[Reader-list] Of Pixels, Kohlis and other ideas..

[Nirupama Sekhar]

URBAN STORIES: A collection of graphic essays
Collaborative project by Nirupama S. & Sanjay R.

For those still a little unclear about the nature of our project,
'Urban Stories' is essentially a series of visual "posters" or
"panels" encompassing various facets of Mumbai. Our final product at
the end of the project will be a series of visual panels. Each
poster/panel deals with a different aspect of the city, and the visual
treatment of the subject will also vary in each piece. Each individual
poster endeavors to be both visually engaging and conceptually
innovative. Every piece will also be labeled/ identified by an aspect
of time.. any aspect of time. For example:

- Monsoons
- 1972-2004
- Past Continuous Future Tense
- 3 a.m. etc

This will serve as the unifying factor to the entire project,
considering that the concept and designs vary in each piece.

Following are some concepts for individual panels that we have been
toying with.. pls feel free to comment. In fact, as our project is
more creative than research-based, opinions and suggestions are
welcome.

WORKING TITLE: Past Continuous > Of Pixels and Kohlis
VISUAL TREATMENT: The entire panel is an elaborate video game in
typical 2D, pixel-based style. But the actual game is a depiction of
life in a Mumbai chawl, complete with characters, scores, enemy
targets (the guy who gets to the loo que before our protagonst for
example), rounds and time taken, personal ammunition etc.
CONCEPT: A fresh perspective on an old subject. Life in a Mumbai chawl
is by no means easy and comes with its own peculiarities and problems
unique to the city's 'wadi's'; its a game you play against time and
against other tenants. 'Sim City', the video game about building
cities, proved to be an interesting starting point for this idea.
THEMES DEPICTED: Mumbai Chawls. Over Population. Migration. Lack of
living space.

WORKING TITLE: Sunday Morning > Raju, Live at Eagle Hairdressers
VISUAL TREATMENT : An advertisement for the local barber. The concept
of the ad will proclaim him to be everything but a barber: soothsayer
of the future of Indian politik, your own parental advisory unit in an
alien city. Visual treatment will hark back to older times, like a
1940s newspaper ad with bold serif typefaces, screen printed material
and sporadic images; a strong retro look.
CONCEPT: A fun look at one of the thousands of interesting characters
that make up the city. The ad will feature the kind of character
everyone can relate to; content will be witty, light-hearted and
tongue in cheek.
THEMES DEPICTED: Dreams and aspirations of immigrants.

WORKING TITLE: From Dawn till Dusk >
VISUAL TREATMENT : (Inspired from a true story..)
Following the same concept of an ad for a particular character, is an
ad for a unemployed filmmaking student looking for a job in films. His
accolades include being so involved in cinema that even a real life
event is explained in terms of zoom in shots and jump cuts. Meeting a
girl is not real unless accompanied by a background score; and all
punch lines are always dialogues from Tarentino films.
CONCEPT: Lighthearted in vein, this piece is also a take on the
different characters that ultimately define the city. This piece
addresses an ever-increasing bracket of urban youngsters who come to
the city to find jobs in film and television, but not always with
success.
THEMES DEPICTED: Influence of Cinema. Bollywood. Bombay as the city of dreams.


Regards.
Nirupama
Mumbai