******* WHAT IF OUR SHADOW GETS RID OF US? *******
SYNOPSIS: When the raging Ocean menaces to turn off the Lighthouse fire, The Shadow fights the Ocean back. Big waves drag him deep underwater where a Submarine rescues him taking him to a new world where he finds about duality.
[INSPIRED ON: «Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky]
[ORCHESTRA ARRANGEMENTS: Maurice Ravel]
[RUNNING TIME: 35 min.]
[A Propos]
Era el año 2007, yo tenía 21 años cuando un Submarino emergió tal cual Behemot, a medianoche, manifestándose en forma de letras frente a la computadora. Era para un proyecto universitario de la clase editorial, ¿o de ilustración? realmente no recuerdo.
El proyecto consistía en desarrollar una historia en 12 cuartillas, desarrollar algún formato ilustrativo y el producto final sería un librito que todos los compañeros expondrían en clase. Salieron muchas historias bonitas, sobre piratas y niños y cosas así…
Yo, por mi parte, hice una historia abstracta que nadie en la clase, ni los compañeros ni el maestro entendieron, pero no me importó. Recuerdo que en esa época estaba en una fase extraña de mi vida, la psicóloga la catalogó como Stress-Post-Traumático. Yo, posteriormente la catalogué como “la etapa borracha”.
Fue en esos estados mentales de alcohol que surgió esta historia. El trabajo final fue un desastre: un libro demasiado abstracto, sin orden narrativo y con muy malas ilustraciones. Desastre total.
Siete años hacen ya de esto, pude haberlo olvidado, archivado como un proyecto universitario más, pero no pasó.
Citando a Stephen King que “a good idea is one that sticks around, sticks around, sticks around”, el Submarino en lugar de sumergirse en el olvido, se quedó atracado en el muelle, esperando a que la experiencia y el tiempo lo hicieran zarpar de nuevo. Esta vez conmigo de pasajera.
Ha sido un proceso largo, de olvidos y trabajos ocasionales, de más olvidos, de vida, de amores y proyectos, pero siempre le he dedicado parte de mi pensamiento a esta idea. Realmente creo que tiene potencia y sé que el trabajo y la crítica harán relucir el diamante detrás de este carbón.
Este blog es para compartir todo el proceso de evolución de este proyecto, al cual por fin a estas alturas de la vida, he logrado descifrarlo y armarlo de forma coherente.
Gracias por leer 🙂
[Intention]
We live in a complex world of duality:
Good vs Evil.
Up vs Down.
Light vs Dark.
It’s so easy to lose focus and create our own battles.
We cling to our «unique» point of view,
separating the world around us,
polarising opinions and discarding
whaterver is not we think things should be.
With “Submarino”,
I want to portrait the journey of a person
who lives a polarised life:
opnionated
and
s e p a r a t e d f r o m h e r s e l f
I want to take the audience on a journey through the unconscious
and show them how duality works:
that we don’t have to live separated from ourselves,
that life is, in fact, A QUEST FOR UNIFICATION.
[Crafting a Story]
No sé en qué momento se me ocurrió meterme con Modest Mussorgsky y su obra “Pictures at an Exhibition” (versión orquesta).
Recuerdo que estábamos en bachillerato, cuando mi amigo Juan, uno de mis mejores amigos y estudiante de guitarra clásica en aquel entonces, me presentó esta monumental obra. Recuerdo que él estaba en una orquesta de guitarras en El Salvador y la obra que ensayaban era “Pictures At An Exhibition” (versión guitarra).
La escuché en ensayos y luego la escuché en vivo, ver a mi amigo, sentir las guitarras vibrar, viajar a través de las pinturas que nunca había visto de Viktor Hartmann y las notas extrañas de este ruso hicieron algo mi mente.
Supongo que ha de ser buena idea, porque se quedó pegada, o trabada en mi mente, de alguna forma, algo se quedó anclado y como todo, en la mente de un obsesivo-compulsivo, pues solamente creció y creció hasta que encontró por donde salir.
