Pitching Ideas:

Coming Up With Idea's For Our Pitch & Advert:

Pitch:

The whole idea of pitching is to give a summary as to what exactly you're pitching and what your product or idea includes, it is a brief description without going into much depth so you're able to give your audience a taster of what you have to offer. Also because you may not have much time to deliver your pitch it is crucial to make your presentation sweet and short.

Today was our first day back from our holidays and we have just begun our pitching unit, this includes us producing our own advert for an item or clothing that we will be selling and presenting as a professional pitcher.

I was paired up with Yvonne Bonsu and we had to come up with a product, brand name and company name we also had to come up with our target audience how we were going to pitch this idea equipment that will be needed, also we had to plan out cost and expenses the actors that we will be using camera crew clothing and producing the product. I then decided to do some research and find out what our pitch could be about, my research contained:

• Who is the target audience?
• What are we selling?
• What sells? What attracts customers?
• Costing & Budgets?
• How would we produce our advert
• Catchy Slogans and Music?

And so on, here is some screenshots of the information that I gathered.

 

Here I am explaining the different costume ideas that I came up with for the advert, the main focus on this advert is to advertise the perfume to a young female audience, letting them be aware that almost anyone can wear this product no matter what background or how you look. The theme of this product is going to be advertised by a 90's group TLC. They are known for producing such songs like 'unpretty' 'no scrubs' 'waterfalls' the sort of music that TLC were making were sort of songs that would make you happy, feel good songs, that help you when feeling down. TLC also gave the message that you do not have to change who you are to suite someone else you can still be yourself and still feel beautiful. The reason why we have decided to add in the TLC theme is because their new movie just came out in 2013 and it attracted a lot of audience now this is a bonus because as their new movie is out we thought that if we bring out our product with this theme it will also gain a lot of customers as the music group have become relevant again.

The reason why we have decided to add in the TLC theme is because a lot of females listen to TLC, they also send out positive vibes and good messages for example their song ‘Unpretty’ which sends out a positive message that you don’t have to change yourself to be accepted. You can be yourself and love who you this also links in with the perfume ‘Un breakable’ teenagers shouldn’t feel as if they have to be a certain way to wear certain products you can be yourself and still be beautiful. Here we have the famous TLC group however we will be using actors that are very similar to this and the actors will also be wearing similar clothing, this will help attract many young customers.

Also in the costume idea draft I have included the first steps of actually producing and advertising the product which
is the photo-shoot to give a taster of how the advert will look like, the actors will be holding the perfume in their hands. The actors will all be wearing black crop tops to resemble their relationship and the unbreakable bond.

Each actor has their own personality’s for example Tatyana Lopez is more of a dancer and she’s more feminine than Holly Washington however they are all wearing the perfume which also suggest that you don’t have to be a certain way or dress a certain way to use the product you can still be yourself and the product and be comfortable within yourself.

 

The main target audience for our product is young teens/adults this is because the scent and the theme of the product has a feminine touch to it. Here's another preview of the draft of the actual product:

 

 

The name of the fragrance is ‘Un- breakable’. The design of this bottle is a diamond shape for the lid of the bottle and then a round shaped design for the rest of the bottle, at the base of the bottle it has ‘Unbreakable’ written on the perfume.
We have decided that our whole bottle will be the colour red and the writing ‘Unbreakable’ will be in white, as the colour white represents purity and innocence. The traditional white colour meaning is that of cleanliness. The meaning of white is also associated with peace, protection and hope. White also represents new beginnings, fresh starts and innocence. It is such a pure and healing colour and as it contains every colour of the rainbow it has many benefits. The reason why we have decided to make the writing the colour white, is because it also helps represent the idea of a brand new beginning and this is the sort of message we want to bring out with this perfume is that they can also have a new start with this perfume that they don’t have to look a certain way to use our products we are aiming to change the mind-set of people and make them stop thinking that they’re not good enough to use our products.

Around the bottle we have decided to add in some cracks this is to represent the name of the product ‘Unbreakable’ this also suggest that no matter how many events or difficulties one goes through it can never break them. Just as the bottle has some cracks its still useable and still manages to make customers happy with the fragrance. We held a focus group and asked both females and males for their feedback on the perfume we had some amazing feedback such as the fragrance is strong but welcoming, it makes a statement and doesn’t blend in like any other fragrance it has its own smell and leaves a mark.

Starting off our pitch:

As we only had one week to complete this task me and my partner started off by finding out how much it will cost us to get into the studio and record the advert, we also had to plan out our budget how much it will cost us to pay for studio camera actors food and transport. We were able to find some ex students from drama school to help us complete this advert, we spoke to these actors and they were able to act in our advert free of charge as they are new students in the industry looking for some opportunities so this was a bonus to them. We then looked into the costumes how the actors would dress what they would wear the sort of hair styles that they will have that looked very similar to how TLC would have dressed in the 90's so everyone can see the similarities. Here is a draft of the budgeting research that we did on finding location cost and crew:


 

 

Budget- £7,500

Location:   Contact
LOST Theatre
208 Wands worth Road
London
SW8 2JU
Tel: 020 7622 9208
Email: losttheatre@yahoo.co.uk
www.losttheatre.co.uk

Location London Borough of Lambeth. London travel zone 2

Size Small & Medium

Number of studios available for hire Two

Studio details

Rehearsal Room 1
8.5m (28 feet) x 6.6m (21.5 feet). Maximum ceiling height 4m
Lino floor
Hire charge: £15 per hour. £50 per 4 hour block

Facilities
Adapted toilets, mirrors in Rehearsal Room 1, electronic piano, and stereo system

 

Disabled access
The theatre is fully accessible. There is access to all floors via lift, wheelchair spaces in the theatre and accessible toilets.

