measuring studio 3 for set build....

After our set build workshop, we realised as we are having a fog machine, and an over head soft box, we would need as much space as possible. We thought it would be a tight squeeze to fit all of this into a smaller space, plus interrupting other groups, especially with our fog, so we ll decided, a whole studio would be better for our set.  We also needed a studio that was taller in order to fit in the trees, so the only studio that had these qualities was Studio Three.

So after our workshop we, quickly measured Studio Three, in order to create a 3D model to scale.
Length:
~ From the wall to the wall near the door entrance (15/16ft+3ft+16ft+5ft) = 37 feet Will only probably use 19ft, but the excess allows us extra freedom and space. Will need to test these this out.
Width:
~ From wall to wall at the top of the studio: 22ft
~Middle section (can't move the white backgrounds as they are secured in): 20ft

 

props

For our props, we where struggling to find a fog machine for our shoot, so i asked some people and came across one. Luckily my dad has one at his work, which is great as we don't have to pay. the images shown below are some test shots of me experimenting with the machine.

 

After deciding our theme, a few weeks ago,  i explored some charity shops for props etc... I wanted to know roughly how much certain items were? which helped us when deciding our budget. Unfortuantly the items that i saw did not match our scene, but pleased i went, as i got some ideas.

 

feedback from hair and make-up artist

Over the last couple of weeks i have been in contact with our hair and make-up artist explaining what designs and styles we would like for our shoot. The images below show the feedback i received from her and we have decided to go for the 3rd image, as we thought the style looked more regency era.

 

The image below shows the make-up design we have chosen for our charactaer.

 

Pictures of chosen model

 

fashion-costume

After thought and discussions about costume, the group and i agreed we could consider looking on sited such as eBay, asos.... to help achieve a cheaper budget. Luckily when i was searching on the net, i came across a Victorian style corset, which i thought would be ideal for the look we where wanting to portray. I printed the image and showed the group, and since then i have brought the item and am waiting on delivery.

After buying our top, we then had to decide if we would buy a skirt to match, or ask fashion promotion to make one fro us. We wanted the skirt to be attached to the top, so in order for this to happen, as a group we diced to ask fashion promotion to make us a skirt that could then be attached onto the top.

Once we asked fashion promotion, we recived feedback which included :

first- buy material

second - ask a fashion promotion student

thirdly- have a sketch of a basic design

So why a forest?

So why a forest?

Sam Chick asked our group recently ( and it was also mentioned on our feedback form he sent to us by email) that we had to clarify why we wanted our set build to be based on a woodland scene, and in doing so what effect where we wanting ot portray.

 

So taking this feedback on board, we had a group discussion after our tutorial, and looked at the sketches we had come up with for our set. We then discussed the effect we wanted to create, and how we could achieve this.

 

To begin with, we liked the idea of the wooded scene, as we all previously liked the idea of  the nursery rhyme about the owl in the woods, and the sense of the confinement and isolation of the woods "seen but not heard" type atmosphere. We also was interested on how creating a space, can play on the idea of the psychological. Even though the woods theme did not link in with the illustrations of the character and the rhyme of Bo Beep, we played on the idea of the ideal Vs reality- the ideal of this character created by society and the expectations and the struggle this brings; the character lacks her own identity and direction in life.

 

After we discussed out final idea, we then began looking at the symbolic meanings of them:

History of the Regency Period ( researched by Dana)

History of the Regency Period ( researched by Dana)

Looking closely at the illustrations of Little Bo Beep the style is closely link to the time period of the Regency era (1811-20).Here is just some information about the period that could act as a variable surrounding the Art culture o the time and the influences it had on it:

Tests for lens for fashion shoot

On Monday we the group and I booked out studio 2, as we wanted to create a mock up of the set using c-stands and tripods to represent the forest. We tried to position the tripods to create a sense of confinement around the model. We also wanted to create this feeling, through the camera position and the camera lens that we will be using (tested out a 80mm, 120mm and then 50 lens) Whilst positioning the tripods to a certain height to mimic the design of the trees.
We also booked out a Hassel bald camera and used the focus, to take some pictures. This was a really quite set up, and we will have to re test the lens when our set up is complete.

