h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do you remember when your children were small and spent their time making things out of the insides of toilet rolls and glitter? My daughter Iz was an expert at making sculptures out of rolled up newspaper covered in masking tape - she made some wonderful muppet-like birds which were then brightly painted.

Iz is now doing a University-level degree course in costume and stage design. Her current project, which is due tomorrow, involves designing and making a costume for a performance of Animal Farm, with the condition that the pigs must be presented as some other animal. She's chosen to represent the pig Napoleon as a combination of the Pope and a Peacock, which involves constructing an elaborate pope's crown with peacock feathers, and an amazing skirt which when spread out shows giant peacock feather eyes.

The set, which she only has to make a model of, has a giant deconstructed camera iris, to show that indeed, Big Brother is watching you - different book, but topical reference.

So once again the house is covered in carboard and glitter.

That sounds like a seriously fun thing to study!

So explain again why the deconstructed camera set is appropriate for Animal Farm. I didn't get it.

Originally she wanted to put a giant camera aperture at the back of the stage to represent the police state watching you, but then decided that if she deconstructed the iris into its component parts which are sort of claw-shaped curved triangles, she could position these on the stage and the actors can use them as scenery and walk around them.

Ideally she should be able to move them to close the aperture, but I don't think that's going to happen.

>>amazing skirt which when spread out shows giant peacock feather eyes.<<

Sounds like she is serious competition for Cinna in the Hunger Games films - especially the second one.

Iz has just finished her first year in college. On Thursday night each member of the class had to do a 5-minute presentation which represented the spirit of a designated art movement. Iz presented Impressionist as a comedy sketch - four impressionist painters in a Paris café. She had to make all the costumes and some of the scenery. Some others just filmed themselves wearing elaborate dresses dancing around a forest. There were some very impressive efforts, both in costume design and cinematography.

Did the sketch have a script?

Yes - Degas, Cezanne, Monet and Manet discussing impressionism.

What a project. I bet they learned a lot and it was a wonderful way to show off their skills! Thanks for sharing it, Gnomon.

The best thing she did in the year, in my opinion, was filming a short story by Bram Stoker using puppets. This was a group project, in which a team of three students made the puppets, costumes for the puppets, scenery, and props, wrote the screenplay, moved the puppets and provided the character voices, while the film students filmed the story and did the editing.

Wow, that sounds good to. Did they video tape it and stick it on Youtube or vimeo?

She wasn't happy with the editing - the scene in which the man cuts off his wife's finger, although crucial to the plot, was glossed over. So she's getting the original footage and is going to edit it herself. I'm sure it will appear on Youtube at some point.

The Impressionists as a comedy sketch -- were they doing impressions?

Ba doom tish

Impressive.

Especially as it took you four weeks to come up with that joke!

Ah now don't be like that.