Opening times
I called the studio manager up and they told me that the Theatre is open from 10am to 10pm every day.

Cancellation policy
The venue gave our company a notice of less than 28 days prior to the booking period. The original fee will also be charged in full.

Travel
LOST Theatre is situated in Lambeth, between Stockwell and Vauxhall.

Underground
Stock well station – If the crew uses the Northern line and Victoria line
Vauxhall station – If the crew uses the Victoria line

Bus routes to destination
77, 87, 196, P5

Overground
The actors and crew man can get a train to the Vauxhall station to get to the chosen Venue.

Parking
The Wands worth Road is a double yellow line road, therefore parking on the main road is prohibited. There are pay and display bays in local roads around the theatre. These operate between 8.30am to 5.30pm. Outside these times the bays are free

Total cost of the venue is £75.

As a company we thought we would use amazon to purchase the items as we have a budget of £7,500 and still have to pay: the crew, food and the actors as well as share money between us.

 Deluxe Smart Shop UK Accessory STARTER KIT for the Canon Power shot SX120, SX20 Digital Cameras. This starter kit costs about Thirty-seven pounds thirty seven pence including postage.

Professional Clapper Board

 

 

 

This costs nine pounds and sixty three pence.

SG-108 SG108 Pro DV camera Stereo Microphone for 3.5mm microphone MIC jack, fits Canon 5D Mark II,7D, 550D,600D,& Nikon,Sony,JVC,Samsung Camcorders.

£23 pounds

 The image above is a tripod dolly which is used to make the sound quality of a advert high quality.

£26.91

Camlink TPVIDEO1 Professional Video Tripod with Free Carry Case and Fluid Pro Video Head

 

Cam Smart DSLR RIG with Follow Focus and Matte Box for Video Camcorder Camera DV DSLR Cameras, Canon 5D MK II, 7D, 60D, 600D (T3i), Nikon D90 D7000 D5100 D3100 D300s, Sony A65 A55, A33, A580, A560, DSR-PD198p, GH1, Gh2, GH3

RODE Video Mic with Rycote Lyre Mount- Eighty nine pounds

RODE Deadcat Furry Windshield Microphone

 

We had a budget for the camera, crew and the actor. As our actors are not professionals we have decided to pay them less

Actors- All three of the actors will be paid five hundred pounds and will have travelling expensive and food covered which then tallies up to £2,100. We are aware of our actor’s health and have ordered food that will not affect them.

Make-up artiste Cost – £6 per hour for three of the actors

Costume Cost:

Baggy Jeans – £96

Crop tops- £ 158

Timberlands - £90

Jordans- £ 75

Camera crew Cost- 1,324 pounds for a team of five – ten crew members for five hours.

 

Here I have explained in much detail of how much the equipment, crew and costume will cost us. Here you can see in much detail that everything is planned out very well and carefully. After me and my partner planned and explained how the cost and  budget and how we were able to sell this product we then started working and thinking about different ways that we can persuade the panel to take an interest in our product. We decided to do a pre photo-shoot in order to show the panel exactly how the product and the advert would look like if we did go ahead with the plan, here are some images showing the theme of the advert and the product itself:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 



Week One Modernizing Shakespeare

Modernizing Shakespeare:

Tuesday 5th November 2013:

Today we discussed about modernizing Shakespeare and how we can make little changes to make the piece up to date. We went through different text and speeches and thought of how we can change it without completely changing the text for example:

• Changing 'thou' to you.
• hanging 'thee' to this.
• Changing 'tis' to it is.
• Changing 'th' to the.
• Changing 'whose' to who are and so on...

We also watched a YouTube video Shakespeare and hip hop which tells us about how hip hop originated from Shakespeare. The rhyming sequence and pattern. This also helped me understand how to modernize my speech. The video I watched was of a man rapping a Shakespeare speech, talking about how music itself came from the rhyming patterns that Shakespeare included in his plays.

Today we have been given the task of coming up with 3 ideas and story lines. That we can add into our modernized Shakespeare speeches. This will help create the setting, we have also been given the task to go through our text and make a change to certain words and add on certain gestures, movements and slang like how we would normally talk like. Hamlet is a male during the Shakespeare times, however in order to modernize I have to change Hamlet into a female so I will be able to settle into the character easier. That means how I would normally move like a man and talk in a certain way I would have to transform everything to how I would normally speak and how I would normally move.

Pitching Ideas:


The main theme of my speech is suicide, I have come up with three different idea's to perform for my film and acting unit. The meaning of pitch in drama is to offer idea's for consideration. the first idea I came up with was:

• The scene in the bathroom -  one of the ideas I am thinking of in order to modernize my Shakespeare is that I'm alone in my room or bathroom on the toilet seat with a bottle of pills in my hand, thinking of taking them and killing myself because I have just found out that my mother is having an affair with my uncle. I think this idea will strongly work because it is very similar to the original Hamlet text. Another idea I had in mind was the opening scene will be water swirling in the sink going down the drain (symbolizing how Hamlet feels about his life right now as if everything is just going downhill). Then the camera goes up to the mirror to see me staring at myself then reach out to the cabinet, reaching out to the pills and then I shall begin my speech.

• The scene in the bathroom - Another idea is me in the bath tub slitting my wrist and drowning myself and just laying there in a pool of blood. As I begin my speech the water in the bath tub begins to change into a red blood colour this will also symbolise Hamlets obsession of death during this time.

• War at home - The last idea I had was the scenario that a teenage girl was stuck at home and her mother has currently married a man that she highly dislikes because the teenager is only able to realise that the man his mother married is not who he really claims to be. She wants to tell her mother what he is really like but does not want to ruin her mothers happiness.

Different Shots in Film Making:

There are many different type of shots in film making, there are shot compositions, sized and angles. These shots will help bring out your story line and help the audience understand easier. Most actors may want to use a close up shot whilst having a more intimate scene and some may use the wide also known as establishing shot to show where exactly the characters are. The most known shots are:

1. Wide Shot ( which also can work as an establishing shot)
2. Medium Shot
3. Two Shot
4. Close Up

The wide shot:













The wide shot also known as a long shot or a master shot is used to emphasize the scenery or the location, the wide shot also helps give the character more space to move around within a shot without the camera having to follow them around. Establishing shot and master shot is not the same but very similar. An establishing shot introduces a new location from a point where the audience can still see all relevant characters in the space. The only difference is the length of this shot. A master shot records the entire action a complete run through from that camera position. That way if a tighter shot is forgotten during coverage, the director knows that the editor will have enough material by cutting back to the master shot. An establishing shot would not last more than ten seconds in an edited movie, while a master shot could last a few minuets. The establishing shot displays the elements needed for the scene to function.

 Medium Shots on Film:

In film making a medium shot is a basic shot that shows a character from waist up to just above the characters head, a medium shot in a bit more personal compared to a wide shot. Normally this sort of shot is used when a character may be holding something in his hands therefore this shot will help emphasize this.

Two Shot Capture:

The two shot capture is mainly used when there is a scene that involves two actors, it also used to show emotional reactions between two people for example in the movie stand by me it is used several times to show emotions. This shot can also be used if two actors are sitting or standing next to each other it can also be used as an over the shoulder shot. This shot is really helpful as the audience diverts their attention to each actor as they speak, this is also very effective if their is a scene where two characters are walking and talking side by side in a shot.

Close Up:

A close up in film making is a type of shot, which tightly frames a person or an object close ups bring out more details this is usually filmed from the chest or neck upwards and just above their head. Close ups are very important when acting as it gives you a chance to show the audience how you are feeling at that specific time in moment we are also able to see more expression in the eye movement. A director may choose to use a close up to emphasize how intense and emotional a scene may be. There are many different type of close ups from example:

• Medium Close Up - Half-way between a midshot and a close-up. Usually covers the actors head and shoulders.
• Close Up - A certain feature, such as someone's head, takes up the whole frame.
• Extreme Close Up - The shot is so tight that only a detail of the subject, such as someone's eyes, can be seen
• Lean In - when the juxtaposition of shots in a sequence, usually in a scene of dialogue, starts with medium or long shots and ends with close-ups.
• Lean Out - the opposite as a lean-in, moving from close-ups out to longer shots.
• Lean - when a lean-in is followed by a lean-out.

High and low camera angles in film shots:


In film a high angle shot is usually when the camera angle is filmed just above the actor eye line. This is shot by using a crane standing on a hill or looking out of a window or a high place. When you shoot from a high angle the actors are made to look smaller and almost as if we're looking down on them. A high shot will also make the actor look more venerable and powerless. This sort of shot is mostly used in a more dramatic scene to either make another character more of a higher statues than an other. In comparison to this the low angle shot is from below the actors height, as low as the ground looking up. Low angles will have the effect of making the actor look more bigger and powerful, also more intimidating and more of statues.

                                                                                 

The God Shot:

The God shot is a certain shot of the camera looking straight down on the scene, this is also to be suggested that its the point of view of God looking down onto his creation and also showing the audience the bigger picture. The God shot is used in films to remind us that the character is a human and sometimes insignificant.



 

Character Analysis:

 

 

Who is your character? 

My original character is Hamlet, but now that I have modernised my text I am now a teenage girl of the age 17 black living in Essex, her name is Hannah she is currently in college studying English Maths and History. She goes Leyton Sixth Form College, and is in her final year of college before she decides to go into pursuing her dreams to get a degree in Drama as she enjoys Shakespeare and his plays. She lives at home with her mum and newly wed husband, the reason why I have decided to give my character such description as this is because I am able to relate to it as it is very similar to me and the sort of lifestyle I live, this will also help me connect with the character and play the character more comfortably.

