Thursday, 26 February 2015

Professional Studies - Dolls Houses and the history behind them:

History of Dolls Houses:
Dolls houses date as far back as the sixteenth century and they were more replicas of family homes rather than for toy and playful purposes. Women in Holland and Germany would have created these type of houses as a mean of fashion and decor. The best examples of these houses first started with dolls houses that were called 'doll cabinets', this being where the inside of a cabinet was used to created the home for dolls.

Dolls houses didn't become hugely popular until the the Victorian era of the late 1800s, where the children of a Victorian family would often play with a dolls house in the nursery.

The 1920s saw a project being formed to create the 'ultimate' dolls house. To make this house it took on a work-load of 1,500 tradesmen, artists and authors and it was finally completed in early 1924 and was exhibited at the British Empire Exhibition due to popular acclaim.

Many of these projects carried on right through the 20th century and particularly in the 1970s and 1980s, in which West Wood House was created by David West which was built so large that he got stuck inside for half an hour.

http://www.dollshouseparade.net/history.html

The Dolls House Emporium:

The Dolls House Emporium was founded in 1979 by the current chairman and director, a lady called, Jackie Lee, and her then husband, Adam Purser. It is the home of miniature collectables and 1:12th scale dolls-house models.


Based in the UK, it operates a 65000 square foot premises, it has two shops aswell as having four hundred resellers across the globe. Due to the iconic status of the emporium; film and television companies have regularly used the products of the emporium in their work.


Dolls House Emporium (United Kingdom)
Barnack House
Southgate Way
Peterbrough
PE2 6GP

Tel: 01332 912989
Email: support@dollshouse.com

An example of this is 'Montgomery Hall' was used as a prop in Upstairs Downstairs on the BBC in 2012.

(The cast of the 2012 BBC Upstairs, Downstairs)

Since it was founded, The Dolls House Emporium has sold over thirty dolls-houses and twenty-five hundred items that would decorate and illuminate the miniature homes.
We have specialised in producing fine quality dolls' house furniture for over 30 years, and each piece is sanded and lacquered many times by hand giving a first-class finish. All of our products carry our name and logo as your guarantee of our superb quality.


Montgomery Hall in particular has been used in quite a few modern films, such as Gulliver's Travels starring Jack Black.
The miniatures we supply are perfect 1:12th scale replicas of the real thing and, when viewed in a miniature room set, can easily be mistaken for full-sized items. This made them ideal props for the new Gulliver's Travels film
Jackie Lee has said what she thinks of her products being used in films by saying:

"Although our core market will remain the young and the young-at-heart dolls’ house enthusiast, it is fabulous to see the film, TV and theatre industries thinking creatively and using our products in new and innovative ways. We will continue to provide our products as props and hopefully you will see more of The Dolls House Emporium on the silver screen!”


The company supplies over 30 precision-made house kits and over 2,500 related accessories, which it promotes through its free 220-page catalogue.


FILM - A Dolls House, 1973:

(Claire Bloom and Anthony Hopkins)
Creation with Montgomery Hall

The film, set in the mid-1800s, is based on the book Annie's Box by Charles Darwin's great-great grandson Randal Keynes, that follows the lives of Charles Darwin and his family as he completes his book "On the Origin of Species"

Again, Montgomery Hall was used as a prop that appears in the children's nursery. 

Jennifer's Of Walsall - Dolls House Kits:


Jennifer's of Walsall are specialists in Dolls Houses, Dolls House Kits and Miniatures.          
If you have never built a dolls house before but would like to give it a go and set yourself a challenge that has a stunning outcome and you're even terrified at the thought of choosing wallpapers, light fittings and furniture for your house, then look no further than here because Jennifer's Of Walsall are more than happy to help.

They do many varieties of Dolls Houses ranging from small corner shop like houses to grand Victorian style terrace houses as well as the occasional manor house. They provide the miniature accessories, such as tableware and toys, to furnish the rooms in the house as well as the rooms themselves. Now you can't have a dolls house without the main ingredient, so to speak,..THE DOLLS!! They sell resin kits so you can make the dolls, ready made dolls, kits so that you can put the dolls together and also pattern books so that you can make the clothes for them.

Jennifer's Of Walsall
PO BOX 7047

Walsall
WS1 9QL
Tel:
01922 633381


Anglesey Dolls Houses:

(Above and Below - Castle Dolls House, Inside and Out...STUNNING!!)



Architectural Model Making - www.confluencecreative.co.uk
model makers, industrial model makers, architectural model makers, model making, Confluence Creative

Architectural model making can be quite a diverse subject.

