Lady in the van puppet

I looked at felt puppets everywhere and got inspiration from Louise Evans and other felt doll makers.

Different styles I looked at ↓

Lady in the van artefact

Since the group wanted to go with an artefact constructed around the book (i.e. the van popping up from the pages), I looked into that myself. It seemed like a good idea to make a cutout scene of Alan Bennett's driveway, including the van, the trash and the lady. The reason I didn't pursue it further is because I couldn't find a way to make it stand out from all the other book cut outs, nor did it seem to capture the essence of the movie.

Example of book cut outs I looked at (below):

Alexander Korzer Robinson art (below)

I also looked at other concepts for artefact making, from a more artistic point of view. Example below:

http://milktoothrain.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/interesting-display-205.html

and

https://kaylanderson.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/artifactartifice-installation-at-tom-robinson-gallery-3/

Lady in the van research

Reference links:

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/02/theater/theater-lady-in-the-van-offers-a-moral-behind-the-laughter.html

http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/etcetera/film/lady_in_the_van_review_alan_bennett_reveals_his_true_deceit_1_4307863

http://journal.psyart.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PsyArt-2017-Article-1-D-Brennan.pdf

http://www.filmmusicmag.com/?p=15606

http://www.theartsdesk.com/film/lady-van

http://hiltonchurch.org.uk/gods-dreams-and-ours-a-reflection-on-the-lady-in-the-van/

http://vault.hanover.edu/~battles/arthur/excalibur

http://www.wisdomtales.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1281&Itemid=642

http://nypost.com/2015/11/28/why-a-playwright-let-a-homeless-woman-live-in-his-driveway-for-15-years/

http://www.talkhouse.com/exclusive-book-extract-nicholas-hytners-foreword-to-the-lady-in-the-van-the-screenplay-by-alan-bennett/

Understanding 'Lady in the van'

Margaret Fairchild: Think about the religious aspect of the name she chose for herself (Mary, Shepherd).
The fact that she discards her actual name= abandoning her past self, moving forward away from what she was before.
Development, motivation, her character in relation to Alan and her role in society.
Antagonistic, lack of redeeming attributes, but relatable at times.
Maybe what she meant to others(how they saw her) ex: her brother and her parents, her teacher, the nuns.
They all had different views/expectations/ways of dealing with her, that tell us something about the range of her personality.Religious fanatic. She is both comical and tragic.
“There is the unconsciously hilarious voice of pretend-posh English suburbia -- yet, as Mr. Bennett eventually discovered, there was more to Miss Shepherd than that”.


Alal Bennett: explore character arc, main traits, motivation, his position in society, how his mother sees him, as opposed to how Miss Shepherd sees him, how his neighbours see him. They are all aspects of his personality


Initial notes:

Reference links:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-lady-in-the-van-film-review-a-brilliant-portrayal-of-a-truly-odd-couple-a6732606.html#

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/nov/14/alan-bennett-diaries-lady-in-the-van

"Exploring visual storytelling" notes

"Always emphasise contrast": character names or personalities, colour, etc
Rule of the three: jokes start with set up, reinforcement and pay off; in a story, the hero fails two times and succeeds on the third attempt; etc

Brainstorming steps:
1. Decide on a word/phrase that sums up the envisioned product
2. Write down any random words/phrases associated with it
3.Give yourself a few days/weeks and write down new ideas daily

Observe your surroundings, tastes, smells, mannerisms of people everywhere
Outline the project's story and plan your time
Define context, goal of story and motives/desires
Show instead of tell: translate intangibles into tangibles on screen
Create conflict and emphatic links: "exposition best revealed during conflict"
Create facts about the characters: will show in behaviour
Plant information that pays off later
Don't forget about cause and consequence
Consider personality types when creating the characters
Each character has different ways of dealing with obstacles
Obstacles can sometimes be characters
"A great visual story must be crafted so that not every obstacle encountered is overcome and not every obstacle results in change"
"The main character is the source of all obstacles and plot points."

What's going on? Who's involved? How should the audience feel?

"Conflict occurs whenever two forces with mutually exclusive goals meet."
"Tension is the emotion experienced by the audience while anticipating conflict."

Consider the stakes: 1-10 and what they mean to the main character

"Plot is a method of organising scenes in a visual story. Story is the impact of events on a character with whom the audience identifies."
"A scene in a visual story is all the action that takes place until there is a significant change in time or location."

Long shot - shows relationship between character and environment
Full shot - shows character's actions
Medium shot - shows more subtle action than full shot
Close-up shot - shows what character feels in regards to a situation
Extreme close-up shot - shows detailed emotion/objects important to the story

The 180 degree rule: "The camera should remain on one side of the line of engagement through a sequence."

"Each new shot needs to deliver new information to the audience or it grows bored."

Reference:

Arnold, B. and Eddy, B. (2006) Exploring visual storytelling. Nashville, TN, United States: Thomson Delmar Learning.

