Thursday, 29 March 2012

Media Common Room Scene Finale!

In this particular 506 scene was a close up of Louisa reading her book, my role in this was sitting in the background as if I was taking notes.

From here Chelsey, Demi and Chloe walk in and Demi and Chloe talk about the Chelsey's handbag, this particular scene was a Wide Shot.

Doing it once over Chelsey, Demi and Chloe came in a lot closer towards Louisa. As Chelsey say her line James then walks in and and stops her in her tracks.

After this the camera angle was changed this time it was on " Wide Shot" this is when they are quiet close but not that close, from here we then shot it again only this time we shot it from over the shoulder so that we could get Louisa and the girls in shot muh clearer.

As this happened we then made the shot focus on James walking in, and got it from his point of view and how he entered the scene. Afterwards we then shot it from Louisa and James and we got it from where Chelsey pushed off the books, we then face the cameras to them whilst they both have dialogue to say to each other.

How I developed my Zombie Character

To get into my Zombie character i tried to make it realistically as possible and I went into the Mind-set of a Zombie I took on-board Bertolt Brect's theory of "  Bertolt Brecht is all about realism within a character where Constin Stanivslavsky's theory is all about how the character would act. Doing the Zombie gestures I took both of these famous theories on aboard and really went for the character which was the Zombie, yet it still had a natural flow to it. As we are currently doing " Developing Voice for the Actor!" I thought about how a Zombie would talk, so to develop my inner-zombie by turning in my left leg and walking on it side -ways as if I had been injured. Developing the voice for my Zombie character I really used my diaphram to get the correct noise and the pitch was quiet high also. I as got the hang of it I then pushed
from my Larynx " Voice Box!" ( which means Mouth!" and developed this particular gesture to my mouth. I decide to make my zombie character a little unique so I began to lead by my chest" I also made my mouth drope, my reason for doing this is I wanted my Zombie Character to be believed and be realistic and I think I have proved it. The Camera shot that day was straight in the face" so in other words " In-front Angle".

Media Shoe Shop Scene .. . .

In this particular scene that I participated in my role was to be a customer coming in to have a look around and scout for shoes, during this particular shot the camera was positioned as an " Over the Shoulder" this means getting the shot over the shoulder of someone and shooting te characters in scene at the time.
From the first shot we filmed I came in just as Kinsey handed hannah the shoe box. Getting it from a different angle my position in this was to come in off the right hand side and look at the green drop that was situated behind Louisa and Kinsey's characters. I walk in have a look around and walk back out again. 

Sticking to the same routine I really made my entrances much bigger and precise each time I came into shot. 


As we shot the second take this time the table was facing towards the green drop and the camera was on " P.O.V" which means Point Of View. In Media terms Point Of View means when the camera is focused on just one simple object/person. 
Doing this particular scene  I came in from the left and instead of looking at the Green drop I look at the Green Petition. My reason for this is so that it looks like I am focusing on " a Shoe Rack" rather than just come in and go out again.

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

College Entrance !!! " Before Prom!!

In today's Media Shoot we filmed just outside College entrance. The scene is where Louisa and Kinsey go to enter the College and they meet Will mid-way.
My part was to go walk in a few minutes before them as if we were heading to Prom, the first time we did this we followed Victoria and Hannah into the building.But then we decided to change it by hanging back a few seconds and going by " Beth's signal" to enter, this was soo it looked like we were arriving a few minutes after.

For this scene in today's media shoot I participated by hanging it a little instead of coming straight after Hannah and Victoria we decided to come from the road side, as we waited a few seconds the camera geared us " Long Angle" for I and Sam to get right into shot.

Prom Scene Media the Entries

As we did another scene this time we focused on the entries of Kinsey, Will and Louisa entering Prom. I participated in this scene by taking the lead and walking down the stairs with Nicole, as we got to the bottom the camera still positioned on the main characters.

At first the first one was a " Run-through" so the next shoot was for real.
Participating in the stair scene we then came down the stairs and headed back into the room where the camera focused on it's main characters.


Prom Media Shoot!!!

In today's Media " Prom " Scene we shot it at the Arc, within this scene the main focus was on Kinsey, Will, Louisa and James. As the Prom scene got underway we then began filming and making sure we got all the loose ends in. Within the first scene we shot it was all about James and Louisa and how they enter. As we did this filming a few takes more we really got the hang of it.

