Reviewing animation – week 8

I have started to implement stop frame animations to represent Ken’s abrupt manner of speech, the ink-rollered letter T fades from white ink to black and is then obliterated by being screwed up and discarded. The discarded letter denotes several speech sounds such as ‘plosive’ - a quickly released letter that stops sharply, other examples of plosives in English are p,b,t,d,j and g. Other speech sounds such as ‘voicelessness’ and ‘sonorant’ are also seen in the letter ‘t’. See context file ‘production’ for further information.

Glossary of terms used in the description of speech sounds, p298-9
Hawkins, P ‘Introducing Phonology’ (1984) Routledge, London

The repetition of the word ‘yeah’ has been shown in two different ways, one version shows letter-blocks being ‘lit up’ with ink and moving in a contour indicative of the word stress. The other version of the word ‘yeah’, which has been repeated, shows
a static version of the word that flashes up and disappears with no animation.
The way in which the word is expressed is flat and with little expression. I have positioned the word lower and to the left of the screen as the word is not a key word and the flatness of tone suggests lower than central in the composition. I have reflected on the previous animations whereby every word was animated, moving, and frantic and there was little time for the viewer to absorb the information. There are preset keys that allow images and text to ‘ease in’, this will not be appropriate for Ken’s abrupt voice patterns.

Further research into visualising text for intonation has highlighted a variety of methods, which have evolved from the work of pioneering linguists and phoneticians over the last seventy years.

Notable linguists and phoneticians to develop systems to communicate intonation
of speech in writing include:

Fries (1940) ‘Linear’ method, drew a simple line around the sentence to show pitch of voice.

Bollinger (1972) ‘crazy letter’ method, an example shown below, syllables are positioned at different heights according to word stress. It is important to note that Bollinger printed a book in 1972 entitled ‘Intonation’.
dis you
I agree with

Pike (1945) pioneer of the ‘levels’ method. Pike recognised 4 levels of pitch, Pike’s intonation system was based on high pitch.

Trager and Smith (1951) advocates of the ‘levels’ method, also based on 4 levels of pitch, low, normal, high and extra high. This system was based on low pitch of voice.

2 she’s gone to get an 3en-ve-1lope

Jones (1956), Kingdom (1958) O’Connor and Arnold (1961) Halliday (1970) Crystal (1975) and Delattre (1965) are leaders of the ‘contour’ method. This is a more holistic approach and does not segment sentences into smaller parts, but recognises the structure of language, namely, pre-nucleus, nucleus and post-nucleus. The contour method is more mindful of tone and attitude, which can alter meaning. Nuclear words are key words within a sentence.

/how did you make such a mess of it/
pre-nucleus nucleus post-nucleus

The following symbols indicate different nuclear tones.

\ denotes rise in the voice (I have over-emphasised the size of the keys)
/ denotes fall in tonal value
\/ indicates fall-rise

My direction for the animation can be more defined due to recognising these methods. Reflecting on the way the animation is developing the ‘crazy letter’ method is an expressive way of pushing Ken’s speech and visually representing tone of voice. This has already started to happen in some of the stop frame animations (Tttee a a), but can be pursued with more vigour for nuclear words.

Expressing the narrator’s voice, I believe, should be provide a strong contrast and lean towards typographic language and transcription convention terms. This will provide a direct comparison between spoken, written and typographic forms. This will be more quiet, smaller scale, controlled, subtle and informative. This part of the work will need to be freeze-framed in a different format for the viewer to absorb the details. Can printer’s marks and transcription conventions collide, are there direct comparisons or areas that are isolated within their existing disciplines?

Reflection on the animation Ken 1.5, work in progress;

Positive areas (10)
Generally the work is developing well, and the processes before getting to animate have been robust and reflective. I have addressed a lot of issues learned from previous animations and am aware of incremental progression.

