Reconstructing a Staircase

 Initial impressions from "Meshes of the Afternoon", sketches, drafts and over 100 screen captures begin to form a relationship between film, design, and space. It appears that the staircase presented in the film experiences transformations of form and feeling as time progresses and the woman has repeated and vastly different interactions each encounter.

Initial sketch of my first impression of the film highlighting the relationship between the flower, woman, and mysterious mirror faced man as presented in the first couple opening scenes.

Mapping of the layout of the five key spaces presented in the film; the path, living room, kitchen, stairs, and bedroom. 

First sheet of final presentation drafted on trace presenting the opening scenes and progression of the feeling of the staircase. (left side)

Second sheet of final presentation drafted on trace further illustrating the progression of the film and the evolution of the staircase. (right side)

Collage of the living room space, which is presented multiple times throughout the film with slightly different arrangements.

Detail of screen captures of the woman appearing to fall through space and tumble down the stairs.

"Meshes of the Afternoon" - Maya Deren and Alexander Hamid

Opening with the image of a flower and a woman appearing to go about her daily routine this short film seeks to explore the relationship between thought/dreams and reality. By using the camera as a medium the audience can be brought into the mind and thoughts of the woman. The audience is allowed insight into a portion of her daily routine as familiar objects (such as the flower, key, knife, and telephone) are introduced in addition to insight into a dream like state. The camera allows the viewer to experience a world that would otherwise not be able to be seen in physical reality. After the woman appears to fall asleep and reemerge into familiar surroundings there are instances that appear slightly unusual, such as the manipulation of the objects and appearance of a mysterious mirror faced man. Throughout this alternate state of mind the woman appears to become dazed and confused as the audience experiences through camera movements and film editing. Views start to become hazy and scenes begin to jump slightly allowing the camera to express emotion and feeling. In the end the woman appears to draw the connection between the mysterious mirror faced man and the man she confronts in her bedroom, shattering the mirror and allowing the ocean to wash it away. However, the next scene continues to find the man entering the same house the women entered at the beginning of the film only to find the woman dead as she had seen herself in earlier images of her dream like state.

The use of imagery plays an important role in this short film that is emphasized through the use of the camera and film editing. The recurrence of familiar objects during the woman's conscious moments appear to become frightening in her subconscious mind. The music intensifies at key moments, especially when the mysterious mirror faced man is in the shot, and the camera angles adjust to the woman's perspective at points to allow for an intensified feeling of being in her position. Additionally film editing allows for objects and characters to jump around and create a surrealist experience that mimics the process of dreams.

Opening scene perhaps of the mysterious mirror faced man dropping the flower.

Woman picking up the flower that returns in later scenes.

Woman walking upstairs in a dream like state.

Camera appears to move with the woman's stumbling ascend as if mimicking her.

Mysterious mirror masked man with the flower.

Man that resembles characteristics of the mysterious mirror faced man.

Meshes of the Afternoon

Start By Looking Back

To think that in my final studio I would be looking back on a final project I had completed as a freshman. The idea that architecture and film could work harmoniously together to bring about a new experience of the senses opens up a world of possibilities for the human interaction between space and form.