Sound Piece Script

In addition to what the sculptures mean I want to have a link towards personality, such as spirit animals, as well as the sculptures represent a subconscious of everyone's mind it's not telling the person what to feel it's giving them an example of what they might feel, what they might say, what they might be thinking. It's not a definite that's what they're feeling but it's more vague and general so it can imprint on anybody. The sculptures are not telling them what to feel and how to feel it showing examples of a physical format of what their subconscious might look like.

Notes: The beast is the combination of both depression and anxiety, however I have made him with claws and sharp antlers to represent a breakdown or state of mind in which an event has caused the individual to be release uncontrollable emotions.

Depression = dark blue

I don’t want to move

I can’t move

I don’t want to leave my bed

My body feels heavy

My limbs feel so heavy

I feel heavy like a bear

I can’t sleep

I can’t get to sleep

I don’t feel like me anymore

I can’t enjoy anything

I feel emotionless

Don’t look at me

Stop looking at me

I don’t want to do anything

I can’t think

I just want to sleep

I can’t control my emotions

I’ve lost control

I can’t stop eating

What’s the point

Why does everything irritate me

I can’t believe I did that

Make it stop

I need silence

Anxiety = orange

Make it stop

Everything is so loud

I need silence

I can’t think straight

I can’t sleep

Why won’t my thoughts shut up

Oh god, I have to so much to do

Don’t sleep through your alarm

I can’t believe I did that

I’m so shaky

I hope no one can tell

Why are people looking at me

Do I look okay

Is there something on my face

Something wrong with my hair

Am I acting abnormal

So many people

Have I forgotten something

I feel like I’ve forgotten something

Just breathe deeply

Don’t panic

Why did I just do that

Im such an idiot

Why am I like this

I hope I don’t mess up

I’m so pathetic

Why does everything irritate me

I feel so petty

I want to be alone

But I need company

I don’t want to go outside

I feel constantly on edge

I feel skittish like a deer

I don’t want to leave my room

My head is spinning

No one likes me

Beast = dark green (mental breakdown)

I can’t control myself!

There’s too much happening!

My head won’t stop spinning!

I can’t control my emotions!

I’m so angry!

I can’t stop crying!

I can’t do this anymore!

Too much sound! I can’t think!

Just get up!

Stop being lazy!

Just do it!

Just leave me alone!

Hate being alone!

Stop being like this!

I just want silence!

I need my space!

Sound Production

(disclaimer: the date and time were of the screenshots not the work as I had forgotten to do them during)

To begin with I had to create a new multitrack session and add the ambient background noise and the voice over I recorded on Audacity.

Then I had to listen through the dialog to check for any mistakes and cut them out.

This is when I cut a piece out I had to drag it all together to make sure there wasn't too long a gap between speaking.

I then added an effect to the dialog to make it seem like it was more of an internal voice rather than external.

Here are the original Raw files before I added them. 

Playlist

Raw Beast

Raw Stag

Raw Bear

Production Development

Its hard to see in the images but his front legs where slowly day by day leaning more forward when put under the weight of the front half which then caused the back legs to twist at a weird angle.

After attaching the front legs to the rest of his body a few days later it was clear that it wasn't the best job I've done as he was slowly twisting in one direction so I edited the attachments which have worked very well keeping the bear stood up straight with little problem.

I bought a sheet of fabric to see how the polyester cotton looked as I was worried the polyester would be too shiny specially with the fact that I have lights pointed at them. However what I got wasn't too bad and is really good to work with and looks nice when put onto the wire.

I tested the new fabric on the ears and tail of one of the bears too see how good it was to work with and how it looked, to start with they don't look too great and it was my first time with the fabric but since doing those I have figured out how to make them more clean cut and looking more professional.  

Whilst cutting the fabric, which my friend helped with as I needed some extra hands, I attached them to the corresponding wire instead of ironing then gluing. Its an easier process to completely to do one task at a time. Then with what fabric was cut I glued it onto the wire, see image below, which sadly didn't look as good as I hoped.

With the wire it came rolled up in a coil however I needed the wire straight so I would cute random lengths of wire the sit and straighten them all out which made putting the sculptures together a lot quicker.

When doing bear #2 I found the building process a lot easier due to me cutting the wire and straightening it before hand, so I had it built in 5 days, the only problem with it is that all of the weight is in the front so it tilts forwards and can't stand up, I have created crutches which sadly didn't work.

After ordering test fabric for the other two colours I agreed that both those colours looked as close as I could get them and the fabric was good quality. However when I received the second order of green it was a completely different shades of green however to fix this I am going to order more and see what shade they send me again and use the new shade of green as the other was a bit too bright, however I fear that another order will bring me more of the colour I don't want and not in time for assessment. The only thing I can do is cover what I can with the fabric I have before assessment and hope that right shade comes at the right time.

I started making the stag by doing the body first then attaching the legs.

