#u78

Overall the entire process was very good. We started off learning how to do all the different techniques, where we were all struggling, including myself. I personally found it difficult to get the measurements exactly right and cutting it straight, especially with the foamboard. I noticed that sometimes I would cut a bit skew, but after a lot of practice, I got better. I also thought I would be awful at the painting of the set, but after we had been taught the different techniques and had time to practice, I found myself picking the skills up very quickly and became a lot more confident by the end of it. I also started to pick up many different techniques for many different materials, like carving the balsa for the trees, and using fimo to make vines to go under the platform. This was fun and insightful as it helped me to create a compelling and interesting design.

I feel that we worked very well in a team, talking to each other and both deciding on who does what, so that we both get a say and both get a chance to do something. I also feel like I have started to understand how every department it connected and how you need to be in constant communication with different departments at different times, to make sure what you are doing works with what they are doing. Whether it is making sure the construction team can build the set you’re designing, or making sure a piece of set matches to a certain characters costume, informing lighting of the colours of the set so they can light it correctly or just making sure that the directors are happy with what you are making.

The first thing we made for our model box was the seating area. We created lots of scaled 8’ by 4’ rectangles and used them with our scaled plan drawing to work out the best arrangement to get the most seats, whilst still having a clear emergency exit. We made these out of foamboard as it was quick to cut and meant that it already had a thickness close to the thickness we wanted so we could see the incline as well as the floor space.

We then used our drawings and sketches to start to create a very rough first model to show to the directors. We also used foamboard for this as it is a very easy material to work with, although it doesn’t look as good as other material. My team mate and I worked on the forest set and the forest seating. We created a massive platform with stairs at one end. We then created lots of trees to be placed at seemingly random places all over the platform. We also created a circle platform 2’ down from the main platform to symbolise the witching circle. This is also surrounded by trees to help it tie in with the main platform.

After we discussed the plans with the directors and showed them the rough models, we started with the white card model. We started using different materials depending on what we wanted. The stairs were made of card so that we could make them the exact dimensions we needed them to be. We created each staging out of the card and then glued them together to make the seating area. This helped us keep track of how many staging pieces we were using and helped show anyone looking at the model what it is made of. We also did the same thing for the main platform of the forest, but the extra lips around the outside are just extra card and not staging. We also started making the trees out of balsa to make them look more round and like we want them to look. To create these round trees, we used lengths of square balsa and then used the dremel to round off the wood. When using the dremel, all the safety precautions were taken into consideration; like using goggles, keeping hands out of the way and not breathing in the wood dust. I did all this instinctually and was very safe using it. We also started to create more details like ladders for the actors to climb and vines made out of fimo.

When we first started designing our sections, we started out with sketches on paper. We created three designs to show the directors. After we showed these to the directors, we started sketching out the plan of the auditorium on the table, drawing things to scale. This helped us to work out how much of the floor space we are taking up and how we can arrange things better. We also used this method to help us work out the number of seats we can fit in each section and to make sure the emergency exits had the required room.

After making these plans, we started learning how to do 3D drawings. We were given a previous model box to practice our 3D skills. We first started by drawing a massive cube and then splitting it up into 1m by 1m squares. This require a lot of thinking as the closer a square is, the bigger it is. We solved this by making the back wall as perfect squares, then using diagonal lines on the floor to create squares that will scale at the correct rate. We then used the back wall, and the ground to work out the walls. After this, we used the scale on the back wall and the vanishing point to scale everything up when it is brought forward.

For this project, I was assigned the forest section. This seemed like an easy section to start with, but I still did research on forests and witching circles.

The first research was the forests. From these pictures I could see that most forests have very straight up trunks, which can be various widths. They also don’t have as many branches on the lower regions of the trunks. I used these ideas, along with the concept of stylised and symbolic meanings to create my own designs. I decided to use vertical uniformed tubes as the trunk to exaggerate the upright trunks in the real world. I also put the stylised trunks much higher up in the designs and also made them much more stylised to make them look more like beams in a building at the same time. I also noticed the grey and brown colours from the trunks and used that when colouring the trunks in my design, but making it a lot more stylised instead of naturalistic, but clearly showing the lines of the trunks by using the different colours. 

The second research I did was for the witching circles. During my research I came across these two main photos. They both show the witching circles in two totally different ways. The greener photo has a much more subtle witching circle that has been made into the grass using light. Whereas, the other picture is a clearly seen circle using twigs and branches to make the circle. Even though they are both radically different, they both have the culminating idea of a circle that is seen in the ground and is somehow shown, whether it is subtle or not. I took this idea and decided to have my own way of showing the circle. My idea was the have the circle raised above the ground and surrounded by trees.  This helped to create the circle whilst sticking with the ideas I got from the research.

When making models, many different materials and processes are used. One really good material to use is foamboard. This material is very good because it is firm and already has a thickness to it. This, however, also means that you are indicating that the set made from this has the scaled thickness of the foamboard. For this reason, foamboard is normally used in rough models; because it is rigid and easy to cut. However, when cutting, if the blade is not upright it can be obvious due to the slant on any side. Also, once cut, the edges are untidy and messy because foamboard is foam sandwiched between two pieces of paper. Another material to use is card. This can be a more accurate material as there is barely thickness to it. This means that the card can be cut and attached together to create 3D objects instead of relying on the thickness of foamboard to make it 3D. However, as it is card, it is a little harder to cut as the density is a lot more, also, as it is thinner, the rigidity is a lot less. Fimo is another material that can be used to create models. This is a clay-type material that can be moulded and manipulated to create different objects that would be difficult to make out of plat planes, like bowls or pots. After the object is made, the fimo is placed in the oven which turns it into a plastic, which allows it to retain its shape and give it more rigidity. Balsa is also a good material for models as it is very light and easy to cut. It is also easy to carve, so that you can put details into the wood. However, this material is therefore not as strong and can easily break. Another material that could be used is wire. This is a good material for making organic stringy objects like vines or branches. It can also be used as a skeleton to apply fimo or any other material too. This, however, can be difficult to manipulate and can be very pricey. The last material we had access to was sheets of plastic. This could be used in the same way as the card, but was a lot harder to cut and work with. Although it was also considerably more expensive, it is a lot more rigid and can be used in my longer thinner lengths than card.

As there are many materials that we had access to, we also had access to a few different glues that could be used for different circumstances.

PVA is the most common glue and is effective for wood, paper and card where the air can get to the glue easily. This is because this glue dries when the air can get to it, making it harden. This glue is also the cheapest glue, but can sometimes not be very strong.

However, Bostick can be applied to the two surfaces, allow to become tacky and then place them together. This means that the glue is dry before the two materials are placed together so that the glue is properly adhered to the materials and the glue easily sticks to other glue. This has a stronger bond as it allows the air to get to it, making sure the glue has a strong bond with the materials. This glue is better than PVA but is also much more expensive.

Other glues like polyweld have a specific use. Polyweld is used to melt two pieces of plastic together creating a bond that is very strong.

Emulsion

Emulsion paints is a paint that is water based. The paint material is mixed with a mostly water liquid to create the paint. This has many advantages, which include: fast drying, cheap, easy to apply, easy to clean off tools and not much toxicity. 

Pigment

Pigments are solids that are broken down into grains. They are incorporated into the paint to create the colour. These can be dangerous, depending on the pigments used, as some are toxic. They are also normally considerably more expensive. 

Glaze