tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16133771.post-1138295773642583042006-01-26T16:56:00.000Z2006-01-26T17:18:33.553Z<strong>Posted by Caroline Small : 26th January 2006</strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>December 2005</strong><br /><br />Lorraine and I spent a day in December working with Judith's group on pre-production for the documentary.<br /><br />Since we last worked with them the group had written some wonderful scripts based on interviews with Fred's friends and family. Unfortunately there won't now be time to include them all in the film as we've realised that the planned film would probably take about 6 months to complete and we only have four days in which to shoot everything!<br /><br />As Lorraine has explained in her posting, we decided to concentrate on the second 'act' of the documentary, the 'wildlife programme' as this would be manageable in the time. We are still thinking of ways in which the other ideas and material can be used, for example live performance of the interviews.<br /><br />Lorraine showed the class how films are storyboarded and explained the technical terms for different shots. Then we created five mini-production teams to take responsibility for different segments of the film. These teams first had to visualise and make notes on what would happen in their segment, then they created the storyboard for their section.<br /><br />From these storyboards Lorraine put together a shots list and shooting schedule for January.<br /><br />I created a Pre-production Planning form to help them organise everything they would need to do before filming starts in January, including the finding and making of props and location recces.<br /><br />This was a brilliant day with the children really rising to the challenge of work which was similar in level to GCSE Media Studies. The great thing is they believe they can do it and so they do!<br /><br /><p><br /><strong>January Residency Week : 16th to 20th January 2006<br /><br /></strong>My role in the project has changed slightly. At the moment I have the clearest 'overview' of all the work that's taken place so I'm taking on part of the responsibility of drawing everything together and helping to co-ordinate the final Jabberfest Week in March.<br /><br />I also supported Lorraine for one day this week, helping the documentary production teams to create studio sets in the Library to represent a science lab and a museum. Great fun - particularly when we raided Room 2 and found the teeth the typewriter and the seed broadcaster!<br /><br /><strong>1. Jabberfest Planning</strong><br /><br />A major aim of the Jabberfest is to celebrate and share as much of the project as possible with parents and other guests. The Jabberfest needs to reflect the range and diversity of the project and, to some extent, reveal the process as well as offering an end product.<br /><br />One of our major challenges will be accommodating the large number of people who will want to come and see what we’ve been doing. Linked to this are issues around the space required by some of the performance elements.<br /><br />The plan so far for that week is as follows:<br /><br /><strong>Monday 20th - Wednesday 22nd<br /></strong><br />Rehearsal of performance elements<br />Mounting the exhibition<br />Setting up the trail in the woods<br />Transforming the performance spaces in school<br /><br /><strong>Thursday 23rd</strong><br /><br /><strong>Afternoon:</strong> Promenade-style performance in which the whole school becomes our theatre/gallery/museum through which the audience travels in groups of about 25.</p>The audience will experience:<br /><br /><ul><li><strong>The Creatures and Plants of the Tulgey Wood</strong>: Dance and Music/Vocal performance (using live and recorded sound) by Sally's and Jennifer's classes with Matt in Dining Room and Hall.</li><li><strong>The Jabber Exhibition </strong>curated and presented by Philip's class in their classroom, including the animation and pixilation films.</li><li><strong>The Jabber 'Incident' Room</strong> presented by Judith's class in their classroom, including the documentary film.</li><li><strong>The Tragic History of Jabberwocky and the Green Knight</strong> performed by Rachael's class in their classroom.</li><li><strong>The Giant Jabberwocky</strong> - all the sections of the creature made by Judith's class come together in the Hall. The animation film will be projected on to the Jabberwocky as part of the performance.</li><li><strong>Procession to the Woods</strong> to experience the trail</li><li><strong>Invasion of the Rubbish Puppets</strong> - somewhere along the trail.</li></ul><p>(Well - that's the plan. We have a huge amount of work to do to pull it off!)</p><strong>Evening</strong>: A fairly informal presentation to a seated audience in the Hall, possibly with opportunities to see other exhibited work.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Friday 24th</span></strong><br /><br />A 'drop-in' Open Day with some of the performance elements included, where and when possible.<br /><br /><br /><strong>2. The Jabber Ballad</strong><br /><br />A major focus for me this week has been working on the ballad narration for Rachael's class, and also working with Pauline and Kate to bring elements of their performance together.<br /><br />Since the previous residency the children have written newspaper articles based on the ideas they storyboarded for the ballad. Words, phrases and ideas from these articles are incorporated in the balled. (For example the headline 'Twins But Not Brothers' inspired the Chorus.)<br /><br />The ballad isn't yet complete but here's a small taster (it's the very beginning). It uses the rhythm of the original Jabberwocky poem:<br /><br /><em>Twas winter and the hospital<br />Stood silent in the frosty air;<br />All quiet were the corridors<br />And peace reigned everywhere.<br /><br />Then suddenly the air was torn<br />By a groan and a slap and a scream and a yell;<br />Two babies, pink and round, were born,<br />Their story we are here to tell.<br /><br />The babies’ names - you’ll think them strange -<br />Were Jabberwock and bold Green Knight;<br />Their mothers smiled, their fathers beamed<br />And everything seemed good and right.<br /><br />Chorus:<br /><br />They were twins but never brothers;<br />Linked by a bond no one understands.<br /><br />Born in the very same second<br />Of the very same minute<br />Of the very same hour<br />Of the very same day –<br /><br />They were twins but never brothers;<br />Joined in friendship; joined in hate.<br />Their fate only time will tell.<br /></em><br />This is developing into a very exciting, ambitious performance piece bringing together dance, drama, words and music. I'm looking forward to performing with the children in this.<br /><br /><br /><strong>3. The Rubbish Puppets</strong><br /><br />I'd planned to work with Philip's class on animating their puppets but laryngitis got the better of me so this has been postponed. In the end it's worked out for the best as the puppets are now huge creatures - (I was due to work with them in the classroom: we would have needed to raise the ceiling!) - and, as Terry was still waiting for a delivery of withies, the puppets weren't really ready to be animated. Kate, however, did a fantastic job helping the class to develop characters for the puppets and writing a chant. The animation session will be re-scheduled in February.davidnoreply@blogger.com