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: