Making things

Photo

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:23:36 +0100

Tool Box | The Heirloom Project

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:49:11 +0100

Tool Box | The Heirloom Project:

My friend Gary Cook’s heirloom toolbox, bearing his late father’s initials.

Always a great pleasure when you discover that somebody you know...

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:01:30 +0100

Always a great pleasure when you discover that somebody you know in entirely other context is a maker of some kind.

Yesterday I discovered that @ChablisPoulet has a studio for painting in oils. Here is some of her recent work.

Yup, he’s been seen on YouTube by millions already, but...

Wed, 02 May 2012 11:50:52 +0100

Yup, he’s been seen on YouTube by millions already, but wanted to put on record that I do like watching @prof_elemental.

I’ve signed up for a lot of perfomance classes and days-long workshops this year already, with a view to writing about it in my next book, and God knows how I can fit any more into my diary - but I do think it might be fun to go on one with the Prof. Can anybody who has been on one tell me what it was like?

One thing troubles me, however. Is the person addressed by the Prof in this song meant to be my friend Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler, author of How To Be Free, and well known tweed-wearing ukelele player?

I so, I shall feel a bit conflicted enjoying this. (But I may keep watching all the same.)

The Other Shakespeare

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:09:00 +0100

Still on subject of Shakespeare, I rounded off his birthday yesterday by witnessing one of the most brilliant bits of theatre I’ve seen in a very long time: a one-woman show, about Will’s wife Anne Hathaway.

Now, despite my interest in Shakespeare (did I mention that I studied him for my MA?), I should confess that I have never really cared much about Anne’s story. Last night’s performance set me right, demonstrating that imagination and empathy can bring even the most shadowy historical figure to life.

Writing this hours later, it still seems quite incredible that the actress playing Ann (Johanne Murdock, pictured above, after the show) could even remember all the words, let alone deliver them with feeling, in a performance that lasted nearly 90 minutes. The Other Shakespeare, by Roy Chatfield, was not like Krapp’s Last Tape (one of my all-time favourite plays), which passes largely in silence: in Chatfield’s play Anne chatters rages frets and dreams aloud throughout. And sings.

Several bits will stick in my mind: the joyful dancing; the harrowing death of her son, and his funeral while Will was in London; the pain of knowing that all Stratford had read her husband’s lovestruck sonnets, written for somebody else; and the very funny moment when Anne, full of scorn, showed Will that she, too, could act - then roared like a medieval mummer doing Herod.

It’s extraordinary enough when actors, together with each other onstage, put something across with such conviction that you suspend disbelief and become truly absorbed. For Murdock to achieve that alone, with nobody up there to play off, and to move seamlessly through such a range of moods - as Ann’s life gradually unfolds - is frankly miraculous. This was live theatre at its absolute best. Hats off!

I’m not the only person who was impressed. Afterwards I overheard the author, who had never met Murdock, saying he felt dazed by what she’d done. (In a good way, lest there be any doubt.)

I saw the play in Oxford, at the Mitre. I understand it may be showing again soon at Oxford’s Burton Taylor Theatre, and maybe afterwards in London. If you know any producers - do tell them about it!

PS. I should perhaps note that the play was directed by my father, Ian Flintoff, pictured above left, with Chatfield. I don’t see why this should discredit what I’ve written above.

Ok, they were made to promote a bank, which perhaps some people...

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:50:18 +0100

Ok, they were made to promote a bank, which perhaps some people would think discredits them. But i must say i rather like these neo-classical pots

unconsumption: Artist Julie Kornblum’s globe covered in plastic...

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:22:13 +0100

unconsumption:

Artist Julie Kornblum’s globe covered in plastic — that is, crocheted plarn (yarn made from plastic bags) — definitely makes a colorful statement about “plastic covering the Earth.”

For more photos of Julie’s work, check out her Facebook page here and blog here.

To make your own plastic bag yarn: Various tutorials can be found online, including one we featured previously here, and this one from our friend Kelly Rand on the Crafting a Green World blog.

Let’s keep doing what we can to reduce our environmental impact — to make every day Earth Day.

Next home made shirt I think

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 23:15:29 +0100

Next home made shirt I think

Actually, it is string from Able & Cole veg boxes. But...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:36:06 +0100

Actually, it is string from Able & Cole veg boxes. But enough to be used for small knit or crochet jobs. Have previously made purse for N, and small teddy bear. What next?

What's your favourite Shakespeare play?