Large-scale letterpress ‘T’ at the beginning of the work acts as a frame and dynamic edge to the work, giving clues to the quality of voice.

Handmade qualities, throughout, use of video as a backdrop helps the work to be less frantically paced generally.

Including some static elements helps the work and its hierarchy of information to the viewer.

The representation of two different speakers is obvious due to type choice and application, this was an intention I aimed to fulfill from the PGD phase presentation.
The use of authentic letterpress helps to convey quality of voice, particularly the large scale ‘T’.

Screwing up paper after speech is memorable, and indicative of speech patterns.
Using the rollered ink to gloss over the conversation at the end of the animation is also effective, (but needs to be blended in more visually).

The colour palette is beginning to be drab and moody, less bright and contrasts well with the previous animations (Beatles animation and Delyse animation).

The physical use of letterpress indicates restrictions (negative kerning is not possible for example) this is useful and reflects Ken’s restricted responses and rigid personality. Again the contrast of this can be developed further within the narrator’s speech.

Areas to improve (8)

The first frame of the animation is very un-inspiring; I would prefer to start the animation with a count down of local door numbers (a subtle reference to Ken’s involvement in the neighbourhood watch).

Overall the scale of Ken’s words needs developing. The words are currently too small and predictable, this area needs pushing further. Consider Bollinger’s extreme example, also Alan Kitching and the use of contrasting scale in his printed work. Experiment more with Ken’s word, more expression and gaps within the letters; allow the work to go off screen. Let the work appear to be illegible in places, morph and become distorted (more letterpress, photocopier, scanner, adding chalk pastel and movement)

Simplify the narrator’s dialogue; do not use repeated letterforms or ‘crazy letter’ method. Think about whether the email interface is always present and fades on and off or whether it switches on and is more mechanised.

Explore other ways of expressing plosives, glottal stops after Ken speaks, such as ripped paper, spilt paint, flash of light, lights turned out etc. What happens when things finish? Sign on a shop (closed, shut) an old TV ends with a small black dot, will give hint to era and age of speaker. Is spilt paint too dramatic? The idea of using the TV fits in well with the typewriter and slide projector, old technology, and lo-tech, relating to the zeitgeist of Ken’s years.

Explore the organic nature of laughter, how can the narrator and Ken’s laughter come together? Should this be letterpress, lines, &&&~~~~<<<{{{)))!!!!!, numbers?
Investigate sound of the pen nib scratching into the paper, where would this be appropriate?

Apply transcription convention and typographic references to narrator’s questions.
Consider numbering the repetition of the language, or allowing words to stay on screen in a list that becomes blurred but constantly there (an amalgamation of information). Consider the use of screen print to denote repetition ‘yeah’ Tea, however, be aware of time restrictions in the print room.

Suggested course of action;
Storyboard the work with the new suggestions in place, indicate where the stop frame animation work is. Indicate where the digital animation is (perhaps colour code the work in some way?)

Type out transcription convention for narrators’ speech
Collate printer mark ups
Research Bollinger 1972 ‘Intonation’
Research Lieberman (1965) Contour method paper

Update on animations

3 versions of a short animation have been produced for Ken’s speech. (Ken stage 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3)

Each time a new experiment creates a serendipitous result. I am more aware of key words in the animation, have highlighted these and my ability to time the work and leave words out has improved. I have started to use transcription convention in the narrators speech and wonder whether to just use typography in a very simple, understated way, without the visual clue of the email interface. The more my narration is played down, the more emphasis is projected onto Ken’s speech and
the intonation of voice.

If the narration appears in the same place and is neutral apart from the phonetic symbols or transcription convention, the greater the contrast will be within the animation of the speakers.

An accidental occurrence has really helped the scale of the work, importing the
large scale letter ‘t’ (which had been created by ink and roller) appeared too large,
I moved the position and noticed that the background of the letter seamlessly transmogrified into the handwritten letter background. Travelling down the letterform gives the viewer a visual clue to the broken voice, fading quality and overlapping conversations about to emerge. The ‘L’ shape also helps to frame important words in the narrator’s speech ‘ blindfolded’.

