Tuesday 10th April
Tuesday I was back in the workshop to discuss the plan, get some more measurements and confirm the pricing of the piece. Because of the width of the TV we can't actually use one piece of wood, so we're going to split it into two and attach it all together using wood blocks – however, I need to check this with Steve Ogden, the man who looks after the boards, as these blocks will need to be screwed into the boards. This new plan is actually going to reduce the pricing by quite a bit because we can use reclaimed wood instead. There was no time to start building then as it was nearly the end of the day so I agreed to go back after my morning presentation to get started on it.
This experience turned out to be really fun, and a great opportunity to learn. I know very little about woodwork and set design, other than some very amateur carving that I've done in the past, so I probably frustrated Alison a lot but she did a really good job of teaching me and making sure that I didn't screw up too much (and coming to my rescue when I did). I also got to use all sorts of exciting tools and was a dab hand at using a drill by the end of the day.
We now have two pieces of false wall to go around the TV. The frames are made from reclaimed wood and the fronts are made from a piece of plywood. We've also made a step to cover up the wheels of the TV to prevent trip hazards. This came to a grand total of £7.95, instead of £11.30, which is excellent news for our budget! The set pieces will need to be painted white to make them match the exhibition boards. Alison has said that I'll have to source my own paint and brushes, but I am able to use the paint room provided that there's space. The only thing that needs making now is the blocks, but those will have to wait until we get final confirmation of where the boards are going – this will be on the 19th April, not ideal but we will have to manage. But we have now heard back from Steve and he has said that as long as Alison is happy with the plan, he's happy – result!
I popped into the art shop to get an idea of how much white paint will cost us. It will be £2.40 per bottle, which is do-able. The only thing left to do is to make the blocks that will keep everything in place. And I'll need to get someone to help me paint the set. Sigh – so much to do!
We also need to make a decision regarding the prints of bird pictures that we want for the set. I've got some quotes, which are as follows:
A4 print - £1 per sheet
A3 print - £2 per sheet
Drop poster - £6-7.50 (they may be able to get it cheaper for us)
Not bad prices. I'll take these to the team to discuss what is best to do and work out how to cost them, because I can't foot the bill for these as well!
Monday 16th April
After the lecture, which was really short for us because we're pretty organised, we went and had a quick production meeting in the canteen. The main focus of discussion, other than outstanding actions, was what we're going to do about these pictures. After a lot of debate we've settled on going for 4 or 5 drop posters, which will fill the space really nicely and give us a great chance to exhibit some of our own photography.
We will need a final quote from Leslie in reprographics as soon as possible, but we need to go back with our final images before this can be sorted. We borrowed one of their A1 posters to check them out in the studio space (sorry Group D!) and we think they will need to be half a length longer or they'll look pointlessly short. From what Leslie said I'm sure that's possible.
Tuesday 17th April
Today Mia and I took the time to paint the set pieces white! We were planning to use the paint room in the workshop, but that was absolutely full of set for A Clockwork Orange. This left us in a bit of a pickle. I offered the use of the kitchen floor to use as a paint shop, but we would need to cover the floor with newspaper. This sent us on a proper quest from reception to the library, but we were successful and got lots of old copies of The Stage for this task.
We let the first layer dry over lunch before tackling the second. This looked ok in the kitchen, so we took them to the studio to test out in situ (sorry Group B) where we decided that they'd probably need a third coat. We won't add this until after proper tests on Thursday and Friday, but that's easily sorted as we only used one tube of paint so there's a whole full one for a slightly thicker third coat.
I also showed Mia some of the bits and bobs that I have lying around that could be used as props for the set if she and Kelsie wanted to. This included some vintage cameras, their lenses and a pair of big, old binoculars.
Wednesday 18th April
Today started off as a bit of a nightmare because we got an email from Ed to say that we wouldn't be able to have the reception sofas after all!
That's pretty final, isn't it?
This means we've got to find a solution, and fast. At least this isn't the week before, but still a bit closer to the deadline than I'd like. It's our set design session tomorrow so we'll all have a brainstorm then. I mean, worst comes to the worst, they'll just have to stand. It's just a 6 minute show so it won't be hugely odd.
Thursday 19th April
Our set design session today was very successful! Mia and I were on the hunt for Ed this morning and found him in his office to try and see if there was any way that we could get the reception furniture – even if we signed a waiver to say we would pay for damages. While we were there, we noticed that he had some very nice looking chairs in his office. We decided there and then that these would be an adequate substitute and that we would propose this to the rest of the group.
That was accepted this afternoon, which was great, so we brought one of those chairs in to measure and mark up – and it looks pretty good in the studio. We're all happy with this as an alternative. We then had a play with some of the props to give Mia and Kelsie an idea of what they want to use for the rehearsal tomorrow.
We also borrowed some of the birdie lights from AV and set those up. Emily came up with this great criss-cross pattern for them which looks ace, so that's definitely for the final thing – a great addition to the set design.
The final thing we did was set up the exhibition boards and false wall around the TV to get the angles for Alison's blocks. Mia and Kelsie did a great job to secure us a protractor (many thanks to whichever department lent us this!). The measurements are 150° on the right-hand side and 105° on the left. We have also asked Nigel to raise the level of the TV slightly to accommodate the bottom panel of the false wall.
Everything is looking very positive for the rehearsal tomorrow!
Friday 20th April
So this blog is just focusing on the set design element of the rehearsal. You can read more in my next blog about what else we got up to today.
Once I arrived with my ASDA crate of tricks I went into the gallery and stayed out of the way whilst Mia and Kelsie dressed the set with the help of Emily and Phoebe. When I came back into the studio I was amazed by the transformation! They had secured 3 chairs from the office, and snagged the coffee table from the corridor, which filled out the space really nicely. These were paired nicely with the following items:
Telescope on a tripod
Flowers in boots
Telescope
Vintage camera with lenses
Binoculars
These all looked absolutely fantastic and really hit the nail on the head in terms of the style we were aiming for. Relaxed and modern, but with some vibrancy and a bit of cheekiness. I really, really love it! Paired with Emily's criss-cross birdie lights I think we're onto a winner.
The team have also come up with the great idea of printing out silhouettes of human and bird footprints, and then blu-tacking them to the exhibition boards. This will look really effective, but be really simple to execute – and it comes with the added benefit of bringing down the cost! It's an idea I would never have come up with myself, so kudos to the guys for thinking it up.
We only brought up the lower panel and the step for the false wall today but even those matched up really well. They definitely need a third coat of paint, and someone suggested that they are painted horizontally to cover up the brush strokes from the first two layers. Excellent plan.
So that's our set! Pretty much done and I'm really excited to see it all put together on the 30th. Hip hip, hooray!
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