 

These 3 images were taken with a 80mm. These lens is OK but it is quite narrow in its depth of field so some of the 'trees' would be lost.

The images below,  were taken with  a 120mm. We all agreed, this this lens was too wide for our set- it would mean that we would take up a whole studio because we would have to be quite far back in order to get the whole scene in. There is also a lot of unnecessary space surrounding this scene.

 

 

These three images were taken with a 50mm lens. Even though in this last frame there is some space in the foreground of the picture, I think this lens gives the illusion of space but is not as a compact as a standard lens, as it is a more wider lens.
Therefore...... we are looking at using a 50lens (but haven't tested the rest of the lens because they were taken out when we set up) as it has the right sort of field of depth we are looking at but has not the compact depth of field the standard lens has. However I think this might work well with our set but I think more experimentation is needed.......

Work after our second tutorial

After our tutorial we decided to research into how we could portray a wooded scene, whilst capturing the essence of an eerie atmosphere created by lighting and props. We were thinking of having low lighting from candles etc and having several torches behind the set, which we thought we could possibly cut out holes with quick movement in order to create distortion.

To begin our search, some members of the group looked at films such as the horror genre, as this gained much inspiration in representing the woods as our main set build. We wanted to create a sense of isolation for this character, highlighting the importance of abandonment, completely alone without her sheep. We wanted the illusion of overhanging trees, to give the impression of boxing the character, being claustrophobic not able to escape, the only life would be the dead flowers, moss and mushrooms growing up the tress.

 

In all of these examples, the woods have been used to signify somewhere isolated from society, somewhere eerie and dangerous. This is signified through tall trees, low lying fog and dark lit lighting. As a group we were really interested in creating this atmosphere in our own shoot, creating the idea of the psychological and the struggle this character faces between society and the role within herself; perhaps the struggle between a child and a woman.  

 

This led us on to look at the societies representation of female characters in literature and how they portray the protocol of society and the behaviour in which all characters are represented as? This idea came from looking at the illustrations of Bo Peep and in some ways the idealised imagery of her.

 

Members of the group looked at :

> Looked at the novels Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Wuthering Heights, Emma and Pride and Prejudice. In all of these cases these women have been shunned from society either because of class or events. They all want to be something inferior to their standing already yet this is the very thing that holds them back. > This idea of a split personality, the character in the shoot is split in the woods. She can't go back yet she is not fully accepted in the now to be able move forward. > This can be said for the representation of Bo Peep, she is idealised for being young and innocent by society yet this is a false ideal.

 

Initial ideas for set design

In our discussion, we talked about how,  in the films the wooded scenes are recognised by the trees either bent in awkward designs creating interesting shapes, OR they were used in straight lines to create perspectives to the horizon.  Something to think about when asking theatre design to make these props.

 

Apart from the fog, sets usually have snow, moss, leaves etc to give another layer of texture to the design. Plants and flowers give a  sense of death and create a sense of a place that is forgotten and mysterious.

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inspiration / mcqueen fashion show 2012 winter collection: lighting and set build.

Top lighting- perhaps sportlight, main focus on charcter? use lighting gels for different colours?

 

scenery  - 

wooded atmosphere, use fog machine to create eerie atmosphere, and coloured lights to create a dark mysterious physiological scene.

Idea before second meeting with Sam Chick / After the meeting with Sam Chick

The images show below, are some of the work that the group and I did in preparation for our second meeting with Sam Chick. from previous posts, our nursery rhyme had changed to Little Bow Peep as we felt our original idea was unknown enough for it to become un- relatable. So with our new idea, we started to build up a narrative. We still wanted to keep this idea of the model wondering through the woods looking for her lost sheep, but we wanted to play with a boarder context of the sheep becoming a metaphor, for the constraints of society and the ideologies held for these characters in the context of the illustrations. Therefore the audience are presented with a contradicted ideal of this character from the representation we found in many illustrations. 

 

Here's one the group and I looked at. There is something quite idyllic about these illustrations with a childlike expression, we think the colours represent a candy appearance,  emphasizing the characters oozing innocence, an ideal of children of that day. The detail not only in the setting but also in the clothing. Whereas this image shown below is an idyllic representation of Bo Peep, we want to explore the idea of the psychological, however keeping to key iconography such as the crook and this Victorian style clothing to give the piece context.