At first when Louisa and James came in we had to just dance about and chat amongst ourselves, but then when the second take came we then had to chat but also manouver to the side just so the main characters were in shot.



I participated  by being in the shot as an " Extra" I really found my niche" as we did another shot the focus was on Will and Kinsey and we done a few shots of Will and Kinsey entering the prom where the camera was on " Long Angle" this means the camera elongates itself to get the characters in.

From here the shot then focuses on the two " Main" characters James and Louisa.

As they go into the middle they both speak to each other, as this is happening the rest of us are still dancing.

After a few more shots of this we then moved onto the next shoot. .

Which is when we enter.

Doing the shot the first time was all about focusing on timing and getting down the stairs in time after they shouted " Action!" for this particular shot we done this a few times before we got it right.

I participated in another scene in the " Arc" surroundings for the prom only this time Louisa's character gets drenched with drink.

As Chelsey appears she approaches Louisa with a drink and spills it on her. This took a few takes to get it right. As the third take was shot this time Louisa's character runs off in floods of tears, whilst we stand there in oblivoius to what is goig on around us.

This particular shot took face-on angle to zoom i on us.

From here we went onto shoot another film n the |" Arc" stairs.











Prom Media Shoot!! Developing the voice of the Actor!!

In today's Media " Prom" shoot we shot

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Media Zombieee Shot in Theatre

In the Media Session today we done the " Class Scene" the shooting was from the different angles such as Long Shot this is to get the faces of the actor within the shot.
We re-capped on Kendall's Teaching angle the camerea done a few close up shots of Nicole and I reading a Media Book, Kendall's character " The Teacher" then goes around the classroom given out books, firstly the camera was positioned over the shoulder to get the correct angular shot of the characters within the film.
Strsight after this shot we quickly done a turn-over for the exit scene where the Que is for Kendall to say " Right Finished" we then all get up and exit the classroom and exist down the coridoor. The Camera done a few Long Angke shots of James, Kinsey and Will" aswell as Louisa, from this shot they exit the classroom.
From here we done the take a few more times just to make it more precise and iron out any mistakes from the previous filming that we have just done.

Moving on from the Morning filming we then moved into the theatre where we carried on filming the Zombie Film.
I Participated in the Zombie film by becoming an Zombie, firstly the first scene we did was the Zombie's victim coming on set and placing themselves in the seating area, we then " The Zombies" had to pick our personal Victim that we were going to attack. To get into my Zombie character i tried to make it realistically as possible and I went into the Mind-set of a Zombie I took on-board Bertolt Brect's theory of "  Bertolt Brecht is all about realism within a character where Constin Stanivslavsky's theory is all about how the character would act. Doing the Zombie gestures I took both of these famous theories on aboard and really went for the character which was the Zombie, yet it still had a natural flow to it. As we are currently doing " Developing Voice for the Actor!" I thought about how a Zombie would talk, so to develop my inner-zombie I really grunted and groaned and developed this sound that I pushed from my Larynx " Voice Box!" ( which means Mouth!" and developed this particular gesture to my mouth. I decided to make my Zombie character much more entertaining and twisted my leg and I began to lead by my chest" I also made my mouth drope, my reason for doing this is I wanted my Zombie Character to be believed and be realistic and I think I have proved it. The Camera shot that day was straight in the face" so in other words " In-front Angle".

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Zombieeeee Shot !!! take 3

For our final shoot of the day I participated by doing a freeze frame lying down, as I did this I had died and the camera was doing a " Bird's Eye View" of me. From here i then stayed still. My body language I used was all screw_with because my bones had been broken. So my final pose was me lying down on the floor whilst I had been videoed from Birds eye view.

Zombie Shoot!!!!!

This scene was located in the Lightning booth and my character Zombina and Peter's character had to drag Kendall's character out of the booth and start attacking her.
As we done a few takes we got it spot on on the third take, from here our characters then went to the next room where we had to barge in on them as we get so far Hanah's character slams the door in our faces, so we head out back towards the orignal door where to finish off the scen we slam it.

Zombie Shoot

The next shot we did was Kendall becoming our victim, the two people who got choosen were I and Peter ad we had to chase Kendall trying to get hold of her, this shoot took place outside and our que was
" Action!" trying to chase her I decided to make my Zombified character a bit different from the rest I decided to lock eyes on her and spead up my walking, whilst we did this they was another camera there but my main focus was Kendall.
We did these takes a few more times we reversed it a few more times as Peter and I went for Kendall we also went for the camera man aswell, just to make it a bit effective. As I done the groans before I done it I done a few voice scales so that I would not strain my neck.

The camera positon was on Long Angle for this shot.

Media Zombie Film Shoot

Afterwards the shooting took place outside where the Zombies had to try to grab Kendalls character, the location of this was behind the Cafeteria and we were pressed against the gate and trying to grab her .

Media shoot Zombie Film!!!!

In today's Media shoot we began filming the Zombie scene, within this I participated by becoming a Zombie. Firstly we got choosen by people within the audience to be our victims. As I got partnered with Chelsey  we had to chase our victims and grab them, at first for a zombie I was playing it way too safe and not getting aggressive enough. So the second time for the shoot  I really got into my character and went full pelt for my victim. As the camera began to roll I thought about Bertolt Brecht's Theory " Magic IF"  because Bertolt Brecht is all about realism within a character where Constin Stanivslavsky's theory is all about how the character would act. Doing the Zombie gestures I took both of these famous theories on aboard and really went for the character which was the Zombie, yet it still had a natural flow to it. As we are currently doing " Developing Voice for the Actor!" I thought about how a Zombie would talk, so to develop my inner-zombie I really grunted and groaned and developed this particular gesture to my mouth.

Media Classroom shoot 2!!!!

In today's media session we done the secon scene of the classroom but this time the camera focused mainly on Kendall's scene who was the " Teacher" during the first take we had to sit in and get ready for class as Kendall goes around with text books, as the camera positioned itself the camera done a long shot of all of us and whilst Kendall was talking the camera zoomed in.
As the second take of the classroom began we shot it from all different angles.
From the previous angle we then shot it again only this time a Longer angle. After this we then done a few shots of us leaving class because it was finished. As the camera followed us we then walked down the corridoor just so we were not in the shot of others coming out.

Monday, 19 March 2012

Media Shooot!!!!!

In today's Media session I participated in a Classroom shoot and within this my character had to be on her phone to her " Mum" as we began filming once again we went through lots of angles such as long shot, close up and Over the Shoulder shot. As we began to roll the scene the synopsis  was Kinsey and Louisa's characters talking about Prom and who they are taking. Meanwhile James and Will's character also talking about who are they going to take. First off the angle was eye shot straight on, then afterwards they started off to the side and in the end the camera was an over-shoulder shot from James's shoulder to get the angle.
After a few takes of the Classroom scene we then done a camera scene of the class leaving, for this the camera was positioned at the front of the class and was in the " Pans" angle. This effect was used so that the scene could be used horizontally.

Unit 17 Media Angles

In today's media session I participated in a small scene where I had to go down the stairs whilst passing Louisa, as we did a few takes of these the timing at first was really tight but then I began to wobble a bit and go off timing as I was following 3 seconds after Kendall. As we shot at a High angle we really wanted to capture everyone within the shot that was in it, from here we then re-shot the sequence of the scene again but only this time the camera holder changed the angle and this time got the angle of Louisa and just Kendall from a oblique Canted Angle where the camera is positioned in the horizontal view.
After shooting Louisa and Kendall, they moved onto Kyle and Shannon who were situated in the College Lift, their que is when I leave and go downstairs that is when Shannon and Kyle come out from the lift.
The camera shot on this I beleive was long angle and close-up so they can get the capture in straight away.

Unit 17 Media Classroom Shoot

Unit 17 Voice of the Actor Media Shoot

In today's Media session I participated in a small role which consisted of me being bullied, my attacker Chelsea day played the bully Lauren and the scenario we cooked up that my character had been bullied for ages. The scene we did was improve where we added in a little dialogue as she comes upto me she starts asking me if I have any money on me and then starts questioning the scarf I am wearing. Within the small role I was given the victim had to be terrifield of her tormentor. When I got told this that I had to be the victim I instantly snapped into character and thought how I could make the victim small yet recognisible and still be the victim of Bullying. So from being a very bubbly person, my action and body language instantly deteriarated into this shy person and timid victim, to help me progress my character and make it beleivable I began to go into myself and make my body language a lot smaller than usual, Chelsea's character had to really intimidate me and be right up in my face, even though the dialogue was small in this scene I thought that the body language really sold the story of a bullied victim because frightened can come in different shapes, sizes and other ways. And even though we did not use a lot of speech I beleive we got the shot in one just by using our bodies and how we would move. I honestly think that the shot would of been better without any dialogue so it can give the media students an insight of a bullied victim. My reason for this is because you dont need words to express bullying.