To develop the work further, I would like to explore, how Ken’s words stop, (the glottal stop) and present this as ripped words, screwed up paper or use the road marking ‘stop’ signs to highlight his abruptness. More key words need animating such as ‘white’ ‘strong’ and ‘in a mug’.

In terms of the laughter I will look at mark making, or organic shapes, similar to Len Lye. These could be ink patterns and could interweave between Kens laughter and the narrator’s. The formality of the digital text needs to break down as the composed professionalism of the interview dissolves into peals of laughter. Reviewing Oscar Fischinger’s animation will also be relevant to this part of the animation. In the animation foe Radio Scotland , ‘Foggie Bummer’, Barnbrook uses lines drawn directly onto film, and the lines intertwine and become fluid and mesmorising. If the representation of laughter has to be typographic, which letters or symbols would suit this? Perhaps the tilde or cedilla would be relevant, or a combination of letters and symbols? The form should be organic and not severe or straight, there must be curves and links, an ampersand?

Jonathan Barnbrook will be running a 3-day workshop in the next week. I will be attending this and hope to have the opportunity to discuss his work in more depth, to aid my understanding of his processes and methods.

Reviewing the last 6 weeks

17.2.09
Reviewing processes
My aims this week are review the time schedule I had originally set and decipher whether this was a useful method or if the process requires amendment
or refinement. The actual activities that happened (follow the bold text)

Week 1 review the work of Kyle Cooper
This was accurate and helped to set out a precedent regarding the quality, narrative and about the tone of voice within the work.

Week 2 review visual language in mood boards
I produced several pieces of work to define and explore the visual language of the work and sent the results to tutors via blog for input. The feedback (to create darker more ambient work) caused me concern in terms of my production capabilities.I also created a series of letterpress animation tests; this helped me to visualize the possibilities and restrictions of letterpress as a medium for the protagonist within the work. This propelled the production of the work and I found the experience enjoyable and natural to my personal way of working. The texture and fading of the lettering were particularly relevant to the sound and nuances of Ken’s spoken language.

I also spent a substantial amount of time considering different approaches to representing Ken’s speech such as repetition through objects relating to Ken’s age, or interweaving elements to show how language evolves and overlaps. My final decision is based on the findings below:

Contextual rationalization Theme one is based on repetition, which can be highlighted by the quote by Hymes, Becker and Bollinger that they “all suggest that repetition is at the heart not only of how a particular discourse is created but how discourse itself is created.”
Theme Repetition through patterns (changing, ripping, peeling wallpaper) and typography relevant to the speaker’s zeitgeist. This route will explore personal references to aging, fading beauty, fading voices. Repetition of dialogue will be shown by letters remaining styled (letterpress for the older speaker and digital text for the younger speaker) and on screen longer for the viewer to recognize the links. This theme leans towards a subtle, atmospheric approach using technology (or lack thereof) to hint at the contrast between the two speakers, their lifestyles and views of the world. Typographic style for the older speaker will be represented using letterpress to denote age and lack of interest in technology or modernity. The younger speaker will be illustrated in a digitally produced typeface as a contrast.

Week 3 select and work on one theme
I had not anticipated the increase in the workload from the University of Derby and the impact of changing from 3 days to 4 days of work would have on the MA. Planning, assessing and preparation for teaching have taken up more time than expected.I actually spent most of my time considering the final outcomes and considering reducing the MA outcomes officially. Reviewing animation processes using VTC and looking at the work ‘Capitu’ in the website ‘Motionographer’. This animation utilizes the decollage technique from the Dada movement. (creating an image by cutting, tearing or otherwise removing pieces of a picture to reveal parts of other images lying beneath).

