Mickels struggle

As part of Fig 8 the story of Mickels and his struggle with the town involves him leaving the security of his home and venturing into the outside world. To visualize this I have been working on the idea of turning a stair way into a train track.

Top lit stair way

  

Light from train track tunnel

Hopefully the transition between stairs to train track will convey Mickels inner struggle and the pressure of what may be either approaching or what lyes beyond - echoing the movement from the comfort of his room/home to the outside world. The transition would happen either through the use of camera adjustment or set movement.

Camera adjustment

To give the effect of a change in both the perspective and the angel of the stairs to railway tracks I could use the effect sometimes known as the 'Trumbone Shot' which is achieved by moving the camera either closer or further away from the subject on track whilst adjusting the lens length using a zoom lens. Also to adjust the angle of the stairs the camera could either be tilted upwards or lowered down on a jib arm.

Set movement

By adjusting the set the effect could also be achieved and possibly to greater effect. To achieve the shot the camera would be locked off and the background would adjust to give the illusion the stairs have transformed into train tracks. The structure would be made from wood and in the upright position would look like stairs. On cue the structure would be lowered down to the floor and would then resemble train tracks. By having a strong light at the top of the stairs and the end of the train track the connection will be stronger between the two.

Here is a model of how the device may look

The model is unfinished and as you can see it is missing some steps/tracks.