Reflection on letterpress animation tests

I have created a series of letterpress experiments exploring Ken’s voice patterns.
The deliberate use of letterpress denotes the speaker’s age and lack of interest
in technology, it is also a statement about Ken’s character, unchanging and from
a different era. I found that using a variety of materials to print upon was useful, especially printing directly onto textured wallpaper. The effect resulted in broken, cracked letterforms relevant to Ken’s voice characteristics. Producing the tests,
I have been mindful of the work created before, the feedback given and the importance of showing the hands within the work, to almost spell out the processes and keep the human aspect of the work at the forefront of the animation.

Using white ink onto the wooden letter block reinforces the idea of repetition in language. For example, the viewer see the wooden letters and is able to read them (although they are backwards), rolling white ink onto the letters seems to switch them on from an initial thought into speech. The word is repeated again when the letters are printed onto the paper.

Two examples of ‘glottal stop’ or stopping one’s speech abruptly can be represented by two other experiments I created simply ripping a word in half, the word is said and is taken away quickly, just as the voice does in real time. The other representation of this is producing an oversized ‘ T’ using the width of the roller and screwing up the letterform after it’s creation.

Intonation of the voice has been considered by repeating letters that are stressed, also by moving letters away from a conventional baseline and allowing letters to fall down in arcs around the page. More expression into spatial difference or fluidity could be adopted. I found the process of printing a bit rigid and found it difficult to let the letters ‘bleed’, smear or appear organic. Perhaps looking into rubbings using chalk pastels could be another method to change the work.

Pace of the word being said such as ‘a drink, a drink’ were shown overlapping as the speaker repeats himself, almost interrupting himself, I wanted to show this almost as a mirror image.

The next stage will be to continue creating tests for Ken’s voice, gain peer and tutor feedback about the visual language and starting to tackle how my voice can be represented. Bringing contrast to the work using digital type for my voice will bring about a new dynamic to the work. I intend the contrast to be quite stark and obvious, so that you can picture the age gap and personality differences at a glance.