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:21:52 +0100

What's your favourite Shakespeare play?:

With Shakespeare’s birth/deathday coming up shortly (April 23rd) and with it my father’s years-long mission to make 2012 a festival of Shakespeare, I’ve been re-reading the Complete Works recently (yup, re-reading, because I read them all when studying for my MA in Shakespeare, so there).

I’ve also been performing many speeches into an iPad (yes, really!) in the name of grassroots Shakespeare performance for all, and suchlike. (Perhaps I will blog one or two of these rare solo performances in due course - but only perhaps.)

Anyway, I just came across this interesting post (below) that raises a tricky question: which is your favourite Shakespeare play?

I too find it hard to give a single answer, but on balance I would probably have to say it’s Henry IV Part One, for sheer all round mix of heroic seriousness and knockabout. (I would be more certain if I were allowed to add Part Two.)

I have not heard anything recently from my brother, in response to my recent request that he join me in performing some Shakespeare publicly, somewhere, on Apr 23. His own speciality was the Crispin speech from Henry V (it’s where he got his forename). Well, if he won’t perform it himself, perhaps I’ll do the Crispin speech on his behalf?

So here’s another question for you: which of all the speeches and poems Shakespeare produced would you most like to perform?

(And why don’t you, next week?)

scottbeowulf:

Start with the toughest question, eh? You’re a cunning adversary tumblr challenge. Asking me to choose a single favorite Shakespeare play is like asking me to choose my favorite ice cream flavor: on a day-to-day basis, my answer might change depending on what mood I’m in. That said, the one play I…

Inside N’s homemade kaleidoscope

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:35:39 +0100

Inside N’s homemade kaleidoscope

I make all my own bread, and thanks to Annalisa Barbieri I make...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 17:33:00 +0100

I make all my own bread, and thanks to Annalisa Barbieri I make sourdough.

Hearing that I made a lot of bread she gave my wife, her colleague, a jar full of starter for me, about a year ago. My daughter quickly recognised the living yeasts as the closest thing we have to a pet animal, and named it Squidgy. Each week, and often more than once a week, Squidgy goes into making a new loaf, and a chunk goes back into Squidgy’s jar.

(If not fed in this way Squidgy might go off. That is why my brother in law looked so pained after I asked him to look after our pet during the two weeks of summer holidays. ‘I didn’t realise what I was taking on,’ he said.)

Usually I congratulate myself that the latest loaf is the best ever, though not always. Here is today’s - a classic. I used about half organic white flour, and the rest was a mix of wholewheat spelt and rye.

Thanks Annalisa!

THE PRECINCT: i want to be an actor

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:56:59 +0100

THE PRECINCT: i want to be an actor:

dream-in-the-darkness:

i just want to act. i want to be on the stage and sing in musicals and play interesting characters and do what my heart needs. if i can act, then i won’t need anything else. there’s nothing else that would make my heart so content. not even another human being can fill me with the joy that i feel…

improsign: This is how I prepare an impro warm up of 1.5...

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:54:48 +0100

improsign:

This is how I prepare an impro warm up of 1.5 houres. Goal of the warm up is to open up a “Temeno”, a play space. In the play space everyone must feel safe to enact his phantasies. That is why I sometimes call it safe space or phantasy space. Everyone is taking part in the warm up, so everyone is part of the play space. Here are the exercises, instructions and goals:

1.) The Name Game
Setting: standing in a circle
We introduce our right neighbor with his real name and a ludicrous story about him. “This is Ron, he was astronaut-pirate before joining us.
Goal: Get to know each other. Trigger phantasy. Show that this is play, not reality.

2.) 500*
Setting: circle
We run on on the spot and repeat: “Hossa hossa skitchy”. I say numbers between 1* and 500*. 1 means quite walking, 500 very loud and fast running.
Goal: Activate Players. Create a safe space through extrovert common behavior.

3.) Meet the room
Setting: walking in random order and direction.
We point at objects, walk towards them and call them by their names. First we give objects their real name, later a fake one. We start defending them, hugging them and hating them.
Goal: Explore the play space. Turn it into a phantasy play space.

4.) One Leg, two Elbows
Setting: groups of four
Nothing must touch the ground, except the body parts i call out. This could be: “One foot, three hands and two heads.”
Goal: Activate players. Create intimacy though physical contact. Make the space feel safe.

