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Christmas Mass
🕑 Added 2020-12-24 15:30:01 +0000 UTCDear Insane Children,
Merry Christmas! Which, when you think about it, as an incredibly morbid thing to go around saying to one another. Why? Well, according to the Internets:
The word "Mass" is strictly a Catholic word and thus, so is "Christ-Mass." "Mass" in religious usage means a "death sacrifice." In essence, the Mass is the ceremonial slaying of Jesus Christ over and over again. "Christmas" means by definition "death of Christ".
In other words, we're all running around with presents in our arms screaming: Jesus Christ Death Sacrifice!!!
Like I said, morbid.
Speaking of morbid... We're working on a scene from the Asylum narrative in which Alice floats through a cathedral scene filled with death and fire.
The scene reads:
The walls of the Queen’s Throne Room dissolve into the arched heights of a Church Cathedral (modeled on St. Augustine’s, London). Row after row of pews are filled with black-clad mourners. Sounds of crying and wailing fill the air alongside an Organ Dirge. Alice floats down the center aisle towards the pulpit - Caterpillar's mushroom fills the space where the choir would normally sit.
Whispers of “It’s your fault!” “Where were you?” “They say she’s got the devil in her!” rise to a fever pitch as Alice glides towards the caskets at the front of the church.
The caskets burst into flames as the screams and accusations reach a cacophony. The walls, ceilings, and fixtures of the church burst apart like pieces of a puzzle, leaving Alice floating before The Caterpillar on his mushroom.
Alice: “I could have saved them. Everyone I love is lost.”
Caterpillar: “You still have yourself.”
The Church flies back together, the air filled with sunbeams, parishioners dressed in white. At the pulpit, the priest holds a newborn baby in the air, then lowers it into a bath of water. This is Alice’s christening. As the baby touches the water the scene goes black.
And these illustrations from Joey (main image above) show the work being done to bring these scene to life.
Our team has provided a wall of feedback to Joey, suggesting elements that need removal, addition, or improvement.
For example, Alex says:
I feel this design of a church render is amazing, but is very literal.
It doesn't catch the emotional weight, shock value or severity of the "Surreal" aspect of the scene as much as I was expecting. Nor does it follow the style of smoke and shadow / purple colours from the other scenes in slumber? Even if they were worked in slightly, might enhance that this occurs in slumber to the viewer.
Perhaps adding some elements that are larger or in different scale to Alice (Massive, literal cracks and broken parts of the Church, mourners who are huge in scale, larger screaming or crying faces), might add to catch that emotional weight of the funeral.
The inclusion of the caskets burning / on fire might also add some weight to this.
And Omri sent over the sketch (above) which suggests how the image might be updated to include Alice and the burning caskets.
The final version of this image should be pretty epic.
Let us know in the comments below what you think!
Here in Shanghai, it is Christmas Eve and we're working to catch up on time lost while Grandma was away from the home studio. Everything is OK back in Yan's hometown... at least for now. And we have our little family back together for Christmas.
I'll schedule this post to go out tonight while we sleep, so you'll be reading this on Christmas Even (assuming you're in the US). I hope that wherever you are, you're warm and safe and with the ones you love.
And just know that when you are here in the Asylum you are always with the ones that love you.
Merry Death Sacrifice to All,
-American
Comments
Sarah McKeegan
Beautiful! Love it!
Saleh Abu-Rashid
Merry X.Mass
Nicholas Navea
Merry Christmas. 🎅🎄🎁
Merry Death Sacrifice!
Merry Death Sacrifice to you too! I just received my "Follow Me" set and poster. Love it! I also love the extra gift, a little bunny keychain that was placed in the package! Thank you! You guys are doing an awesome job!
Kind of going off the snow globe thing again. Thw churches walls would have to not be fit together but fractured and the part in between (the large cracks) would show the glass of the snow globe...just trying to think of how all these scenes can fit thematically...
As a form Catholic I'm glad you picked up on the death motif. I mean we were told we were literally eat his flesh and drinking his blood so it aways felt a little off putting. As for the picture I think it should be more surreal...kids are in awe (afraid and wonder) of churches. Maybe some hymns and chants..Alice was probably not Catholic but I'm sure Victorian London churches were just as pomp and circumstance as Catholics. Also of note what if as Alice goes into these parts (like the caterpillar scenes and these slumber pieces) and the entire thing is in a snow globe. I'm picturing those AMR parts where you look out in the distance and all is a swirl and chaos..maybe a warping image effect so the level is what it is but if you look off in the distance you see the curve of the sbow globe? Just a thought.
Anna Lepper
This will look so cool when it's done. Also, "Jesus Christ Death Sacrifice!!!" should be sung in the style of "Jesus Christ Superstar".
Lucas Severin
Merry death sacrifice to you too, and to all a peaceful passing.
I'm so in love with this scene🖤💙
Nicholas Brokaw
This is a wonderful scene! I’m onboard with the suggestions that the team has put in too, so it will surely be something great in the end. And, morbid definition aside, have a Merry Christmas!
