Through the Looking Glass: Winter 2012

So, reflecting on the learning outcomes for the class for the semester. This has been such a wonderful class and fun experience for me! And now to discuss how I performed overall.

Star-Crossed Storyboard!

Alright, so here's what I came up with for the storyboard video... hopefully it works... If we need to tweak anything, we can!

As for the Concept Art, I'm still working on that... I will post that video asap, but I figured this one was most important.

Final Character Designs.. Colored!

Characters: Star-Crossed

The order is: Titania, Oberon, Ortegia, Puck... in case you couldn't tell. Sorry Ortegia is so hard to see, I'm not sure why that is...

Star-Crossed Storyboard Sample

Alright, storyboard sample!

Love Labour's Lost & An Adventure

(So, I realized this saved as a draft rather than posting online but it was written last week. Oops.)


So, I had an interesting experience tonight. I wanted to post a little bit about Love Labour's Lost, but before I do that, I also want to mention why I missed class this week. I had a very strange experience that almost is surreal. I went to leave my apartment to head up to campus, and upon exiting, I reached the staircase that leads from my second floor apartment. And guess what I found? The bottom half of the staircase had been removed! I couldn't help but laugh a little in pure awe and confusion. Apparently the staircase had no longer been up to standards, and so the complex had sent people to remove/ replace the stairs. But they didn't bother to tell anyone, and, it just happened to be perfect timing for when I should be leaving. So, I was trapped by the five+ feet drop where the stairs had previously been, and the massive tools and sharp objects/ chunks of cement that were around the workers' feet. It almost felt like a joke, and I didn't even really know how to use that as an excuse for missing class. But there you go. Haha

Potential Characters for "Star-Crossed"

Puck: A underlying fairy, who is a good apprentice/servant. Before the play, he sees and falls for (Reiza), who is human and royalty. He is smitten with her and plagued by unrequited love. He accepts the offer from Oberon to become an apprentice. He is fascinated with magic, and is eager to learn. As a result of being tricked by Oberon, he loses his memory of the girl he loves and becomes Oberon's personal servant.

Oberon: Another Plot Point

So, after class I started doing some research on the character of Oberon and how he is referenced in other things, I found something interesting that I thought would go well with our plot so far. There was an opera written in the 1820's, entitled "Oberon", which was actually also based on a German poem with the same title. Anyway, this 3-act opera is essentially Oberon has been fighting with Titania, and he has promised not to be reconciled with her until he finds two human lovers who have remained faithful despite all other troubles and temptations. Through a series of events, he hears about a knight and a princess who are going to be wed. (Actually after the knight kills the guy the princess is betrothed to, but that is off-topic.) Oberon decides that he is going to use them as a way to fix his problems with his wife, since he now regrets what he has agreed to. So, he agrees to help this couple and sends the knight with a horn that will summon him if he should need his help. A bunch of other things happen, and if you want to read the full article it's here (yes, it's on wikipedia... I know) :

Puck/Oberon

**PLEASE REFER TO PREVIOUS POST**

I noticed on Andrew's blog there was some reference to the fact that people wanted to stick with the mischievous version we know him as. In my story idea, I think I steered away from that a bit, but I do like the idea. I see him more as a Flynn Rider sort of character, however. Not really someone who is openly evil, but who likes to experience new things and is willing to take risks. Maybe we could have him learned that a bit from Oberon, who is definitely willing to use his magic to get his way. Perhaps Oberon convinces Puck that whatever the valuable object is that he wants is rightfully Oberon's, and that is why Puck agrees to it. He doesn't realize that he is stealing from the Emperor/King, and that Oberon is actually the fairy king merely trying to take what he wants without having to put himself in harm's way.

Storytime! *Final Project Story Idea*

Alright, so I've been doing a lot of reading of the ideas that others have posted for a story for the final project. I must say, I really enjoyed them. I liked where they were going with them. They definitely got my juices flowing, and I got some ideas of my own. Granted, I took bits and pieces of what others have written about and sortof compiled them into what I thought would be a fun interpretation and how it all fits together. So here it goes!

METAMORPHOSIS: Transformation in King Lear

One of the greatest aspects of King Lear, to me, is the gradual change we see in Lear himself throughout the course of the play. I have been doing a lot of thinking about Lear's character, probably because I can relate to him in some ways, especially right now in my life. While I was thinking about that, I was reflecting again on my post about Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I am a huge movie score fan, and the score to this film in particular. The song that plays during the scene I posted and just after, to me, perfectly describes King Lear. Here it is:

As I Imagined It: Part 2

So, I continued on with the character design for more of the characters. This first one is Duke Frederick, the father of Celia and usurper of his brother's (Duke Senior) throne. He is a pretty evil guy for most of the play, with a violent temperament and an angry disposition. He banishes his own brother and niece (Rosalind) from the kingdom. Later, however, after he launches an army to find his brother, he meets a religious man in the forest and immediately changes his ways. For the design, though, I wanted to depict him as a villain... they are more fun to draw. :)

Duke Senior, Frederick's brother and Rosalind's father, is quite the opposite. His rightful throne is usurped by his brother, and yet he does not put up much of a fight. He is exiled to the forest, with a few loyal men, and yet he is content. He makes the most of everything life gives him. I really liked that about his character, so I wanted him to have the appearance of a happy, contended man. One of those really optimistic people you wish you could be like.

Jaques is one of Duke Senior's loyal companions who goes with him to the forest. He is a very submissive and introverted person, who doesn't seem to ever fully participate in anything. His more of the type to watch than to join in. In the end, when Duke Senior and the others return to court, he stays behind to live a life of contemplation and joins a monastery. I wanted his character to appear very serious like he is.