Wednesday, 7 March 2012

The traitor devised Piece !

This session today we were given a piece of paper where we had to devise a piece of drama from one of the titles. It had to include Naturalisim, Realism and detail within the  performance. 
and it had to include laughter enuciation, pace, intonation, projection of the character and emotional investment. Not only had it to include all of them but it had to be believable not PANTO!!!!.. so therefore not flamboyant. In my group they were Kyle Nicole, and I . As we spent 40 Minutes pondering about it, from here we got to work. At first we were in turmoil weather to do another one or stick with the first Idea, as the ideas got passed around Nicole came up with another idea of someone being ill in a hospital bed and the two girlfriends come in and they have never met before, but they instantly clash over the boy. As the idea got thought about we decided to stick with the " Traitor" one. Getting on with the work, our first Idea was  that Nicole caught Kyle and I in an intimate moment, as we thought about it Kyle decided to change it and Nicole be the " Mistress" and I catch them in the moment.
As we pondered over it a while we decided to stick with the first idea because I believed the performance " Magic if" Stanivslavsky Theory" what if this happened to I in real life I believe my action from the performance would be dead real.
we decided on it we then got it on it's feet, trying out new ideas I decided on getting two tables and making it a bed for them. I thought that Kyle should lie down and Nicole go to kiss him, just to add in that effect.
But at the last minute we decided to change it again and go with another idea because the confidence was not there. As we try it another way we decided that Nicole should sit facing Kyle and they should  tell each other how the love for each other is Soo strong.
My que was " I love you Too!" as I  entered  originally I began screaming at them but then  I changed it so that the tension could build  up rather then let the audience viewing it see straight away. Originally I shout up to  Kyle by this time I am half-way up the stairs, opening the bedroom door slowly there I see Nicole and Kyle arguing. Within this scene we used Stanivslavsky " What if" what if I was in that position what would my reaction be like. I believe that today If I was in that position I would act just like that.

As we performed it we did it a bit differently to the others, I.E we kept the reaction the same and the stillness, but the tensioned built and built so when Kyle's character goes to hug me I say very quietly " Don;t Touch me!!!" then I scream at him and then start screaming at Nicole's Character. but that was the only change we did. The rest of the Performance was kept the same. We brought our performance upstage just so that everyone could hear and our projection was a lot clearer.

Rhythm for Voice

We did an exercise on " focusing" as we got into a circle on the floor we  started the game off by tapping our knees, clapping and clicking, this is to build up the rhythm of the pattern. Once the rhythm built up  we then each got given a number. As the numbers go read out we each had to say our number and another one within the circle.
One by one everyone got out, this game was more to do about Projection of the voice and clarity of the voice within the group.

Unit 17 All about Enuciation:

  In today's session we started it off by presenting our Vocal Presentation, all about Enuciating and how words are meant to be used, firstly we showed them two clips of Pronounciation and anunciation. The first Video was of " Friends" Joey and it shows you how you pronounce your words how sometimes you " Spit" afterwards. We moved onto the next clip where it showed you Vicky from " Little Britain" and how her words and pronounciation works./ Just showing these two clips you can see the difference straight away form the two. After this we got the class  into a circle then demonstrated how " Tongue Twisters"are pronounced and by doing this as percise and clear as possible we got everyone to do an exercise by using " Pencil" within the mouth. We did this so that the clarity of the voice can be heard.
  • 'A Hammer Hammer Hammer in a Hard High Road' 
I believe to improve on your speech Toungue twisters are a brilliant source to focus on your enuncaition.
  • The Human Voice disorders refer to breakdowns in the vibratory system – the focus of this patient education series.
  • Breakdowns can occur in any one or all three subsystems of voice production.
  • These are a few we came up with in College, The porcupine occupied the Argetine's Concubine's mind.

