Project 1. Ideas.

I have been racking my brain all week thinking about what I could do with my soundtrack in terms of visuals. It was really difficult to think of a concept that wasn't too literal while still expressing the ideas I had behind the sounds I put together. Unfortunately, inspiration didn't strike until today leaving me no chance to really put together a visual mock-up of my idea.

I think I have unwittingly been investigating the theme of "nostalgia" in my work this year. Basically, I would like to create a stop motion video in this sequence:

1. Childhood + Build-Up.

Building blocks (or similar childhood toy - lego, or some kind of stackable building toy) are constructing a tower piece by piece. I haven't decided yet if I want to depict a person building a structure or have the blocks stack themselves.

During this scene, the sounds with the laughing child and "happy birthday" music are playing.


2. The Crash.

There is a moment in my soundtrack where there is an abrupt, disruptive sound. When this occurs, I want to contrast the childhood building 'memory-like' scene by first having the building blocks crashing down and then with quick cuts of images that are visually disruptive and deal with real-life in a way. I haven't quite decided on these images, but possibly rainstorms, traffic lights and other similar images that are jumbled together.


3. Re-build.

After the crash, there is an attempt to build the structure again, but it isn't easy. Some of the blocks have been replaced with tangible, real-life objects such as money, large books and more "grown-up" items. The pieces don't come together right, and the structure eventually falls down again.

While this re-build occurs, the soundtrack plays loud voices that can't really be made out. There is also a crying baby in the background, but I may omit this from the video. One other aspect I'm not sure about is whether or not I should film the building block scenes on a "set" where a child would be playing, or simply against white.


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Essentially, the deeper idea behind this concept is exploring how much simpler things are as a child, and as you grow older you know more and not only do things grow more complicated, but you begin to complicate them in your head. You over-analyze and have to balance more "real" things like income, expenses, education, relationships, and the importance of each in your life. This can definitely be a struggle.