#unit73

Describe and practise various techniques of scenic painting. Paint some scenic elements and furniture items with the correct techniques and accuracy.

During the night paint call we used may techniques when we were painting on to the large scenic element. To start I was in charge of the detailed painting, giving the main flats textures and detail. To do this I used the raging on technique. I did this by getting a lighter shade of grey than what is being painted on as well as a rag that I screwed up and then dipped it in paint and stamped the rag on to the darker grey paint. I think using raging on is a very good technique as it can make the set look dynamic and effective. I enjoyed raging on as it gave a really good looking effect and would work well under the lighting. I believe when I was applying the detail on to the set I did it carefully, always walking away from the set looking at the accuracy and the detail to make sure the pattern was equally spread across the whole of the set as it went from wall to wall. This is a important part of scenic painting as you have to make sure the set looks professional and how the director said it should look. Every 10 - 20 minutes you should review your work and also before moving on to a different coat of different part of the set. The part I was painting was the lip of wood covering the steal deck.

When painting the floor we all worked together working on small bits of the massive playing space. We had to be careful using an edging brush to make sure we kept within the lines that Tilly had drawn otherwise it would not of looked like how it was meant to. We were extremely careful and made sure we did not go into each others boxes or different coloured boxes. The floor was made up out of three colours one being black another being brown and then white. The main circle was just using white and brown which we couldn’t make a mess of as it will be seen in the centre of the playing space. We had to keep a steady hand and not slip or spill paint otherwise it could of ruined the floor. 

Other techniques I used were edging, throughout the night we stopped and gathered around to learn new techniques in painting from the head of the department. I used an edging brush to do smaller panels in black at the back of the set where the audience can see. I painted these to make sure the whole set looks professional and you don’t just see randoms parts of wood along the set where the audience can still see.

When painting the rope a smaller part of the set, a dressing that was going to be used in the set I had to paint with glaze and glitter. I then looked at the model box and had to replicate the way the dressings were placed and screwed into the set. 

Explain the various methods of translating a design from a set model or drawing to a scenic element. Translate the designs from the model box or drawings to the scenic element.

During the days leading up to the show I had to help make and paint pieces of furniture for the set as well as props. Here are pictures of the props and furniture that I painted and made; 

Paint Pallet 

Train Buffer, Boiler and Funnel 

Postcard Rack 

Today we had a late call of 4 pm so that we could get in a prep all of the paint that would be required for the painting tonight. Today we had planed to spray all of the platforms to their final colour, paint the pier in its final colour and then base the floor ready for the over night paint call. 

I started of the night by painting the pavilion, whilst the rest of the group either sprayed the platforms or started work on painting the ramp. To paint the pavilion I used two different shades of brown which I applied to the metal and them blended together to give a wood look. I felt this was an effective technique because it not only gave it the look of wood, but it also helped to make it look old and ruined. Doing the blending was mostly easy, however in the tight corners it was hard to get the correct blend, but that won't be a problem because in theory the audience will not be able to see that. 

Here is a picture of the pavilion painted brown; 

After I had finished the pavilion Alan then asked me to paint the stairs from the pier onto the pavilion in a similar way blending both the browns together. I started doing it on top of the pier, but then realised that it would be easier to remove them from the pier to stop myself from getting brown paint on the already painted pier. I felt that again painting the stairs in this way was good because it gave the set a flow and it also helped them to fit on top of the pier, because it look wood like. 

Here is a picture of the stairs; 

Once I had completed the stairs I then helped the sprayers finish of spraying by raging off on the side structure legs in order to stop them from having a running paint look. Once all of the side structures and the ramp were painted we moved on to start basing the floor. To base the floor we used a mixture of three grey emulsions that had been mixed in the prepping session earlier. To make it easier for ourselves we used rollers. We started at the back of the auditorium and worked our way back towards the seating bank. In about an hour we had based the entire floor in grey ready for its final paint job tomorrow. 

Here is the set in its current state with all of the structures painted and the floor primed; 

Strengths 

Today I feel my team work skill have been a strength because I have been able to work within the design team happily with no dispute to successfully complete all of the jobs we had set out to complete. I also feel my knowledge of paint techniques has helped when I have been independently painting parts of the set. 

Weaknesses 

The one weakness I feel I had was the speed at which I painted the pavilion. I feel I could have done that a lot quicker and I could have then gone on to assist other people in the team with jobs that required more people. 

Plan of Action 

Today we were called in at 3 pm to continue work on The Beano set. When we got in we were asked to draw up another list of things that needed to be completed before Friday. Once we had drawn up the list we went and started to prep for the night. We had decided that tonight would be spent priming the metal and basing the wood of the side structures as well as priming the pavilion ready for there final paint job tomorrow evening. 

After the actors had left we moved into the auditorium and started work. Myself and Harry degreased all of the metal on the side structure, with the Meth Spirit ensuring that for safety reasons we wore masks to stop the toxic fumes getting into are body. Once we had degreased all of the side structures we started priming them with the white primer. We started on the stage right side and worked are way around all of the structures priming the metal. Whilst we were doing this Jake and the Fermors were basing the wood and the scrim on the structures with the white emulsion and Tom and Luke were working on priming and basing the ramp and the stairs. 

Once all of the metal on the side structures had been primed I moved on to prime the pavilion. Before I primed it I had to degrease it because it had not yet been degresed. Whilst I was degreasing Alan started priming so that it would get done quicker. After the pavilion was completed and went and assisted the basing of the ramp. Once the ramp was completed and all of the paint brushes were washed we were finished for the day. 