    Three fluffy feathers floating freely

    European Unicorns united for the union of European Unicorns.
    This type of exercise really gets you thinking on how you pronounce words and by putting a little thing in your mouth I.E a Pen for instance makes a lot of difference because the pen in the mouth is the main focus.
    As the group did the exercise I seen a vased improvement on the speech, everyone was more fluent and the clarity was really easy to hear. People say that living in the North East we have really lazy accents, because we do not promounce our letters properly, but I believe it's how " YOU!" present yourself and the way you want others to be precieved.




    We then explored the different variations of



                                      VocalS:


                    So let's get started.!!!!!!
    The Anatomy relates the describing and naming of various parts of the body, like it will mean the vocal system.
    The "spoken word" results from three components of voice production: voiced sound, resonance and articulation.
    •    Voiced sound: The basic sound produced by vocal fold vibration is called "voiced sound." This is frequently described as a "buzz" sound. Voiced sound for singing differs significantly from voiced sound for speech.
    •     Resonance: Voice sound is amplified and modified by the vocal tract resonators (the throat, mouth cavity, and nasal passages). The resonators produce a person's recognizable voice.
    •     Articulation: The vocal tract articulators (the tongue, soft palate, and lips) modify the voice sound. The articulators produce recognise Functions of the Voice Box
    The key function of the voice box is to open and close the glottis (the space between the two vocal folds).
    • Role in breathing: open glottis
    • Role in cough reflex: close, then open glottis
    • Role in swallowing: close glottis
    • Role in voice: close glottis and adjust vocal fold tension + additional functions for singing


    Key Components of the Voice Box

    • Cartilages
    • Muscles
    • Nerves
    • Vocal folds

    Abnormalities or Changes in the Vibratory System Result in Voice Disorders


    • The Human Voice disorders refer to breakdowns in the vibratory system – the focus of this patient education series.
    • Breakdowns can occur in any one or all three subsystems of voice production.
     
     
     

    Tuesday, 6 March 2012

    What Happens to The Voice gets Strained.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCG6qdrZEUc

    What you cant see the affects on smoking does to the Voicebox


    If you smoke, you increase your risk of more than 50 serious health conditions. Some may be fatal and others can cause irreversible long-term damage to your health.

    Smoking is one of the biggest causes of death and illness in the UK. You can become ill:

    • if you smoke yourself
    • through other people’s smoke (passive smoking or secondhand smoke)

    In the UK, around 114,000 people die every year from smoking-related illnesses.

    Risks to your health


    Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancers.

    It also causes cancer in many other parts of the body, such as the:

    • mouth
    • lips
    • throat
    • voice box (larynx)
    • oesophagus (the tube between your mouth and stomach)
    • bladder
    • kidney
    • liver
    • stomach
    • pancreas

    Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing the risk of conditions such as:


    They are many different aspects for the voice to stop working, but what really damages the voice is Smoking, it  causing conditions such as:

    • chronic bronchitis (infection of the main airways in the lungs)
    • emphysema (damage to the small airways in the lungs)
    • pneumonia (inflammation in the lungs)

    Smoking can also worsen or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, or respiratory tract infections, such as the common cold.

    In men, smoking can cause impotence as it limits the blood supply to the penis.

    For both men and women, smoking can affect fertility, making it difficult for you to have children.












    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB9pTkG-93c



     

    Vocals.

    In today's session it was scaled into three sections. The first section we did was all about getting into small groups and we done Tongue Twisters. Within my group we all had to do our own tongue twisters and say them out aloud. We then swaped groups and we had to do a few Tongue Twisters of our own. From here we then said these outloud so the other team could hear. After this we then moved swiftly onto our second section of the day where we got into a huge circle and we played a few " Annuciation" games just to get the Larynx going, in this group circle we played a game of " " Fuzzy Duck" we played this so that the projection as well as annuciation was clear.  
    From here we moved onto our monologues, we had to get into pairs as Felix and I paired up we then had to observe each other reading our monologues first in ordinary voices then in our accent that our Monologue is set in.


    As we observed each other's performance the feedbacvk I was given from Felix was how I had to really slow down my pitch and annuciate my words and project more on certain words.

