This work utilises light to focus the audience’s attention on the knight helmet, and imply there is significance to the main character’s relationship to knighthood within the story.
The first shot of this animation focuses on emulating the use of light in the original tapestry, portraying the flora in the same way - flat, but with shadows and highlights. This establishes the world the story is in is the same as the tapestry which will be shown to the audience beforehand. The knights helmet is then shown cradled in the character’s hands, and the light reflects across it. This manipulation of light allows the work to direct the viewer’s focus in a way the original artwork couldn’t, but still appears to take place within the world of the tapestry. It also implies a moment of reflection or hesitation, as all that is shown in frame is the character’s hands and the helmet, the light slowing the moment and implying a greater consideration of these two objects.
This use of light is similar to the way Wong Kar Wai uses reflections in his work, as seen in ‘In the Mood for Love’ (2001). There are multiple moments in this film where characters or scenes will be shown through their reflection in a mirror, causing the viewer to consider the character and their relationships in the scene. It can also have a lonely effect, or emphasise a character's face, in the same way my work emphasises the helmet and the feelings which relate to it.
When first creating this scene, I was considering how to communicate the aesthetic of the tapestry and the character’s emotions without causing a visual conflict. Whilst the background is still bountiful, I thought focusing on the helmet would imply a tension between the beauty of the shot before and the role of knighthood, but still being ambiguous enough for this to develop throughout my planned story. I adapted the way Wong Kar Wai uses reflections of faces to a simple reflection of light to keep the anonymity of the character and avoid a complex shot which would be overwhelming with the complex floral background.
Youtube link: https://youtu.be/46T3BvRz6hU