Strengths 

I feel I have been able to use my painting skills learnt when we the did the scenic paint theory to help base and prime the set. 

Weaknesses

I don't feel I have had any weaknesses today. 

Plan of Action 

Today we continued to work on the set for The Beano. We were in the main space in the morning, which gave us enough time to finish of the gauze's, start adding detail to the back structure and base coat the pier. 

I worked with Tom to finish of the gauze's. We continued using the Rosco Off Broadway Black which we had discovered last Friday took a long time to dry but today we had a longer so we were able to complete the black. Again like Friday I suggested that we lay out the gauze's how the would be hung so that we got the curve in the correct place.

After we had completed one of the gauze's Alan asked me to go and assist Evie and Harry who were adding the detailing to the wood on the back structure. To do this I had to stipple brown onto the wood starting thick on the outside, and getting less and less as I got into the middle of the wood. This would make it look a bit like mud. Once I had done that Evie then came along and stippled in different shades of green in a similar way as I had been doing with the brown. I found this easy to do and I had completed all of the brown in no time at all meaning that Evie could quickly go around and add the green in. 

Here is a picture of the brown I stippled in to the path on the back structure; 

At 1 pm we finished in the auditorium and we were asked to go and help construction. Once the actors had finished off in auditorium we went back into the auditorium and we carried on work. We were all given the task of scrimming all of the side structures. Scrimming is were you place a piece of fabric over a material, like polystyrene. You then paint over the fabric with glue, making sure that you remove all of the creases. When the glue dries it makes it easier for us to paint on. Most of it was easy, but in some cases it really annoyed me because there were some bits of the scrim that would not tick despite using a lot of glue. We managed to finish off all of the scrim, which meant that tomorrow we could start actually painting them. 

Strengths 

Today I feel I have been able to work autonomously to complete all the tasks I have been set despite them on some occasions annoying me.

Weaknesses 

I don't feel I had any weaknesses today. 

Plan of Action 

Today we continued to work on the set for The Beano. In the morning we had the auditorium until 1 pm which meant that we could finish of painting what we had been unable to complete last night. It was only myself, Jake and Tom working as Harry who was in was assisting Mig in sorting out the LX store. Myself and Tom sprayed the black onto the gauze whilst Jake finished off painting the wood on the back structure. To spray the black on the gauze we used the Rosco Off Broadway Black, which we watered down 1:1 (1 part paint to 1 part water). When we had the paint mixed we started spraying. This was the first time we had used Off Broadway paint and we discovered that it took a long time to dry after it had been sprayed onto the gauze, unlike the Rosco Super Saturated paint which did not take long to dry. Because the paint took a long time to dry it meant that we had to wait longer when doing the larger gauze's because we didn't want to fold it and then make the black go all over the already painted bits. 

As well as doing a black line across the top and a black line across the bottom of the gauze we also had to put a curved edge at one end of both of the big gauze's, but we had to get the correct end otherwise it would not work. To do this I decided that it would be a goof idea to lay out the big gauze's, how they would be hung on the wall so that we knew which end to spray. I also labeled them so that whoever put up the gauze's knew which gauze went on which wall. However because it took a long time for the paint to dry we decided to leave the curved ends and do them next week and just concentrate on getting the top and the bottom edges of the gauze's done. Whilst we were painting Denise one of the directors asked if we could finish at 12 so that there was enough time to allow the paint to fully dry before the actors came in. This meant that me and Tom were only able to paint one of the large gauze's and the three small ones. 

After we had finished in the auditorium I went and helped construction finish of putting the polystyrene on the ramp as well as helping finish of the any part of the ramp that had not been completed, like placing handles on it to help the actors move it on stage. Once the ramp was complete and the workshop was tidy we finished for the day. 

Strengths 

I feel I have been able to work with another member of the design team to spray the black onto the gauze's. 

Weaknesses 

I don't feel I had any weaknesses today 

Plan of Action 

Today we continued to work on the set for The Beano. In the morning I was in construction assisting the in moving all of the side structure into the auditorium, and securing them to the wall. Once all of the structures we in myself and Jake then used the ground plan to guide the construction team in were to place the structures. Once all of the structure were in place Cooper then went around a secured all of the structures to the wall. He did this by attaching them to the wall.

In the evening after the actors had finished in the auditorium the design team went into the the auditorium to continue basing parts of the set. Like yesterday I carried on spraying onto the gauzes that were going to be placed on the walls of the auditorium. Yesterday I had finished spraying the blue onto the cloths and I now had to starts on the yellow. To spray the yellow I used Rosco Super Saturated Yellow Ochre which I water down 1:4 (1 part paint 4 parts water). After I had sorted out the paint I poured it unto the spray gun, ensuring that I sieved it to remove all of the pigments and stop the nozzle of the gun being blocked up. I then began spraying. Again like yesterday I ensured that I walked from left to right I. Order to keep the paint I spraying going in a straight line. I also had to remember that when I was spraying the big cloths to fade the colour when I stopped at each section so that I didn’t had just a big line of thick paint. I also did this to ensure that I had plenty of layers which helped to make it look more like a horizon. Alan started it, to shoe me were I had to start from and were I had to stop, and then left me to it. Whilst I was spraying the rest of the team were working on priming and basing the back structures and the pier. By the end of the evening we had all to the back structure primed and based, ready for its final paint job on the overnighter.

Strengths

Again I was able to independently spray the yellow on to most of the gauzes before we finished for the night.

Weaknesses

I don’t feel I had any weaknesses today

Plan of Action