    Monday, 5 March 2012

    How I can improve on my Educating Rita Monologue

    Just done my Educating Rita Monologue and to be fair I thought it went really well, I  added in my own interpretation to the story of Rita, and got her across my own way.
    Demonstrating it to the class today I really felt a wave of confidence within me, as I knew I had conquored my fear.
    I had put in different take on it, like so for instance even though in the film she does not drop any books, but I added that in just so I can get that effect of her nervous.


    I really over-played it and over-enficised on my words just to get the speech she was trying to say across.
    From here I was given immediate feedback from Sonya, on how to project more and try to make the accent I was portraying a lot smoother.

    Taking this advice on-board I decided to change the monologue a bit < this is where the Books came into it.
    I wanted to take away the originality of the film and put in my own interpretation on it.

    The advice that was given  to me I thought really done me justice because I thought it made me think of different ways of doing this classical film. I did not want to make it look as if it was a " Cliche" or replica of the film itself.

    I went and researched in many different forms of Educating Rita by performing it infront of my mirror and trying to make the accent flow more.

    Monologue Overview

    Performing my monologue " Educating Rita"  I thought it could of gone a lot better because even though I slowed it down in pace, and got all my pauses in at the right time I never actually looped it. But all in all I thought I done really good ast getting my character down, to get my focus I  focused on a person as if they were in within the scene with me.

    Educating Rita Monologue Clip

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vNzsoyA-5I

    Willy Russell Why?

    "When I got there I said to Lewis, 'Look, I've come to see you, but I don't know whether we should be taking as Columbia are interested in the script, and I haven't really thought of Rita as a movie.' Lewis just said to me. 'I think the whole of the plot is in there. Every single character already exists in the play, even though they're not realised on stage.' So in the discussion I got out of the idea of the unity of the single room and started to think of the unity of a campus. I started to get excited, as I could see all the possibilities that I'd been too lazy or too resistant to see!"
    However, Russell's enthusiasm was quickly dampened. "I came back to earth because I then remembered that Columbia had expressed this interest," says the playwright. "But Lewis said, 'That's fine. I'll make it with Columbia. Let's phone them now!' So he phoned Columbia, they talked and things seemed to be acceptable. So initially, we began with the play being acquired by Columbia, with Lewis directing it for them."
    Lewis Gilbert had already directed a number of successful films for Columbia dating back to the late-Fifties, among them The Admirable Crichton and HMS Defiant. The fact that his last two films had been two of the most successful James Bond films ever - The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker - can't have been lost on the executives at head office either. That said, Gilbert, who also produced Rita, ultimately made the film independently through an outfit called Acorn Pictures.
    In the meantime there was the not-so-small task of preparing the script for the screen. "We used to meet each other a lot and discuss how we'd open the film out and that sort of thing," says Lewis Gilbert. "So we worked quite closely on that, as we also would on Shirley Valentine." Even so, Russell still had his reservations as to whether the play could be successfully opened out. "Now I'm not somebody who's precious about the play. I wanted it to be as truthful to the medium of film as I'd been to the medium of theatre. I didn't want some art-house thing. So you constantly have to ask yourself why you want to make a film of the play. For my own purposes, once I'd realised that the campus was the centre of the film, I was away and there was no problem for me."
    Educating Rita was Willy Russell's first screenplay and consequently he had to get used to a very different way of working. "Initially what happened was I spent five days with Lewis in Paris," says Russell. "It was very odd for me, as I'm not used to having a director dictate to me! All the films I'd written previously had been for the telly, where, like the theatre, the writer was absolutely the top nut and everything was dedicated to serving the text. So for those five days Lewis would say, 'We want to have this from the play and we want to have that from the play, but we don't want to have this because it won't work.' I just took notes, and after about three days I thought, 'I can't write a film like this. There's absolutely no way!' but Lewis was a sweetheart and the dinners were nice," Russell laughs.
    "So I just kept my mouth shut and made the notes, knowing that when I got home I'd just sit down and start writing the film," he continues, "In fact, I did just that. I'd got the first 26 pages done when Lewis phoned to ask how things were going on. I said, 'Terrific! I'm really pleased.' Then he asked, 'Are you following the schemata/' to which I replied, 'No, no - the Paris thing, I'm sorry, I've chucked it in the bin!' Well, he went ape-sh*t! But again, it was the thing of me not bending. You need all the arrogance you can muster if you're going to survive in films, especially if you're going to be involved in translating a work that has been so successful on stage. So I said that there was no way I was going to follow those notes. At the end of the conversation Lewis was somewhat shattered and said, 'Look, send me what you've done so far.' I told him I couldn't because it was in longhand and he wouldn't be able to read a syllable. So I said I'd get on a train the next day and go down to London and read it to him. And God love him, at the end of it he said, 'Carry on!"

