Pre-Production Project Evaluation

Having finished this high concept pre-production project, I now have a completed blog with my research and development of my project as well as my website for my project portfolio located at:

https://aja3097.wixsite.com/thekeeppreproduction

I feel that this project has mostly been a success. However, there are also a few aspects that I would personally improve:

Positives:
- The website itself looks very professional and resembles that of a professional production company. The information presented on the website is also very clear and presents my ideas and development in a concise way.
- One of the main focuses of this pre-production, The Visual Elements, also look professional and I am overall happy with them. They properly convey the style of the show as well as enabling an understanding of the geography of the set through the set design concept art with clear labelling.
- The other main focus, the Sound Design, I also thought was successful. I was able to include several demonstrations of the ind of sound design and soundscapes that I would include for the production as well as creating a partial soundtrack full of demonstrations of the score conveying the overall style and tone of the show.

Improvements:
- Time restraints started to become more apparent as the deadline drew closer. Therefore some of the aspects of each element of the pre production were slightly rushed. To improve on this, I should have started work on various aspects of these sooner.
- The change of aesthetic visual and sound design part way through this project halted my progression somewhat through the transition period, meaning that I had given myself less time to complete parts of the pre-production.
- Some of the research was not as strong as it could have been due to my focus on other area of the pre-production. Meaning that some areas of the pre-production are lacking in content.

Despite these flaws I am still happy with what I was able to achieve and I feel that the finished project looks professional.

'The Keep' Finished Title Sequence

I have uploaded my final version of the title sequence of 'The Keep' high concept pre-production project.

Changes made from the previous version are some subtle changes in font, actors names filled in for their appropriate roles as well as the crew such as the Director and Cinematographer. Also the video is now in HD.

Overall, I am happy with this title sequence. I feel that some of my own footage was still a little to shaken. However I do think they are well integrated with the rest of the stock footage and, indeed, the concept art.

I feel that I was successful in creating a title sequence that feels modern, yet reflects the visual style of older war films with the large written credits. One particular detail I like is the information that appears in small writing underneath the main title, as would be found in such war films this has taken inspiration from. I feel the colour grading also works well in setting a visual mood that would reflect the narrative of The Keep

Completed Soundtrack/ Score

I have completed the Score for 'The Keep' high concept pre-production project. As stated in previous posts, this was only to be a partial score that would not cover the entire track listing. However, I do believe that the tracks I had chosen to create do provide the most range between what I could achieve musically given the specific inspiration of films set during the Second World War.

Here is a screenshot of the album and its track listing as shown via iTunes:

And also a quick album cover that I created for the purposes of the following Youtube video:

I have uploaded the completed partial score onto Youtube. However, please note that these act mostly as demo version of what these tracks could be and are not representatiove of a professional production:

Also, I have uploaded a video containing several unused tracks created during the development of my ideas for the score in oder to show that development, including the original 80s version I had first created before switching inspirations to older war films:

I am mostly happy with what I was able to achieve. Due to being only part of the pre-production package, I had to spread time between doing various other aspects of the project, meaning that I perhaps did not spend as much time as I had wanted to on this. Some of the tracks do feel a little rushed and I find it is sometimes easy to tell which tracks I spent more time on as they are more musically developed.

However, I feel that I was successful in conveying the style that I was hoping for and works well when put alongside the visual elements as well. I'm also happy with the sound of the music itself, considering I did not actually use an orchestra and was just using synthesizers to mimic that sound.

Finished Concept Art/ Set Design/ Prop Design

I have now successfully completed the Concept Art, Set Design and Prop Design which will form a large part and focus of the portfolio for this high concept pre-production project.

After the feedback to my first view examples, I have made an effort in ensuring that it is clear what each piece is supposed to represent and have also including labelling in order to help explain certain objects as well as clearly mark the geography of certain areas when creating the set design concept art.  

Below are all of the examples of concept art I have created, fully labelled, along with brief explanations as to what they are:

Overall Tonal Style:

This shows a soldier that is being attacked by an unknown force in an isolated corridor inside the Keep. The demon is represented by the red smoke/ gas that glides towards the German soldier, going for the kill.

