Week 10 The filming of ‘Bojo’s buses’

8th Dec 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

Following on from last weeks prop making I started filming ‘Bojo’s buses’. I had originally planned on having the union jack on the wall behind Bojo but realised that it was better placed as a table cloth as it being behind Louis was far to distracting and almost visually ‘drowned him out.’I decided to have part of my quite regal looking mirror in the background as a sign of grandeur and have him sat on quite a country looking chair which occurs in the ‘batshit crazy old lady’ video’s.

Louis decided (of his own accord) to fill his cheeks with some of the wadding used for granma’s hair to pad them out and to help him mumble his speach

It seemed a really obvious idea to have a jubilee commemoration mug which Louis had picked up from Burn’s yard one of our favourite places to resource scraps etc.

I wanted to make him as bumbling and childish as possible. Looking back, I do think I should have scruffed the top of his hair up a bit more bojo style. I then decided that to trial two end scenes one where Grandma has her normal glasses and the other where she has her surreal bug-like eyes and is feeling the picture with her eyes in order to connect to ‘her maker’; the almighty Bojo. I decided to give her some 18th century cupid’s bow lipstick. I felt that pulling that certain facial expression reminded me of Mrs Doyle especially with the red lipstick on. I also feel that due to the nose overshadowing her mouth the lipstick is needed so that you can see the expression on the mouth.

Overall I liked this video but not as much as bus shit-crazy old lady as i felt that that video was more atmospheric with the red lighting etc and i think i preferred the darker feel to the video. I am currently still gathering feedback on this video to see what people think in general. However, I do think that this video was a key stage in the characters development as seeing her with the bug-eyes and the lipstick on I easily envisioned her as a giant puppet like character and she reminded me of an artists work I saw online a few years back.

I feel that the character really needs stilts but I don’t really know how to approach this as I have little to no balance but I may ask around and see if there is anyone I know that does it or make stilts that I am able to stand on myself!

Also inspired by some characters I saw whilst watching Borat 2 and Frank I would like to create her a paper mache head with 3D eyes. I plan to work on these ideas in my reflective sketchbook over the holidays then start making at the start of the new semester.

Overall, I believe my project so far has been really successful, especially as I have never done any kind of comedy sketches before.

I’m unsure if I want to develop Boris’s character further or use his character again but I definitely want to progress the old lady’s character further.

If the pandemic was non-existent i would plan on making some kind of bus and projecting onto it. If money was no option I would use a real bus to project onto, or have people be able to climb onto the bus and watch different performances on different 1970’s style television screens with headphones but make the bus as surreal as possible so that the person journeying around the bus almost became part of a fully immersive experience.

Bibliography

Frank. (2014). How to create a head like Frank’s.. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UphC6JAqd5E&t=25s. Last accessed 8th december 2020.

Watts M. (2013). Giant puppets liverpool. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=giant+puppets+liverpool+2019. Last accessed 8 december 2020

Week 8 ‘Bojo’s buses’

1st Dec 20207th Dec 2020 | harussell1

A lot of people had asked me ‘what is bus shit crazy old lady’s backstory?’ and it’s been at the back of my mind for a while now.My partner who is also on the course is passionate about politics and often does impression of Boris Johnson (Bojo) it just so happened that one day he was doing an impression of him when he was interviewed about his hobbies and talked about making buses from wine carriers. It then occurred to me; Bojo created her!

The absurdity of this man and the fact he is prime minister makes him the perfect creator of ‘bus shit crazy old lady’ on her bus.

I didn’t have a wooden wine carrier (I’m not Bojo after all) but I did have a cardboard box and an egg box and some foam which i used for the seats.I wanted the bus to look as childish as possible but also link materials to the wig/eyes.The wires are from the eyes/wig and follows on with the theme of ‘the cable connects’ Bojos son ‘Willy Johnson’ is of course included. His eyes are triangles which will connect with the short film I am about to make of which the bus is a prop for. The film will of course show Bojo making the bus, but an abstract/surreal version of Bojo which will connect with the characters through the reoccurring use of materials. This will be a collaboration with my partner Louis as his theme for his project is mostly political and features Bojo in some parts so this fits in really well. It also really helps having Louis there to bounce ideas off of. Especially when there are very few people in the studio. We want to get across the absurdity of Bojo in a avant-garde fashion and also identify his racist traits. I want him to almost be like the creator of Frankenstein.