5.) Move on and Stay
Setting: groups of two
One player tells a story. The other player tells him to “Move On” with the story, or to “Stay” and decorate a part of the story.
Goal: Practice the concept “creativity and reincorporation”. Tell great stories.

6.) Action Freeze
Setting: circle
One player enters the middle and starts doing something, like cutting a tree. A second player enters the middle and helps him. A third players call “Freeze”. The action freezes. The new player take the position of one of the two players in the middle. A new action emerges from their current position.
Goal: Fill the play space with action. Create trust in the freeze method.

7.) At the Fair
Setting: in a circle with closed eyes
People start making fair sounds. A fair-soundscape emerges.
Goal: Enjoy the phantasy play space.

8.) I am a tree
Setting: circle
One player enters the circle, stands like a tree and calls out what he is: “I am a tree”. A second player enters the circle acts like a bird and calls out what he is. A third player completes the scene, maybe he is the birds nest. The first player takes one of the other two out. A new scene emerges from the object of the second player: “I am a bird.”
Goal: create trust in the process. Practice being obvious not smart.

9.) Japanese closure
Setting: circle
Arms are held into the middle, in a low position. A quite sound emerges and grows louder. When it reaches its peak all hands are held high and clap. One player closes the session with a wisdom.
Goal: Close the play space. Show the group synchronization and unity.

Photo

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 15:28:54 +0100

James Baxter - Notes on Acting for Animation

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:20:53 +0100

from imyjimmy:

Performance

Animators are the ones that throw the switch; the ones who make an audience forget that they are animated characters.

The most important thing is to try and find the truth. But you can’t do this by “method” animating. You can’t be in the moment for the length of time it takes to complete a scene. Actors do, while animators describe.

Best note of the day: You don’t have to do improv classes (Yeah!)

When you act out a scene, it’s important to remember that it is your body you are acting with, not your character’s. Your character can do things your body can’t (and is probably better at them as well).

Bill Tytla was the first animator to take acting in animation seriously.

Real Acting

Stanislavsky was the one who focused actors more on their preparation rather than on acheiving results. Method acting is the process of moving away from thinking about what you are going to do in a scene and instead, focusing more on what you need to do to prepare to make the scene honest and true. In this way, you allow the spontaneous to happen.

Meisner believed it wasn’t enough to rely on a sense of memory - that your memories were inadequate for the task of acting.

Sandy Meisner’s famous quote that great acting is - “the ability to live truthfully under imaginary circumstances.”

Approaching a Scene

Many things to consider in your preparation for a scene:

• The context of the scene in the sequence

• How does a character move physically; what sets them apart from others in the same film?

• Best way to stage a scene. Consider the correct angle to sell an emotion. In CG, it’s easy to lose the point of a scene behind all the lighting and rendering.

• Be aware of the composition of a scene.

Staging

Referring to the Shere Khan/Kaa sequence in Jungle Book.

Milt has set it up so you only look at one thing at a time. He crafted the scene so that when Shere Khan pops open his claws, everyone is looking there. Nothing else is moving. (Waste of time to always be moving all the background characters).

Your eye reacts to movement, color and contrast. Use those to direct your audience’s attention.

Fred Astaire is good at that - staging a dance so you look exactly at what he wants you to.

Posing

The life of a scene usually leads him from a very emotional point to a very technical one. Emotional as he figures out the acting; technical as he makes it look good.

You need to block things out with enough juice to communicate your intentions to the director.

Example: The Pinocchio scene with the tail popping out to point out: clear line of action and a clean and natural balance and rhythm to the poses.

Don’t have a whole bunch of different attitudes within a scene. Usually there is one or two major poses per scene. Horton as an example of animation having too much to it. Loved the scenes with JoJo because you could actually focus on what he was doing.

Remember the timing within a scene - make sure you have enough time to do the action that you want. Don’t force something in there just because you think it looks cool.

James Baxter’s “perfect animator” exists somewhere between Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, and Ward Kimball:

• Milt for pure draftsmanship, posing and technique.

• Frank for truthful acting.

• Ward for shear graphic ingenuity.

Ward Kimball is the one that constantly pulls James away Milt and reminds him that animation is not real; you can actually do whatever you want.

Analyzing Live Action
If you find yourself watching a greatly acted scene but not knowing exactly why it works think, how else could they have done it? That helps you figure out what kind of preparation they had to go through and helps you to see the kinds of choices that had to be made.

