WEEK 1:
During this week all of us looked at different
styles and techniques on how we can modernise our Shakespeare pieces. Such as
Language, Setting, and Theme. These 3 things are key to what we are doing in
this unit. Also because we’re all being filmed we don’t have to be big with our
characters, go dramatic and having to project too much the miniature condenser microphone will be with us on the set the whole time because the storyline has to be exactly the same as
the original text of Shakespeare’s classical plays but it has to be set in this
present day 2013 and truthful. Here are things we had to think about…….......
1) Who is your character? (In this present day)
2) Where does he/she live?
3) What is their occupation?
And so on……….,
these are the type of things we had to think about for our characters.
Monday 4th November: DRAMA WITH YUSUF
In Yusuf's lesson this week we were looking at ways on how we can modernise our Shakespeare scenes but we were mainly focusing on the languages. With the languages we can change it up a bit if we were to speak as how we usually speak today (E.G Slang/Ghetto) we have to make sure that it makes sense and it is understandable to the audience. If you start using modernised versions from spark notes it would spoil the essence of your character and the scene because with the modernised versions on Spark Notes, they are all too basic and structured and more clearer which is only used for classical versions of Shakespeare's plays. The Modernised versions from Spark Notes can be used but only to guide us so we can get some ideas on how we are going to tweak the script a bit.
The main thing we looked at today in Yusuf's lesson was Hip Hop in Shakespeare or Shakespeare is Hip Hop, how they differ from each other and the similarities. We watched 2 clips on YouTube called The Hip-Hop of Shakespeare hosted by American Rapper MC Lars and The Hip- Hop Shakespeare Company hosted by Akala.
Hip Hop music and Shakespeare's theatre both..........
1.Represent energetic and creative forms of expression.
2.They are both full of poetry, word play and lyricism
3.They both deal with what is to be human and issues from peoples lives
Hip-Hop is all about the rhythmic tension of words. Another way how Hip-Hop and Shakespeare are related is that hip-hop is a culture remixing the past when another person who was famous for remixing the past is again 'Shakespeare' himself who would take old stories and recreate them for the popular culture of Elizabethan England and one of his most famous plays, Hamlet written in 1600, was actually based on an old Danish play called Amleth from 1185.
When you look at Hamlet you can see three elements of Shakespearean tragedy that apply to other cultures outside of Hip-Hop. E.G. the feud between 2Pac & Biggie
During the feud between 2Pac and Biggie, 2Pac had sold millions of records and was holding it down for the west coast in the 90's. He got love and gained a lot fame and recognition. The only thing that brought him down was his tragic flaw and that was his anger. His single ''Hit Em Up'' was a vitriolic against Biggie and his whole crew that led to a bad animosity (strong hostility). The third thing, the third element in a Shakespearean tragedy is a series of unfortunate events. In the story of Biggie and 2Pac, the media and the record labels really helped cause the east coast west coast feud and it ended in tragic death of these two rappers in their twenties.
Tuesday 5th November:
Gary helped us prepare before we presented our ideas on how we are going to modernise our
Shakespeare pieces............. before Yusuf's lesson
In this lesson all of us had to get with our partners and present (Pitching) our 3 ideas on how we could modernise our Shakespeare pieces. Also we were being assessed and filmed on this. Me and Prince came up with 3 different ideas................
1. Setting: In a house/pub, two workers (Macbeth & Macduff) who come and want to kill each other but without each other knowing who's going to get killed first-similar to what we see in the thriller films when the hero/detective or FBI secretly wants to kill the criminal. What I suggested is that rather than Macbeth & Macduff being two workers, Macbeth could be a criminal and Macduff could be a lawyer who meets his old enemy and seeks for revenge but Macduff has to be smart about it. Instead of this just being a physical fight scene, using our fists and maintaining energy. We've decided to tone it down, not go physical with this and not use our voices to much (Not having to project too much and be bold). What me & Prince have decided to do is to bring guns into this, at the start when Prince says his small dialogue ''Why should I play the Roman fool, and die.......'' as he delivers this line he can be having a glass of wine/beer thinking to himself about the bad things he has done and what he regrets doing. Also there should be a medium shot on Prince while he's saying his lines which can make this more effective so I could be seen in the background not clear but it will be blurry. After Prince deliverers his lines I come straight in with my line, and as I say my line '' Turn,hell-hound, turn!'' vocal wise I can say it in a dark and whisperery way which could build a suspense that will keep audience thinking in their heads ''What is he going to do to him, what's going happen to both of them? and so on '' because it is unexpected and I have just shocked everyone. Also I want to keep this truthful and as real as possible, things which happen today in our modern society. As this scene goes on both of us could be sat at a table and have both our guns underneath the table with the camera filming it underneath as well. Towards the end of our scene having the camera filming us holding the guns would create an image which would represent the eager, audacity and intensity with me & Prince wanting to kill each other because we don't know that we have a weapon each. Also at the end of our scene after Prince says his last line '' And damn'd be him that first cries, Hold enough'' he tries to shoot at me under the table and realises that he has no bullets. After 4 attempts I do a little snigger and say my last line ''I Banish Thee To Hell'', there should be close-up when I say this line as well which could make this more effective At this point I bring my gun out and aim at his head-with no gun sound or any sound at all what so ever, with this the camera would just have an extreme close up of just the gun. From there we would end it. This would keep the audience wanting to see more and have them saying ''Argrrrghhh!! what happens next''. Again similar to what we see in crime, drama and thriller films when we as the audience want to see more of the action. We are still following the story to the original text.
