Studio 29 - Urban Below - Design Journal | Han Wu 1038456

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CONTENTS:

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lecture notes & research

exercise 1

exercise 1

video essay

camera shot types

fixed shot

short film

research & precedents

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45

56

60

video essay

exercise 2

exercise 2

exercise 2

script & timeline

long take moving shot

circular & organic movement

editing moving shot

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95

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exercise 2

animation short film

animation short film

animation short film

walk to / away

precedents, research & design development

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117

animation short film

animation short film

urban below

cinematic breakdown

story board

development render

lecture notes & research

CAMERA SHOT TYPES film analysis

Schindler’s List (1993) Steven Spielberg

extreme long shot (e.l.s.)

This type of shot is to show the subject from a distance. It is widely used in cinema to establish a scene. It creates a time and place at the same time shows the physical and/or emotional relationship to the environment. Once of my all time favorite film directed by Steven Spielberg, Schinder’s List, Spielberg give us an Extreme Long Shot of a little girl in red wandering on the street, creating a sense of place and emotion showing the little girl as an image of fragility and innocence.

01

The Belly of An Architect (1987) Peter Greenaway

long shot (l.s.)

This type of shot reveals and focuses more of the subject compared to extreme long shots. It often sets the scene and location. This then can also be used as establishing shot. In the film The Belly of An Architect, Kracklite can be seen sititng down and writting a mail emphasising more on the character but at the same time we can clearly see that he is still in Rome.

02

Forrest Gump (1994) Robert Zemeckis

medium long shot (m.l.s.)

This type of shot intermediate between Long Shot and Medium Shot. It shows the subject from the knee up. Medium long shots usually creates more intimacy.

It’s scope allows the shot to still access the character’s emotions in the scene while indicating still a visual context. In this scene, it reminded me of an amotional past experience.

03

Psycho (1960) Alfred Hichcock

medium shot (m.s.)

This type of shot shows part of the subject in more detail. It is also caught from the waist up at a medium distance from the subject. One of the most common shots seen in films, it is mainly used for dialogue but at the same time still depicts body language and the setting. In Hichcock’s film Psycho, medium shots were used as the detective moves up the stairs to create tension which lead to the detectives death as he was stabbed.

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Inception (2010) Christopher Nolan

medium close up (m.c.u.)

Medium close up shots falls between medium shot and close up, usually framing the subject from chest or shoulder up. It’s frame focuses on the subject and reveals only little of the surroundings. It shows facial expressions of the subject and is mainly used for dialogue. In Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, who builds scenes around his gradual camera movements that changes the shot size before reinfoces change in his scenes. In this scene, it started with a wide shot with Ariadne and Cobb sitting on a table surrounded with people. As Cobb explains the idea of dreams, the camera pushes and zooms in on both of the characters as they exchange dialogue until reaching a medium shot, showing more of the facial reaction of both the characters as the conversation gets more cryptic and revalations begins to trickle in.

05

The Shining (1980) Stanley Kubrick

Close up (c.u.)

Close up shots gives the viewer a very detailed and intimate look. It gives an emotional connection between the viewer and the image. It creates signals to the viewers that something is going to happen. In the Film, The Shining by Stanley Kubrick, we see famous scene and quote by Jack, “Here’s Johnny!” where the camera focuses on his face giving us an anticipation that sometime will happen next as he breaks through the door.

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Guy Ritchie

extreme close up (E.c.u.)

Extreme close up shots frames subjects very closely, so much so that they are often cut off by the frame. This type of shot focuses the viewer on specific portions on a subject and signals important sensory moment in a scene allowing tiny details to be noticed. In the film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows directed by Guy Ritchie, he used this shot to show Watson’s thought process which allows the viewer to seethat he is clearly focused on something but does not reveal any information with in the frame.

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EXERCISE 1

Cinematography, Editing & Architectural shots

fixed shot shot 01

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fixed shot shot 02

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fixed shot shot 03

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fixed shot shot 03

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EXERCISE 1 short film

cinematic sequence

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cinematic plan

end

start

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3 1

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location: Melbourne Museum

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01

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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video essay under the bridge

research & precedents

WHAT: My video essay is about the species of space, “Bridge�.

WHY: To raise awareness of the unutilized space Under The Bridge and use it as my research to fuel my final project.

While looking for a species of space during week one, I stumbled upon bridges and came to an realization that the space under the bridge is underutilized. Since I grew up in the Philippines, I wanted show everyone through this video essay how and why bridges are not just to connect people but also sometimes unintentionally separates people as well.

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CONNECTION OR SEPARATION? CONNECTION Noun

a relationship in which a person or thing is linked or associated with something else.

Showing the primary use of BRIDGE as connection to spaces.