Here are photographs of the work we produced for our tutorial with Sam Chick.

 

 

1. From the one image from above we started to look at the style of the Victorian clothing picking out key points of the dress making that we wanted to design in our own dress such as the corset style top and the layering of material at the bottom.  From this I started to source clothing that I found in my loft such as netting material that perhaps we could use as a reference point for our dress layering it with different thickness and colouring.

2. This is some sketches that Christie produced, showing some ideas of how we want the dress to look? We liked the idea of layering material to connect in with the idea of the fantasy element of the nursery rhyme and the style of designers such as Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood. Below are some visual references of the initial styling; however after some talks in the group we thought this high style of clothing would not suit the set, so changed our idea to a short prom style dress but still incorporating key elements. However after originally looking at the style of Victorian clothing, we decided that the style of nursery rhyme suited a more Regency era. Even so the style of both era's are quite similar so it wasn't that much of a change.

 

Last two are just some visual sketches taken from magazines, TV, internet etc that were presented in a sketchbook with annotations of  WHY we liked the look and then we brought that forward to design a dress that had a mixture of key elements we liked. 

 

Some information about the style of Regency clothing. The highlighted areas are key elements about the style of the clothing in each era of this period ……

 

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The exaggerated structure of certain Victorian dress elements was part of an effort by designers to emphasize the popular silhouette of the moment. During the early Victorian decades, voluminous skirts held up with crinolines, and then hoop skirts, were the focal point of the silhouette. To enhance the style without distracting from it, hats were modest in size and design, straw and fabric bonnets being the popular choice. Poke bonnets, which had been worn during the late Regency period, had high, small crowns and brims that grew larger until the 1830s. They had rounded brims, echoing the rounded form of the bell-shaped hoop skirts. In the 1870s, the fashionable silhouette discarded the hoop skirt for a slimmer style. The dresses were extremely tight around the corseted torso and the waist and upper legs. To emphasize the volume in the bustle, women's hats shrank in size. Small hats were perched towards the front of the head, over the forehead. To complement the small hat, women wore their hair in elaborate curls. Some women wore hairpieces called "scalpettes" and "frizzettes" to add to the volume of their hair.

The silhouette changed once again as the Victorian era drew to a close. The shape was essentially an inverted triangle, with a wide-brimmed hat on top, a full upper body with puffed sleeves, no bustle, and a skirt that narrowed at the ankle (the hobble skirt was a fad shortly after the end of the Victorian era).

These are just some mock up of the original clothing ideas. Looked at the material such as netting and lulle to create a sense of theatrical movement.

 

 

 

This image above, shows a bodice top that Christie has. She brought it in, and we discussed if we could adjust or alter the top to fit with our concept?  It is shaped in a love heart design and had soft netting and diamantes. It is nipped in at the waist and would give a modern twist on the traditional clothing we are looking at. However we would have to add sleeves and bone like structure in the body to relate to the time period.  

 

 

 

3. Then we went on to look at props. Originally we were going to construct a woodland/marshland area where the model would be sitting at the table with mismatched items of silverware and cups and saucers etc. The model would be pretending to carve or eat a 'sheep' to play on the idea of loosing her sheep! So these are the original prop page and some items I photographed that fitted in with the original idea.

 