 

What is their current situation, feelings, desire, and objective?/

Who/what are they talking about?

In my scene my scene my character is currently under a lot of stress and is confused as to what she should do as she has just fount out that the man that her mother recently married is not the man that her mother thinks he is. Hannah has seen through this man as he is cheating and lying to her mother. He is currently having an affair with her mother and is confused whether to tell her mother what is going on or to just keep quiet because she does not want to break her mothers happiness. Another thought that is going through Hannah's' mind is whether to commit suicide or to live because she can no longer deal with the stress. The reason why I choose this scenario is because it's very similar to the original Hamlet text as we can see that Hamelt is also very obsessed with the idea of death after he fount out that his uncle was the cause of his fathers death, and his uncle and his mother was having a relationship straight after the death of his father. My character starts of by saying

 

'to be or not to be that is the question'

 

In the original Hamlet text this first sentence was questioning whether he should believe what the ghost of his father had just told him or to just tell himself that it's just him imagining things. However in the modernized text the first line means whether Hannah should commit suicide to get away from all this stress and confusion or if she tell her mum and ruin her happiness. This first sentence is very important because this is where we can see the emotional state that Hannah is in.

 

How are they showing this?

I have decided in order to show how confused I am and how stressed out I am I will be locked away in the toilet sitting on the toilet seat with a cup of water and a bottle of strong tablets to indicate that I am thinking about committing suicide. I am also a bit shaky and breathing quite heavily this is because of the thought of committing suicide at this point is running through my mind as I ponder about the outcome of me doing this. I also take pauses and deep breaths whilst performing this monologue, and at times throughout my piece I will be looking up and staring at myself in the mirror almost as if the answers to my questions is looking straight at me. The pace of my speech will be constantly changing as my emotions begin to build up.

What are your movements like?/Do they reflect your characters emotion?n the first scene I am walking at a fast pace through the doors into the toilet, this also helps reflect the anger that is running through me because of the situation that I am in. You can also see through my facial expressions that I am stressed out, in the bathroom scene I am quite still in the beginning this is also reflecting the confusion as I am not sure of what to do next. Further into the speech I begin to have quick and faster movements when I am becoming more and more frustrated with myself and the whole situation. I also wonder around the toilet a bit and then take sudden pauses when a new thought process has come into my head.

What vocal technique must you introduce to make your piece reflective of situation, emotion and character?
Whilst modernizing my Shakespeare I was using many different techniques to help improve the way I will be delivering my speech, because in theatre the original performance is really loud and projected but with film and television I had to draw everything in and tone everything down but still have a purpose and intention with what I was saying, I also tried using different exercises such as delivering my speech with my hand right in front of my face this will help me tone everything down and it also helped me experiment on how to play on my emotions let it come out with different projection and intimacy. In film and television everything is very intimate and personal by me practising my monologue with my hand right in my face it gave me the idea of how it would feel like to have a camera in my face it also gave me the idea of how close and personal filming is so it helped me to understand what right tone projection and emotion to bring out. At times in the monologue similar to the original Hamlet speech I would be quickening and slowing down the pace this is just to give the audience an idea of the sort of thoughts and confusion that's running through my head. The different kind of vocal exercises I have been doing is the two finger drop this is by inserting two fingers into my mouth and then going over my monologue with my mouth open this helps me to articulate. The definition of articulation is the adjustments and movements of speech organs involved in pronouncing a particular sound taken as a whole.
 

What Universal themes are included in your play?

I have included many different type of universal themes into my play such as:

• Love
• Hate
• Family
• Fear
• Deceit

The element of love is added in when we can see Hannah truly loves her mother and wants to look out for her mother and her happiness however the fear of ruining her life and happiness gets in the way of Hannah telling her mother the truth about her newly wedded husband. This then leaves Hannah feeling very confused and stressed which causes a sense of hatred towards the man that married her mum as she is aware that the man her mother married is no good for her. This also brings in the universal theme of family and deceit as the new husband is deceiving Hannah's mother making her think and feel like everything is fine and he isn't doing anything that will leave Hannah's mother broken hearted.

Universal Themes:

 

 





 

 



Modernising Shakespeare

Modernizing Shakespeare:

Modernizing Shakespeare makes the world look at the social aspects of that time period to provoke social discussion. The language might not change but the universal themes will remain the same for example the theme of:

• Evil
• Good
• Wealth
• Sex
• Love
• Power
• Poverty
• Greed
• Death
• Hate
• Life
• War
• Loyalty

And so on, The definition of a universal theme is a theme that is shared among many stories, but the stories are all independent of each other. For example, there are many love stories but yet they are all different. Universal themes are themes that we as humans can reflect on and be able to relate to on a social context. In Hamlet there are many different themes such as death, relationships, murder and also relationship competition. I did some further research into all of these themes that occur in other Shakespeare plays and fount some similar plays such as 'A Shakespearean Love' 'Midsummer Night Dream' and 'Macbeth'.

Shakespeare In Love:

Shakespeare in love stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes this is a play written by William Shakespeare. It is a 1998 British romantic comedy drama film directed by John Maden. The play involves a love affair that was written during the time that Shakespeare was also writting Romeo and Juliet. However this story is fiction but some of the characters are based on real people many of the character lines plot devices and have a lot of similarities to other Shakespeare plays.  His idea for the play, which should be completed, is a pirate comedy entitled Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. But Will is stuck, his shrink asks him how long it has been since he has been with a woman and advises him that that is

what he needs. Auditions are held since the players' troup is out on tour. All the not so actors are pitiful. Except for Thomas Kent, the alias given by Viola, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Women at this time are not allowed on stage in public. After Shakespeare shows interest, this character runs away to her estate where a party is being held. He

follows Thomas into this party to later find love at first sight in Viola. Thomas once again shows up to receive her part in the play as Romeo. While Will and Thomas are talking, Shakespeare pours his heart out, telling about this wonderfully beautiful woman, Thomas's cousin. Somehow, they end up kissing. Now that Will has this woman, his writers block is cured, he goes on to write Romeo and Juliet through his true-life actions in his affair with Viola. At the end of the movie they put on the play through all the hardships, in the company of Queen Elizabeth. 

After doing some research about Shakespeare in Love I then went back to the play that i am currently performing 'Hamlet' and notice there a lot of similar themes and motifs and plot devices that occur in this play such as:

• Testing as a love motif - Going through Shakespeare in love i notice there was a similar theme that is also shown in Hamlet which is the test of love. There are many times that proving their love was shown in both plays. In Shakespeare in love Viola learns that she is to be married to Wessex with the Queen's approval, she writes Will to tell him to break it off. He, however, discovers that Thomas Kent is really Viola, and pursues her in spite of the almost- certain loss that will follow. In taking this chance, he follows his heart despite everything, this is proving his love. Similar to Shakespeare in love, the theme of love is also shown in Hamlet. Love is seen to be complex as Queen Gertrude Hamlets mother marries Hamlets Uncle after the death of King Hamlet things start to get complicated as she believes she is in love and doesn't follow any instruction and follows her heart. Shakespeare in Love was played in 1998, and was well broken down and modernized so it could appeal to a younger audience, the modernized version include such themes as this because the younger generation are able to relate because it is simplified and easier to understand. During these times late 90's teenagers were seen to be wanting to grow up quickly and not really understanding the true meaning of love, however in Shakespeare in love we are shown the real passion and true meaning of love and what being in love can make you do, this as an audience makes us re think our actions before doing such things for a loved one. We are also able to understand that sometimes not everyone in life will like your decision or something that you want to do, but if something feels right you should go ahead and do it. We are able to see in Shakespeare in Love Viola is told that she has to marry to Wessex, however she tells the queen to break it off even though after he finds out that Thomas Kent is really viola even though of the consequences he may face he still pushes himself and does everything to prove his love towards her. This is also linked in with Hamlet, as Hamlets brother also does all he can to peruse Queen Gertrude.  

Midsummer Night Dreams:

I did some research on Midsummer Nights Dreams and was able to find a modernized version that came out in 1999, Kevin Kline, Michelle Pfeiffer, Stanley Tucci, Christian Bale, Rupert Everett, and Calista Flockhart star in this modern remake of the Shakespearean classic. Two couples who are wrongly in love are finally brought rightly together as the fairy trickster Puck administers a powerful love potion that causes the lovers to mix and match with outrageous results. I noticed that Midsummer Nights Dream and Hamlet have both similar themes motifs & symbols such as:

• Theseus and Hippolyta:  Shakespeare has used both Theseus and Hippolyta as a symbol of order and stability to contrast with the uncertainty, instability, and darkness of most of the play

Week 1 Rehersals

Becoming Hamlet:

Week One:

Today we started reading through our scripts and started to analyse and break down little bits of the text, I looked to see if there was words that we didn't understand then I read through the dictionary to find the meaning which helped me understand the text a bit more. I then went through the script and highlighted the words that stood out, where I needed to pause and have a thought process, and where I could but emphasis on words. As I started going through my monologue i realised the purpose and reason why Shakespeare used this particular language in Hamlet and most of his plays,  After highlighting and taking notes on how to deliver the speech, it helped me realise what sort of tone was needed in different sections of the speech, whether I needed to raise the volume of my voice, what emotions to bring out and what sort of pace I needed to deliver the speech in.

Research For Hamlet

                                   Context:

Hamlet was written by William Shakespeare an English Literature born in 1564. Around 1590 he left his family behind and travelled to London to work as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in the seventeenth century around 1600 - 1601. And was first performed July 1602.
Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whose uncle murders the prince’s father, marries his mother, and claims the throne.
The prince then decides to act in  an unintelligent manner and throws his uncle off guard, seeks revenge and manages to kill his uncle. This was the raw material that Shakespeare had in mind for the play but later on  then changed the whole story, and made  Hamlet a philosophically minded prince who delays taking action because his knowledge of his uncle’s crime is so uncertain.
Whilst Shakespeare was writing this play he wanted to leave the audience feeling uncertain and confused as to what really happened in the play that's why for instance whether Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, shares in Claudius’s guilt? or  Hamlet continues to love Ophelia even as he spurns her? or in Act 3  Ophelia’s death is suicide or accident? Shakespeare wanted the audience to ask questions to make them think what is going on, he wanted to leave them wanting more that was the whole aim of the play Hamlet.

 

                                   Classical Roles

Hamlet:

Hamlet is a character that really stands out in this play compared to others, there is always more to him than the other characters in the play can figure out. Hamlet actually tells other characters that there is more to him than meets the eye. Hamlet was known for having such a deep important tone and statues whenever he spoke, even when he wasn't saying something important, he was given so much respect from everyone. Hamlet is a university student, and for some reason Hamlet takes great interest in difficult questions or questions that cannot be answered. Later on in the play Hamlet finds proof that his uncle killed his father Hamlet refuses to give up until he's able to prove that his uncle (the current king) is responsible for his death. He is extremely disappointed with his mother for marrying his uncle so quickly, Hamlet then rejects Ophelia a woman he once claimed to love. In addition to this I was able to do some further research and find out that after the ghost of Hamlets late father appeared to him, Hamlet is left confused and not sure whether what he has just been told by his fathers ghost is true. A group of actors from Elsinore then arrive come up with a solution, and then decided to stage a play re enacting his fathers murder. By staging this play they will be able to see if Claudius is guilty by the way he reacts towards it.

I also done further research into Hamlets character and was able to find out abit more about his social cultural and historical background. Hamlet is seen to be indicated as a medium built character, he is seen to be gentle and always showing geniality to those that are lower than him. Hamlet is also seen to be highly intelligent Ophelia quotes :

"O what a noble mind is here o'erthrown"

Hamlet himself reminds that Haratio that :

"There are more things in heaven and earth"

We are able to see that Hamlet is a man of culture we can also see that Hamlet is a student of drama and knows his classics very well as he is able to quote freely from works he has read or studied. He also expresses himself strongly about how much he hates the evils of drinking when the new king is given over while his mother's falseness and lack of modesty forms her son to be bitter.

The deepness of Hamlets culture of intellect has an impact of how Hamlet is so quick to judge others. Further on into the play we are able to see that Hamlet is the sort of person that is forever looking into himself, for explanations of this and that and shows his most deepest thoughts in soliloquies.

We are able to see that essentially Hamlet is a victim of circumstances, and these sort of circumstances bring failure from those he would least expect. For example the young prince has been given the task to seek revenge for his fathers death. This is out of Hamlets nature, however this brings out some weak and strong traits in his character, the grief of his father has brought 'melancholy' to Hamlet who is always cheerful. On one hand these facts could suggest that Hamlet is seen to be mad however this also suggest that the people around him may the people that are going mad. Because of the grief which Hamlet feels , his mothers relationship with the brother of her deceased husband appears even more shameful to his nature.  We can see changes in Hamlet as his deep thinking mind reflects on the futility of life and he contemplates suicide. He becomes cunning and cruel determine to gain revenge by playing them at their own game.

Hamlet contains many themes and elements within the play such as:

The Impossibility of Certainty - What separates Hamlet from other revenge plays is that the action we expect to see, particularly from Hamlet himself, is continually postponed while Hamlet tries to obtain more certain knowledge about what he is doing.

The Mystery of Death - In the aftermath of his father’s murder, Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death, throughout, the idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions.

The Nation as a Diseased Body - Everything is connected in Hamlet, including the welfare of the royal family and the health of the state as a whole. The play’s early scenes explore the sense of anxiety and dread that surrounds the transfer of power from one ruler to the next. At the end of the play, the rise to power of the upright Fortinbras suggests that Denmark will be strengthened once again.

Shakespeare also used a lot of devices and structures towards this play to help develop the ideas and help the audience understand the plays major themes.

Incest and Incestuous Desire -  Shakespeare adds in the factor of incest in a number of his plays including Hamlet. We are aware that there is a factor of incest when Gertrude and Claudius are having a conversation, (the former brother in law and the sister in law who are now married).

We can also see another incest desire in Laertes and Ophelia's relationship, at times Laertes speaks in a sort of sexual manner towards his sister Ophelia. Laertes also jumps into Ophelia's grave and clings onto her arms at her funeral, this sort of act is not normal it makes the audience think that there is more to Laertes and Ophelia's relationship as brother and sisters. One of the biggest element of incest in Hamlet is the relationship between Hamelt himself and Gertrude. Throughout the play Hamlet is seen to always be concerned and interested in Gertrude and Claudius sex life.

 

Misogyny - Hamlet is really emotional and confused after finding out that his mother has decided to marry his uncle Claudius soon after his fathers death. Hamlets mind-set towards females has now changed because of this situation with his mother and uncle, its as if he no longer trusts any female. A motif of misogyny or hatred towards women is shown throughout the play but occurs mostly within the relationship between Ophelia and Gertrude. He desperately wants Ophelia to go to a nunnery, so she is not able to experience the corruption of sexuality.

Earing and Hearing - The importance of language is shown throughout the play, Hamlet uses words to communicate and suggest ideas to one another. However they are also used to disport the truth, manipulate each other and cause corruption. Claudius is a prime example, he manipulate words to gain power on the throne. The use of words also represents images of earing and hearing, Claudius murders the king by pouring poison into his ear and quoting 'I have words to speak in thine ear will make thee dumb'.

Symbols (Yorick's Skull) Shakespeare uses the skull to represent thematic ideas, hamlet discovers the skull in the graveyard in Act V Hamlet then begins to speak to the skull and focuses on the fact that death is necessary, it is irreversible he then ponders on the idea of how much loyalty has been lost because of this death.

"get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come”

no one can avoid death. He traces the skull’s mouth and says,

 “Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft,”

This is indicating to us the obsession he currently has with death and the consequences of it (revenge). This is a very important motif that runs throughout the play because Hamlet makes comments referring back to the point that everyone will soon meet death. 

Theme of betrayal: 'The sweet bells jangled, out of time and harsh'. Hamlets trust is betrayed in the play by people who are closest to him, the theme of betrayal takes place even before the tragedy when Hamlets uncle murders Hamlets father. And then marries his mother, another element of betrayal is Hamlets mothers actions after her husband died her actions are seen to be hasty almost as if she no longer remembers the Late king which was her husband. The ghost of the old King visited Hamlet and quoted,

"The serpent that did sting thy father's life
Now wears his crown"

This quote also has a relationship and links back to the time of Adam and eve when the serpent came between them this parallels Claudius coming in between King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude. Hamlet is unsure whether to believe the information that he has just received from the ghost, but it is something that he cannot ignore. After taking some time to think Hamlet then decides to plot a plan to see whether Claudius is guilty.
Cladius then achieves his goal to becoming the new King, when he made the speech he hinted that he was involved with the death of King Hamlet.

"With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage"

This can be interpreted as a sly confession from Claudius that he was involved with the death of King Hamlet. The word 'Dirge' is the complete opposite to the word 'Mirth' which also suggests to us that Claudius does not really love Gertrude as she was only used to help him gain the throne.

Hamlets Frustration: Throughout the play Hamlets frustration begins to grow and grow. This is due to the situation and the events that has happened. We are able to see the growth of Hamlets frustration when he reflects about what has just happened.

"O, that this too sullied flesh would melt,/Thaw, and resolve itslef into a dew!"

If it wasn't for Hamlets knowledge about the Christian religion he would have taken his own life, this is how sad Hamlet is feeling at this point he is considering about taking his own life and contemplating whether to commit suicide.

 "that the Everlasting had not fixed/His canon's'gainst self-slaughter!"

Here the audience is able to learn that Hamlet is highly committed to his religion even though he has every reason to take his life at this point. However because of the events that have been taking place Hamlets views on marriage has completely changed. He now see's marriage as corrupted and tainted. He describes his uncle as a weed in an impure world by stating

"an unweeded garden/That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature/posses it merely."

Hamlet tends to generalize womens weaknesses.

"frailty, thy name is woman!"

We are able to see that Hamlet thinks of his mother Gertrude and Ophelia the same way, Hamlet views his mother as impotent and unsuitable of love by saying , "Why, she would hang on him/As if an increase of appetite had grown/By what it fed on." 
 


Costume For Hamlet: I did some research about the sort of clothing that Hamlet would have worn during that time, this helped me engage with my character more because I feel as if I have transformed into Hamlet. I got some images of Google about the sort of clothing a prince would have worn during that time.

Here is an image of how a prince would have dressed during the Shakespearian period. We can se that Hamlet is wearing a formal looking hat, along with a well fitted top and long shorts with a belt around his wait to help support the sword he has. Also he is wearing heavy boots with long white socks. This is appropriate for a prince, most men during this period always had a sword protecting them this was because, a sword was used as a form of defence but also a symbol of status. Only someone with status or known as royalty was allowed to wear swords. Swords, Armour etc. would only have been within the reach of the rich and powerful , because of the enormous cost involved. Also this image we can see that Hamlets hat includes black feathers which also gives the impression that he is rich and must come from a royal family because not many people of that time had enough money to buy such expensive things. We can also see that his shoes are shinny and well made this also shows the wealth of Hamlet because only the rich and royalty had their shoes shinned.

 

Speech and Tone of Hamlet: Adding on to the research I have done I decided in order for me to fully understand and connect with my character I also did some research on how my character would have spoken the sort of pitch and tone Hamlet would have had at this time. I then started going onto research and looking at the different 'To be or not to be' speeches and I came across Richard Burton and Kenneth Branagh.

 

I firstly watched Richard Burton perform the speech in 1964 and I was able to identify that he had this sort of presence that Hamlet defiantly would have during his time. Richard performed it in a lower tone as a man but emphasised on some words which made it clearer and easier to understand what was happening. I also observed the pace of how he was saying this speech there were some times where he sped it up and slowed it down and we as a audience could really see his thought processes. Also by watching this performance it helped me understand what I was saying abit more, I understood that Hamlet is alone whilst saying this big speech its only him in a room and a chair. Halfway through the speech Hamlet sat down and carried on what he was saying, this had a big affect because as he sat down we can see the amount of pain he is in, because it was almost as if he just slumped on his chair with no meaning as if he was fed up tired and confused. I have decided to adapt different projections and tones whilst performing to show and allow the audience understand exactly how I'm feeling for example when I'm saying 'to be or not to be' I say this in a calm confused tone this is allowing the audience that I am confused at this time in moment.

