These are the proposed mood board initial designs for character profiles I want to expand on them within this post exploring why I have chosen the aesthetic for the character and how it will translate within the theatrical industry context and to my target audience.
Miss Minchin
{Headmistress of the Seminary}
{ 'Tall, Dull, Respectable & Ugly' /'Cold, Fishy Smile' }
-'A Little Princess' Novel (Burnett, 1905)
I was captured by the description of Miss Minchin from the original novel 'cold, fishy smile' (Burnett, 1905) this quote especially gave me so many visuals about the character profile instantly getting an image of her glamorous and evil persona, although within the Film and Book she is captured as quoted 'respectable & ugly' (Burnett, 1905) I imagined her in a very different way, I have gathered some inspirational imagery that I feel captures my interpretation of the character. I began also cross referencing other character profiles such as the ugly step mother in 'Cinderella' and Miss Hannigan in 'Annie' similar roles of the evil figure within the narrative but portrayed as glamorous women with a certain 'sass' to there aesthetics. I feel this will work with the audience of 'A Little Princess' production i will be able to create a flamboyancy that can read on stage compared to that of a 'respectable & ugly' woman that would be more mundane in creation and harder to read from a distance.
'Cinderella' 2014 Film 'Annie' 1982 Film
This clip below explores the character of the evil step mother played by Cate Blanchett they talk about the depth she was able to bring to the character, from this i have learnt that finding the right model is important to convay not only the correct aesthetic but the atmosphere that model can create of the character within the narrative.
. Proposal Mood board .
In the classic 40's 50's styling, clean, polished, glamorous but with a striking harsh sense about her. I feel these images capture the atmosphere I would like my miss Minchin to hold, well poised, elegant but with that malicious glare to her eye. Leading on from this I designed a face chart that projects the makeup I would like for the character.
Initial Face Chart
Amelia
Miss Amelia is the younger sister of Miss Minchin. She is very friendly but always is in the shade of her dominant sister. Miss Minchin makes all the decisions and Miss Amelia never dares to contradict her although she does often not agree, especially as far as Sara is concerned. But slowly a change takes place inside Miss Amelia. It can be noticed for the first time near the middle of the series and more and more it becomes clear that one day Miss Amelia will lose her awe of her older sister.
I feel that Amelia as a character is kind, caring and thoughtful with an eccentric edge about her this being the reason that Miss Minchin looks down on her as she is carless with her appearance. I have taken inspiration from war time utilitarian fashions such as the head scarf and although it's practical gives that relaxed feel to her character as though she is in her own world. Below is the proposed mood board of inspiration although I feel that the wig design for this character is the key aspect of her aesthetic on stage as the makeup will be very minimal and natural. I feel that once I have found the model of Amelia this will help with the character design gaining a sense of the natural features and moulding them to the character profile.
Captain Crewe
Crewe is portrayed in both the book and film as a young attractive man as explored through the quote references below from extracts of the book. I want to explore the narrative of the character in context of the story using the time lapse of story telling through the character design, using elements such as beards and colour ageing to depict that characters point within the story I feel will give the character a readable narrative to the audience as it is in the context of a book depicting this carefully will need to be considered through the design development.
Sara Crewe
This is my initial inspiration board for the main character Sara, she's very intelligent, assertive and lets her imagination run wild. when we first see Sara she is adorned in the most expensive rich fabrics and textures, only the best from Captain Crewe and as the story progresses we see this disappear and Sara becomes stripped of all her beautiful things left with only a simple rag dress.
I have included images of bruising as i imagine that Miss Minchin would have beaten her and Becky (other maid and friend of Sara) if they hadn't obeyed her rules, i love the raw colours in these images, the femininity of the colour pink not only in pretty images such as the silk material but in the raw lip image, this colour represents Sara's age but also her connection to her understanding of the adult world.
{ Intelligent Brave Kind Generous Storyteller }
This mood board shows the style of imagery i want to capture i want to explore the sinister elements within Sara's character, such as the quote below from the book 'weird and interesting little face' (Burnett, 1905)this is very different to how she is shown within the film, shown there with blonde perfect hair and a very pretty face portraying the 'princess' element to how a society stereotypically thinks of a little princess.
(Burnett, 1905)
Having developed this idea I would like to push myself to play with the ideals of Sara's aesthetic creating images that are not conventional to what society conceives as a princess stereotypical aesthetic also pushing the plays aesthetic allowing the audience to question the character. Below I have Created a chart with my initial ideas although due to the paper the tenderness of the colour application dose not show I would like this to be subtle so she looks as young as possible while also creating that raw feel with the use of soft pinks and fluffy lashes.
Initial Face Chart
The boarding school girls are more of extras within the compositions and don't necessarily perform to the extent that the other characters do so these designs will be amended when I have settled on a firm idea for the others. I want the girls to perform as classic stereotypes of young girls growing up allowing them to be relatable to the younger audience members.
Having created my character profiles I feel i have a better visual understanding in the direction of narrative that I am heading in learning that although I am producing content that is made for the stage, the outlet of format is in a photoshoot context so i need to be precise to the thoughtful nature of application. From this I will now be able to apply my character profiles to any initial test shoots and from here will push the active design leading on from this stage.
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