Exercise 2:2 A road

I wanted to use a familiar road for this task to see f I could view it differently. I chose the main street that I walk in order to go to town and to the school. I've walked it for many years and have always walked it the same way, usually head down and always on the left side of the road.

My initial thought was to change MY position so I decided to walk on the right side of the road. I made a point of looking at details of the street, from the pavement to the lampposts. I came across many details that I can honestly say I've never noticed before, coloured paint, drain covers and cracked chimney pots. It was a great exercise to undertake as it really did make you stop and look at things. I tried to photograph all the things that I found different as well as some thing that are familiar to me. I took shots of the road from different angles and viewpoints, even from the middle of the road to attempt to make the scene look 'different' and 'alien' The different viewpoint enhanced this greatly and made it seem completely unfamiliar.

On the film front, I have a film called Roadkill (2001) also known as Joy Ride. It's a horror story based around the three main characters driving home on a road trip. But the tale takes a more sinister turn when a bit of fun over a CB radio with a trucker turns said trucker out to seek revenge on them. 

The road plays a huge part in the film. First of all it's a road trip, which usually involves a large amount of time on the road. In this movie, the road itself is actually the 'set' of the film. The film also uses symbolism of the road itself too. The main 'villain' is a trucker, someone who makes his living on the road. Also the CB radio is synonymous with truckers. The use of motels throughout the movie as well as truck stop diners are also very indicative of road driving in America, the same way that we have service stations in the UK. The main cast spend a chunk of the film within a car which is also a large factor of the road itself. 

Films like this show that even if the scenes dont directly show the road itself, there is still a lot of emphasis and indirect symbols throughout which give the indication of the inclusion of the road and or a journey.