 

 

This helped me create this scene in my head. I also observed that with Richard Burton there was less movement but more emotions within the eyes he was more still whilst perform this which had a major effect because as an audience we are more engaged. As he said the word 'shuffled' he made the movement as if he was brushing off something on his body as if he is sick of the thought of death and what has happened. I also observed his movement when he first walked in after seeing his father ghost he looks shocked and confused he is fiddling around with his fingers which gives us the impression that he is either nervous or just confused and doesn't know what to do next, he then starts of his speech, 'to be or not to be' in a low uncertain tone making us as a audience wonder what is going through his head.

 

 

 

The next person that I did research on was Kenneth Branagh, his performance had a few similarities to Richard Burton. What I was able to observe was the movement of his eyes painted a picture every time he spoke. We could see what exactly was happening and what he was thinking of just through his eyes we could see a thought process. Unlike Richard Burton Kenneth performed the speech with much more pace, and much more emphasis on certain words this made me understand by stressing some words it gives more depth and meaning to it. I also realised when Kenneth was performing this speech he quoted 'And with a bare bodkin' and reached into his pocket and brought out a bodkin and some how it was like he was hypnotized and possessed and as if he didn't know what he was saying the words just came out as he thought. The object of the bodkin made the speech more interesting this is because as an audience we are going to react if someone brings out a weapon and it starts to make us think, whether he will use this bodkin against himself or for someone else this object just makes the speech far more interesting. 

 

 

 

In addition to this throughout the speech Kenneth performs it facing a mirror, this gives us the sense that he has no one else to talk to apart from himself, there is so much going on at the moment that he has no one else to turn to apart from himself. Right now Hamelt is feeling alone and  betrayed but also shocked at the fact that his father has come back to visit him as a ghost, and has told him the news of how his uncle was the cause of his death. The performance of this speech is much more clear and up to date unlike Richard Burton. Kenneth makes the speech more intense and emotional, we can see this through the way the pace of the words, and stresses on words.

 

Staging of Hamlet:

 

 

Here are some images of examples of how the stage of Hamlet would have been, unlike other Shakespeare plays Hamlet is very simple but yet very effective. As we can see these stages are very simple but have a lot of space so that the actors could create their own world. The stage lights will normally be very dim, and spotlights on different characters to create a sort of gloomy suspicious effect. The stage would also include maybe one or two chairs which also represent the throne. The setting will also include a fancy chandelier which also supports the idea of them being rich and coming from a royal background as people with a lower status than them would not be able to afford such expensive items. It may also include some stair cases that lead up to another setting of rooms or a balcony. This makes it seem more realistic this is because for example the scene when Hamlets mother is in her bedroom looking into a mirror and Hamlet walks into her room, not all scene can take place in the same environment so therefore by creating the stairs it helps create the world and makes the audience believe that she is actually in her own bedroom.

 

Presentation:

 

In class we were giving a task to gather all the background research we have completed about our play and character and create a presentation explaining the different themes and elements in our monologues, here are some screen shots of the presentation I created.

 

 

Here is the first slide of my presentation with just a plain title stating what this presentation is going to be about, also I have included images of Shakespeare himself in the middle and by the side I have attached an image Hamlet holding the Yorick's skull.

Here is the second slide of my presentation showing detailed explanation of Hamlet where he is from, what social status he belongs to, where he is currently located family background and what Hamlet does. This slide also includes some research of Shakespeare himself where he was born and how he got into the profession that he had. I also give a quick summary of what is going on in the play in order to give a brief description of how Hamlet is feeling.

This is my third slide, here I am explaining the classical role of Hamlet in this slide I include information about the characteristics Hamlet contained. I also explained that Hamlet was known for having such a deep important tone and statues this is because he came from a higher class, being that he was the son of the late king. Whenever he spoke, even when he wasn't saying something important, he was given so much respect from everyone. Hamlet is a university student.

 

In this slide I am explaining the different themes, motifs and symbols. I specifically talk about the impossibility of uncertainty. What separates Hamlet from other revengeful plays is that the action that we expect to see is continuously postponed  while Hamlet tries to gain more knowledge about the recent events. I also talk about the mystery of death, Hamlet seems to be obsessed with the idea of death. The idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth, and uncertainty in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions. Lastly I talk about the Nation as a body diseased  Everything is connected in Hamlet, including the welfare of the royal family and the health of the state as a whole. The play’s early scenes explore the sense of anxiety and dread that surrounds the transfer of power from one ruler to the next.

This is the last slide of my presentation which is the Synopsis. Here I am explaining the summary of Hamlet, This drama is one of the great tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. The themes of the plot cover indecision, revenge and retribution, deception, ambition, loyalty and fate. Prince Hamlet mourns both his father's death and his mother, Queen Gertrude's remarriage to Claudius. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him and tells him that Claudius has poisoned him. Hamlet swears revenge.