    Finding a Monologue or Scene.

    In today's session we have been focusing ourselves on a monologue or a scene piece which is contemporary. The monologues have to be at least 2 minutes long, not over or nor under. The Monologue I have chosen is from one of England most cherished Aurthors Willy Russell. My monologue is from the classic 1980's decade Educating Rita. The scene I am doing is Scene 3 page 19, and the reason why I have chosen to do that specif scene is because I believe even though it has probably been done before, I think I can add in a few more adjustments to the monologue.
    My reason for Picking the act I did is because I want to eperiment with new ideas to it's origanality. Even though I want to put " My" twist to it I really want to have that connection with the audience using my take on it.

    Willy Russell The Man himself . . .

    Willy Russell is Known for his famous plays, his two main ones have female protagonists, Educating Rita, which was inspired by his own experience of returning to education, is about a young woman working class woman who decides to study English with the Open University. Much of the comedy arises from her fresh, unschooled reaction to the classics of English literature, but she is never patronised by the author, who recognises from his own experience that education is a means of escape from one's own circumstances. Shirley Valentine is also about escape, and takes the form of a monologue by a housewife before and after a transforming holiday in Greece. Both plays were made into very successful films from Willy Russell's own screenplays, featuring the actresses who originally created the roles on stage (Julie Walters, and Pauline Collins each of whom won an Oscar nomination for their respective roles, as did Russell for his Educating Rita screenplay).

    Please put your hands together for . . . Willy Russell.

    Willy Russell was born in Whiston near Liverpool, in 1947 he grew up in a left-wing household and he left Secondary School with an O-Level in English.
    He also collaborated on a stage documentary ' A Lancashire Story' (performed at Notre Dame College, Liverpool in 1969). At the age of twenty, he decided to complete his education and went to college in order to improve his qualifications, after which he became a schoolteacher in Toxteth. Willy met Annie (now his wife) and at her prompting, he became more interested in drama, started going to plays and began to write.
    His ambition to be a serious writer was fired and further focused when he saw a production of John McGrath's Unruly Elements at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre in 1971. What he particularly noticed about this play was 'the poetry of common speech', and this has been a hallmark of his own work.
    His first play, Keep Your Eyes Down, was produced in 1971, but he made his name with John, Paul, George, Ringo … and Bert, a musical about the Beatles. This had been commissioned by the Liverpool Everyman where it ran for a (then) unprecedented eight weeks before transferring to the West End where it won the Evening Standard and London Theatre Critics awards for the best musical of 1974. Thereafter his plays have won widespread popular and critical acclaim. He has said that his work is concerned with the essential goodness of humanity, and although his characters are often depicted in bleak circumstances, there is an underlying optimism and warmth in his view of the world. This has inevitably led to accusations of sentimentality, but on the whole Willy Russell manages to avoid this pitfall.
    Two of his best-known plays have female protagonists, Educating Rita, which was inspired by his own experience of returning to education, is about a young woman working class woman who decides to study English with the Open University. Much of the comedy arises from her fresh, unschooled reaction to the classics of English literature, but she is never patronised by the author, who recognises from his own experience that education is a means of escape from one's own circumstances. Shirley Valentine is also about escape, and takes the form of a monologue by a housewife before and after a transforming holiday in Greece. Both plays were made into very successful films from Willy Russell's own screenplays, featuring the actresses who originally created the roles on stage (Julie Walters, and Pauline Collins each of whom won an Oscar nomination for their respective roles, as did Russell for his Educating Rita screenplay).
    Willy Russell's other huge theatrical

    A little insight to Educating Rita

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYjEXXqbQc4

    Analysing my monologue " Educating Rita"

    Reading the Play I have got an exact idea of what and how I am going to perform it, In the 1980's version Julia Roberts arrives late full of apologies, but in my take of this classical film, I am going to arrive late and start by being out of breath. Once I have caught my breath I am going to start my monologue piece. Even though it is still going tpo be the same, I am going to drop different dielect into a verse when she says a specific line.


