Unit 2 C5, My evaluation of the whole project/show/unit
In this blog I will be covering the potential of the work with the artist; professional, vocational fully identify the strengths and weakness. This will be covered through how I felt the show went and how the whole company feel the show went.
I believe the potential of the work could have been fantastic as there was a lot of barriers to break and achieve. I think that the show could have been one of the best shows the Miskin had ever put on with a script written by a in house director. This meant there was no stick to the script only and things could be edited and changed. This was a positive because it means you were able to change if they did not quite fit in a certain order. The negative of this was when you managed to get something to work it would have a knock on effect and another part of the show would change, this meant changes were being made a day before the show was going out. As an ASM I also believe the potential of the work could have been fantastic as the show was Steampuk santa and the spark catchers we could of gone mad with Victorian steam punk theme. The same with the props, there was potential to go wild and build things which were completely nonfiction because it was Victorian experiment. The actual props were played safe and nothing mad was made which I though was a bit of a shame but obviously we had to keep in keeping with the time period. As a whole team of ASM’s we thought we made all the props which was in the script and completed them to the best of our ability by using a range of resources and materials. During the show we also agreed that as a team we done well to fight off the challenge of the flying in the show. Along with everything else I believe the flying could have had more thought into it as some of the flying techniques was not used in the show, the potential of three different ways of flying would have amazed the audience. But there was a reason for cutting certain flying scene and it was purely because they did not work so I they would have been left in it would of brought down the show and it would be a negative point because the show would not have a smooth flow. As a whole I and the ASM team agree that we made it to be everything we could by using what we had to the best of our ability but still think there was room for improvement. The potential was them but not fully fulfilled.
My artistic view on the show would be the cerography of the cranes and the artistic view of the set. I am using these two examples as they are slightly different meanings of artistic view. My artistic view of the cranes cerography was that it was an interesting task because there was different scenes which included the cranes and for each scene there would be different cerography. One of the scenes that the crane was involved in was singing above the clouds, this was a slow and gentle song so this required slow but long movements of the crane. This added to the effect of the scene where as if was to bounce the crane up and down it would send out the wrong idea because the song would be slow and calm but the crane would tell a different story because it would be bouncing up and down. This meant we had to work with the music to create a slow effect. The end scene is meant to be a mad scene so for this the crane is bobbing up down quickly because they are panicking that the bad guys are after them, again this is working with the scene and the music to create that effect and tell the audience the whole story as a whole. In an artistic view I think we achieved that well as we suited are actions towards the music and scene depending on circumstances. My other artistic view was the set and how it was laid out and painted. This was because in shows I’ve seen there is a few background depending on what show it is where as there was one set for the whole show and was cleverly lighted up depending what the scene was. At first I did not see how it was going to work but then when the show was being plotted I could see how all the idea’s came together from the set and it all made scenes were everything had been placed. This is also down to how it was lit up so for an indoor scene the cranes would almost be in black out and they would take one section of the stage a light it. For the workshop the section of the stage they used was down stage right which was a warm coloured building. This would add effect of being inside because it’s a warm colour and not a cold harsh colour so this added to the set to give the impression that the scene was inside and not in the street.
In my view the professional view of the work was mixed. When I was making props some of the props made were not up to professional standard so these were scrapped and thought about again. I found the only way to find out if a prop would look professional was to take advise from others and try to make the prop, if it doesn’t work then scrap it and try again another way or find something which could make it easier to make. As an ASM team we had little challenges which we discussed together and used a range of materials and resource’s including buying props to use on stage. In other aspects of my work I think that I worked and as team we worked as professionally as we could we all had moments where would couldn’t remember what the next scene change was but we worked through it together facing challenges and dealing with problems as they raised. One demonstration of this was when one of the wheels broke on the table the problem was that it was going to have to be put on stage shortly so we had to take it out in the main reception fix the wheel and then wheel it back into the theatre and on stage in time for the cue. We managed to pull this off we very few people knowing until we informed them and swapped the table for one with better wheels. Whilst waiting in the wings I believe everyone stayed professional with the occasional snigger or laughter. Whilst waiting down by the audience we was unnoticed by the audience which meant we completed our jobs with them making any Nosie or distraction to the show. As an individual I believe that I stayed professional and worked within a team of professional techies in and part of the whole company. Despite some props not being right first time and needing editing.
To evaluate myself I find difficult as I feel that I have worked interpedently and part of a team bringing positives and negatives. Think that I try to contribute to everything or explain ideas I or others might have. I am able to listen and to blend idea’s together to make my own contribution to each discussion or debate to what is best for a certain topic for example what is the best way to operate the cranes, so as a crane operator I would put mu contribution to the group but take other peoples on board. Towards the end of the show I change my position on the crane to match the other crane and found out that particular position was easier to control from the previous position I was in before. I felt that I struggled at making props to a professional level because I found it hard to neaten edges and give that final product look. For example on my jet pack I made some of the tape was sticking out and when it was finished it looked like a kid had made it some I started again using different materials and techniques. This I felt was a more challenged off stage making props and on stage in the audience view. So I felt my strength was in rehearsals and the get in of the show helping as much as I could and again contributing to discussions and learning about stage management the flying rigging. There are two teams I have watched throughout the whole process which was the stage management team and the whole company. The stage management team worked well together although it did not feel like one big team as we was in 3 sub-groups which made it easier to split up the roles of what everyone should be doing and one group could be making while another group could be rehearsals. On the practical side it worked well but sometimes communication was not as smooth as it could have been. During the show despite people getting injured as a team I feel that we tried to cover and help each other as much as possible which then links to the whole company. The whole company pulled off a fantastic show although it had potential to be a spectacular show but there is always room for improvements despite what anybody says. The actors pulled their weight and performed to their best and the techies as a company got stuck in for stage crew as the ASM’s could not have managed as a department so I feel that as a company we have pulled together to help each other out to produce a show in limited time.
My conclusion is that everyone no matter what department tried their best in every way to produce a show in the limited amount of time. A show was produced in the limited amount of time but it was still produced to a level of professional standard although there was room for improvement and this was achieved by pulling together as a company.