First Day Notes

Stage 1 Semester 1

Theatre and Media Modelling – trip to the national gallery, globe theatre, Dover castle
Simulation – 5week course
Architectural Representation – 5 week course
Perception

A link to the brief for each course will be on the UCA website

Theatre and media modelling. Studying Vermeer and other 17th century Dutch artists
The girl with the pearl earring.
Props – Food props – fake food

Simulation – Sculpting, application of textures
Architectural Representation – details of architecture, field trip to foreign city

Essay per semester leading to research and dissertation over three years
Examples of lecture series – Perception
– Modernism

Support Workshops – writing skills, Dissertation tutorials, research methods

Film Series – The Celebration of Genre


Semester 2
– What if?
– Commission. 10 weeks – 5 weeks research 5 weeks making. Should be well informed, well researched project

Ask for 3rd year examples PowerPoint presentation

21st September

Theatre and Media Modelling

Lecture 1 Project Briefing – Information on printed sheet. Notes annotated on sheet

What is the model maker’s role in the prop industry???

Lecture 2 Vermeer

Dutch masters around Delft in the second half of the 17th century
Context – research Dutch paintings of the second half of the 17th century
– specific references to Vermeer and his contemporaries conceded with Delft
– focus on 1664 –1666 time frame

Vermeer PowerPoint will be on My UCA – get it to USB!!!

Portraiture was very important – royally pre 1650, then more available to others after
Genre paintings, portraiture, still paintings

Tulips devastated Dutch economy – Vermeer came in with his paintings after the Dutch economy collapse

Painting in 1650 – artists working in Delft:
Pieter De Hooch – Street scenes
Carel Fabritius –
Samuel Van Hoogstraten – interiors
Meindert Hobbema – landscapes
Jacob Van Ruisdael – landscapes
Harmen Steenwyck – Still paintings


Lecture 3 Props

National Theatre Website – Discover – Films

Journals will be a record of our progress, also our knowledge of materials – look into materials?

Props – Hero prop, seen all the time, very detailed does what its meant to do, capable of rough handling
– stunt prop, soft props, used if for example the stunt man will be falling on the prop, it will be a softer material so it doesn’t hurt him. Still needs to be detailed if its to be seen on screen often

Is the prop good enough? Does it perform as it should? Film Props are close up, theatre props are from a much greater distance and can be less detailed.

Important considerations
– What does it do? How will it do this?
– Cost. Normally a tight budget for theatre and a larger budget for film
– There is no way of knowing how long the prop will take to make. It must be before the deadline tho.
– What will it be made of – make or adapt?

Cost of a prop, time and materials. Experience and research will determine these factors
Costing props – Screws, paints, delivery, sketch books, everything factors into the cost.
Keep tabs on how much this project has cost.

Deadlines
You always have less time than you need!