I've ordered two different types of new fabric for the new idea (link to new idea), Chiffon and silk satin fabric, in order to get them roughly around the same time. I also got the two different types as they both draped well, however I cannot be sure how they well they look until I apply both types. The only issue is the time they arrive will be very close to deadlines, also I am curious what a transparent fabric would look like compared to a solid fabric.

Above is the new chiffon fabric which is light and flows very nicely like a veil. The only problem is that its kind of transparent which may be okay but may cause a problem.

Above is one of the silk satin green I ordered which didn't come in the green that I was expecting so I can't use that making the silk satin unusable. 

Even though due to late packages I couldn't use the silk satin after looking at the quality of the material and the way it hangs also the weight of it may drag down the sculptures pretty quickly.  

After forming the body of the stag I made legs and attached them, however the next trick was to get him to stand on them.

WHICH I DID!! Barely...

Sound Examples

I sadly find it very hard to describe how I want the sound piece of this project to sound like, as I need the dialog to sound like it's coming from the audiences conscience or it's the thoughts of someone with the mental condition. 

Here are some examples of what I intend the voices to sound like.

Or something similar.

When looking for ambient noises I came across this nice car ride like sound which when turned down and placed behind voiceover, worked really well.

Tunnel

Sound Finals

Here are the final versions of my three sound pieces and there playlist.

Playlist

Beast

Stag

Bear

More Animal Research

My tutors keep asking why I used animals to portray the emotions, and how other people may think otherwise to my decisions. However, I thought about it and released that people relate to animals via spirit animals.

So I looked at a website so spirit animals and searched for the animals I'll be sculpting and this is what I found.

If Bear is your Animal Totem:

You have a great deal of patience in manifesting your ideas and projects waiting for just the right moment to spring them on the universe.. You have a great deal of confidence in who you are and where you are going in life. You are looked upon as an authority figure. You are nurturing and protect your children well.

Additional Associations for Bear….

Introspection
Subconscious/Unconscious mind
Strength
Grounding
Inner energy of soul to find answers
Judgments, are you too critical or not critical enough
Inner power to taste the honey of life
Peace
Nurturing and Protection
Resurrection
Confidence and Authority
Powerful
Patience and Connection
Benevolence
Aggressiveness
Sovereignty
Motherhood
Duality


If Deer is your Animal Totem:

You have the knowledge of how to use the power of gentleness to touch the hearts and minds of the wounded beings in your life. You have a propensity to see new innocence and freshness in life everywhere and you constantly feel the lure of new adventures. Often you have a link to the arts, especially poetry and music.

You are also a keen observer, able to see well in low light. You are also a very compassionate, gentle and loving person.

Additional Associations for Deer…

Gentleness
Love
Alertness
Camouflage
Attention to subtler outside influences
Connections to children and people for best interests of all
Vision
Hearing
Smell
Helps discern what actions to be done
Grace
Peace
Beauty
Fertility
Humility
Swiftness
Regrowth
Creativity
Spirituality
Abundance
Benevolence
Watchfulness

I am also using animals to give depression and anxiety as a physical form in hoping that people believe they are real.

Mood Board

It's not really a mood "board" as it's more of a list, but this is basically a mood board for the overall look and atmosphere for the final look of my installation when it's been fully constructed and placed in the Grad show. 

I am looking to place lighting below the sculptures to give them a powerful appearance/stance, the platform they'll be standing on will also give them that boost in importance/intimidation. I am also hoping go give them an boost with the size and severity of them but giving them haunting shadows, as I believe shadows give them life, it shows that they are real.

Measurements

Here are the measurements for the current projects I am doing for 3rd year, one of the reasons I have these measurements is the fact that for the Grad show I need space to install these installations so knowing how much room these will take up is very important. It also has other helpful factors, like if one sculpture broke I know what size to make it again. 

Earth vs Humans Busts: 

H - 26”

W - shoulders 17”

    - base 12”

L - 6-7”

Plinths:

H - 36”

L - 13-13.5”

W - 13-13.5”

Room Needed:

W - 100” (2.60m)

10ft-12ft between projector and busts

11-12” between busts

55” from the back wall

Adfectus: 

Bear:

H = 30"

L = TBA

W = 19.5"

Stag:

H = TBA

L = TBA

W = TBA

Beast:

H = TBA

L = TBA

W = TBA

New New Treatment

That's right it's changed again!

Due to starting work on the bear sculpture, I realised that I wouldn't have enough time or money to make all seven sculptures in time for deadline.

So instead, I thought the best thing to do is to create the two main sculptures, the Bear and the Stag, as originally discussed. However, I will be exchanging the rest of the sculptures to make the Beast, as I can make the Beast very large and can focus all my time onto them three instead of rushing seven of them.