Siempre quise hacer sinfonías animadas, nunca para imitar a Walt Disney y su Fantasía de 1940, sino que porque la música tiene historia, tiene poder, la música tiene imágenes. Supongo que en algún momento así, de música e inspiración, fue que “Pictures At An Exhibition” y “Submarino” se encontraron en mi cabeza, y como toda idea que se pega y se pega y se pega, pues me obligó a trabajar en calzar una historia dentro de la música, siendo ésta la directriz última, el destino de este “Submarino” mental.
Premise: What if our Shadow gets rid of us?
Synopsis: When the raging Ocean menaces to turn off the Lighthouse fire, The Shadow fights the Ocean back. The waves drag him deep underwater where a Submarine rescues him discovering a new world where he realises what he lacks.
Inspired on: «Pictures at an Exhibition” by Modest Mussorgsky.
Orchestra arrangements: Maurice Ravel.
Running time: 35 min.
[Story Treatment]
(Promenade 1:44) On a full mooned summer night, a Lighthouse shines bright and strong on the Ocean shore, when strong winds make the Ocean rage.
(Gnomus 2:34) Giant waves climb to the Lighthouse trying to kill the Light. The FORM is asleep inside the Lighthouse. Foreseeing the damage, The SHADOW splits and becomes alive detaching from the Form. The alive Shadow goes out to protect the light when big waves drag him out into the water. (Promenade 01:00) The Shadow falls unconscious deep underwater.
(The Old Castle 04:54) A Submarine rescues him and transports him through a Dark Reef. The Shadow wakes inside the Submarine. He tries to get outside but it’s locked. He tries to manipulate the Submarine but it’s full of buttons and hieroglyphs making it impossible to change direction. He desists and as a prisoner, he sees the underwater world pass through the windows of the ironed cell. (Promenade 00:38) They arrive outside a transparent Bubble Castle, to a Garden of traslucid to transparent plants made of bubbles.
(Tuileries 01:04) In the garden, a COURT OF BUBBLES welcome him in a frenetic dance. They take him on a tour on this new magical world, showing him the Castle’s exterior, passing gardens and fields until they arrive at the Forbidden Reef.
(Bydlo 02:53) A military parade takes place at the Forbidden Reef. Shelled pointy tanks and hard-shelled CRABS march as mindless soldiers, saluting and hailing the CRAB QUEEN, who looks at her domains from a huge white shelled, dangerous looking castle.
(Promenade 01:03) The Court of Bubbles and the Shadow try to pass the Forbidden Reef ununnoticed when a Bubble gets hurt by one of the pointy shells and explodes.
(Ballet of the Chicks In Their Shells 01:13) The Marching Crabs hear the explosion and come back, persecuting the Bubbles and the Shadow. During the persecution, The Court of Bubbles get exploded one by one, by the Crabs, leaving the Shadow alone. The Crabs capture him and take him inside the shelled Castle.
(Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle 02:22) Inside the Castle, the Shadow is taken to the Hall of Sacred Mirrors where a trial awaits. The Crab Queen accusses him of being an intruder, leaving the final desicion to the COURT OF SACRED MIRRORS. The Shadow stands to face the Court of Mirrors but the Shadow does not reflect on the Mirrors. The Crab Queen laughs frantically. The Mirrors open like doors swallowing the Shadow inside. The Shadow is imprisoned in the Castle Catacombs, behind the Mirrors.
(The Market Place at Limoges 01:26) Behind the Mirrors, the Shadow descends a lot of stairs in a chaotic whirlpool of water. The Shadow is lost in the chaos, he barely loses consciousness again when a HERD OF BUBBLES rescue him, taking him deep down the Catacombs.