2. Setting: In a pub, playing chess for 3-4hrs. with integrity. Since we are all setting this in present day, me & Prince have changed the names of Macbeth & Macduff to Mac and M.D. and we have decided to make them teenagers as well as adults. Something around our cast-ability playing age. Again we still keeping the same story as the classical text. Mac & M.D. are too sixth formers who are quite close but when they're playing chess that is when they are enemies and hate each other real bad when it comes to this game. Mac (Macbeth) wants to win so badly sine it has been 7 years and not once he has beaten M.D. (Macduff). Alot ofthe action takes place in the board. Instead of me killing Prince physically, in the chess game I kill his King and it will all end by me saying Checkmate and Prince would get annoyed and knock the board over.
3. Setting: In a Prison cell. With this we want to get everyone involved in the scene as prisoners a fight breaks out between Mac (Macbeth) and another prisoner, in the background I want to have everyone cheering it on and have a police break it up and sends Mac back to his cell. Later me as M.D. a policeman comes to Mac's cell, lets his prison mate free- locks the cell and shoots him dead, and gets his justice since Mac has killed a very close friend M.D. which had affected him for years.
Alex & Yusuf liked those ideas but what Alext thought would be better, if the whole class get involved and set it outside in the sports ground basketball court and have teams play against each other, with that same integrity as the original text but modernised. I really like that idea but I prefer the chess idea more because it creates more of an effect, me & Prince don't have to move about or do anything physical and it is understandable to the audience and creates an image. Since the whole class including Prince thought that basketball idea was a better solution, I have to put up with that.
Wednesday 6th November (FILM APPRECIATION)
Throughout Alex's lessons we watched ''The Shining''
I enjoyed the film, even though I was freaked out but I was mainly focusing on is the effects of the film, the dialogues and Jack Nicholson's thought process throughout. I think that the woman that played Wendy Torrance did alright but because Jack Nicholson was considered as one of the great actors it was hard for her to feed of him because she was put up against a more experienced actor. Overall I still think she did ok. Another thing I liked about this film is the way how the dark/creepy sounds kept playing and the times and days popping up E.G.-Wednesday, Thursday, Four months later, 4:00pm.....'' again this kept me thinking if someone going to get killed or something?. To be honest when you expect the normal things to happen as you see in a horror movie when there is a group of people and you have that thought in your head ''Yep, you're gonna get killed, he will survive and so on.........'' half the time during the film I was thinking what the hell is going on and because I'm not familiar with the director's narrative style I was completely lost. Before Alex even put the film on I realised is that there is no way within the film, to be sure with any confidence exactly of what happens or precisely how or really why. The director delivers this uncertainty in a film where the actors themselves vibrate with unease.
Overall I still enjoyed the film and hopefully I would get to watch it again sometime soon :), Out of 10 I would give it an 8.
Friday 8th November
During Alex's lesson we had Jack (Technician) introduce us to TV & Film and talk to us about this, what it's like in the TV & Film industry and how it works.
In this lesson all of us had to get into pairs and we were given a little dialogue scene called ''The Way I What?'' with two characters a boy & girl, Her & He. Since there wasn't enough girls (Not all the girls were in) some of the boys had to work with each other. My partner was Shabill, whilst people were going over this scene both of us tried it in different ways so we could see which ones work better. Here's the scene..............
HER: Hi
HIM: Coffee
HER: Hmm
HIM: What is it?
HER: Nothing, It's the way you.......
HIM: The way I what?
HER: Have you got to go to work or something ?
HIM: I was going to stay here.
HER: Hmm
HIM: The way I what?