Week 4 storyboarding, selecting visual language theme
For this particular week, I did not storyboard the work, I was concerned with the technicalities of animating letterpress and whether this could be created digitally but still retain the essence of looking handmade. I produced short tests based on outlined text with texture, also scans of letterpress fonts that had been digitized.
I resolved a method of production that enabled me to create digital letterpress work but did not feel wholly convinced by the results. This process, however, enabled me to decide that I would create Ken’s voice by hand using letterpress as this was true to his nature and lack of technical prowess and that I could contrast this using digital text to represent the narrator’s voice.

All of the digital experiments appeared to be cold and without heart. The letterpress animation and typewriter experiments, when viewed together or overlapping, create richness and more visual clues to the voice and speaker. ‘Large T and typewriter’ QuickTime animation are good examples of this. My observation of the work also reflects tutor feedback, that work produced using traditional methods was more visually appealing and less manufactured and flows better due to the process.

Week 5 Animation begins
I had planned to animate work at this point, in reality I was still at the storyboarding and planning phase. Storyboarding followed this week, aided by the letterpress test animations.The storyboards were created on layout paper using ink and paintbrush. The formulation of the work came about more rapidly than previously due to familiarization of the process and recognition of the way I work. During the storyboarding phase I was conscious to include directives from the PGD phase and put into practice the observations I had made from other’s work. Such as; creating text off screen for simpler words (that could be easily read with out all the letterforms showing). I also am aware to keep key words static on screen, identify key words, and not include all of the words spoken.

Having produced storyboards before, for the Lennon animation I also recognized that to over-plan the work could crush the serendipity and spontaneity of the work. Only when you actually animate can you see the potential of the work as it unfolds.

Actual animation began (one week later than planned). This has been slower than anticipated but is progressing steadily. I have amended the learning outcomes for the project proposal and will submit this amendment to tutors and the course leader.

Week 6 Animation ends
The reality is that the deadlines I had set were unrealistic, it would have been achievable if I did not have work externally or family commitments. In my plans for this terms work, I had aimed to submit and animation online for peers, the reality is that the animation process will be in place for several more weeks. A new revised plan will be created and reviewed with tutors at the next tutorial.

Week 7 Review processes
I have learned not to underestimate the time needed for animation to proceed to a higher level of production. Also that my commitments to work, and that the balance I require for my life have to be carefully considered and reassessed. Animation requires time and constant reviewing, tweaking and revisiting. One way to resolve this is to realign the outcomes to a more realistic conclusion and see the MA as a stepping-stone to further discoveries and possibilities rather than a conclusion. This is an important difference from graduate thinking to a postgraduate viewpoint that is longer term and is concerned with mastery and reflection, not wholly reliant upon outcomes.

New sections of the animation

Creating new storyboards has helped me to focus on a tighter way of working and aided my direction. For example using a screen-grab of a digital folder has meant that I am using creating a visual reference to the lifestyle and age of the narrator and has enabled me to restrict the animation and representation of digital type in a format that is true to the nature of emails.

Everytime, my voice is present, an email dialogue box or digital folder will appear with relevant type styling representing my voice. Inflections of voice are shown through s p a c i n g text or repetition of words, colour fading etc. This restriction is helpful and means I can emphasize Ken's voice more. It is a direct reflection of the Lennon work whereby the emphasis on the first animation was not clearly thought through.

The animation of the lettering will be created using a simple typewriter preset. This will show contrast with the stop frame animation of the wood block lettering.

1st to 8th Feb reflective writing

Sunday 1st Feb
Although my aim this week was to start animating, I have spent most of this week immersed in preparation for teaching, preparing briefs for students and organising timetables particularly for collaborative work. My original plans for specific MA production has been affected directly by my workload. My time this week has been utilised reflecting on the final project, practical outcomes and considerations for visual language of the work. My tasks today have included reviewing tutorials in after effects, one based on particle displacement and how to create grafitti style text. As a contrast to this I also looked at the making of metal type and the letterpress studios. The final topic of research was to examine the website ‘motionographer’, here I reviewed a stunning blend of tradition and modern work, a blend of handcrafted skills and after effects. This piece of work is inspiring in its execution, concept and production.

“The work was created for the title sequence to ‘Capitu’–a TV miniseries, based on a 19th century Brazilian literary masterpiece, Dom Casmurro, written by Machado de Assis. Told retrospectively from the point of view of the aging central character, it describes his obsession with finding all kinds of evidence that his wife had been unfaithful, and his own best friend is actually the father of their only son.

The creative team’s initial inspiration is Dadaism, specifically the decollage technique (creating an image by cutting, tearing or otherwise removing pieces of a picture to reveal parts of other images lying beneath). According to Lobo, ‘the chaotic and disjointed nature’ of Dada decollage pieces parallels the nonlinear, short-chaptered structure of the novel. Layering of images suggests the passage of time, memory, and accumulated life experience, and the tearing/ripping evokes the violence inherent in the central character’s tormenting doubts and desire for vengeance.

The animation was first created in After Effects, then each frame was printed on different paper stock. The printed frames were crumpled, re-stretched out and glued one on top of the other, and the entire stack was then placed under a stop-motion camera. Shots were taken at appropriate intervals as the layers were ripped and peeled. The photographs were taken back into after effects to create the final stop-motion sequence.

In 2008, Lobo was commissioned to create the opening sequence and interstitials for Capitu, a TV mini-series adaptation of Dom Casmurro, the masterpiece by 19th-century Brazilian novelist Machado de Assis. The story is narrated by the title character, an aging man who decides to write his memoirs in an attempt to “tie the two ends of life together”. But the true purpose of his endeavor is to search for proof justifying his undying obsession: that his childhood sweetheart, Capitu, whom he finally succeeded in marrying, had betrayed him with his best friend, the real father of their only son. What makes Machado’s novel unconventional is that he treats the traditional themes of marriage and adultery as a mere backdrop for an exploration of surprisingly modern literary concerns: the unreliability of the first-person narrator; a skeptical awareness of the novel’s structure; the failure of memory in recapturing past facts objectively, functioning instead as a means for self-justification and self-deceit.

Lobo sought to encapsulate these issues in the opening sequence, not just through the choice of imagery but also in a way that involved the animation technique itself. The preliminary research started with the early 20th-century art movement Dada, following a suggestion by the series’ director Luiz Fernando Carvalho. Since Dom Casmurro is considered a forerunner of Modernism, at least in Brazil, we thought it made sense to start with some of the most radical pioneers of the avant-garde. We focused mainly on Dada artists who used collage and photomontage as their media of choice. The chaotic and disjointed nature of their work paralleled the fragmented structure of Machado’s novel, with its short chapters, nonlinearity and constant interruptions as well as remarks by the narrator himself. This research on the evolution of collage eventually led us to discover the works of post-Dada European artists like Wolf Vostell, Mimmo Rotella and Jacques Villeglé. They developed what became known as decollage: instead of building up an image by adding parts of other images, they worked by cutting, tearing or otherwise removing pieces of a picture to reveal parts of other images lying beneath.

This approach seemed perfect for the task at hand. The superposition of images provided a fitting metaphor for the passage of time and the accumulation of experiences throughout one’s life. Ripping through these levels mirrored the process of peeling the layers of memory carried out by the narrator, in search for the final truth buried in his past. The act of ripping also suggests violence, representative of his tormenting doubt and desire for vengeance.

Visually, the distressed result of this procedure was also appropriate, since it connected in many ways with the art direction of the mini-series. The show was predominantly shot inside a run-down mansion, using recycled materials for settings and props. The theater and the opera are recurring elements in the novel, so the production relied on classic theatrical techniques for the recreation of the environments. This inspired us to base our layouts on old letterpress show posters – the same material largely employed by the decollage artists.

We wanted the aesthetic and the animation technique to be fully integrated in these pieces, which meant that the ripped paper should be more than just a graphic style: it should be the very mechanism that drove the animation forward. We started by preparing simple animations in After Effects, primarily featuring typography and collage-like graphics representing key concepts of the story. These animations were edited together with short live-action clips from the series, and the entire sequence was then printed sequentially, frame by frame, on different kinds of paper. These sheets were glued on top of each other, resulting in a stack of paper that had the first frame of the opening at the top and the last frame at the bottom. We mounted the stack below a table-top digital camera and proceeded to rip and tear the paper sheets one by one, slowly revealing each layer underneath. This process was photographed at regular intervals, and the pictures were imported back into After Effects as a sequence, where it received some slight color and time adjustments.

The result was the same animation and live-action sequence we started with, only fractured and reassembled in such a way that never allows for a single intact frame. Every image that begins to take shape never achieves its complete form; every ripped bit of paper reveals something that belongs to another point in time. The spot resolves itself only at the end, unveiling the word Capitu: the only person who holds the key to the mystery of the story.” http://motionographer.com/2009/02/01/capitu-titles-2/#more-9533 1.2.09 22.37pm

I can see how this discovery will be helpful, firstly Lobo researched a specific time and art movement and stayed as close as possible to the nature of production from that era, secondly the title sequence serves to ‘reveal’ and yet not reveal mysteries. Key concepts of the story are created as collages, this is similar to my idea of wallpaper showing the passage of time. I feel that more research into repetition as a key feature needs to be explored further. My next stage this week is to alter the original plan, redraft my learning agreement and consider a new timeframe altogether.


4.2.09
I created my own letterpress fonts from previous archives scanned in, live trace into illustrator and imported into after effects. A series of short tests followed to trial the work. More subtlety of effects is needed to produce more convincing work. A font exists but is not available to be implemented using one’s cursor the fonts are all tiff based and the set costs $329! A screen-grab shows 3 versions of a letterpress cap ‘G’ with the original scan, default live trace and a more accurate traced version. The lettering will be more effective on different varied stock and textures.

7.2.09
This week I have been plotting out Ken’s speech, instead of processing this is in a cold word-by-word, dope sheet, I have deliberately opted for a more visual approach. In After Effects I optimised the audio layer and made the wave line visible. After screen-grabbing this layer and printing it out, I started to scrub over the audio and match the words to the wave line.Initially I produced a version with Ken’s and the narrator’s speeches, this was too complex.

A more useful method has been producing the same outcome with just one speaker and then repeating the process separately. Interesting results came about. Ken’s monosyllabic response was clear to see, (these results are in sketchbook 6.) The narrator’s speech is full and constant, plenty of questions, fewer gaps and the voice pattern does not spike as much as Ken’s. The narrator’s speech pattern is mid pitch, less dense, more fluid with a lot of variety in the wave patterns but steady overall. Doing these exercises will help me determine the animation patterns with more clarity, for example, I can attempt to show Ken’s voice peaking and clashing typographically, especially for the word ‘white’ and ‘tea’. The words ‘one and a half’ appear visually like a bow tie. These findings would not be apparent without visualising the wave line.

Another useful element to working in this way revealed the strength of sound. In the audio table in After Effects a graph of decibels is shown and reacts to the voice strength. The system is similar to traffic lights, red denotes a booming voice, amber is medium range, green is average and so on. There are numeric decibel values next to these colours. I have noted down where Ken’s voice features on this system, so again I can plot this in the animation.

The outcome has been a good broad-brush stroke effect, and works particularly well for Ken’s voice where his pattern seems to spike in a cluster. I was able to match the word ‘Tea’ with the correct part of the wave line very easily.

