Atrocity Exhibition: Contextual Research

I am teaming up with Tom Hallgarten for the short film project. After reading a handful of fiction book titles from the library, we have decided to make an animation based on a loose interpretation of the key themes and atmosphere in The Atrocity Exhibition, an experimental novel by J.G. Ballard.

The novel:

In the introduction of the novel, Ballard (2001) suggest the reader to "simply turn the pages until a paragraph catches your eyes".

Unlike conventional novels, the dream-like, absurd linked stories of the main character who goes by different names - that begins with the letter 'T' - over the chapters is a form of investigation around the theme of neo-liberal media culture emerging in post-war 1960s. In the book, Ballard connotes an overarching idea that the process of emancipating oneself from the media propaganda is simultaneously dehumanising.

This is evidenced by the thematic rendition of atrocities are vividly described in the novel:

• Juxtaposition of urban and rural environments, and also abstraction of reality into geometrical planes.
• Hypersexualisation of mass media: celebrities and politicians as sex icons.
• Bombardment of advertisement billboards with photo-montage and newsreels of the Vietnam war, Reagan government and the assassination of JFK leading to future conspiracies of WW III.
• Absurd obsession with car crash as psychosexual fetish; reconceptualisation of the human bodies by machines. 

About the author:
J.G. Ballard owns a skeptical perspective of the impact from media culture to the proletarian society from watching television and magazines (Time, Life and Look).

• studied medicine - fascination with medical procedures.
• Decided to pursue writing (dystopian and absurd) sci-fi books; investigated and created a sort of early warning system by predicting future from past and present experience.
• Experienced war first hand when he was a teenage boy when the Japanese Army occupies Shanghai.
• War experience leaves him with skeptical eye to what is going on in his surroundings. 
• took an interest in the strange psychology of tormented people.
• His writings questions whether we are much different people from the civilised human beings we imagine ourselves to be.
• Observes big changes in post-war era England: believes that reality is a stage set; could be easily dismantled overnight.

What is the Ballardian aesthetic?

Project for a New Novel (1958) by J.G. Ballard:

Brutalist architectures:

Surrealist Paintings (e.g. Max ernst, Dali, Bellmer, Francis Bacon)

A still from David Cronenberg's screen adaptation of J.G. Ballard's Crash (1996):

Sources:

• http://www.ballardian.com/
• Sellars, S. (2012) Extreme Metaphor: Interviews with J.G. Ballard 1967-2008, London: Fourth Estate/HarperCollins
• Ballard, J. (2014[1970]) The Atrocity Exhibition, London: Fourth Estate/HarperCollins

Hopi of the Sea: Hopi Character Design

Interpretation:

• Hopi channels positive energy in his demeanour, has a strong and bright personality
• Rather aloof and quiet around people, but more emotionally open to animals
• Naive but speaks of the righteous pathway
• His motive is to advocate new perspective to the villagers regarding the repercussions of their whaling tradition from an environmentalist perspective
• Challenge is to show dimensionality of Hopi within the limitation of the low-poly aesthetic

rosie's character board

rosie's style inspiration sheet 1

rosie's style inspiration sheet 2

Lilo is a suitable inspiration for the character design considering that she lives close to beaches and her traits are quite similar to that of Hopi's.

Lilo character design

preliminary sketches

character sheet

Hopi's character realisation is conveyed through exaggerated distribution of force and energy:

• gives a rough idea on how he will be animated
• outstretched poses to explore his extremes
• calm poses to show dimensionality within the character

action sheets

Rosie requested for the villagers to be based on Hopi's design. Below is the mock up sketches I've done for her. My main considerations are the villagers' outfits and basic-shape silhouette as variations in the designs enhance realism in the aesthetic.

villagers mock up

Small Brief 3: Crocodile Heater

Animation

Crocodile Heater from Brenda Christie Muliawan on Vimeo.

Development

Inspired by the radiator noise in my room which disturbs my sleep every so often. I want to depict it as an orchestration of sound in the animated performance of a fly trying to get the attention of a resting crocodile monster.

The crocodile design comes from the interior of the heater.

I created a timeline to codify movements that is synchronised to the sound as a part of my COP 3 research too.