Human height for 'Cacti Forest' would enable the actors to interact with the whole of the object - feeling more in control. Good - when considering the movements required in the scene change. The castle at the beginning of the play is not featured in the play, because the forest is on trucks the actors would be able to move the cactus's to a position where the presence of the castle can be visible at the penultimate moment.
Grander, more overwhelming feature. Good - communicates the sense of fear and anxiety, the purposeful feelings of the forest in the play and also gives the audience and actors uncertainty of what lies behind or within this 'great' forest.
Now lets consider and apply this to the rest of the design concept.
[Playful times in Adobe Photoshop]
BEFORE TRANSITION I
AFTER TRANSITION I
In this scale the forest works well in disguising the presence of the castle - although would the forest have a greater impact if the castle was smaller (naturalistic size?).
BEFORE TRANSITION II
AFTER TRANSITION II
In this scale the forest definitely dominates. Good for reflecting the powerful forest surrounding for the performers to travel through, although deters the impact of the 'grand castle'...perhaps the castle should be larger? Also I feel the castle is more disguised in the previous layout as the tops of the cactus's hide the interesting element of the tepee.
BEFORE TRANSITION III
AFTER TRANSITION III
Now in this scale the castle clearly dominates. This reflects the castle's stature well, standing proud and grand - like a castle should. Good for translating the Lion's status (owner of the castle) also. Although there's one slight problem with this scale...the purpose of the forest trucks does not fit. The purpose of the forest was to not only provide a stimulating area for the performers to engage with and travel through on stage, but it was also a key element in disguising the castle's presence at the beginning of the play, in order to deliver the surprising impact upon the audience.
Different sized Cati adds to absurd qualities
Outcome
I feel the correct scale for my objects is to be of similar height and large (relating to 'Transition I') because:
1. To translate an absurd, fairytale, non naturalistic feeling to the design.
2. To reflect the grand essences of a naturalistic castle.
3. To deliver a surprising impact at the point of revealing the castle to the audience.
GoogleSketchUp Experiementation
Hi Jenny
ReplyDeleteAll good. I think that the teepee development is excellent - much more expressive and characterful than it was before. Your methodologies are also good - working in 3D and with Photoshop as well as drawing - but there's not really an idea yet of how this might actually look - you need a proper visualisation in the form of a drawing, I think.
I also feel that an element of the original narrative needs to come back in, as is hinted at by the costume for the Lion. Perhaps the teepee can take on a more Lion-esque character - could it be decorated or embellished in some way with designs that befit the Lion? Or a lion's habitat? If elements of the jungle creep in, I don't think this would necessarily take it away from the genre of the Western, as long as you keep all design elements in balance.
Why not also play with different cacti sizes in the same image - some smaller, some larger? The fantastic/absurd dimension allows for virtually anything.