In terms of the project direction, I have made some important decisions after much thought and deliberation. Originally I was keen to explore repetition using visual metaphor on the animation. Reflecting on previous animations whereby I had been more experimental and less selective, particularly on the first Beatles animation, I recognise that showing less visually, with more deliberation will help the communication values of the work. Having produced small tests, I have decided that my focus will be on communication and technology, predominantly represented through the selection of type. The choice of type will also reflect personality and qualities of the speaker’s voices. Letterpress fades, is worn, aged and restricted due to its physical form. Digital type is crisp, efficient and ever changing, but also ‘trapped’ in a default setting imposed by the programme.

I recognise that one of my fascinations with Ken is the way he lives. Even though we live in the same road, our interaction with the world is very different. Ken does not have a landline or phone, he still used old-fashioned tapes and vinyl records and VHS tapes. Texting and emails are not part of Ken’s vocabulary let alone part of his life. It is as if he is living in a different era to the rest of the world. If I concentrate on showing this to the viewer typographically I believe the animation will have contrast and demonstrate the importance and relevance of selecting type for purpose. Switching from digitally animated text to the rigidity but integrity of letterpress and changing the background textures or lighting will also emphasise these differences.

The interpretation of my voice will be less important than Ken’s, my aim is for the focus to be on Ken’s voice, to characterise his voice and underplay mine. I will however, explore email language and look at some of the restrictions and opportunities that either text messages or emails have to offer. My main ways of communicating are email primarily and texting secondary option.

The aspect of repetition will be more effectively expressed in a static 2d format. I anticipate producing an A2 print of the whole conversation in letterpress and digitally stylised type with repetition highlighted throughout.

To summarise:
Key focus: communication methods will be expressed in the animation.
Ken’s communication will be old fashioned, rigid, set, unaffected by technology
Will show intonation of voice and strength of pitch (in relation to decibel output)
Ken’s voice will be shown using
letterpress animations
video of person writing directly onto paper (letter writing)
typewriter animations
slide projector animation
Photocopier animations

Narrator’s communication will be crisp, modern, technology led
Will show pauses, pictograms, type cursor hovering, affected by technology
The work will not show intonation of voice and will underplay and remain more neutral to enhance and project Ken’s voice.

Narrator’s voice will be shown using
Email interface and relevant digital typography
Text messaging with the relevant interface and authentically produced digital typography,pictograms and text language (lol, etc).

Sunday 8.2.09
I created a short video of my father hand writing, Ken’s speech. I wanted to observe older hands creating lettering in a continuous sequence. Throughout recording the work my observation of voices and really listening to the subtleties has led me to believe that speech is akin to fingerprints, that each pitch and twist of the tongue is unique, in a similar way to the pressure and manipulation of the pen during writing. Even the pressure of letters produced gives away information about our general state of well being, for example light pressure can denote lightness of mood and heavy pressure could reflect anger, agitation etc. I am passionate about the differences between people and how this can be explored visually.

There were three attempts to record my father. Firstly we did a test run. Using scrap paper, I asked my father to copy out Ken’s speech. Because the words were not familiar and the situation seemed strange the first test seemed stilted, stiff and mechanical writing was produced. We switched to more textured paper for the second trial. Using the paper in a portrait orientation, I requested that the writing was continuous rather than short fragmented sentences with line breaks. In this instance, there were two issues that needed resolving. The angle of the shot meant that my father’s hands were taking ‘centre stage’ and that the writing emerged behind his hands mysteriously. The shots, focusing solely on the writing produced were more successful and were beginning to convey a sense of repetition.

The last recording was the most successful, we switched the orientation of the paper to landscape, used textured paper and the camera was placed upside down so that the view focussed on the writing being formed by the pen in a birds eye view. The camera scans the page as the text is formed. A more dynamic result was produced and the writing was produced more fluidly due to the first two tests. Another surprising result was the inclusion of sound. I was able to hear the pen nib scratching against the grain of the paper this will enhance the handmade qualities and authenticity of the work.