Also, an issue has been brought up due to the size of both of my projects, I currently have my 4 busts bundled in the corner of the room but I have half a bear taking up the main space of my bedroom. Sadly, I am struggling to find space for these projects, I have even tried storing them at uni, however, our classroom is shared and I don't want to leave them out to be damaged or take up other peoples work space. I was given the advice to make my current sculptures compactable/transportable, but due to the technique I'm using to put the sculptures together kind of makes it impossible, also I don't have time to test out ways to make it possible due to deadlines are just around the corner.

New Display Layout

Now that I'm doing just 3 sculptures now I can display in a organised fashion. Whilst in a discussion with my tutor we tried to figure out how to display them in the best way. And one of the ideas that we had was to put them on a platform to make it a stage and change the view of the sculptures, as if they were just placed on the ground they would look part of the room, just plain sculptures. However, if I place them on a platform, it makes it as if they were on a stage and then the sculptures then become a performance in a way and doesn't blend in with the room.

The one issue we had was that if I put them all one platform, they will all be individual heights and to reach the shorter sculptures you'd need to bend down quite low, and if I heighten the platform the Beast would be too big to fit a normal sized room. So I come up with idea of putting each sculpture on it's own pedestal at specific height so they all come up to around the same height.

This means that all sculptures are around average height, and then hopefully all sounds will be coming from all the sculptures head/chest area. Also with the platforms being separate pieces, when it comes to the grad show it is possible to alter the positioning with ease and you can fit this piece into the corner. However, my tutor mentioned to me that these sculptures don't really have a back or front them as they 3D models, so she wondered if it was possible to have space behind the piece for viewers to walk around the piece itself. 

As for lighting, I wanted to place lights inside the sculptures, however, doing that would make them a lot like a lantern from Ikea. So, I came with the idea to place lights underneath the sculptures, placing 3 LED lights directly underneath, as doing that will still light them up, and then place 3 roughly in the same area but in front of them so it creates shadow of each sculpture. This will hopefully create a creepy yet enticing atmosphere that will hopefully draw in audience. 

Installation Layout

For my installation I will be needing a large room so I am able to place each sculpture inside room with enough distance, so when you stand close to each sculpture you can clearly hear what the speaker is saying with out the others interrupting or distorting it sound piece. Each sculpture will be around knee-high, so possible 30 to 35 inches and around 40 inches long and of course the lights will be turned off so each LED light in each sculpture will be visible. Preferably I would like the LED lights to pulsate, however I don't think that will be possible. The layout the sculptures will not be planned as I would like to lay some around the room at random, not in a line circle or square.

After a disccussion about the grad show and all the rooms that are availlable and all the projects that will be happening in those rooms, I will not be able to fit all of my sculptures in one room without disturbing other peoples work. My tutor gave the idea to dot the sculptures around the route of our grad show so it leads people from room to room also if done right it could give the imagine they are travelling with the audience or following them. 

Sculpting

For making the sculptures I'll be using different materials such as I will be using thick, study flexible wire instead of using chicken wire, as my sculptures will be more right angled and will need straight edges, this also means that the sculptures will not have a weird wire texture to them. Then I will need wire cutters which I already have for cutting the wiring to the right sizes. I found a wire sculptutor and emailed her for some advice on what wire I should use. I have tried to research what wire to use but no one has has documented on what wire they have used. I have thought about Floristry wire but I would need to see the gauge sizes before buying so the wire isn't too thick or too thin.

Of course after that I will be needing a white matt paint to put over the to cover over the newspaper so I can then go over with another matt colour, however I'm not sure about the matt colour and how to get the colour that I want as tin paint is very expensive and the sample size will not be enough to cover each sculpture I am going to look into the possible route of using food colouring in white paint to create to create the desired colour. After looking to see how to colour the white matt paint that I use for painting sculptures it says not to use food colouring as it doesn't mix as well as you think it would, the best option is too buy dark acrylic paints and mix it in to the white.

Acrylic Paint

Gesso White paint

Then for the stocks themselves I will be needing seven little LED lights to place inside the sculptures and seven speakers that I'll be able to play the sound pieces with the LED lights all be battery-powered and hopefully not could not connected to an external plug and the same with the speakers I have found some very simple LED lights on Amazon, possibly pulsating ones, but I am struggling to find them and some decent battery powered speakers.

Battery Powered speakers

LED Lights

What I need to get for making the sculptures:
- Study/flexible wire
- Wire cutters
- Newspaper
- PVA glue
- Paint brushes
- Gesso White paint
- Matt Coloured Paint
For final presentation:
- 7 LED lights
- 7 Speakers

Estimated budget = £131.21

More Updated Budget

Mood board

Light Sculptures

I looked into light sculptures due to how much I enjoy them, to see if there were any animal/geomectric type light sculptures. Too my luck there was and take a lot of inspiration from them.

Animal sculptures

Paper mache animal sculptures

Geometric sculptures

Geometric animal sculptures

Origami sculptures