Finished Set For The Theatre Royal...

After many week of hard work and a huge team effort, the Victorian set for the theatre royal in Newcastle is finally finished.

I think its safe to say our group worked really hard on making this set a success and we are all pleased with the final outcome. Here are a few images of the set construction ans what it looks like! Enjoy!

Experimenting with Two Part Moulds....

As Part of my Prop Module, I have been Experimenting with Mould Making. This has  been a really new to me as its something I have never done. I decided I wanted to cast a Mushroom. Here are some Photos of the process.

 The mushroom didn't quite go to plan. i think the problem was I didn't add enough expanding foam. However I now know how to created a two part mould, and was pleased with what I had achieved.

Work Experience...

I have had a few really busy weeks over the holidays, and i have fell a little bit behind with my Blogging. As well as working on my drawing Skills, Set Model and Prop Research, I have also taken part in some really exciting work experience.

I was contacted over the holidays by John Noble, (entertainment design crafts workshop Technician and Film maker) to tell me about some Work experience he found. He mentioned it was for a company LC Props and suggested i sent them an email  if i was interested.

I was really excited to hear about this opportunity, and I searched for the companies website straight away. It turned out to be really interesting. The design and make props and costume props for TV, Film and Theatre.  they had worked on 'Pricella Queen of the desert' in London, 'The Lion King' 'Shrek The Musical' and 'The Little Mermaid' on Broadway.

Keane to gain some work experience I emailed them. They got straight back to me and asked what days I was available. i gave them my Availability, and agreed to work with them.

I was really excited and looking forward to it. However i was also feeling slightly nervous, as this was the first work experience I had in the Entertainment industry, and also as i had only myself been studying Entertainment Design Crafts for  four Month. But i Went in Feeling Confident I could do it.

It was a really friendly environment, and Leigh (Owner of LC Props) was a really nice guy to work with. He talked me thought everything i needed to know, and made sure I understood what he wanted me to do. There was also some past Ents students there, and it was really nice to hear about what they had been doing and the experience they have gained.

I did Four days on the Work experience and can clearly say I really enjoyed it! I learned a lot of things about different materials and Techniques, and made me even more Determined to get into the Industry.

Victorian Set Design and Model...

As I previously mentioned, I had been working hard researching and designing a Victorian set that our group will build for the Theatre Royal in Newcastle. I have come up with a few designs and a model.  Here are some photos of the work I have carried out.

 

 

 

 

After everyones designs and models were complete, we put them all together and had a meeting with the script writer who was writing the production for the Theatre Royal. We showed her our designs and models and she discussed what she liked and what she thought would fit the script she was writing. then we worked together as a group and applied the things she liked to come up with one new group design. Here is an image of the elevation drawing I did for the new design.

 

New Prop Module...

This week we began our new Prop Module. It is a Live brief based on Flowers and Foliage. We are to design large scale flowers to be used in the CCAD End of year degree show. When the Degree show is over the sculptures will be heading over to a company called Event Prop Hire, who will use the sculptures to hire out at different events.

To start off the module, we were introduced to some sculpting materials and techniques. I decided to give it a go and create a small Flower Character. Within some research i bought some Lilly's and decided to draw them from different angles. I then Decided it would be a good idea to create my character based on the Lillie's. so i drew up a quick sketch. Once my sketch was complete, it was time to start making my armature from wire.

Now I had done this before for my Farmer Wool Room Animation, using Plasticine. however this was a difficult material to use to I decided to try a new different material.

Here are some Photographs of the process of my Wire Armature. 

This is the matereial I used on my wire armeture. Here are the photops of the ptocess I went through building up my character.

Tools I used for the detail.







Mouldings For The Victorian Set ...

As you know, i have been working on designing a Victorian set for the Production of 'Is Any Body There?' at the Theatre Royal. From my research i have noticed there is a lot of Dado Rail and Skirting boards in Victorian rooms. They are usually really detailed and I thought it would be good to try and create my own mouldings from things i found lying around. These included scrap bits of wood, String and Dowel that i arranged together and glued. Once dry i painted them up and layered them with some oil based scumble. i left it on for a hour and rubbed it off with a soft cloth which left them with a lovely wooden effect. Here are some photos of the process and mouldings.

What I Have Been Up To ..

It has been a while since I have posted on my blog, but i have been really busy lately and cant wait to fill you in on all the exciting things i have been up to.

I have been researching a lot of Victorian styles, homes and designs for my new Set Design brief. We are currently working to create a set for the Theatre Royal in new castle for a new up coming production called 'Is Any Body There?' I have been working and designing layouts for the set and will post some photographs up of my first  rough ideas and sketches.

I have also been working really hard making an Automata for Prop Design. creating and understanding mechanisms, and how they work is a really employable skill in the prop industry. Part of the module we have just completed gave us a chance to experiment and create our own mechanism. Coming from a Heavy TV and Film Production back ground this was a new challenge for me and it gave me the chance to work in a workshop environment, getting use to different materials and machines, and to be hones t i really enjoyed it and was really pleased with my final piece and how it turned out. Even though the original idea for my automata didn't totally go to plan, i still managed to get a working finished piece. This is what my final one looked like.