Research
Terry Gilliam - Monty Python Animations
I have always loved the Monty Python Animation (done by Terry Gilliam) style and it was actually my stepdad who mentioned it to me in relation to this project. It has a subversion of expectation feel to it and really seems like it is going against the conventional way of doing things.
I love the simplicity of it and the way it feels handmade and slightly crude. Protests aren’t meant to be sterile, they are about passion, creation and doing everything you can with whatever you have around you.
I want to use this style as inspiration for my final video - specifically the moving mouth towards the end as I think it is shocking and the words you put in the mouth can be your own. This makes it the perfect case study before going forward and making my video.
Punk Zines
Sniffin’ Glue and Slash are great examples of London produced Zines that comment on music, movies, politics, basically everything that influences culture. What I like about these Zines in particular is they have a point of view, they are uncensored and not afraid to give a commentary on culture. The most exciting design to me is design that is honest and takes a side - there’s nothing worse that sitting on the fence, you should stand up for what you believe in and Zines are certainly a way of doing that.
I love the aesthetic and the the history of the zines and I think they make for great inspiration for my video. After all, the values of the zines are really close to the values in this project - revolution, standing up for what you believe in and having your voice heard.
Workshop Challenge
I want my case study video to be provocative and brave. This is a heavy subject but I wanted the video to include some humour and a lighter feel. As this is for a festival, I need as many people as possible to see this and something too sombre wouldn’t be as likely to be shared on social media.
I’m using influences from 70s punk zines to get that real revolutionary feel. I want people to finish this video feeling empowered, motivated and ready to take action.
Final Video
Summary
For my case study video I decided to go for a 70s punk vibe. I like the proactive, provocative style and thought it was perfect to convey my project focussed on the cost of living crisis. I think this was definitely the right direction to go in and it communicates my plan for the Thrive Not Just Survive Festival For Change really well.
I decided the tone of the video should be funny and light. Although the subject matter is serious, I think the promotional video needs to be attention grabbing and shareable which is why I chose humour over seriousness. I think the puppet like animation of Boris at the beginning of the video really helps with this and will also make people more likely to pass it on and encourage others to go too. As this will be more impactful the more people that go, I need this to be shared.
With the previously mentioned Boris puppet and the reviews from people at the end, I took inspiration from Peter Kennard’s work, offering crude and handmade imagery to represent heartbreaking and deeply evocative subject matter. I am really pleased with how this part specifically turned out. I also had my partner Mat do his Boris impression as piecing together the words from archive audio clips was a nightmare.
Although I am pleased with the video, I think given more time I would refine it further, making the words in the middle a little punchier. However, it could also be part of the crudely-made aesthetic I was going for so changing it in this way could ruin this effect.
Another thing I would alter is I would add more imagery. At the minute I think there are too many words and not enough illustrations. I would change some of these to be incorporated into illustrations like the bit about making posters and visiting help stands.
Feedback from peers said that they liked the crude look, thought putting a funny twist on a heavy subject was a good idea and that the soundtrack matched perfectly. (Anarchy in the UK by the Sex Pistols). I also showed the video to my colleagues on the Communications Team at Catch22 who thought the message was clear and people would share a video like this.
Overall though I think the video really communicates the message - that we need to come together to offer immediate help and also create lasting social change.
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