Comparing the work of Frank Thomas to Milt Kahl

Frank Thomas always considered the “actor’s animator.” While Milt used poses to communicate his intentions, often focusing on a single drawing, Frank used actions to communicate the intentions of his scenes.

Milt’s scenes tend to have very strong “tentpole” poses; what happens inbetween them is often the same motion (headshakes, hand gestures, etc.). Frank was more concerned with the feeling and flow through a scene. He made drawings that wouldn’t necessarily work on a model sheet, but in motion they feel right.

Showed a sequence with Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone where she speaks to Wart on the table. The “one little finger” and “ugly” scenes were Milt and they look very familiar (move like other characters). Beautiful but reminiscent. Frank’s scene is the one directly after where she walks by Wart looking down at him from the corner of her eye. Milt would probably never have done this kind of acting, but it feels more truthful to the scene.

Showed sequences from Jungle Book comparing the different ways of approaching animation on Baloo. The scene of Baloo screaming “Bagheera!” at the edge of the cliff was Milt’s. Baloo gets up and starts punching the air. Milt seems more considered with making awesome drawings that animate beautifully. Seems to get carried away with the mouth shapes on “mangy monkey.” Frank probably would’ve used that opportunity to have Baloo connect more with Bagheera. Example; the scene of Baloo waking up Mowgli - very different acting choices.

Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas

Milt Kahl

Source: FloobyNooby

I personally did a double take when I read the bit about you don’t have to do improv classes. C’mon, improv is so much fun!

Competition: spot the designers. Have just been made aware of...

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:44:09 +0100

Competition: spot the designers.

Have just been made aware of the fantastic Best of British prints in the V&A online shop - and I love them! There are works by several of my favourite graphic designers, including this one by Edward Bawden, of Borough Market (near where I worked for years), that I’ve not seen before.

It makes me want to get our some lino, or similar, right now.

There’s another image (below), by Clifford Richards, on offer in one of a limited series of prints, to the person who can identify the designers, artists and classic objects pictured within it. (Click here for a larger version). Answers to VAShop@vam.ac.uk by midday on 20 April.

How many can you see? So far, I have only recognised 13, and they don’t include the dormouse. Is it Damien Hirst? (Doesn’t look quite right to me.)

Easter holiday latest: N has been drawing action pictures of...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:34:30 +0100

Easter holiday latest: N has been drawing action pictures of Bananas.

(Bananas is her glove puppet, acquired as Xmas present after spotting him in foyer of the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith after that excellent theatre’s pantomime.)

She drew them in my latest home-made notebook on some of the lovely Khadi paper (made in India using mostly cotton rags), which I bought last year.

Bananas was animated for the occasion of N’s observational-drawing exercise by my right hand (not pictured). He also disappeared at one point up my jumper (pictured, centre right, though N has captioned it as a T-shirt).

In the name of full disclosure I should note that the pictures were finished off, in water-colours, by me, while N wandered around Wagamama’s new Hampstead branch with Bananas, leaping about.

Need an artist? Call India.

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 11:03:39 +0100

Need an artist? Call India.:

Asha Sarella, who helped to buy me several pairs of underpants from Marks & Spencer a few years ago (as recorded in my book Sew Your Own), has extended her repertoire of helpfulness in a direction that I suspect may be even more satisfying: music video.

Nice story from NY Times that (unaccountably) omits any mention of the underpants.

Why is everything yellow suddenly?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 07:57:06 +0100

OK. This isn’t exactly a post about making things. But it’s about colour, and as somebody who does a lot of painting I think about colour a lot. And I have never really understood the business of seasonal colours.

What I mean is: why do so many plants seem to coordinate their appearance according to colour?

Or do they really even do that? Perhaps it’s just something I think I have noticed, and for which I find the evidence to suit my theory.

Just now, it seems that the vogueish colour in nature, in southern England, is yellow. This evening I photographed several of the newly flowering yellow plants.

It’s not as if they all come from the same family of plants. Dandelions are from the daisy family. There’s a woody bush: Forsythia. Daffodils spring up from bulbs. Gorse, which fixes nitrogen helpfully, is also fiercely prickly. Rape, which is starting to jaundice the fields nearby, but which I haven’t photographed, is from the cabbage family (I think). And so on.

I would be glad to know if anybody has advanced an explanation for this spate of yellow plants. Is yellow a good colour for attracting the insects intrepid enough to have emerged at this (relatively) early point in the spring? Is yellow not strong enough to do well in hotter summer weather?