Secret Garden

When thinking of gardens and walled pretty gardens I also have a mental image of the film 'The Secret Garden' a classic film that most people are aware of. I know a small place in Dorset I frequently go to and visit the local subtropical gardens, which has a number a little secret gardens and has a beautiful set of gardens a lot like the garden in 'The Secret Garden' film.

Abbortsbury Subtropical Gardens, Abbortsbury, Dorset.

This specific shot from the gardens is of a gate way within the gardens I liked the idea of doors within the walls leading on to other areas of the gardens.

Something I could incorporate into my set as an entrance from the back on the set.

Research into Existing Gardens

Pembrokeshire, West Wales- Gardens of a hotel.

The open grounds is what I expect children to be running around in which is what I picked up from these images. the gardens are walled which is how I have imagined my set.

From the image above you can see the walled ledge, like a veranda which is a slight level above the garden. I like the idea of this and incorporating it into a design as it gives some height and breaks up the garden slightly.

In this image i liked the idea of the pilers with the cone shapes on the top a decorative feature but again ages something to break up the garden so its not just flat green grass. Something again i'd like to think of including.

V&A

Vistoria and Albert Museum- Theatre Department.

On a short documentary about some theatre shows they showed a scene of a garden, pebbled floors, grassy surroundings with stairs leading up within the grassy areas to give a sense of depth in the grass and enabling the actors to walk amongst it. This really gave me ideas of how to develop. I liked the idea of the steps leading up surrounded my the grass so it makes it appear you are walking among the grasses.

V&A

Victoria and Albert Museum- Theatre department.

Here I was looking at how there theatre set boxes were constructed and also at past set designs within the boxes and how they had been made.

I came across this set which gave me the idea of how to represent grass within my set design. Also with the use of layers it could be a useful way to set out the grass so that actors can move around the stage- moving behind layers of grass.

Garden Idea- Set Deign 1

I first drew how I imagined a plain garden, with trees and bushes, a back door on a bricked wall and used the props of a small tipi, child made with off pieces of fabric and a self made pen to be used as a prison.

I wanted the props to look as though the children had come up with them and made them and to be incorporated into the cowboys and indian theme.

New Idea

From looking at town houses and children's bedrooms idea, I came up with the idea of focusing the cowboys and indians outside as that is were cowboys and indians habitats and nature lie within the western lands- outdoors.

I wanted to develop from the idea of child's play of cowboys and indians as my final idea. So from the bedroom set I moved on to looking at gardens specifically walled gardens as I imagined town house gardens to be walled and quite large.

Set Design 1 for Childs Western

(Images to be put up)

Set Design 2- Western Through The Eyes of A Child.

As researched at the beginning I have looked at western being played and acted by children as if in a game of cowboys and indians.- Full of imagination.

My first ideas were to set it in a bedroom as seen in the stills of the production Peter Pan. I imagined the bedroom within the Town House. As seen in the pictures. I think the idea of them being set here gives the idea of wealth and the idea of the children having toys and the freedom and room to play games such as cowboys and indians within the house.

Scenic Backgrounds for the Indian Camp Scene (Set Design 1)

I drew two scene backgrounds-

• The top one is of a mountainous landscape with flat grass land leading up to the camp, on the grass land I have placed some Buffalo as this was the type of animal they would hunt.
• The bottom drawing was of a rocky landscape of a valley/ desert land. With slight vegetation and a river running through it.

Set Design for Western/ Sci-Fi Genre

Set Design 1

From drawing the story board it allowed me to gain better visual imagery of how I would like my set to be for the scene I picked in Hansel and Gretel. My scene from Hansel and Gretel was when the children find the house made out of sweets and sugar and start eating it. So for this genre I designed it as though the inventor has been walking for days as seen in the story board and comes across a camp (the ginger bread house) were there is food cooking so he tries to get some of the food (like the children eating the house) but he's caught and made a prisoner by the Indians (like when the children are invited and tricked by the witch).

So for the set I tried to include all elements to create an Indian tribe, I included tipis, the food cooking on a fire and pole which is were I imagine them to tie him up and then some bushes for him to hide and the back drop is of a mountainous landscape.

Story Board for the Western/ Sci-Fi Genre- Time Travel

My reinterpretation of Hansel and Gretel converted into a Western genre with the story line of Hansel and Gretel.

