Week 8: Adaptation

The Piano (1993)

The Piano is a story set on a bleak New Zealand coast where a mute mail-order bride, Ada and her young daughter, Flora struggle to maintain dignity through rain, humidity and mud.  It is set in the early years of European colonization of New Zealand.

As the Costume Designer the main element is designing textiles that depict the civilized world the main character has left, and transitioning into a wild, primitive world.   I still want to maintain her somber dignity even though all around her world falls apart and she succumbs to the primitively forced upon her.I want to set the color palette lush and somber, setting a tone for the entire film.

Ada McGrath’s first costume is a dark crepe Victorian dress.  I would make the dress out of  upon layers of fabric to create a somber yet beautiful dress.  She is a widow still wearing black so the dress will be simple yet elegant.

When she arrives with her daughter on the beach of New Zealand, she wears a black satin bonnet bound tight with a black ribbon.  Flora will be wearing a very dark plaid dress and wearing a bonnet as well.  When she is carried upon the shoulders of the men, she realizes how primitive the island is and she knows she made a terrible mistake.   The dress and bonnet symbolizes the darkness of the island and she is a bound prisoner.

The fake wedding dress she wears will be of simple linen with ties on the back.  Ribbons bind her hair.  She has dainty boots that get defiled with mud not matter how hard she tries to avoid it.  It is too big for her and fits her oddly.

I had to have many layers of clothing for Ada’s scenes with Baines.  She has to earn her beloved piano that was sold by her husband by giving “lessons” to the man, George Baines, to earn it back.  Every layer has to be very detailed since close up of her garments will be in the film.

The first layer is stockings above the knee.  They will be black of course.  They are held up by garters attached to a corset.  There are white cotton drawers over her stockings.  A sleeveless chemise she wears is white.

The corset consists of genuine whalebone.  I want to be as historically accurate as possible.  The crinoline will support the skirt and supports the seven petticoats that would be added.  Layers of fabric that represent layers of her dignity and pride.  The dress will have a high neck and long sleeves and a small jacket.  Of course she will wear small gloves.  She has half boots because of the New Zealand mud.

One detail the Director wanted was a small hole in her stocking.  This is gives Baines the ability to “touch” her bare skin.

Week 7: Reading Virtual Reality

I think both Cosmopolis and Ready Player One have a lot of things in common with their work, although they have different takes and ideas they are similar in the way of weird main characters and oddly timed and blank spots in between. The film we watched in class had kind of a weird idea of putting technology in ourselves and how we might have virtual reality. For years we have been in video games and experiencing different worlds and ideas. The narrative and storytelling in a way is being in a different character or world. Almost like when we play games and watch very bright and interesting worlds we come back into a bland world. The story is immersive, it's written so the reader really gets a feel for the environments at least when reading it I think particularly I liked some of the places. The dystopian future aspect really came across really well and developed.

Take an event or setting of the novel and adapt it into virtual reality:

It would be really interesting if the setting with the trailers stacked upon each other be made into virtual reality. I know it will be developed into a movie so we will get to see this setting. But I like to imagine it like the image above. I would like to in VR travel through a place like this, salvaging and climbing this area would be really fun in this dystopian type setting. Maybe even living in a place with territories and clans. I would like to play or develop a game similar to this setting.

Week 6: Writing and Reading from Diverse Positions

I think this week focuses on breaking the normal traditions. We watched Circumstance and we also had to read Marriage of a Thousand Lies both display LGBT+ and trying to break out of the South-Asian culture roots. I think some parts I really enjoyed of this novel is the dynamic between the characters. I felt like as thought I didn't relate too much to the characters, I understand being gay and trying to be accepted. Especially the struggles of trying to conform or understand who you are. I can relate more situational rather than personal.  I can also understand how both portray two girls that are unsure of what they want I correlate more to the experience of these characters like Lucky. In the same circumstance I also felt the same way, the visuals and understanding the emotions helped me get more of a grasp on Sindu's novel. Do you go to do what you want to do? Or do you follow what others want you to do? I think these are the questions that are similar for both the novel and the movie. 

In class we had SJ Sindu come in and talk about her experiences writing and her development as a writer. Sindu took a lot of time and writing to understand her own character. The development of going through her drafts and a lot of time thinking, getting multiple feedback from different groups people. As an artist and a writer, she tries to consume as many novels as she can. She also talks about perception of time and how she reflects on her work and how timing can be warped just like her novels. Sindu makes weekly goals of working and not trying to overwork herself. In some ways she feels that working on deadlines are important but also making yourself healthy and happy. I feel if there is one thing that Sindu has in common with her own character Lucky, is pushing the traditions and her own roots. The research that she does is always so thorough as she read original Hindu text, looking into cults and police reports.  We talked about identity including race and sex and are both very important topics to discuss and I'm glad we went over it today.

Week 5: Privilege as a Position

 Week 5: Privilege as a Position

This week we are reading by Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo. I feel like in this novel we are really detached from the characters especially the main character. The central character is always talking and seemingly knowing about his future. It seems we are more to observe rather than experience with the character. I feel like the novel is just a big discussion and it's not really "commercial". 
For the writing assignment we need to discuss about privilege and power, the main character is obviously rich and he has a lot of money. In the novel, class is identified with clothes, the anti-globalists wearing dirty clothes or the rich people who are overdressed. It's almost like the middle class doesn't exist in the novel. We see that he has so much money with items and can get what he wants when it comes to girls. Throughout the novel I feel like a lot of people pointed a gun at Eric and he just simply doesn't care. It's almost like he doesn't mind. He has this complete control and the vehicle itself represents how small and paranoid the he can be. I think that Eric isn't supposed to be a likable character its supposed to challenge the reader in deciding if we care about his ideals and what he has to say. I get the sense in this novel that the women in this novel are very knowledgeable and giving in to Eric's wants. This character has a complex about wanting things. 

Eric can't control everything, and he is losing his money and power. He can't keep going knowing that everything is not balanced. The movie itself almost seems like there is so much going on in the background yet we are in this single car and most of the novel is taking place here. Privilege effects how we see especially the main character, in which it he's seeing things in a different warped perspective in ways we can't even understand. He is losing parts of himself through the process and seeing him sort of unravel. I feel like Eric comes to find that whats important and what he is gaining ties and friendships to other people and trying to relate to them.