Wk21 - Collective Fears

Sara Oussaiden

Malachy McCrimmon

Ava Cook

Mairi Dare

James Ross

My Contribution

My contributions are most notable at the start when we were brain storming ideas but then also later designing props. Due to being ill at the time of filming my screen time remains limited but I did what I could from a distance and believe I still had an important role within the collective.

We started by listing our own fears to try and spark inspiration. We had a good mix of existential one like growing old, dying, and strangers but then we also had some more lighthearted or irrational fears such as sharks, belly buttons, etc.

We decided we were going to make a short film because it would be easier to control the final outcome, it’d be easier to accomplish in the short time frame and considering we weren’t sure when or if we’d have somewhere to showcase what we were doing due to strikes we felt it’d be the safest option.

Points of inspiration that came to mind:

The Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared (2011) series that takes familiar concepts and makes you fucking terrified

(Audio Alley, 2010)

Creepy Old School game show hosts like this guy who in a modern day and age (and probably even then) is one of the creepiest things you will ever see

Or even this innocent seeming Testcard the BBC used to show when having technical difficulties (Lucesq, 2008)

From these we brainstormed and sketched and by the end of the week had prepared all the scripts, costumes and props we’d need to film at the Start of Week 2. Malachy had taken the responsibility of editing so we made sure we had all assets recorded and provided at least 4 days before the deadline

The process

Initial Meet-up + Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared Watchparty

Sketchbook Page 1 - Fear of Getting Old, Hospitals and belly button faces

Sketchbook Page 2 - Retirement Home Nurse - Creepy, Sexy, and Silent Hill Esque, Mouldy Biscuits and blood covered manequinns

As I was in charge of making this costume I studied the Silent Hill character Design Closely for inspiration

This is the Dress (a Tailored XXL Mens Dress Shirt as styled by James

Old People makeup from on set

When I was quarantining myself with the flu I was recieving blueprints of things to make and film

Creepy human hair bellybutton skin mask that wasn’t used in final shots

Pictured Below is my final Clown Mask made using a free form crochet technique (I’m not the Vice-President of the Handcraft society for Nothing!) and also a really quick Ink and embroidery piece both of which can be seen in the final video below - neither of which are knitting as is described in the video -

Evaluation and next Steps

The problem of joining a collective when 4/5 of the group members are already close friends become apparent pretty quickly. Although all of my contributions were validated and accepted it wasn’t an amazing experience on my part.

I refuse to let this dampen my expectations of doing group work in the future and have spoken closely to people in my Studio who I’ve become friends with, specifically Fae Ross, and we’re definitely going to be working collaboratively if not over summer then over our next couple years at DJCAD.

Reference List

Audio Alley (2010) Peado Gameshow - Fergie Oliver 1980’s Canadian Gameshow “Like Mom”. 28 April 2010. Available at: https://youtu.be/UiA5Z0czjyI (Accessed: 24 April 2023)

Don’t Hug Me .I’m Scared (2011) Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared. 29 July 2011. Available at: https://youtu.be/9C_HReR_McQ (Accessed: 24 July 2023)

LucEsq (2008) BBC Test Card F (1978). 1 April 2008. Available at: https://youtu.be/Ncmg3bxtTB0 (Accessed: 24 July 2023)