    So to verify this in more detail, when she says the line " Well he phoned her up the out the blue this afternoon cos he just copped a couple of tickets for an All this is said in a Liverpudlian accent) then when she says " Exhibition - of -the -state of the Art refrigeration units an ' walk-in freezers. Back to Liverpudlian Accent.
     When it says hoe Rita is aware oif her tutor staring back at her and she starts apologising again, for this I am actually just going to stare for a few minutes and then snigger and laugh then carry on with the Monologue, Just to prolong the Monologue from the Play.


    The opening scene I am going to be wearing specktacles and to make this my own interpretation I am going to start by staring into space and really engage on one thing. That thing could be a person or object.


    I am also going to start the scene off by rushing in and by my rushing I a, going to drop my my books onto the floor.
    As I say my monologue I am going to start it by putting myself together, I.e. fixing my hair, glasses and anyother aspects of clothing sticking out.
    Whildst doing the monologue I am going to change pitch within Voice and really slow the monologue down, just so that the monologue means alot more.


    I am going to perform this by trying out new" tones within my voice. And not only this trying out " new" ideas, to get the monologue across by doing a few breathing exercises.

    Voice of the Actor Educating Rita Monologue Analysis?

    I have chosen a Monologue from Educating Rita written by Willy Russell Scene 3 page 19, even though this is a tester I have decided to keep in the Diolect of Liverpudlian.
    " Monologue from Educating Rita"
    "The monologue I am performing starts off  when Frank " her tutor" is working at his desk and he is occupied himself by reading Rita's Essay. Just at that Rita enters his class room with a flurish.
                                           Educating Rita
    " Am I  late? I'm Sorry I'm Late. . . bleedin' hate it when that happens: I thought I'ld easily bre out of the shop by Five tonight. I didn't have anyone booked in after four'oclock so I thought i'ld easily get away with it by five, no her a quick wash an blow dry because she'd met his feller who's got a chinese chippie in Childwell. He's not Chinese so it's not really a Chinese Chippie_ it's sort of must be fusion, I suppose. Well he phoned her up out of the blue this afternoon cos he's just copped a couple of tickets for an exhibition of state-of -the -art refrigeration units an' walk - in freezers.
    She said she doesn't even fancy him really. But she's always wanted a walk-in freezer herself. . .

    Oh god , I'm sorry, Sorry, it's bein in that shop everyday- I think I must be catching that's what I have listen to, all day everyday. Anyway I'm sorry I'm late I hate bein Late When I come here.

    Wednesday, 29 February 2012

    The Alexandra Technique

    Starting off the new  Unit today firstly we got into groups of   6 or 7 and we had to each present to the others observing what we had learnt and what the meanings of the voice meant.
    During today, we started off by being teached the different aspects of Breathing techniques. As we went into Pairs the first pair to lead us were  " Kyle and Louisa. Within the  Exercise and together in our partners we had to perform a breathing technique where we had to lie on the floor, the one lying on the floor had to really relax their whole body so that the one standing up over them had to grip the head and actually feel the weight of the person's head on the hands. Apparently the head is the same weight as a bowling ball. But when relaxed it is very light.
    This technique is called the " Alexandra" technique. And this has been performed before.

    Unit 17 Voice of the Actor

    In This  Unit we are focusing on " Voice of the Actor" and how it works within the Acting industry.Within this Unit we will be focusing on the different areas of the actors, So not just the Performance side but How, Where and Why they need the " Voice"  To be absolutely honest I knew they needed the " Voice" but I never knew the actually percentage of the Voice" they use day to day. In this unit we will each teach each other wityhin the class on just how the " Voice" Malfunctions" or for a less posher phrase " Works!"


    In today's Session we have been focusing on " Projection" and what it means, also how sound travels when someone is so far away. Even though I know alot about these I never knew just how much you need Projection, Pronounciation and be very precise and Slow the speech down.
    I have been taking part in today's session a " Vocal" exercise and how the different exercises hense your voice before you go on stage. Not only this but how this simple exercise can make the Performer on stage be heard alot clearer.