So we have the main actor now, which is great, however we are finding it difficult to get many of our friends to stay on board during this critical time in their degree's. We have cemented about 8 people however and feel this will work, the cult was always in our minds as fairly small and close-knit anyway.
Dave Turner is confirmed and we have a suit and glasses for him to wear which came from the boot fair.
Props have been assembled into suitably weird contraptions.
A location has been chosen; the woods next to Northwick Park hospital.
image
We have shot here before and achieved great results, the particular area we have in mind is a clearing just in front of a concrete wall, suggestive of a compound, which could be the cult's settlement. This particular spot has recently been visited by the council, who have left a bunch of chopped down tree segments which form a nice semi-circle around the clearing. It reminds me of a camp, circled around a fire, sat on logs...perfect for our shoot.
We decided that we would improvise the majority of shots in an attempt to create a snapshot aesthetic that feels authentic and not staged. We have bought all the film we need, including the super 8mm cartridge from the Widescreen Centre in Baker St.
Running up to the Shoot
wimbledon Car Boot 5
Quite a promising boot fair this time, we also had access to James' parents car as they were in London for the weekend, so filled it to the brim.
Our main finds included:
A kids bike, which we will take apart and use the wheel-and-chain mechanism for the base of the praxinoscope.
A box of clothes. This was free and will be used for costumes on next weeks shoot.
Various electronic parts/tubing and other such oddities which will be utilised as the paranormal activity research cult's crude detectors/transmitters.
Search for Actors
For the shoot involving the paranormal research group narrative we decided it would look interesting if it was a collective of young people led by a much older man. We wanted to create the idea of the father figure which many cult leaders assume the role of. An example of this is Jim Jones, famous for being the leader of The Peoples Temple and instigating one of the biggest recorded mass suicides to date; the Jonestown massacre.
It will be easy for us to obtain a reasonable amount of actors to play the roles of the cult, apart from the leader, through using friends. For the role of the leader we searched online databases and have identified a few potential actors who are the right age and appearance.
After sending out various messages we received a few promising replies and have decided to work with an actor named Dave Turner. He seems very interested in our idea and looks great for the part.
Shoot ideas
We have been thinking about the shoots and batting around ideas on what exactly we could film and have come up with two ideas for two separate super 8mm loops.
The first stems from our earlier research into the idea of three people in a photograph meaning the inevitable early death of the middle person. It will involve a shot of three people, and we will scratch out on each individual frame the face of the middle person. If we can, this could be presented in the shape of a triangle to match the theme of three.
The second is a sort-of side narrative. It involves a cult-like 'paranormal activity research group' who have sensed activity in the area of the room which we are creating. They approach our character one day and notice the blueprints over his shoulder as he answers the door to them. Overexcited they try to enter the house but our character refuses and shuts them out. After obsessing over whether they hold the answer to the blueprints meaning he eventually decides to head out to their camp, which he had earlier noticed. On arrival he finds them all dead from an organised mass suicide in the style of the 1978 Jonestown massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown). Why? Our character does not know, however here he finds their bizarre equipment and research, which he steals and tries to decipher their relevance to his machines.
The footage itself will be of the aftermath that our character discovers, it will involve a quick pan of the group lying face down and clearly dead. It should look as if it is the point of view of our character, either footage he shot himself or a memory that is repeated again and again in his mind (as it will be presented as a loop)
Boiler Strip
Today we stripped the foam off of the boiler and underneath the copper looks great.
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After this we sawed off the bottom so that the praxinoscope will be able to fit inside. When doing this we were encountered by a wave of turquoise sludge and crystals, which we assumed to be a serious case of limescale! We intend to get a mop and clean it up so that it is fully hygienic and also does not flake during the installation. Inside the copper has turned a nice green colour and hopefully this will colour the light inside the machine.
The Space
We have moved into an artists studio in Hackney. It is part of the 'Old Peanut Factory' complex, which James and Faysal are already familiar with as they have a friend who lives there.
It is obviously a step back from the original intention of building the installation in a derelict and empty space, however it was necessary at this late stage. We will continue to pursue the goal of moving into such a space, but for the sake of this project and the deadline we decided it would be better to cement a definite location and concentrate on the project itself.
We had a choice between two studios, one which was 230 sq ft but in an inconvenient location, below a bedroom and surrounded only by thin plasterboard walls and a 190 sq ft room which is obviously smaller but has a second room next door which is 90 sq ft for our use and has solid concrete walls and ceiling meaning us making noise will not be a problem. For this reason, we decided to go for the 190 sq ft room and we are confident it will house the installation well.
Here is a link to see this space http://www.amazing-space.org.uk/e3oldford-280.htm the pictures currently show it with screen printing equipment but this will be moved out very soon.
Wimbledon Car Boot 4
Great again as per usual! We mostly tried to collect research this time as this is the main thing we are lacking, so books, illustrations etc were at the top of our priority. We left with a fair few interesting books that can be put into the installation either as ripped-out pages or in their entirety.
Other things we got include:
Super 8 Camera
A eumig which looked in good working order but we have later realised it has a cracked and loose filter inside. We may try and use it anyway.
Speakers
A pair of 1970's sanyo speakers in great condition for only £1, not necessary but couldn't resist! Im sure we will use them in some way or another.
Trunk
Lamp
Materials
We have now collected a few key bits of scrap metal to build the machines out of.
Square Tank
James got this square metal tank from near his home in Somerset, it will be great for the boot machine due to its size and aged aesthetic. The fact that it is metal will ensure we attain the sound we are looking to achieve through this machine.
Boiler
I got hold of a boiler from a family friend back in Southampton. It could be used as the body of the Praxinoscope machine. It is copper and it would be interesting to investigate ways of ageing it prematurely so that it will tarnish and become greener in colour.