Based in Wolverhampton, the model-makers have skills in architectural, engineering, exhibition, toy, and product prototype model making.
A versatile company that are able to collaborate in producing the desired end result in a choice of ways. They are able to help a customer with the developing of their own working drawings. Their aim is always to try to smooth out the path to getting the best for you at a realistic price.
Their model-makers have many years of model making experience, and take pride in producing only the best.

Their models are made from a variety of materials including Acrylic, ABS Plastic, Glass-fibre, Brass, Aluminium, PU Casting Resin and Styrofoam. Most of the models are expected to last for many years, some of them only last a few days.

Other categories that the company are involved in are:
*Technical Teaching Models

*Elite Presentation Gifts
*Advertising Models
*Sculpture Work

Confluence Creative Limited
Unit 23

Merryhills Enterprise Park, Park Ln
Wednesfield, Wolverhampton, West
Midlands, WV10 9TJ
United Kingdom
Tel: 01902 862 601
Fax: 01902 862 602



Thursday, 12 February 2015

Site Seeing Schtuff:

Houses Of Parliament:










Westminster Abbey:






Shows From London:


The Woman In Black - The Fortune Theatre, London, 02.12.2014:

(Antony Eden as The Actor, Young Mr Kipps)

The play is based on the 1983 book by author Susan Hill. Generally played by just two actors throughout the whole entire play. One man playing the part of The Actor and another man playing the part of Mr Kipps and various other small parts, its a play within a play.
The production first opened at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough in 1987. It then went on to being performed in London's West End in January 1989 at the Lyric Hammersmith, still being shown there today, making it the second longest running non-musical play in West End history.

(I went to see it on Tuesday whilst in London, do go and see it if you can, we were sat second row from the very front and pretty much in the middle, tickets were meant to be £53 and we got them for £28..Its great when you go to a half-price ticket booth!!)


BOOK SYNOPSIS:
The book tells the story of Mr Arthur Kipps, a solicitor, as a young man as he goes on a journey to the small town of Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of one of his clients. Whilst at the funeral he spots a young woman, dressed all in black with a worn-out face, standing in the churchyard.
Bemused by the villagers' reluctance to speak of the woman in black, young Mr Kipps travels to Eel Marsh House, Mrs Drablow's (his client) former residence, an old building in the middle of a marsh cut-off from the mainland when at high tide.
Sorting through her papers, he finds a box full of letters and whilst reading them discovers the dreadful secrets of the Woman In Black - to his own terrible cost.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Black_(play)


(Julian Forsyth as (old) Mr Kipps and Anthony Eden as The Actor, 02.12.2014)

The Original cast included Charles Kay as Arthur Kipps and John Duttine as The Actor. In public literature, the actress in the title role is listed as 'Vision'.
This is shown when the two actors take their bows at the end of the show, the woman playing the title role doesn't take a bow just to keep the impression of the mystery of the Woman In Black alive.

The play is now used within GCSE and FE Drama curriculums and as a basis for English Literature essays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Black_(play)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftIvPLHn_3o
(Below; a trailer of The Woman In Black at the Fortune Theatre, 2012)




The Phantom of The Opera - Her Majesty's Theatre, London, 04.12.2014:
(Programme from Phantom Of The Opera)


(Geronimo Rauch as The Phantom and Harriet Jones as Christine Daae, Above and Below)




(Below is the trailer for Phantom Of The Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre from 2012, starring Ramin Karimloo as The Phantom)


Facts and Figures:
*Estimated to have been seen by more than 140 million people
*Won over 70 major theatre awards including three Olivier Awards, an Evening Standard Award, seven Tony Awards, seven Drama Desk Awards and three Outer Critic Circle Awards
*Opened at Her Majesty's Theatre, London 27th September 1986

*Original cast included Michael Crawford as The Phantom and Sarah Brightman as Christine Daae

*The West End production played its 10,000th performance on 23rd October 2010

*Has been produced in 151 cities and 30 countries around the world

*It has been translated into no fewer than 13 languages including English, Danish, German, Dutch, Japanese and Spanish

*The cast album has been done 6 times on Platinum in the US, twice Platinum in the UK, 9 times Platinum in Germany, 4 times Platinum in the Netherlands, 11 times in Korea and 31 times Platinum in Taiwan

*Joel Schumacher directed a big screen version of the show which was released worldwide at the end of 2004. Starring Gerrard Butler as The Phantom, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daae, Patrick Wilson as Raoul and Minnie Driver as Carlotta


*'Learn To Be Lonely', a new song written for the movie, was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2005 Oscar Awards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEXZ5Jadb7s

(Video link for 'Learn To Be Lonely' sung by Beyoncé)


(The stage setting for the opening of Act1 - Auction Scene, taken on my phone)

Visual Communications - Isometric and Aexonometric Drawing:


Isometric Drawing - Vertical, 30 degrees left and right:

This form of drawing is a way of presenting drawings of any kind with a three dementional look. For a drawing to be given that 3D element it will be looked at from different angles and sides and going off the Length, Width and Bredth of an object.
Drawings of this form will be drawn using drawing equipment such as t-squares, set squares, pencils or pens and a compass (not always needed, but is useful) and using accurate measurements.
http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/drawtec2.html

My Drawings:





Standard and Exploded Isometric Drawing:
The difference between STANDARD and EXPLODED isometric drawing is that standard isometric drawing is where an object is drawn as a whole (such as the above cabinet drawing to the left) and exploded isometric drawing is where an object is drawn in pieces (such as the above cabinet drawing to the right).


Axonometric Drawing - Vertical, 45 degrees left and right:
Axonometric means to 'measure along an axes'. Axonometric shows a picture of an object from a certain angle in order to show more than just one side of the object. With these type of drawings the scale of features in the background are the same as features in the foreground.
Axonometric drawing can be used in illustration.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axonometric_projection

Axonometric projections may appear to be distorted but they are very useful to show as much as possible of, for example, the inside of a room.
http://www.design-skills.org/iso_axo_projection.html


Professional Studies - Actors and Actresses:

Anne Hathaway:

Born in Brooklyn, New York. She is of mostly Irish descent, along with English, German, and French. Her first major role came in the short-lived television series Get Real (1999). She gained widespread recognition for her roles in The Princess Diaries (2001) and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (its 2004 sequel) as a young girl who discovers she's a member of royalty, opposite Julie Andrews and Heather Matarazzo.

A former top-ranking soprano in New York, Hathaway was reportedly a front-runner for the role of "Christine" in The Phantom of The Opera (2004). However, due to scheduling conflicts with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she couldn't take the role, which was later given to newcomer Emmy Rossum.

GENRE FILMS:

Comedy/Family Friendly - 
The Princess Diaries 1 & 2:



Fantasy/Fairytale - Ella Enchanted and Alice In Wonderland:




Musical - Les Miserables:




Johnny Depp:

Born John Christopher Depp II, Owensboro, Kentucky. Dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named The Kids. In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands.

In the same year he starred in the marvellous family blockbuster Pirates if The Caribbean: Curse of The Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Captain Jack Sparrow. The film's enormous success has opened several doors for his career and included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Finding Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet. In 2005, Depp collaborated again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and later in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).

GENRE FILMS:



Comedy/Family Friendly - Pirates Of The Caribbean:



Fantasy/Fairytale - Into The Woods, Finding Neverland and Edward Scissorhands:





Musical - Sweeney Todd:

"Worst Pies In London" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jftfgva9CM0



"Ahhhh Sir..Times is hard..Times is haaaaaaaaaaaard!!" - Mrs Lovett, Helena Bonham Carter


Hugh Jackman:

Born in Sydney, New South Wales. He is the youngest of five children. Studied a degree with a journalism major from the University of Technology, Sydney. After graduating, he pursued drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, immediately after he was offered a starring role in the ABC-TV prison drama Correlli (1995).

As an accomplished singer, Jackman starred as Gaston in the Australian production of Disney's 'Beauty and The Beast'. In 1998, he was cast as Curly McClain at the Royal National Theatre in Trevor Nunn's production of Oklahoma.

He is more commonly known for being X-Men's Wolverine. Having starred in all five of the movies, he also starred in two films that focussed on Wolverine alone; X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013).

GENRE FILMS:

Musical - Oklahoma and Les Miserables:

Sci-Fi/Superhero - XMen Series:




Romance - Kate and Leopold:



Emily Blunt:

Born on February 23rd 1983, Roehampton, South West London.
At a young age she had a stammer which by the age of 12 had disappeared thanks to a teacher who asked her to read a characters part in a play. Blunt used an northern accent for the part and the stammer just went like that *clicks fingers*. She went to the top co-ed boarding school where she learnt sport, cello and singing. She was signed up by an agent, Kenneth McCreddie, who led her to the West End and the BBC, scoring her roles in several period dramas on stage as well as on TV productions, such as Foyle's War (2002), Henry VIII (2003) and Empire (2005).

As part of her filming career she played quite a few manipulative characters. She continued the manipulative line when she starred as 'Emily', a caustic put-upon assistant to Meryl Streep's 'Miranda Priestly' in the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada. Her neurotic twist added dimension of sarcasm to the comedy of the film.


GENRE FILMS:


Comedy/Chic Flic - The Devil Wears Prada:





Historical/Documentary - The Young Victoria:


Comedy/Family Friendly - Gnomeo and Juliet: