I enjoyed reading your visual concept and the way you developed your ideas around the 'absences' in Calvino's description of Baucis. I like too the logic of the 'examination' of the people of Baucis and the idea of a higher intelligence. It did give me a slight shiver of discomfort however, as there is something about the idea of the earth being looked down upon by a 'higher intelligence' that sounds a bit sinister - even Calvino's phrase 'ant-by-ant' makes me think of that higher power looking down on us through a magnifying glass as a curious child might look at insects in the garden. This idea of the scientific nature of Baucis works with the modern, rather futuristic images in your influence map - it feels rather clinical and hospital-like.
I have to admit, I don't fully understand why your Baucis needs to resemble a plane - just because it's up in the air. A plane is shaped the way it is to enable it to move through the sky, so its form is connected to its prime function (forward propulsion). For this reason, it seems odd to make your city resemble the one thing that it doesn't need to do - i.e. fly. It's supported on stilts, this much Calvino tells us, so it's not as if it even needs to trick us that it is in fact, self-supporting.
In design terms, I think it would be more 'on message' if you were to derive ideas about the form and structure of Baucis from your visual concept - that idea of Baucis being all about scientific examination. Calvino tells us that this is a city of voyeurs, of watching, of scrutiny, so it seems probably to me that the architecture of Baucis might derive in part from the implements of scientific scrutiny: for example, take a look at these:
If you imagine looking at these forms as the basis for buildings, you get the smooth shapes and sense of 'modern' and futuristic, but you're also pushing the 'theme' of your city into everything that makes it. The idea of using real world objects/elements as the basis of new shapes and bigger things should be familiar to you from the Summer project, and I can't help feeling this might be a more truly creative and exploratory approach to world-building than just using the idea of 'a plane' to signal that your city is 'up high'.
Just in terms of our 'interior' - do avoid 'domestic' spaces - so homes or generic spaces. The interior shot is an opportunity to take us to the heart of your city and its preoccupations; so take us to the great observatory of Baucis, or the hydroponic gardens or the great museum dedicated to displaying artefacts of the earth far below or... Do you see what I mean? As a concept artist you're being challenged to think big and deal in big cinematic visions, so think about your city and think about the opportunities it truly provides you in terms of world-building.
There are a few of you opting for Baucis - and this always makes things exciting; I'll therefore give you the advice I've given others. The great thing about Baucis is that it's one of those cities that start to get really interesting when you start to ask more boring questions: for example, from where do they get their food and their energy when they're all the way up there? Do they ever go down to the surface? And if so - when, why and in what? In a city like this - a city based on observation - who are the gods or kings or ruling powers? The scientists, the academics, the scholars? And if so, which building in the city of Baucis is built to project their power and influence - is it the university of Baucis perhaps? Remember a city is vast and comprised of special buildings or landmark s alongside more ordinary dwellings - what are Baucis's landmark buildings and why?
Short version - the whole futuristic modern science factor is exciting and fits well with Calvino's description of a city dedicated to empirical observation, and with that in mind, I think you could approach the world-building aspect of this project with greater creativity and some bigger, bolder design ideas. Onwards!
OGR 06/10/2017
ReplyDeleteHey Divine,
I enjoyed reading your visual concept and the way you developed your ideas around the 'absences' in Calvino's description of Baucis. I like too the logic of the 'examination' of the people of Baucis and the idea of a higher intelligence. It did give me a slight shiver of discomfort however, as there is something about the idea of the earth being looked down upon by a 'higher intelligence' that sounds a bit sinister - even Calvino's phrase 'ant-by-ant' makes me think of that higher power looking down on us through a magnifying glass as a curious child might look at insects in the garden. This idea of the scientific nature of Baucis works with the modern, rather futuristic images in your influence map - it feels rather clinical and hospital-like.
I have to admit, I don't fully understand why your Baucis needs to resemble a plane - just because it's up in the air. A plane is shaped the way it is to enable it to move through the sky, so its form is connected to its prime function (forward propulsion). For this reason, it seems odd to make your city resemble the one thing that it doesn't need to do - i.e. fly. It's supported on stilts, this much Calvino tells us, so it's not as if it even needs to trick us that it is in fact, self-supporting.
In design terms, I think it would be more 'on message' if you were to derive ideas about the form and structure of Baucis from your visual concept - that idea of Baucis being all about scientific examination. Calvino tells us that this is a city of voyeurs, of watching, of scrutiny, so it seems probably to me that the architecture of Baucis might derive in part from the implements of scientific scrutiny: for example, take a look at these:
https://telescopeobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Celestron_127_EQ_PowerSeeker-272x300.gif
http://www.progensci.co.uk/content/product_pictures/microscopes/Euromex%20Oxion%20Binocular%20Biological%20Microscope%20image%20JPEG.JPEG
http://images.wisegeek.com/compound-microscope.jpg
If you imagine looking at these forms as the basis for buildings, you get the smooth shapes and sense of 'modern' and futuristic, but you're also pushing the 'theme' of your city into everything that makes it. The idea of using real world objects/elements as the basis of new shapes and bigger things should be familiar to you from the Summer project, and I can't help feeling this might be a more truly creative and exploratory approach to world-building than just using the idea of 'a plane' to signal that your city is 'up high'.
Just in terms of our 'interior' - do avoid 'domestic' spaces - so homes or generic spaces. The interior shot is an opportunity to take us to the heart of your city and its preoccupations; so take us to the great observatory of Baucis, or the hydroponic gardens or the great museum dedicated to displaying artefacts of the earth far below or... Do you see what I mean? As a concept artist you're being challenged to think big and deal in big cinematic visions, so think about your city and think about the opportunities it truly provides you in terms of world-building.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of you opting for Baucis - and this always makes things exciting; I'll therefore give you the advice I've given others. The great thing about Baucis is that it's one of those cities that start to get really interesting when you start to ask more boring questions: for example, from where do they get their food and their energy when they're all the way up there? Do they ever go down to the surface? And if so - when, why and in what? In a city like this - a city based on observation - who are the gods or kings or ruling powers? The scientists, the academics, the scholars? And if so, which building in the city of Baucis is built to project their power and influence - is it the university of Baucis perhaps? Remember a city is vast and comprised of special buildings or landmark s alongside more ordinary dwellings - what are Baucis's landmark buildings and why?
Short version - the whole futuristic modern science factor is exciting and fits well with Calvino's description of a city dedicated to empirical observation, and with that in mind, I think you could approach the world-building aspect of this project with greater creativity and some bigger, bolder design ideas. Onwards!