Roger Water project:
The Wall
 Roger Water’s ‘The Wall is considered to date one of the most influential video of our time and made a huge visual impact on me when growing up. Gerald Scarfe artwork in the film, using traditional medium such as watercolors, pastels and graphite contributed to the formation of my visual aesthetic. What inspired me with that project was the process from conceptualization of the idea, to the realization of the visuals that’s translated into the film as well as live performances. The narrative derives from Roger Water’s own life experience dealing with issues of the past that influences him in his later years both in his work and his personal life. The Wall depicts the alienation process the artist confronts psychologically, emotionally and physically that is expressed through his music. The realization of the project was conceived through collaborations by artists from different background who brought in their own interpretation of the music. They are; Filmmaker Alan Parker, Political satire Cartoonist Gerald Scarfe, Musician Bob Geldoff and Roger Water himself. ‘The Wall’ is a convergence of cinema, animation, performance and music with the latter being the narrative energy for the entire project. The conceptualization of ‘The Wall’ began with Gerald Scarfe’s sketches and drawings. Trained as an artist, he uses traditional medium such as pastels, ink wash watercolor and graphite to create images that would later influence the tone of the entire project. Scarfe’s interpretation of the music offers a dark surreal quality to the work. His artwork with its seductive colors and texture takes the viewer to explore the dark corridor within the subconscious we don’t normally venture to. What began as conceptual art slowly morphed into an evolving storyboard which functions as a blueprint for filmmaker Alan Parker to begin the production of the film segment. While the shooting was in process, the animation department was formed headed by Scarfe himself to expand some of his art and translate them as a moving image which resulted to the animation sequence in the film. Gerald Scarfe's vision : |
One of the most powerful animation sequences in the film was the ‘flower sequence’ the result of Scarfe’s own idea. The animation depicts a confrontational situation between two figures of flowers, which symbolizes man, and woman. The situation progress from a serene to a violent, ending with the destruction of one of the figure. What made the animation effective was the transformation process, the morphing from one subject to the next intercutting with landscapes that portrays a world that is consumed by men’s greed and obsession of manufactured product that caters to their needs and desire making them slave to this culture resulting to alienation of men and their surrounding.
The method of traditional cell animation, hand drawn frame by frame used by the animation department I believe leaves an impression on the viewer when watching the sequence. Through animation, working on traditional grounds such as paper and canvas offers a much greater intensity and flow of expression in ways that film cannot.
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