(The Catacombae 02:13) Down at the Catacombs, The Shadow discovers that the Herd of Bubbles is composed of White & Black Bubbles, while he tries to find an exit, he realises he can’t hold anything with his hands. The Bubbles help him and the Shadows realises that the Bubbles are able to work together because they work in pairs, there is always a black bubble working with a white one. The Shadow realises that he misses a counterpart, that he is alone, he is only a shadow.
(Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua 02:15) The Shadow realises he must find a Form to be complete and along with the Herd of Bubbles, they find a crack on the walls and escape together. Outside, they arrive at a Limbo, an empty white space filled only with light. There he finds a Form.
(The Hut on Fowl’s Legs 02:30) A Marching Crab finds the Shadow and the Form and a new persecution starts. The Shadow and the Form run until they find a dark spot to hide but the shadowy spot becomes alive and starts to shrink, enclosing them. This shadowy movement creates a Whirlpool of Water right in the middle pulling The Marching Crab, the Form and the Shadow inside. The Shadow and the Form unify and fight together killing the Marching Crab.
(The Great Gates of Kiev 07:17) The Shadow and the Form arrive at a bright place called “The Great Gates of Kiev”. The unified Shadow and Form approach and enter the Gates. They go through a tunnel filled with light. They wake up on a beach, with subtle waves pushing them to the shore. They rise and discover an empty beach, a pier, a full moon rising. In the distance they see a new lighthouse. THE END.
[Storyboard]
Story main key frames.
So, I’m starting so see this story as it should be. Finally. Seven years after being born, this Submarine is finally reaching its destination. Work will make work work.
Among many drafts, sketches, more errors than trials, this is, what I can call “The Official First draft.” I know it seems like a random collage of images, but hey! it makes sense to me. I know I need to work on my communications/expressions skills!
Tough revision sessions await. Probably, this Submarine is going to be modified in exponential ways before it reaches the other end, what can I say? the first draft is always shit.
What I can finally say is that I did it. It’s written, and in the process I made it through the journey too, falling in love with my Shadow.
[Symbolism]
Characters are inspired on a Chess game board. I want the story to be a metaphor, instead of a realistic depiction of an underwater world, I want to create a world of mystery and hidden symbols. I think chess pieces support this intention. They can be used to construct characters and they can inspire the world construction in a visual form
Characters in order of appearance:
- Form – The Conscious mind. (White chess pieces)
- Shadow – The Unconscious mind. (Black chess pieces)
- Court of Bubbles – Innocent playful childhood. (Black Pawns)
- Marching Crabs – Mindless rule followers. Law and order enforcer. (Black Bishop)
- Crab Queen – The Authoritarian Form, imposing law, order and censorship. (White Queen)
- Court of Sacred Mirrors – The Queen’s Repressed Shadow. (Black Queen)
- Herd of Bubbles – Balanced, unified mind concious-unconcious. (Black and White Pawns)
Locations in order of appearence:
- Light – The status quo. The internal world. The Unified mind.
- Winds, Ocean – The external world, impending “winds” of change. (Chess Board)
- Lighthouse – The refuge, tne mind container. The body. (White Rook)
- Submarine – Transition device. Involuntary change. Post-traumatic stress. (Black Knight)
- Dark Reef – Forced look to this new reality.
- Bubble Castle – Child age. distractions to avoid reality.
- Bubble Garden – Teen age. distractions to avoid reality.
- Forbidden Reef – Young adult age. Can’t run from reality.
- Crab Castle – Adulthood. Can’t run from reality.
- Hall of Sacred Mirrors – The moment of Truth.
- Castle Catacombs – Hitting bottom, depression.
- Limbo – Moment of Clarity and Insight.
- Whirlpool of Water – Transition device. Voluntary change. (Knight)
- Gates at Kiev – Streght. Fearlessness. (Black & White Rook)
- Beach Shore – New beginning. New cycle.
Read more at https://submarinefilm.tumblr.com/
Delmy Alvarenga 
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