They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (2)

23/1/12

The photo shoot was successful; the appropriate cast turned up in an early design of the costume and plenty of photos were taken for myself and the publicity crew to work from. These photos will then be taken and illustrated appropriately to match the style of the intended 1930s material.

To see the photographs taken, please follow the link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117599584378156466291/TheyShootHorsesDonTTheyPreliminaryPhotos?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMrg78jMldy8rwE&feat=directlink

21/2/12

Since the photoshoot took several weeks ago, I have since finished work on the posters that will be used for set dressing. With a total of 21 posters, the posters have gone to print to be used to dress the set. The majority of the posters were designed from the photoshoot, but the rest were all deigned as posters you would have seen in a 1930s sports hall where the action of the play takes place. The designs for the posters range from advertisements for the dance marathon itself to posters promoting local businesses, holidays and mayoral candidates. The designs for the posters are all sourced and inspired by the research I found relating to the 1930s, ranging from movie posters to old flyers. These posters will be used to cover the back part of St Mary’s Theatre, the section nicknamed the ‘conservatory’. From the measurements taken, I calculated that we would need around 380 A3 posters to cover the face and side of the conservatory, but that number may change depending on how overlapped the posters will be.

To see the processes of my designs and the final images, please follow this link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/117599584378156466291/TheyShootHorsesDonTTheySetDressingPosters?authuser=0&feat=directlink

During a production meeting, the problem of how to increase the staging area and solve the problem of masking unused space arose. It was my suggestion from a quick doodle on paper to change the shape of the steel deck stage to more of a pronounced L shape rather than the flatter, less pronounced shape of the initial idea model. This has since been approved, and is a major part of the layout of the steel deck part of the staging.  The steel deck area has enough room for a 4-piece band and an upstairs office area for the character ‘Rocky Gravo’. 

Early set concept

Another early set concept

A more finalised set concept, with the 'office' section between the
pillar and the wall

The set set out

The lower part of the steel deck is around a foot from the ground, with the taller section (as of yet to be set up due to suppliers not delivering scaffold in time) at 6 foot high. The steel deck is covered with a tacky-looking orange valance, so as to elaborate upon  the makeshift nature of the actual dance marathon event.

 The theatre floor has been taped off, with the actors playing to a line of action for the rehearsals. The idea for the floor is to convey that this was indeed a beat up old sports hall with markings for sports such a basketball and tennis mapped out in various colours of LX tape. Director Patsy Burn was specific about not using red for this; it would draw too much attention away from the action and would stand out more during flashback scenes where the lighting changes dramatically to convey the sense that the scene happens in the past.

The floor has been painted in the style of a worn out dance/ sports hall floor, with layers of grubby yellows and light browns. The sports lines will be added soon.

Concept model for the 'hours danced board'

Also in development is the ‘hours danced board’. After several placements with problems with visibility and functionality, it has been decided that the board will be rigged between the 6ft steel deck and the parallel pillar.