SEPARATION

THEME / KEYWORDS Hierarchy Poverty Transition

ISSUES GOING TO TACKLE 1. Cultural separation depicted in films using bridge 2. Poverty associated in film using bridge as a form of refuge 3. Hierarchy of social classes

Noun

the action or state of moving or being moved apart.

Showing BRIDGE as cultural separation, hierarchical separation, and poverty differences and separation.

APPROACH Story Telling Informative Compare and Contrast

ARGUMENT Since the days of Roman bridges, there have been outcasts who found shelter underneath a bridge for protection against the cold or even to defend against rain, sun, and or enemies.

SEPARATES PEOPLE / PLACES Depicted in Films as Symbolism

In more recent times the homeless have created living spaces beneath urban bridges and have sought their food in the dumpsters of restaurants and handouts from more fortunate that passes by.

This video essay aims to illustrate the hierarchy of social classes, cultural separation, and poverty in films that uses bridges as symbolism for these arguments at the same time showcasing bridges as movementing and transition space that really connects or separates people.

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CONNECTS PEOPLE / PLACES Primary Function of Space

BRIDGE

THE LOVER ON THE BRIDGE

rier

SPECIES OF SPACE ANALYSIS

of Re fu

A

ea Ar ge

Director: Leos Carax Location: Paris Year: 1991

Bar

+ po ty

r ve = Se n

tio ra pa

Alex, who’s homeless and addicted to alcohol, and Michèle, who’s losing her sight, form a relationship while sleeping rough on Paris’s Pont-Neuf bridge.

rier

Bar

B

Disconnects point A to point B due to the space being used as area of refuge in the film depicting poverty.

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photographs of informal settlements under the bridge

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video essay concept collage

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video essay timeline

START

00:00 - 00:30

00:30 - 01:00

01:00 - 01:30

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video essay script

INTRODUCTION Hi my name is Han and welcome to my video essay. In this video, I will explain and illustrate the space under the bridge and how this unutilized void create separation among people and communities.

Bridge, its primary function is to connect between 2 places, point A to point B, an infrastructure and tool used for connecting towns, cities and countries. For example, this newly built Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao bridge that connects mainland China to Hong Kong. Film makers often use bridges as a symbolism not to just connect two masses of land, but also to connect love ones, friends, families and even superheroes. So, in short, bridges connect people and places. Or does it?

This is not always the case. Bridges do not always provide connections. Just like the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, that bridge can also become separation boundary lines or barrier that dictates these two cities as two difference places. Some film makers even use bridges to symbolically depict separation as well. Just like this film, Shanghai Blues, a group of homeless musicians living under the bridge until they are evicted by the police, implying social hierarchy, separation and poverty.

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video essay timeline

01:30 - 03:00

03:00 - 04:30

04:30 - 06:00

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UNDER THE BRIDGE Metro Manila, also known as the National Capital Region, is the 2nd most populous and most dense region the Philippines, a home of more than 12.8 million people. This region is the center of culture, economy, education and government of the Philippines, designated as a global power city. At least this is what everyone thinks.

As of 2018, a quarter of the 105 million Philippine population live in poverty, that’s over 26 million people. Public social housing is almost inexistent so they have no choice but to result in informal settling and live any way possible to survive. Metro Manila alone have an estimated 4 million slum dwellers. Because of this factor, the informal settlers need to find spaces for proper shelter and one of those popular choice of space is under the bridge, a left-over urban infrastructure space that no one really made use of it and improved since the day it was invented.

Before we move on, first we have to understand why most informal settlers result to choose under the bridge as shelter. You see, throughout the history of bridges, from a simple wooden log to modern bridges we currently have now, there are no significant functional changes, that is to connect from point A to point B. There are so many types of bridges: beam, truss, cantilever, arch, suspension and cable-stayed. Even with engineering advances to make the bridge more stable, more wide, more long and even more aesthetically pleasing; What fascinates me is that all of these bridges have one thing in common, an empty void space below the bridges that is unutilized. This unutilized space then becomes a popular choice for the informal settlers to stay.

The span of the bridge forms and acts like a roof or ceiling for people under it. It provides shelter for survival against rain storm and hot sun. Unfortunately, this sheltered space now also creates a social gap that forms a territorial space which separates the informal settlers from the society. In short, horizontally, bridges connects people and places. But when we look at it in a difference perspective, vertically it actually creates separation.

