Narrative and Episode Structure[edit | edit source]
In this section we discuss the narrative and episode structure for the Open House documentary and details such as aesthetics, music, and media design.
The core narrative of the Open House series will be defined by its largest building project; the construction of a home. Following the example of other more conventional home improvement and programs, the basic construction phases of this project and the various sub-projects making it up will provide opportunities to move beyond the building site itself, serving as a 'vehicle' for a journey into the emerging Post-Industrial culture and the various concepts, locations, and personalities involved in cultivating it.
The narrative and episodes deriving from it will depend heavily on several key logistics and design choices at the start and which still need some analysis. First, we have several possible approaches to the house design itself. Then there is a choice of building strategy; either relying mostly on prefabbing in a studio-workshop setting, employing mostly-on-site fabrication with a transportable workshop, or some combination of those two.
- episode breakdown
- side trips - people and places
Aesthetics[edit | edit source]
The most-likely basis of a common aesthetic for the show and its designs will be defined by that of most of the artifacts employed in the home project which are mostly based on CNC and laser-cut sheet board materials. These artifacts have an interesting look deriving from both their materials and their open design philosophy. They expose and revel in the way they are made, the way they work, and the simple nature of their materials. They are both useful objects and 'samplers'--like embroidery samplers--illustrating and illuminating their creation. Commercial products are often designed around concealment and fakery. Cheap materials disguised by faux-finishes to appear like richer materials. Attempts to conceal means of assembly to make them difficult to take-apart. Attempts to mimic the styles and looks of competing brand products or recreate the look of anachronistic product designs to appeal to nostalgia. This nonsense means nothing to the open designer who takes a very pragmatic approach directed not by shelf-appeal and the psychological warfare of the market but the straightforward practical needs of the end-user and their options for customization/personalization. And so this essential honesty and directness of open design results in a radical new aesthetic--a Post-Industrial aesthetic--that we will showcase throughout the documentary.
Complimenting and reinforcing this, of course, should be a choice of music. The current choice for music complimenting this open source/Post-Industrial aesthetic is the group Freeworm and their albums Solar Power and Vegetation = Fuel, along with some tunes exclusive to their web site such as Grow Grsss on Cars. (which, sadly, seems to be off-line at the moment) Listed below are some samples from YouTube;
A possible opening theme?
Zero Gravity Love - Solar Power
Rooftop Campers - Vegetation = Fuel
Nagin - Freeworm's Lullaby for Treetop Bears
Series close theme?