Cowboys

These Mood Boards demonstrated Western Cowboys and the areas in which they lived. A normal town would consisted of a Saloon (Bar/Pub), Church, School, General Store (Supermarket), Jail House (Prison), Stables where the live cattle and horses would be stored. The buildings were all wooden houses/ structures generally of the same structures and frame work.

Built within a desert area it was very dusty and again surrounded by little vegetation.

I've more examples of Cowboys characters and costume. As described in an earlier post. The mood board demonstrates a bit clearer and visually what they wore and the actions of a cowboy.

Native Indians

Above are my two mood boards representing the Native Indian Culture or tribal/travelling tribes. I've included images of the areas they used to travel around, dusty, canyon/ valley type landscapes, rocky with little vegetation.

They would live in Tipis as drawn and demonstrated through Images. Decorated with colourful symbols.

The character sheet at the top shows what type of colours/ patterns and styles of clothing they would wear and examples of Native Indians are within the pictures.

I used these ideas just to gain information and create ideas into how I would present the Indians in both the Western/ Sci-Fi and The Western Kids Play Genres.

The Magnificent Seven

Above is the Trailer for Magnificent Seven a Western Movie made in 1960. Even from the trailer it demonstrates the attitude of some cowboys and the ways in which they handled themselves. Also it gives a clear picture of the setting in which westerns are set and the costumes that they wear.

Costume

• Straight style trouser.
• Cowboy boots
• Shirts- usually open at the top
• Scarf tied around there necks.
• Big buckled belts.- Usually leather belts.- With Gun holders attached.
• Jackets/ Waistcoats/ Long Coat Jackets.
• Cowboy Hat
• Guns kept in there holders- until used but always on the person.

They are almost always smoking a cigar style cigarette and there image is dirty from all the dust.

Western Genre

My two main genre ideas I have been focusing on are both based around the Western Genre.

My ideas follow these story guidelines.

1. Western genre but incorporated through child play. So the story will be told through children performing the story through made up play as Cowboys and Indians.
2. Western genre and Sci- Fi genre combined. I have looked into Time Travel and Time Machines and created a story at which someone from the future travels back in time to a Western civilisation were he is captured by Indians and taken prisoner.

J M Barries Peter Pan Theatre Performance.

http://www.peterpantheshow.com/#/video

Above is as short video to the stage performance of J M Barries Peter Pan. I looked at stage presentation for ideas as how to set out my set design.

From the video I print screened the bedroom scene which is what I was focusing on.

Image 1: The Grand Teton MountainImage 2: Tensleep CanyonImage 3: Devil's Tower in Wyoming is one of those iconic American landmarks

http://glory-road.blogspot.com/

I found a Blog while researching for visual evidence of the landscape at which Cowboys and Indians lived among. The blog is a dairy based blog created by some bikers who have travelled over America on there Moterbikes but the relevance it has to my set is the places they've travelled through are the landscapes and areas at which Indian and Cowboys would have lived, camped and hunted around.

Native American hunting parties from the northern Rocky Mountains camped along the shore of Jackson Lake around 12,000 years ago while following game. For thousands of years Jackson Hole was used as a neutral crossroads for trade and travel routes in the area. One route followed the Snake River to its source in the Yellowstone area. Another major route traversed the Teton Pass at the southern end of the range, providing a shortcut to the Pacific Northwest region. Yet another southern route led to the Colorado Plateaus region and the Great Basin.

I used this picture also as it shows a Ranch House that Cowboys would usually live in. Its not surprising to have the scenery of the mountains around them especially if they rear Horses and Cattle on the Ranch. They would keep the Horses and Cattle at the Ranch surrounded by open land for them to roam on.

Black Foot Tribe

The Blackfoot Confederacy is the name given to four Native American tribes in the Northwestern Plains, which include the North Piegan the South Piegan, the Blood, and the Siksika tribes. In the beginning they occupied a large territory stretching from the North Saskatchewan River in Canada to the Missouri River in Montana. The four groups, sharing a common language and culture, had treaties of mutual defense, gathered for ceremonial rituals, and freely intermarried.

Typical of the Plains Indians in many aspects of their culture, theBlackfoot were nomadic hunter-gatherers, living in teepees and subsiding primarily on buffalo and gathered vegetable foods.

Originally living in the northern Great Lakes Region, the Blackfootwere one of the first tribes to begin moving Westward. Thought to have been pushed out by their arch enemies, the Cree Indians, the Blackfoot began to roam the northern plains from Saskachenewan to the Rocky Mountains.

No Camera Lead

I've Lost my camera lead so until tomorrow I can't put any work up :(