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video essay timeline

06:00 - 06:30

06:30 - 07:00

07:00 - 07:30

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END

In Metro Manila, the informal settlers under the bridge actually takes it to another level where to some certain extend these people have its own mini community or city. Under the bridge, the conditions are very tough. It gets extremely hot most of the time since the Philippines is a tropical country. During storm and flooding period, people have no choice but to hang on and stay inside their makeshift homes. However, Filipino kids just love the rain. They use the rain to take a bath and even go swimming in the river. Most of these homes unfortunately are only made out of scrap materials and wooden stilts so during severe typhoon period they actually lose their homes. But when the sun hits, they rebuild their homes and everyone in the community comes out and help. Kids play around while their parents work and when work is done? They would relax under the sun and sometimes even have a street basketball tournament. You see these communities adapt to the harsh conditions and work around to make their so called “home� livable. If these people can adapt to these conditions, why can’t the designers too? As the role of architecture students, I think now is a good time to go back to the drawing board once again and rethink how we should design bridges and how it actually affects all kinds and types of people and communities. Instead of seeing the space below the bridge as a wasted void, why not embrace it, why not utilize it to transform into a socially and environmentally functional space for these people?

CONCLUSION Do bridges really serve its original function to connect people and places? Or does it actually do the opposite and create social separations among people and places as well?

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exercise 2

motion & (E)motion

PART 01

long take moving shot

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CINEMATIC timeline

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cinematic plan

australian Centre for Contemporary Art

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PART 02

Circular & Organic Movement

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cinematic plan

australian Centre for Contemporary Art

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PART 03

Editing Moving Shots

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1

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cinematic plan

australian Centre for Contemporary Art

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CINEMATIC TIMELINE

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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cinematic plan

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PART 04

Walk to/away

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1

2

cinematic plan

australian Centre for Contemporary Art

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01

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cinematic plan

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02

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2

cinematic plan

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animation short film

precedents, research & design development

plot narrative

It’s 2080. Due to the lack of buildable space, people already embraced living below the bridge. This animation is an architecture adaptation and personal representation of a future city built underneath the bridge. A space underutilized at the moment but embraced in the future as livable space.

CATEGORY: D – Conceptual / Speculative

PRODUCTS: Animations

TYPE: Animation

SUBJECT: Unbuilt Spaces

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CONCEPT IMAGES

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Parasite City - Italian Highway

the bay line by RAEL SAN FRATELLO

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inspiration

drone cinematography

ponte vecchio - florence, italy

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Ready Player One (2018) Steven Spielberg

Ghost in the Shell (2017) Rupert Sanders

Blade Runner 2049 (2017) Denis Villeneuve

Blade Runner 2049 (2012) Len Wiseman

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films and animation

Ghost in the Shell (2017) Rupert Sanders

How To Carve A Giant (2018) Sonia Magdziarz

Blade Runner 2049 (2012) Len Wiseman

Wending Fanrong (2017) Mariana Bisti

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concept collage

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concept POSTER

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story board

Character 1 inside a futuristic apartment room.

Character 1 overlooking the city skyline through a glass window.

Rain / fog falling from the sky as Character 1 watches.

Rain / fog falling as camera zooms to the character.

• • •

• • •

• • • •

• • • •

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Apartment Room Flat Shot Camera zoom in slowly to the character

Apartment Room O.T.S. Shot Fixed Shot

Apartment Room Exterior Rain / Fog Flat Shot Camera zoom in slowly to the character

Apartment Room Exterior Rain / Fog O.T.S. Shot Fixed Shot

City skyline from the P.O.V. of Character 1.

Staking of buildings.

Revealing the city of buildings below the bridge.

Character 2 watches the Bridge City from a distance.

• • • • •

• • •

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City Skyline Flat Shot Fixed Shot Rain / Fog Moving river

Building Flat shot Camera zoom out slowly from the character

Bridge Flat shot Fixed shot Rain / Fog Moving river Moving cars on top of bridges

Bridge Paning Shot Rain / Fog Moving river Moving cars on top of bridges Pedestrians walking in the background

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story board

Cinematic view of the bridge and the connection to the surrounding.

Street level showing more details of the Bridge City.

Cinematic view looking up at the Bridge City.

Cinematic View showing streets stacking on top of each other.

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City Paning Shot Moving Shot (Left to Right) Rain / Fog Moving river Moving cars on top of bridges

Street Level Moving shot Camera flying through the street Rain / Fog Cars pass by

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Bridge City Moving shot Camera facing up while pan through the buildings (Up to Down) Rain / Fog

Bridge City Moving shot Paning shot (Left to Right) Rain / Fog

Cinematic View of the lowest point of the Bridge City

Character 3+4 at the inverted roof top overlooking the city

Cinematic view of the Inverted Rooftop as waves/ rain splashes.

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Bridge City Fixed shot Waves splash Rain / Fog

Inverted Roof Top Moving shot Camera zoom in slowly to the characters Rain / Fog

Inverted Roof Top Fixed Shot Rain / Fog Fade out to end.

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development render

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development render

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development render

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development render

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animation short film urban below

cinematic concept poster

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cinematic sequence

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cinematic sequence detail 1

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cinematic sequence detail 2

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cinematic sequence detail 3

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cinematic sequence detail 4

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cinematic sequence detail 5

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animation short film

cinematic breakdown

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