This represents a late scene in the adaptation in which 'The Stranger' (soon to be found out as named Glakken) stands at the entrance to Molasar's Lair in the Keep Basement, brandishing a mystical sword and ready to banish the Demon away forever.

This is the Demon Molasar as it starts to take form. The more soldiers the demon kills and consumes, the more its physical form develops until it is able to physically interact and allow itself out of the Keep's imprisonment.

Set Design:

The frontal view of the Keep takes direct inspiration from simplistic illustrations featured in the original novel by F. Paul Wilson. I decided that I would keep this design for authenticity to the source material as well as developing the original image by adding extra details in order to create a more realised setting.

This was also inspired by similar illustrations from the novel. I included a compass in order to help to clearly establish where some of the other pieces of concept art take place in relation to the setting geographically. 

The west view shows the part of the main courtyard of the Keep, highlighting various locations such as the main entrance and the rear section where the main barracks and living quarters for the soldiers are located. The basement entrance leads to the are in which the entrance to Molasar's Lair is hidden.

The east view shows the main tower which is visible from all angles and serves as the living quarters for Klaus Woermann, the commanding officer of the German troop that has taken residence in the Keep. Note the iron and nickel crosses that litter the walls, which several German soldiers mistake for silver and gold.

This shows the inside of the tower and Woermann's Office and entrance to his sleeping quarters within. As Woermann's hobby is painting, I have decided to make his work table and chair facing the large window in oder to allow the character the view required to reflect this.

This Keep Basement. This is the location in which two German soldiers defile the largest, shiniest cross located on the wall and accidentally release the demon, Molasar. The area behind this cross also serves as a doorway into Molasar's Lair.

With Molasar's Lair, I have tried to incorporate more of the HR Giger inspiration that I had originally envisioned for this production, including the almost organic feel to much of the set design. The entrance is comparatively small to the rest of the main room with several large entryways to deeper chambers and catacombs located and hidden beneath the ground. In the centre of the room is the Seal which keeps Molasar imprisoned in the Keep. It can only be unlocked by a special key, of which Molasar cannot obtain by theor own hand. 

Costume Design:

Due to the historical setting of the Second World War, this meant that I could use direct inspiration from the time period appropriate clothing.

German Soldier Uniform:

This is the uniform traditionally worn by German Soldiers.

Nazi SS Uniform:

This is the uniform that was worn by the SS during WWII, a group that dealt with the Nazi ideals sometimes with severe brutality.

Traditional Romanian Outfit:

This is the type of outfit that can be traditionally found worn by Romanians during the 1940s. While this specific example is representative of female dress wear, male outfits usually included smart yet rugged suits with flat-caps. 

Molasar Head Design: 

As my main idea was that Molasar's final from would take clear inspiration from his surroundings (this being the iconography of the Nazi uniform) I felt that I should just design the head piece as the body would just be a copy of the previous examples. 

With this design I, again, tried to incorporate my inspiration from HR Giger with the more feral and organic look to the figure, much like the creature from Ridley Scott's 'Alien' (1979). However, I also wanted to make this a reflection on the World War Two setting that surrounded this figure, therefore I tried to incorporate aspects of this within the final design.

Prop Design:

Much like the costume design, many of the props that would be used in this production already exist within the historical timeframe of when the story is set. This would include weapons typically used by the German army in World War Two such as the MP-40 sub machine gun.

Therefore I have chosen to mainly focus on the few props that would be unique to this production.

The Stranger/ Glakken's Sword and Case:

This is the mysterious sword used by Glakken which holds the power to either kill demons or banish them away for eternity. The hilt of the sword reflects the cross designs throughout the Keep, hinting that there is a link between the Keep and this sword's origins.

The Key:

This is the key to Molasar's seal that will release the demon into the outside world beyond the Keep. It is unobtainable by Molasar's own hand but others can be manipulated into retrieving it for the demon.

The Cross:

This is just a simple design of the cross that can be found littered all over the outer and inner Keep walls, their purpose and origins unknown. The metals used to craft these are often mistaken for gold and defiled by the German soldiers.

Overall, I personally think that these have been successful in both conveying the desired visual style as well as allowing a clear view of the geography of the setting. I feel that time restrictions may have held back some creativity in certain areas as I feel some of these are a little rushed. However I am happy with how they have turned out.