As a group we decided to focus on : Our theme for our fashion set build is based on the nursery rhyme ‘ The Old wise Owl’ looking at the non traditional Disney style representation of nursery rhymes, drawing parallel to the the context of children’s nursery rhymes.
‘Literature and Authors’: Nursery Rhymes
I began researching into traditional nursery rhymes and a little research on fantasy literature such as Alice in Wonderland, but found that they were too much of a cliché. However we liked the more ‘outside - of-the box’ style looking at the origins of nursery rhymes. Such tales are often based on dark or cautionary tales, such as Ring a Ring o’ Roses being based on the plague, or the theoretical association between London Bridge is Falling Down and the live burials of children in the foundations of buildings.
We then started to look into the literature and film with such examples as ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and ‘Tinker, Tailor Solider, Spy’, and how there were parallels between the books and the nursery rhymes. In researching this, we found a lot of dark undertones creating a psychological effect for example in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the asylum in the book is born from the concept of the cuckoo’s nest, meaning mad home. This darkness of the traditional rhymes is where we wanted to explore further.
After a group discussion, we began to research the illustrations of nursery rhymes. We came across the work of Arthur Rackham and we liked his ‘non-representation’ of Disney style rhymes. Similar to the themes presented above, Rackham creates eerie even psychological undertones with the presentation of his characters and the context they are in.
To develop further, Robyn researched more in depth about Rackham, and therefore i began looking into the origins of nursery rhymes and how their context and meaning had somewhat changed over time. After researching about the history, we quite liked the idea of creating an eerie and almost dark look at the presentation of nursery rhymes in our own piece of work……….
…….So some members of the group stated looking at inspiration from outside literature and photography, into the world of film and music. Looking at music videos such as Rihanna’s ‘Disturbia’ and the psychological thriller such as Black Swan and Red Riding Hood, enabled us to look at a much darker side of the narrative. We also looked at the mise-en- scene of such examples to help us decide what would best suite our set build to convey such a meaning.
With this theme in mind, we explored more ‘dark photography’ as we wanted to portray a twisted side of our chosen rhyme and a tone of the psychological. We then looked at macabre style photography, such as the work of Eolo Perfido, Sarah Ann Loreth, Robert Dann and the more theatrical work of Paolo Roversi.
After I researched into the meaning and history of nurcery rhymes we had a group discussion of what we could chose for our narrative. Our chosen nursery rhyme is ‘A Wise Old Owl,’ based on the concept that children should be seen and not heard. The owl is both a symbolism of wisdom and direction as well as that of deception and mystery, we do not know whether to trust its guidance. The owl is also a symbol of solitude, and the idea of social neglect and emotional restraint under this Victorian society. This is an issue we want to highlight in our work.
A wise old owl lived in an oak
The more he saw the less he spoke
The less he spoke the more he heard.
Why can't we all be like that wise old bird?
These are some possible lighting diagram sketches, that myself and Dana researched and drew. We thought of perhaps considering some, for our set build. We were inspired by the work of the photographer Horst and the use of low key lighting and fog to create a dramatic atmospheric feeling in the photograph. We also liked the of emphasizing light and shade to create an eerie feel and highlighting key facial areas of the subject. We want our lighting to be quite dim and eerie, much like Perfido’s work where the main light is on the subject.
This image is our main clothing reference point. The dirty Victorian style clothing gives the photograph a historic feel, whilst the delicate detail of the clothing creates an atmospheric feeling of representing a child in a real life fantasy. We also liked the idea of a grubby wall and the halo effect lighting, drawing the eye onto the model as the main focal point.
For our set we want to play with the idea of scale for example a dolls house or child’s bedroom. We wanted to include various wall textures that look ruddy and run down, with shelves, frames, toys and ornaments falling down. We want to incorporate the concept of the owl itself from the nursery rhyme, in the form of a cast shadow on the wall, bearing over the scene. In the setting we want to create a sense of neo-Victorian lifestyle through props and the feeling of claustrophobia with scale. I therefore, researched into staging and props for further inspiration.
These illustrations where designed by christie and are convey ideas of what the set build may look like. As a group, we all explored the work of Tim Walker for inspiration, as he portrays quite elaborate sets. We were thinking, the model should be positioned in a confined space of some sort like e.g. in a room, a house or woods. An idea of being unable to escape this eerie gothic nursery rhyme.
These images are our lighting references. We want to create a dramatic effect to give a sense of confinement and of darkness, and how this is playing on the psychological areas of the mind- unable to escape this real life nursery rhyme. As our theme is based upon the nursery rhyme ’ The Wise Old Owl’ we thought dark backgrounds would create an eerie atmosphere.
This shows our make-up, hair, and costume mood board. Laura researched into the different styles that are available. To begin with, we all wanted to explore theatrical makeup, but then decided perhaps the character should portray a more natural look, but still have a connection to the theatrical genre.
As a group, we wanted to convey a theatrical feel through the use of hair, makeup and clothing. We are also wanted to explore the idea of the mask and the cracked façade, possibly creating a mannequin style mask, crumbling and cracking, to represent the repressed emotions that can no longer be kept inside. These are some possible sketches, that Laura drew for the group.
We also found images of Hollywood female actresses like Grace Kelly and Chinese paintings of women, with their flawless features. We liked the idea of highlighting the cheekbones and emphasising the lips and eyes as the main focal point.
These images, show our visual references for the hair that we could possibly use for our shoot. After some deliberation, we decided we liked the ‘messed up’ hairstyle. We took inspiration from Tim Burton’s version of the Mad Hatter, creating a theatrical appearance.
These are our prop references. What we had in mind was to create a sense of dilapidated housing, of a broken childhood portraying a sense of a fantasy that had become reality. The peeling walls, the empty picture frames create the illusion of a non-traditional nursery rhyme, a place of darkness and emptiness. A place where you cannot easily escape from dark, grubby walls and low key lighting.
After we got the brief, we all sat down as a group and discussed which role people would flourish, working out their strengths and weaknesses evenly spreading out the roles and responsibilities each person would have. For the roles we did not feel confident enough in, we created a 2nd person that would take the role over if one person was absent or needed the support that was required.
We chose Christy for shoot coordinator because she is quite good at organization skills, Dana because of her skill in illustrations and Robyn was chosen to lead props due to her love of theatrical design. Laura’s skill lies in lighting creating pieces that are quite theatrical and eerie and Sophie was chosen due to her skill at working with digital cameras and her knowledge of theatrical clothing and presentation.
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