All of us were allowed to do anything with this scene but as long as it was truthful and we stuck to the script then we were fine. Before I found it confusing because I was reading 'Her' bit I had no idea on how I was going to portray this character. Instead of me just sticking to the script all the time me & Shabill decided to play these characters as our selves and add a little bit of comedy into it. Later each pair had to get up and perform their piece in front of camera.
Here's a few pics of everybody performing their pieces.......
This week has been great & productive :D!!
Monday 4th November: DRAMA WITH YUSUF
In Yusuf's lesson this week we were looking at ways on how we can modernise our Shakespeare scenes but we were mainly focusing on the languages. With the languages we can change it up a bit if we were to speak as how we usually speak today (E.G Slang/Ghetto) we have to make sure that it makes sense and it is understandable to the audience. If you start using modernised versions from spark notes it would spoil the essence of your character and the scene because with the modernised versions on Spark Notes, they are all too basic and structured and more clearer which is only used for classical versions of Shakespeare's plays. The Modernised versions from Spark Notes can be used but only to guide us so we can get some ideas on how we are going to tweak the script a bit.
The main thing we looked at today in Yusuf's lesson was Hip Hop in Shakespeare or Shakespeare is Hip Hop, how they differ from each other and the similarities. We watched 2 clips on YouTube called The Hip-Hop of Shakespeare hosted by American Rapper MC Lars and The Hip- Hop Shakespeare Company hosted by Akala.
Hip Hop music and Shakespeare's theatre both..........
1.Represent energetic and creative forms of expression.
2.They are both full of poetry, word play and lyricism
3.They both deal with what is to be human and issues from peoples lives
Hip-Hop is all about the rhythmic tension of words. Another way how Hip-Hop and Shakespeare are related is that hip-hop is a culture remixing the past when another person who was famous for remixing the past is again 'Shakespeare' himself who would take old stories and recreate them for the popular culture of Elizabethan England and one of his most famous plays, Hamlet written in 1600, was actually based on an old Danish play called Amleth from 1185.
When you look at Hamlet you can see three elements of Shakespearean tragedy that apply to other cultures outside of Hip-Hop. E.G. the feud between 2Pac & Biggie
During the feud between 2Pac and Biggie, 2Pac had sold millions of records and was holding it down for the west coast in the 90's. He got love and gained a lot fame and recognition. The only thing that brought him down was his tragic flaw and that was his anger. His single ''Hit Em Up'' was a vitriolic against Biggie and his whole crew that led to a bad animosity (strong hostility). The third thing, the third element in a Shakespearean tragedy is a series of unfortunate events. In the story of Biggie and 2Pac, the media and the record labels really helped cause the east coast west coast feud and it ended in tragic death of these two rappers in their twenties.
Tuesday 5th November:
Gary helped us prepare before we presented our ideas on how we are going to modernise our
Shakespeare pieces............. before Yusuf's lesson
1. Setting: In a house/pub, two workers (Macbeth & Macduff) who come and want to kill each other but without each other knowing who's going to get killed first-similar to what we see in the thriller films when the hero/detective or FBI secretly wants to kill the criminal. What I suggested is that rather than Macbeth & Macduff being two workers, Macbeth could be a criminal and Macduff could be a lawyer who meets his old enemy and seeks for revenge but Macduff has to be smart about it. Instead of this just being a physical fight scene, using our fists and maintaining energy. We've decided to tone it down, not go physical with this and not use our voices to much (Not having to project too much and be bold). What me & Prince have decided to do is to bring guns into this, at the start when Prince says his small dialogue ''Why should I play the Roman fool, and die.......'' as he delivers this line he can be having a glass of wine/beer thinking to himself about the bad things he has done and what he regrets doing. Also there should be a medium shot on Prince while he's saying his lines which can make this more effective so I could be seen in the background not clear but it will be blurry. After Prince deliverers his lines I come straight in with my line, and as I say my line '' Turn,hell-hound, turn!'' vocal wise I can say it in a dark and whisperery way which could build a suspense that will keep audience thinking in their heads ''What is he going to do to him, what's going happen to both of them? and so on '' because it is unexpected and I have just shocked everyone. Also I want to keep this truthful and as real as possible, things which happen today in our modern society. As this scene goes on both of us could be sat at a table and have both our guns underneath the table with the camera filming it underneath as well. Towards the end of our scene having the camera filming us holding the guns would create an image which would represent the eager, audacity and intensity with me & Prince wanting to kill each other because we don't know that we have a weapon each. Also at the end of our scene after Prince says his last line '' And damn'd be him that first cries, Hold enough'' he tries to shoot at me under the table and realises that he has no bullets. After 4 attempts I do a little snigger and say my last line ''I Banish Thee To Hell'', there should be close-up when I say this line as well which could make this more effective At this point I bring my gun out and aim at his head-with no gun sound or any sound at all what so ever, with this the camera would just have an extreme close up of just the gun. From there we would end it. This would keep the audience wanting to see more and have them saying ''Argrrrghhh!! what happens next''. Again similar to what we see in crime, drama and thriller films when we as the audience want to see more of the action. We are still following the story to the original text.