Touchstone is a clown/jester who accompanies Celia and Rosalind on their journey. He's a bit of a weird character... most of what he says is pretty full of innuendo. And he doesn't seem to have quite the quick wit that Rosalind has. However, I wanted to portray him more as just a comic relief... something endearingly whimsical. Even though that's not exactly how Shakespeare has written him, I think that is how I would portray him in an animated film. Just the quirky, funny, clumsy sidekick.




So, there's the rest! Unless I decide to go add a few others later. There ya go!

As I Imagined It

So, I decided that  I thought it would be really interesting to design how I think the characters in As You Like It would look if they were animated. So, naturally, I started with Rosalind. I wanted her to have a spunky, sortof tough feel while still being beautiful and genuine. After several designs, this is the one so far that I liked best:

I wanted the big eyes to give the sweet, cartoony feel, but the rest of her to give the "heroine" personality that she is so known for in the play. She is independent, adventurous, strong-willed, clever and kind. I wanted to wrap all of her personality as best as I could. She needed to have the feel that she could be brave and tough, (especially considering she dresses and acts like a boy for the majority of the play) but also be beautiful and good-hearted. I feel like this design came closest to what I had in mind, making her feel feminine and yet like a heroin. 

Next, I designed Orlando, Rosalind's lover. He is the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Bois, and has lived his life without the education or training he should have. Still, he is attractive and sees everything positively, including himself despite all he has missed out on. He is kind and heroic, as he later saves his brother (who is the reason he received no education) from a lioness, proving him to be good-natured. He doesn't seem quite the match for Rosalind's wit or intelligence, but he definitely is a good match for her. So I wanted to make him look the sensitive, caring, but strong guy that he is: Rosalind's opposite.

Next, I wanted to create Celia, Rosalind's cousin and loyal best friend. She is defined by her sweetness and loyalty. She follows Rosalind into exile and is completely devoted to her. When she eventually meets Oliver, she becomes utterly devoted to him as well. Her personality is one of love and sincerity, and almost overbearingly so. She has deeply rooted emotions which drive her. I wanted to convey this sweet, intuitive girl who relies so heavily on what she feels, and this is what I came up with.

Oliver is next. He is the lover of Celia, and Orlando's elder brother. He is something of a villain, it would seem at first. He denies his brother the education and luxuries of a nobleman. He even admits that he hates Orlando for no real reason. He goes to great lengths to put give his brother grief and ensure his downfall. Later, however, he gets lost in the forest and is miserable after being employed to find his missing brother. While there, he is attacked by a lion, and is saved by Orlando. This act changes Oliver's entire outlook, and he becomes a loving and better person. He falls for Celia as well, which is saying something about his change too because at the time he believes her only to be a shepherdess.









Alright, so I'm going to finish a few more designs of main characters and post them in another post, but I wanted to get these up!

Life is an Occasion

I went home this weekend, and my family watched Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. I had just finished reading King Lear and it was fresh in my mind. During the scene when Mr. Magorium is speaking to Mahoney, declaring that he is going to "depart", and pass away, he refers to King Lear. Here is the scene:

As You Like It: Rosalind

The character of Rosalind in Shakespeare's As you Like It is definitely a character which is unlike most which I have studied throughout my experience with Shakespeare. She basically dominates the play, with the way Shakespeare has written her to such an extent. She is so complex and rich in her personality. She is well-rounded and identifiable to most everyone. 

Telling a Story: Final Project Ideas

So, for the final project I had a few ideas about how it would be really cool to do a "film pitch" of sorts. There is so much that could be invested in this, that would make it really awesome and fun for a group project. Of course, we'd probably have to stray a bit from the traditional sense of film pitching since that consists of many different types of pitches which take place as a writer and others present their ideas to producers. Still, we can use the essentials - presenting our ideas as if we want to convince someone to consider our film for production.

AT LAST!!!

I finally put up the background that I wanted! I have finally created the blog I envisioned since the semester started, and I must say, I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Thanks to the help of my brother and his extensive knowledge of web design and HTML formatting, I know have a customized, amazing-looking blog which makes me super excited. I felt like maybe I would post a bit about this background and the process behind it, and why I chose to make my blog look this way.

Learning Outcomes

1. Gain Shakespeare Literacy

I think I have done well in this aspect. I am taking the time to study the plays and think about them a lot, and I really enjoy the conversations we have in class about them. I feel like there is always something more to learn for me about Shakespeare. There is always something brought up that I hadn't thought of before. Hopefully this is something I can have with me my whole life, to be able to understand Shakespeare and his works and to be able to talk about them with other people.

Remember Who You Are

Okay, I must be honest. I have definitely been looking forward to this post for a while. For two reasons:

1) Hamlet is probably my favorite, if not one of my favorite, Shakespeare plays. and
2) I have been DYING to make the comparison between two things that I love: Shakespeare's Hamlet & Disney's The Lion King.

The "Play" Is the Thing: Merchant of Venice for Kids

The play we saw on Saturday was definitely an awesome experience. It was really interesting to see how the Young Company tailored the Merchant of Venice for a young audience, and made it "kid-friendly". All the bright costumes and fun props which the kids got to take part in made it entertaining to witness. I loved the little boy who played Bassonio's friend. Although he didn't actually have any lines, he was so into what he was doing. His facial expressions went perfectly with how the character would react to Bassonio. It was adorable!