In the 1890s, women's fashion became simpler and less extravagant; both bustles and crinoline fell out of use and dresses were not as tight as before. Corsets were still used but became slightly longer, giving women a slight S-curve silhouette. Skirts took on a trumpet shape, fitting closely over the hip with a wasp-waist cut and flaring just above the knee. High necks and puffed sleeves became popular. Sportswear for women, such as bicycling dresses, tennis dresses, and swimwear became popular. In the 1880s, riding habits had a matching jacket and skirt (without a bustle), a high-collared shirt or chemisette, and a top hat with a veil. Hunting costumes had draped ankle-length skirts worn with boots or gaiters. Clothing worn when out walking had a long jacket and skirt, worn with the bustle, and a small hat or bonnet. Travellers wore long coats like dusters. In the 1870s, uncorseted tea gowns were introduced for informal entertaining at home and steadily grew in popularity. Bustles were used to replace the crinoline to hold the skirts up behind the woman, even for "seaside dresses“ In the 1860s, the skirts became flatter at the front and projected out more behind the woman. Day dresses had wide pagoda sleeves and high necklines with lace or tatted collars. Evening dresses had low necklines and short sleeves, and were worn with short gloves or fingerless lace or crocheted mitts. In the 1840s and 1850s, women's gowns developed narrow and sloping shoulders, low and pointed waists, and bell-shaped skirts. Corsets, an ankle-length chemise-like skirt, and layers of flounced petticoats were worn under the gowns. Day dresses had a solid bodice and evening gowns had a very low neckline and were worn off the shoulder with sheer shawls and opera-length gloves.

 

 

Here are some items that Christie thought would perhaps be useful for our props collection.  Our inspiration was the MAD HATTERS TEA PARTY in Alice in wonderland film. We liked the psychological elements of the whole mismatch of items in this scene which reflected the personality of the character. We also liked the darkened backdrop, Smokey air and the eerie feel created in this frame that we want to bring forward to our set.

4. This is just some rough sketches of some sets I started to design. I know these designs are showing a variety of nursery rhymes but I brought it into our group and we chose some visual elements that perhaps we liked and could work with in our final images from the sketches I had done.

 

We quite liked the idea of building a forest scene bottom right. Liked the idea of turning the idea of the girl being on a top of a hill to her being in the woods lost.

The image above shows an initial sketch up of the set. Not coloured in but it just gave us a rough sketch of what the set could look like.

 

 

A swatch board of potential colours that we could use in our set. We wanted to create layering in the  colour especially in the trees in order to create a realistic tone. In respect to the table we wanted  to create a earthy feel of a props.

 

 

Here are just some notes I took whilst visiting Wickes to investigate potential paint we could use. When we had our set build with Colin  he told us that the paint had to water based as it was not flammable and could be easily washed off. So the investigation still continues......

 

 

This is a actual physical 3D model of the set. The fern stalks represent the trees and the green tuff represents the grassy piece where the table and the model would be sitting at. In the bag there is a small wooden table and a lantern to represent what the image might look like.

 

 

 

Here are just some images of potential makeup and hair. We wanted it to be quite dramatic and edgy and have got a makeup artist who is wants to do it and is able to do the hair as well.

 

After the meeting with Sam Chick.....

 

On the 2nd of march, the group and I, had another meeting with Sam Chick to check up on our progress towards our fashion constructed shoot. The meeting was helpful and helped point us in another direction, which added another perspective towards our work.

Here are some things he discussed with us in the meeting:

•Perhaps  not taking the reference too literal. Maybe only have one item in the background that relates to the piece; don't literally have a model carving away at a piece of meat! - At this point we looked at the work of Good vs Bad Kate editorial spread and the brain in the background as an example of this. 

 

•Hold a casting session to find an appropriate model. Good that we have started to search websites like Model Mayhem to find some models in the local area, but don't use them if they are unreliable. Some really interesting people in uni for example, in fashion that might do it for free. Take details and head shots. Could do another call back with the people we like?

 

•Look at the 18th century oil painting by Jean-Honore Fargonard, titled  'The Swing' . The painting depicts a scene between lovers and the woman's husband. The woman is wearing Bergère hat (shepherdess hat) which is ironic since shepherds are normally associated with virtue because of their living close to nature, uncorrupted by the temptations of the city. We also thought of looking at other pre- raphaelite paintings.

 

•Developing on from this, we began looking at the representation of Marie Antoinette and Barry Lydon who used a lot of backlighting to create a mysterious atmosphere. 

 

•How will the smoke machine be used? Will it be diffused? How will we make the trees or should we build a few 'real' ones and then fake build the rest- need to go and produce a 3D model that we could go down to theatre design.

 

After this meeting, we organised a discussion to define our idea and the direction we wanted to go in. We decided the style we wanted for clothing  and re - developed our set and thought about WHY the model would be in the woods (the narrative of the character?). we also wrote what each member would do for our next meeting together.