For my project I created a photographic tableau. I was inspired by the works of Gregory Crewdson and aimed to capture the cinematic experience he portrayed in his work. I left the meaning behind my tableau ambiguous as I wanted the viewer to interpret and construct their own narrative. The setting of the tableau takes place in a 3D modelled train tunnel. I chose an underground train tunnel because it provided a sense of mystery and secludedness. On the train tracks there is an image of myself in athletic clothes and I am slightly looking back. There are numerous narratives that can be interpreted from this tableau. For example, the light at the end of the tunnel can symbolize a potential train coming, while I contemplate on what decision I am about to take. Or it can symbolize the idiom “the light at the end of the tunnel”. Moreover, the clothes that I am wearing can indicate that I am lost or running away from something, or towards something.
To create this image I used two pieces of software, Blender and Adobe Photoshop. Gregory Crewdson has film crews when he constructs his tableaux. I used Blender as my film crew. When constructing the tunnel I first 3D modelled all the individual parts. Then I added textures and materials to each part. I looked at numerous reference images of train tracks before deciding on the colors. I colored the pipes a rusty orange to make it more authentic. Next, I added the lights and positioned the camera to capture the scene. I added four pairs of lights, which allowed the tunnel to remain dark and the yellowness of the light created a mysterious atmosphere. Lastly, I used compositing to enhance the image’s features such as the light emission. Compositing allowed me to get the correct intensity of the lights, make the colors of the tunnel colder and create a wet puddle effect on the ground. For the image that I placed on the 3D model, I had a friend capture me on train tracks and I used photoshop to place it in the 3D model. When taking the picture the light was important as I wanted the sun to hit me from the front. This corresponded to the light at the end of the tunnel, which I added using the lighting effect in Photoshop.
In Masaki Kondo’s article, Unfolding the Inbetween Image, he mentions that tableaux, “... demonstrate the potential to reveal the nature of a previously unexplored temporality”. Despite the viewer constructing their own narrative, the main idea I was trying to portray was this temporality that either there is an action in progress or an anticipation of an event. This temporality is what differentiates a tableau from an ordinary still image.
Works Cited
Kondo, Masaki. "Unfolding the In-between Image." Historical Presence In Visual Culture Contemporaneity 3.1 (2014): 52-64. Print.
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