"The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler - research pt.2

   Looking into "The hero with a thousand faces", the book that "The writer's journey" is based on, revealed a deep connection to the philosophical work of Carl Jung. Most relevant in this context is the work Jung has done in comparative religion. He studied and was interested in understanding the "relationship of the individual to the world, to people and things." Jung believed the cause of one's behaviour to be characterised by past experiences and future aspirations. (Good information for character development) He described a few universal archetypes:

- persona or social mask

- anima/animus which represents the feminine present in males and the masculine present in females

- shadow, the animal aspect of humans

- self

   In "The Undiscovered Self" he argued that many of the problems of modern life are caused by "man's progressive alienation from his instinctual foundation". Researching myths and legends, he noticed patterns that to him confirmed the existence of a collective consciousness. Jung's work led to the development of modern personality theory.

   Doing a bit more research, I came across another book, "Aristotle in Hollywood" written by Ari Hiltunen which I managed to get out in time from the university's library. Turns out that the preface was written by none other than Chris Vogler. He mentions his own book, "The Writer's Journey" and refers to it as "an attempt to 'translate' Campbell's academic theories into a practical guidebook". He then talks about meeting Hiltunen and this is where it becomes very clear that Hiltunen took a great deal of inspiration from Vogler, even though "he had ideas of his own" and based his book on Aristotle's "Poetics".

   Hiltunen makes a good point out of something that I realised myself while reading Vogler's work, which is that European films transitioned into an art form instead of becoming internationally acclaimed blockbusters, due to not following the established rules and structure used in Hollywood.

   Looking at how other cultures may perceive the elements of a hero's journey, I found that according to T.R. Fehrenbach, the Amerindians saw "very little honour" in death, however heroic. The sacrifice of an expendable friend or martyrdom would have a different impact on them as the audience. On the opposite end we have feudal Japan and the practice of Seppuku, the samurai ritual of committing suicide with the purpose of restoring lost honour. "Defeated or dishonored samurai who chose surrender rather than suicide often found themselves reviled by society."

References:

Fehrenbach, T.R. (2011) Comanches: The history of a people. Available at: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=J5P5HNNUuvUC&q=honor#v=snippet&q=honor&f=false (Accessed: 5 February 2017).

(No Date) Available at: http://www.cgjungpage.org/learn/articles/analytical-psychology/89-jung-and-philosophy (Accessed: 4 February 2017).

Hiltunen, A. and Hiltinen, A. (2001) Aristotle in Hollywood: The anatomy of successful storytelling. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books.

Luomala, K. and Campbell, J. (1950) ‘The hero with a Thousand faces’, The Journal of American Folklore, 63(247), p. 121. doi: 10.2307/537371.

MartiniF (2016) The honorable death: Samurai and suicide in feudal Japan. Available at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/honorable-death-samurai-and-suicide-feudal-japan-005822 (Accessed: 5 February 2017).

"The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler - research pt.1

My notes from the chapters "The road back" and "Resurrection"

"The road back" covers:
Motivation - the reason why the road back exists in the first place
Retaliation - the villain's one last strike
Chase scenes - the hero/villain chasing the other one last time
Magic flight - where the hero abandons the fight in order to regroup
Villain escape - because of various reasons the villain manages to escape
Setbacks - something unexpected happens that makes the audience doubt the hero's success

"Resurrection" covers:
A New Personality
Cleansing
Two Great Ordeals
The Active Hero
Showdowns
Death and Rebirth of Tragic Heroes
Choice
Climax
Catharsis
Character Arch
Last Chance
Proof
Sacrifice
Incorporation
Change

   In the introduction of the book, Vogler acknowledges the artistry of films that go against the structure he lays down, pointing out that as a downside it would limit the audience. He mentions that "The Writer's Journey" is meant to be used as reference, as guideline, not as an actual formula and that using it as a rigid formula would make projects predictable, therefore boring. In order to keep the plot interesting he suggests adding a fresh view on familiar places which reminded me of how the play writer William Shakespeare was presented in the comic novel "The Sandman". Here (← Click) is a deconstruction of the twist Neil Gaiman put on the story of Shakespeare's genius.

   When I think about effective presentations, TED talks come to mind. Naturally, that was the first place I looked at for additional information on the subject of storytelling in movies in order to create a context for Christopher Vogler's book.

Below: Andrew Stanton: The clues to a great story
https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story

   While Stanton doesn't talk about the general structure of a plot, he highlights a few important points from films he worked on, that he believes to have contributed to their success. As key elements he mentions the importance of dynamic action, character development and giving clues to the audience in order to peak their interest and arouse curiosity.

   While looking at classical examples of a hero's road back, I remembered reading a great book that did not have that at all. "The Double" by Jose Saramago was a captivating piece of writing that had its protagonist stay in the special world and ultimately become that special world for another character. This shows that it is possible to create a compelling plot outside of the standard structure.
 
   Something that Vogler does not talk about is the importance of the medium used to present different stories. Various mediums appeals to various people and in recent years the gaming industry has been slowly growing into one of the most popular ways of conveying stories. Here (←Click) is an article presenting the power of storytelling through games. I feel it is important in this context to also mention the company Telltale which has produced extraordinarily captivating plots for their products.

References:

Gaiman, N. (2010) The Sandman volume 3: Dream country. New York: Vertico/DC Comics.

Shakespeare in The Sandman: Two Worlds Colliding (2010) Available at: http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/7539.pdf (Accessed: 4 February 2017).

Saramago, J., Portuguese, the and Costa, M.J. (2005) The double. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Stanton, A. (2012) The clues to a great story. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story#t-803940 (Accessed: 7 February 2017).