pin stripe suit. He approached me and gave me a pocket watch then left without saying a word.

 

Storyboard of Visualisation

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Key Elements: The Spiral Staircase Roughs and Concept Drawings

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The Shadow in the Room

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The Concious Landscape

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Puppetry Development

Workshop exploring puppetry making and then employing a narrative to this exercise. In this instance we created a story around an old man who had a pet snail. One day he accidentally treads on this snail and kills his only friend. So heartbroken he takes to his bed where he is visited by his spirit animal, a mosquito, that guides him to a spirit world where he can make amends with his snail and continue in life redeemed.

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Each member of our group acted out the different parts for the class in a short 3 minute play.

Character Development from the Visualisation Exercise

Drawing from the original exercise on the first day these are some of the puppet attempts of the shadow that was in the room. The intention is to create a 3D version of a featureless shadow that can then be manipulated in a short film. In order to achieve this result various other elements need to be included such as the opening door and the room with the window.

Storyboards

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Film

The final version of the film that attempts to recreate the scene underground in the dark room.

 

 

Research

I have considered the following research tools for this project. Both of the following links provided a framework which I tried formulate into my final piece.

 

Lotte Rienger 1899 -1981 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxkIGXVwZTM

 

The Tale of Three Brothers – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR939M48BG4

(Please note that there are errors uploading hyperlinks using the brighton.ac wordpress platform due to not having access to the administrator panel to change essential settings.)

A structuralist approach as a  literary theory  are known to have developed as an outgrowth  aiming to understand the relationship between language and the human experience. Within this brief the challenge by the removal of language in any coherent context is to structure a narrative that can be understood. As a primary human experience based on the exercises carried out in the workshop the challenge is to present the work with no immediate signifiers to indicate any translation. As a consequence I  relied heavily on the subtext of the Shadow. It’s role within the narration was curiously pivotal however I failed to convey this significance instead opting for humour as a defence.

Critical Analysis

Within the exercises I have attempted to draw upon the previous workbook utilising storyboards as a means pf exploration and structuralism with the subject matter. Most revealing was the randomness of imagery. Encouraged within the workshop this developed as a journey of narrative resulting in a short puppetry play. Overall the actual construction of the puppets was a positive creative experiment if a little out go my comfort zone. The finished result did seem awkward with delivery.

As an introduction to this environment we were encouraged to work on a particular scene from the original visualisation exercise. I attempted a brief outline drawn from the ‘shadow in the room’ sequence. Identifying this narrative I incorporated my research of Shadow Play into a short 30 second film. The play at humour fails to convey and the overall film was deeply criticised for the overuse of transitions. This particular aspect required the film to be reworked with the aim of producing a more coherent final piece.

 

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