After different groups in class presented their proposal for the Program in front of the lecturers and Headmaster, it was concluded that the chosen set design would be that of a particular group. My team and the team with the chosen design, both had a similar idea to what we would like the set to look like. So thankfully everybody had a similar vision.
The idea when combined was to have a cinema inspired set which includes the red curtains, an audience and dim lighting in the background. Although it looks wonderful when imagined in one's mind, one needs to consider the space in which we need to work in at the studio, what we can and cannot do and of course most importantly the budget and time needed to create this set before designing it.
After having discussed this with my father who is an interior designer to find out what he thinks about the set, we found that a few problems have been introduced unexpectedly in order to create this set.
Let's start with...
1. The Red Curtain!
- The red curtain alone needs to be 10M long. To create those curtain curves just like the ones you find in a theater, one needs to calculate twice as much for material. Therefor, 20M of textiles would be needed in the end...
- The curtain also needs curtain tape at the back, which is rather expensive for the amount of textiles we would need (20M tape for a 20M curtain)
- This curtain also needs to be preferably set in a curved shape as in a particular corner, one can find a door.. which throughout the day, needs to be opened and closed in order for other students to enter the room when our part of the studio is not in use.
- Also, it would have been great if the curtains would open up to reveal the screen and close again... but the problem with this is that one needs to buy a track just for the curved curtain... That is very expensive. Figuring out where to apply this track to the ceiling would also be a huge concern. Preferably, to avoid any more problems, one needs to consider a curtain which is still throughout.
2. The Projector
- Another issue is the projector idea...
- Being a studio divided into 2... Lights would most probably be closer to the set. Causing the projector to definitely not be that clear when projected to the wall behind the red curtain. Think of the time when you're sitting in the cinema, waiting for the movie to begin and even though the dim lights are on at the cinema, the screen showing advertisements is very light in colour...So it needs to be pitch black.
- In case the projector is not successful, one can maybe think about a sponsor for the biggest flat screen TV available out there. To my knowledge the biggest is a 52 inch screen (incl. outside border). A big one would be ideal, as a 10M wall with a small flat screen would look ridiculous.. and it would be better of without it.
- The flat screen would be by the wall .. either fixed or on a stand. The red curtain would be by its sides, leaving the screen completely showing. The stand of the TV and the wall behind the TV can be covered using painted plywood. The plywood needs to be cut in exact for the TV screen to fit through well. (Covering the TV border makes it appear less like a television and more like just a screen.. making it more pleasing to the eye)
- The flat screen idea though, causes some more problems as in order for the TV to fit behind the curtains, the curtains cannot be attached to the wall..therefor, we need to create some sort of flat metal rod which would be able to hold the curtains stiff and well in place from the back as the curtains of course need to be attached to somewhere.
3. The Bean Bags
- If one considers buying bean bags, it always costs around 60 Euros.. this is because not only is the material expensive, but also, the beans come at a large price... As one needs a lot of beads for just one bean bag.. Let alone 5 or more..
- Although we considered making them ourselves, instead of purchasing them (which would already lower the price), maybe big cushions would be a reasonable replacement. Or cheap small wooden stools (found at an iron monger) with a cushion on top, can be another alternative!
On the other hand, here's some good news...
- The two wooden platforms needed for our guests, are already available and maybe need a bit of reshaping. But the material is already available, which is great as we are re using objects which are not in use.
Also, me and my team mate came up with a cheap and effective idea for the platforms which can create a great effect and comes also at a very cheap price! It would be effective if we bought blue Rope Lights which come by the meter, which we can place around the platforms at the bottom, creating that blue neon colour we find by the stairs in the cinema. Not only does blue contrast really nicely with the red curtain, but it also makes certain parts of the set stand out.
Next up, we are waiting to discuss this with our lecturer and see what he thinks about all of this. Being very busy with other assignments and units, we were considering making good use of the green screen. Not only would it make everything much more cheaper, but also easier for everybody.
A discussion is now set to be held in class this coming week to discuss these issues and come up with other easier solutions.
