MY FILM EVALUATION - Metamorphosis, a journey of transformation
METAMORPHOSIS (A JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION)
We had a choice of two themes for a video project, I chose metamorphosis. I had a look at insects and animals amphibians and reptiles that go through the process of metamorphosis, both complete and incomplete. I chose the full metamorphosis of insects, a butterfly in particular. Butterflies are by far the most interesting examples of complete metamorphosis, this start ugly and end up so beautiful. Each stage of the butterfly is completely different to the previous and upcoming stages the chrysalis caterpillar and butterfly look like three totally different insects altogether, that’s the reason I chose a butterfly because to me is the most prominent example of metamorphosis there is, and it is also the first thing most people think of when they hear the word metamorphosis.
I chose to combine the three distinct stages of the butterfly with three distinct stages of emotional development in a person’s life, particularly a woman. This could be a metaphor for my life, but I’m also hoping that it is relatable to a wider audience of women and mothers, people who feel that having children is the most important part of life and that once someone has a child their life is fulfilled and complete.
The first stage, the caterpillar represents childhood and how we just kind of plod along not care in the world until we reach the next stage. This is a part of our life that we have no real control over, a lot of people say that childhood is the best part of life and they wish they could go back to it. Childhood is free from all the responsibilities and stresses of adult life, when your child you rely on the adults responsible for you to look after you, you don’t really have to look after yourself. To try and visually communicate this a put my fluffy throw around my daughter to make you look like a caterpillar, and I got her to crawl from a living room to my kitchen. As my daughter the caterpillar was crawling across the room I cropped the edges out trying to make the focus point just her as the caterpillar crawling. I wanted to be very simple start to the film, ideally I wanted it to get brighter as she was crawling along to symbolise growth. The fact that there is not much going on in the scene it’s just her crawling, it uncomplicated, you do have to think much about it is supposed to symbolise the carefree nature of childhood.
The next stage the grape, symbolises the chrysalis stage of the butterfly. I originally wanted to show this stage as an Apple which as it went on would grow mouldy to further symbolise the theme of metamorphosis. This however was unsuitable as I have a bit of fear of mauled and I don’t know how long exactly would take for the Apple to grow mouldy, also an Apple would be too large as it would cover most of the images in the collage as it floated over them. I decided to substitute the Apple for the grape because of its ideal size. I decided not to let the grape go mouldy but just use it as it is to symbolise the chrysalis.
The grape suspended on string, float over the part of the canvas that symbolises when a person grows from childhood and decides to pursue their chosen path in life. This can be a hard time for anyone, to try and find a place in the world. Distraught images of myself underwater, curled in a ball, screaming, and the faceless image of myself sat with my head in my hands. The faceless image of myself as my head in my hands symbolises lack of identity and purpose. These images symbolise the hard road of finding your purpose in life, it’s a safe and emotional development that everybody goes through as they grow up. An image of a closed eye is faded over a couple of times during these stages, this to symbolise being in the dark, not being able to see my true potential or realise the greater picture. This is to show my obliviousness to the moment, not being able to enjoy the things going on around me, as if I’m blind to the present.
Towards the end of the distraught images, I begin to introduce images of me with my children and add colour changing from the dark Blacks and greens of the beginning. The addition of colour and happier facial expressions and postures show that I have found my purpose in becoming a mother. One prominent image of me holding my hand up towards my son is crucial to this film and story. The hand is white to highlight it as an important factor. I am reaching for my son and in doing so I am ascending out the deaths of the sea. In dreams the sea is often associated with a vast overpowering emotion calling someone back from their true potential.
The happier family images continue until eventually I seem to fly away into the sky. When this happens there is a slight dip in the music before The song changes to ‘The Vaults - Fly away’. In this short moment the image of the closed eye reappears and then opens to a large bright image of an open eye central to the screen, this symbolises that my eyes have now been opened, and I see my true potential and are able to take in the present moment and enjoy as it is. The music builds up, creating a powerful entry into the next emotional phase of development, and stage of the butterfly. The butterfly is the final stage of metamorphosis, and the most beautiful. As the song continues we move away from the canvas and the grape morphs into a butterfly in a series of stages. Once the butterfly has completed its final transformation the image of me flying into the sky, from the canvas is added, so you can see that I am the butterfly. Once this process is completed, the screen brightens as if a light has been turned on, this is to symbolise true happiness. I slowly ascend up words through the sky into the atmosphere. This is where the film ends.
