Natural World Analysis: Ondine

As Ophelia is often considered a mystical figure connected with nature and we needed to be able to convey this in our music video, I set out to search for films/videos that had dealt with this concept before. The independent Irish film Ondine(directed by Neil Jordan) is a perfect example of this.



A common concept of mysticism appears to be
nature. Throughout the film, various shots detail huge, rich landscapes, making humans seem small and insignificant. This may be a referral back to the original concept of mysticism which relates to religion and the divine- in these beautiful landscapes we are meant to see the ethereal, heaven.   As a theme, this would seem to fit the film, which explores whether or not the woman a fisherman caught in his net is the mythological "Selkie" (akin to mermaid) creature.
In terms of our music video, I think that nature will also feature heavily. Ophelia is associated with flowers and drowns in a stream. What we will have to make sure is that, as in Ondine, the colours that the colour compliment each other. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle chose naturally dark colours, such as green, blue and brown among others.

Abandonment and isolation are also common features. The wrecked ship looks strangely biological, almost like a beached whale or a skeleton of some kind. It creates a sad, depressive atmosphere, particularly through the dark red colour of the rust. The second image is of a similar nature. The presence of the seagulls suggests that "Ondine" has been sat there for a long time, and the direction of her gaze (outwards to the open sea) suggests perhaps entrapment or a willingness to leave. Isolation is emphasised by the lack of other humans and the vast expanse of water. Our music video, although not primarily concerned with isolation, certainly does feature it. Hamlet essentially abandons Ophelia when he realizes he does not love her, thus making her isolate herself from all other human contact. Hamlet is also isolated in that he is defined through Ophelia's death, and that after the termination of their relationship remains alone.

Lighting is, in any visual art, very important. "Ondine" makes use of natural light, the scene captured in the image to the left is one of the few instances in which artificial light has been used. The scene uses light selectively for maximum dramatic impact (the girl has kidney failure and is in dialysis), while making her appear more innocent and childlike. The second image is a stunning example of the use of natural light. 

As our budget is limited, we we also be filming                                                                                         using natural light. We had considered filming

some footage at night using several torches, but decided against it. Here, the light creates an almost dream/heaven like atmosphere. I like the use of a natural sunset, but in the constantly dreary Oxford, this may be difficult to achieve. What would be nice is a dark red dramatic sunset to allude to the end of Ophelia's life, and the beginning of Hamlet's new life. Also, the colours break the chromaticity patterns from beforehand. 

Screencaptures and GIFs made from videos below.