My first moving image

This is My First attempt using After effects with the help of Jaygo. These are cropped to fit the format of an old 70's/80's TV Monitors. I am happy with the effect of the paint flowing over the image.
I have encountered some problems with format issues. My drawings are all done using portrait format to capture the height of the square but all TV screens are landscape so to I have tried different ways of laying out the images.  Cropping in is one solution but then you don't get the height and some images are not as effective cropped in.

Live Artifact

 Below are my live working artefacts which have 5 layers of drawings that have been recorded over the last few months and then each layer erased and wiped away only to reveal fragments of time and place.A glimpse of the past ghosting through the surface.  No original drawings exist apart from the traces creating a palimpsest. Each artefact has its own narrative to tell. I have recorded the passage of time sweeping across each document and plan to reveal the stories that lie trapped under the layers by creating an animated film using after effects.

William Kentridge

Kentridge has been my main inspiration during this project.  He creates stop motion  animations by filming a drawing then erasing and making small alterations and then filming it again transforming the image and eventually bringing it to life. The previous marks are visible under the layers. I am fascinated by the process he goes through. His are made in the studio and mine are mainly created live on location. His work usually has a political or social meaning and often features South Africa's political unrest. My animated film captures the economic, and social characteristics of a place, archiving fragile and forgotten urban environments.

                                                William Kentridge Automatic Writing

                                     

Layer four/five - "Norwich Over The Water"

        

The sketches below are observed from the upper level, built on a concrete raft and rising above the centre and evoking the Brutalist style of architecture. It houses a disused multi- story car park, Sovereign House (former HSMO stationary office) and the former Odeon Cinema now Hollywood. Teenagers are known to use the ramps and roads like a skate park.

I found it  surreal and melancholic which I have tried to encapsulate using a variety of dry media like charcoal and chino-graph pencil, black brush pen, and biro. I have worked expressively to achieve a raw, fragmented and sombre mood.  

The former Odeon Cinema built in 1971

Multi-Story Car Park

Four layers of drawing and paint is now proving difficult to work on which is an interesting challenge and effect symbolic to the local environment. Some of the paint is crumbling and the marks underneath are forming richer textures.I have tried to thin the emulsion paint more to get a more translucent effect as more layers are added. I think I applied the paint too thickly at first as I would like the sketches buried underneath to be more visible.

 

I have sketched directly onto the above images which you can see below with the idea to gradually fade in the sketch as part of my film, in contrast to the paint flowing over the images.   

      

Stories

I find it fascinating to sit and sketch people interacting on benches in the square . It was originally open to the elements but in the late 20th Century a glass and steel structure was built as a shelter. The steel structure casts strong geometric shadows adding to the atmosphere. All the times I have observed the square the benches are always busy. The last time I was on the square sketching bench life below I met  a man who asked if he could watch me draw, we then struck up conversation and we chatted about the square and the city and how this part of the city was always known as "Norwich over the water". There is a bit of a divide between the two, he commented that he never goes to the city its scary and too crowded!  everything he needs is here a local butcher, grocers and cafes. He often sits on the benches and has had interesting conversations with many people from all walks of life. Its a really diverse and multicultural urban environment with a real sense of community. Anglia Square is off Magdalen Street and St Augustines which is in the North part of the city. I have had conversations with people in the main city who say they have never been to Anglia Square.

Even though I had completed my set of sketches I stayed on to capture more folk socialising, interacting and swapping tales. 

Bench Life Anglia Square

My series depicting bench Life in the square is growing and hopefully capturing the economic and social setting of the square. The green party supporter is appropriate as the general elections are imminent! I collected an envelope from the One stop to collage in the background of the sketch before drawing the next sketch to capture time and history. 

So far I seemed to of captured mainly middle aged males for some reason maybe thats true to the square and there are quite a few unemployed men of that age or that they are interesting characters that happen to be there at the time. 

I might experiment and record the same bench over time even when its empty making my observations more objective rather than too subjective and giving a more realistic impression.

"The Jolly Doctor" Layer 3

Here is a selection of my third layer of observations from Anglia Square which I am pretty pleased with. I had a really exciting and productive day. You can see more on my flickr site. I like the looseness and spontaneity. Working onto of previous layers adds to the mood as its enriched by the textured marks underneath.

 I focused on the outer edge of the square to start with then later moved into the middle observing people on benches. I have been approached naturally by people interested in what I have been doing which I probably wouldn't experience if I was taking photographs. I have had more attention from passers by here, than I have had while sketching in the main part of the city, especially today !

 

Stories Of the Day

It would of been great to record the conversations, but they were not too keen on the idea . I did manage to make a few quick notes and remembered parts. I need to think about how I might bring these stories into my work. Maybe writing directly onto the drawings the conversations I hear and witness like Paul Davies illustration below. I did scribble notes quickly on the back of one of my sketches.

           

I chatted to a man who said he was a cement labourer and helped build the square in the 1960's. He told me his whole life story and that he started work at 6.30 banging away until 8.30 at night. He said this place has been like this for years. The council was destructive and pulled everything down and ruined it. Good luck to them trying to bulldoze it with all the cement under there, it's as hard as rock.

I chatted to another colourful local character who was really passionate and animated about the Square. He said the square was once going to be an open air swimming pool and that Sovereign house is owned by a millionaire french man.  He mentioned many people to get his political opinions across to me, from Long John Silver to Ken Dodd among others. He said had met Lulu and Andy Warhol;  how famous the square was with Steve Koogan filming the Alan partridge movie -Alpha Papa, whom he met.  I asked him what his name was and he said " Just call me "The Jolly Doctor" He then introduced me to the man who was retiring at the "One Stop" key Cutters and Watch repairs located under the stairs. He thought it was important that I was documenting the area and that many artist have been down here doing the same thing. 

Goodbye "One Stop"  Watch repairs and Key cutters

This Is Malcolm at work repairing watches where he has run his own business for 9 Years or so. He is now retiring and is not allowed to sell his business.  Previously he worked for Jarrold Printers for thirty Years.  I have sketched him working on top of the previous sketch which was the front of his "One Stop" shop. You can still see remnants of the previous sketch revealed underneath. I am so glad I managed to capture him before he moves on. I am sure his craft is a dying trade.

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Layer Two of Live sketches Anglia Square

Second layer of Sketches made on Friday 27th March. I felt a bit nervous sketching spontaneously on top of the original sketches on situ. Once I had made a mark I had to go with whatever the outcome. I discovered a tiny one stop watch repairs and  key cutters under the stairs of Anglia Square which is closing down soon as the owner is retiring. I wanted to have a record of his business before he goes as it will no longer exist soon due to the uncertain future of the square. I had a lot of signage to contend with!! I hope to document this more....

Here are some more  people sitting on benches recorded in the main square. A couple having a cup of 

tea and a man taking a break with his latest purchase of a new pillow. 

You can see some traces of the previous sketch underneath suggesting layered time. I am trying to capture mundane life taking place in the square.

First Layer of paint wiping away first sketches!

Here is my animation set up in my cupboard at home. The set up consists of a Rostrum stand, DSLR camera set on manual, a peg bar, x2 halogen floodlights, white emulsion diluted, ruler and scraper. Hope it works !!

I have about 10 initial sketches recording Anglia square and  here is an example of the paint wiping away one of the original sketches. Each image is captured using 18-24 frames. This is the beginning middle and end stages. This is the main entrance into Anglia Square sketched from Aladdin Cafe and patisserie across the road on Magdalen Street with some lovely mint tea and baklava.