Bibliography

Model making, David Neat
The handbook of techniques for theatre designers, Colin Winslow.
Fairground Architecture, David Braithwaite.
Carousel Horses: A photographic celebration, Sherrell S Anderson.

Evaluation

I think my set looks okay, but it isn't as I planned. I don't think the model fits in entirely with the drawings in my sketch book. Taking the ferris wheel and helter skelter out of the set really changes things, it is more fairground inspired, than actually being a fairground.

The accuracy of the model could be improved, this is an important issue, as it regards sightlines.

I do feel that I have a better understanding of theatre design after this project. I am more aware of sightlines, legs and teasers.

Edward Hopper

The top image was a design based on Hopper. The images below are my versions of Hopper's work. I decided to drop it though as my design was too flat and lifeless.

Film Noir

Originally I planned to do a film noir set, inspired by Edward Hopper. These are my notes I took from Film Noir by Alain Silver & James Ursini, Taschen, Koln. 2004.

The Noir period was from around 1941-1958. It has influenced the likes of Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and Quentin Tarantino.

The term 'noir' is french. When France was occupied by the Nazi Regime, they had no access to American movies, when they watched them again they noticed the mood and subject matter had become darker.

Many Film Noir movie makers were from Europe, like Fritz Lang and Jaques Tourner. They were inspired by German expressionism, for example The Cabinet of Dr Caligari 1919 and Metropolis 1926.

A theme in Film Noir is the haunted past of the protagonist.

Archetypes are the the truth seeker, often officer of the law, rarely a woman, seldom a private investigator, can wear any costume.

The Hunted: an outsider who cannot connect with the world, usually male.

The Femme Fatale, she is strong, trapped in a man's world, who will do what it takes.

Visual iconography: Edward Hopper, Reginald Marsh and the crime photos of Weegee. Low lighting, curtains/ Venetian blinds, low angles, urban setting like LA NYC or San Fransisco, flash backs and voice over.

Ashputtel's Dress

The costume is inspired by Arthur Rackham, which led me to 17th Century French fashion. However I did not want a 'period' dress, so for modern inspiration I used Jean Paul Gaultier.

The drawings show the developements of my design. They are annotated in my sketch book. I think the grey dress is the best design. I would have like to develope it more. The fabric that I would like to use is a see through polyester. A corset would have to be worn and the gold structure would be made of metal. The hair would be worn long and wavy, like Rackham's drawings.

Other Constructions

In class I learned how to make a corner, door and wall.

Back drop and scenery.

This is the back drop. These are photocopies from my sketch book. I did intend on having a ferris wheel in the backdrop which would have been lit up from behind. However, when I put this into the model box set, it wasn't visable to the extreme seats. Taking the ferris wheel out does change the look a lot. It doesn't look like a fairground, which was my intention, it's more fairground inspired.

I think these trees would have worked well as flats, it would have given more depth to the stage. I also didn't include the helter skelter, as I left myself short of time.

Stage Floor

I wanted an outdoor texture for the floor, so I used Ballast medium cinders and fine turf earth. I didn't want to use grass as it would be too bright, and I wanted the dancing area to stand out. I think the floor looks okay, but it could have been more effective, a stone floor might have looked nicer.

Adding the boxes to the model.

The first photo shows the model almost complete. The second photo shows the construction. The boxes are not accurate, therfore the sightlines are affected. I should have worked more acurately to esure the sightlines were correct.

The Theatre Model Box.

These images show the base and proscenium arch. This was my starting point. I did not realise that the boxes should be included, but now I realise they effect sightlines, so they need to be included. Missing these parts out caused me a lot of problems. In hindsight I would have added on the width of the wings to these pieces, as it would improve the structure, and would have looked nicer. Also the foam board I used for the proscenium arch was bowed, but it was the only foamboard available. Using it caused a lot of problems when I did add the boxes.

The model of the dancing area.

The third photo shows the base. It is made of foam board and 6mm doweling. As the picture shows there are two holes in the sides of the elipse. Originally I wanted to have poles here, but I decided that they would limit the audiences view.

The second photo shows the front part of the banner. The relief effect was created using polyfiller (the texture of joghurt), piped through a syringe. I got this idea from David Neat's book. In my sketch model the banner was made with one single sheet of paper. However, even after scoring into the mount board, it would not bend into place. So I had to cut it into sections, this was difficult to put together.

The fifth photo shows the steps. To build them I used David Neat's book, they are made from mount board and are a 1:25 scale of the stairs in my house. The rise is 6mm, the tread is 10mm.

The final photo is a sketch model of the theatre.

The first photo is the model complete. I'm happy with the bottom of it. However the banner could have been made better. For the real thing I would want bright lights around the banner, to make it more fairground like. The colours I used were: Bright red, Royal blue, Bright yellow, Light Green, Gold, White, Black and Burnt Umber.

The model of the dancing area.