2. Setting: In a pub, playing chess for 3-4hrs. with integrity. Since we are all setting this in present day, me & Prince have changed the names of Macbeth & Macduff to Mac and M.D. and we have decided to make them teenagers as well as adults. Something around our cast-ability playing age. Again we still keeping the same story as the classical text. Mac & M.D. are too sixth formers who are quite close but when they're playing chess that is when they are enemies and hate each other real bad when it comes to this game. Mac (Macbeth) wants to win so badly sine it has been 7 years and not once he has beaten M.D. (Macduff). Alot ofthe action takes place in the board. Instead of me killing Prince physically, in the chess game I kill his King and it will all end by me saying Checkmate and Prince would get annoyed and knock the board over.
3. Setting: In a Prison cell. With this we want to get everyone involved in the scene as prisoners a fight breaks out between Mac (Macbeth) and another prisoner, in the background I want to have everyone cheering it on and have a police break it up and sends Mac back to his cell. Later me as M.D. a policeman comes to Mac's cell, lets his prison mate free- locks the cell and shoots him dead, and gets his justice since Mac has killed a very close friend M.D. which had affected him for years.
Alex & Yusuf liked those ideas but what Alext thought would be better, if the whole class get involved and set it outside in the sports ground basketball court and have teams play against each other, with that same integrity as the original text but modernised. I really like that idea but I prefer the chess idea more because it creates more of an effect, me & Prince don't have to move about or do anything physical and it is understandable to the audience and creates an image. Since the whole class including Prince thought that basketball idea was a better solution, I have to put up with that.
Wednesday 6th November (FILM APPRECIATION)
Throughout Alex's lessons we watched ''The Shining''
I enjoyed the film, even though I was freaked out but I was mainly focusing on is the effects of the film, the dialogues and Jack Nicholson's thought process throughout. I think that the woman that played Wendy Torrance did alright but because Jack Nicholson was considered as one of the great actors it was hard for her to feed of him because she was put up against a more experienced actor. Overall I still think she did ok. Another thing I liked about this film is the way how the dark/creepy sounds kept playing and the times and days popping up E.G.-Wednesday, Thursday, Four months later, 4:00pm.....'' again this kept me thinking if someone going to get killed or something?. To be honest when you expect the normal things to happen as you see in a horror movie when there is a group of people and you have that thought in your head ''Yep, you're gonna get killed, he will survive and so on.........'' half the time during the film I was thinking what the hell is going on and because I'm not familiar with the director's narrative style I was completely lost. Before Alex even put the film on I realised is that there is no way within the film, to be sure with any confidence exactly of what happens or precisely how or really why. The director delivers this uncertainty in a film where the actors themselves vibrate with unease.
Overall I still enjoyed the film and hopefully I would get to watch it again sometime soon :), Out of 10 I would give it an 8.
Friday 8th November
During Alex's lesson we had Jack (Technician) introduce us to TV & Film and talk to us about this, what it's like in the TV & Film industry and how it works.
In this lesson all of us had to get into pairs and we were given a little dialogue scene called ''The Way I What?'' with two characters a boy & girl, Her & He. Since there wasn't enough girls (Not all the girls were in) some of the boys had to work with each other. My partner was Shabill, whilst people were going over this scene both of us tried it in different ways so we could see which ones work better. Here's the scene..............
HER: Hi
HIM: Coffee
HER: Hmm
HIM: What is it?
HER: Nothing, It's the way you.......
HIM: The way I what?
HER: Have you got to go to work or something ?
HIM: I was going to stay here.
HER: Hmm
HIM: The way I what?
All of us were allowed to do anything with this scene but as long as it was truthful and we stuck to the script then we were fine. Before I found it confusing because I was reading 'Her' bit I had no idea on how I was going to portray this character. Instead of me just sticking to the script all the time me & Shabill decided to play these characters as our selves and add a little bit of comedy into it. Later each pair had to get up and perform their piece in front of camera.
Here's a few pics of everybody performing their pieces.......
This week has been great & productive :D!!
No comments:
Post a Comment