A couple of sketches related to the short film and prop or costume design. I intend to make Boris’s wig from the sheep’s fur included in batshit crazy old lady’s wig. I want to include him pulling a bit of his hair out and adding it to the props head.

Bibliography

The Guardian. (2019). Boris Johnson says he makes models of buses to relax. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bojo+making+buses. Last accessed 29th Nov 2020.

Movieclips. (2011). It’s Alive! – Frankenstein (2/8) Movie CLIP (1931) HD. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=it%27s+alive+frankenstein. Last accessed 19th November 2019.

Week 7 .The making of the eyes/Artist Manifesto.

22nd Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

I decided to further develop the eyes taking them to a whole new abstract/surreal level.Inspired by some of the surreal elements of Shana Moulten’s whispering pine video’s.And also some of the characters from ‘The mighty boosh’

https://images.app.goo.gl/eLYFvnUxV9Q8krJ86

I used a coffee cup holder to create the eyes along with packaging foam that was also used in the wig to create the eyes.I also used that same packaging foam to create an attachment for the head.At first I noticed that the eye mask was slopeing too far forward with just having the foam band attached to the sides so i decided to attach a band to the middle of the front and the back in order to pull it up and back a bit.I also cut a hole to allow room for my noise.Altho i found this a little uncomfortable so i may add some padding to that part.

This week i was finding it hard to get motivated but found it helpful that i had left notes for myself last week guiding myself as to what i was doing.I feel this is something that would be quite useful in the future considering the circumstances and only being in the studio for a day and a half a week.

During my one to one i had mentioned to my tutor about potentially being able to sit in on costume tutorials and how i would go about doing such things as i think it might offer a great influence to my work having some techniques to add.

I would also like to add some more inspiration in regaurds to 17th century hair and make-up.

https://images.app.goo.gl/VRLEYKG64GsJgvng6

https://images.app.goo.gl/NqpABZcQxhTJkEH19

Artist’s Manifesto

We were asked to write an artist’s manifesto and to create it in any such way we pleased but then told how to structure it and what we should listen to and read before we write it; and that it would help us ‘realise the artists we are’.

I find this completely absurd because at this level in your education you should not be ‘discovering’ the artist you are, you should know who you are as an artist and your values, morals and principles. I also feel quite offended by the fact that I’ve entered this level of education at 32 years of age and get given information which tells me or should ‘inspire’ me to write my own manifesto.

I decided to write a spoken word piece inspired by my viewpoint on the establishment which I feel has leaked into the university. I was mistaken in thinking that DJCAD wouldn’t stand for such things but i have been proven wrong in the consistent lack of diversity from the speakers programme.

My manifesto comes from a place of honesty, truth, passion and justice for all artists no matter what their class, race or religion.

I have never performed spoken word before, only written poetry so this was a first time for me and this video is just a draft performance as i know i still need to edit parts and i also plan on trying different ways of performing this. One way i have considered is by having a Farmfoods bag on my head whilst i perform it and taking it off when it comes to the last line. My only issue is that due to my dyspraxia my short term memory isn’t the best but I am willing to give it a try and hope that my nerves don’t distract me!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n0GYKFcFz4qGNRfPE3w0xHMbyBrqk_tB/view?usp=sharing

Bibliography

Hughes A. (2011). 10 Incredibly Minor But Hilarious Mighty Boosh Characters. Available: https://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/05/10_incredibly_minor_but_hilarious_mighty_boosh_cha.php. Last accessed 29th Nov 2020.

Pininterest. (2018). 17th century make-up. Available: https://images.app.goo.gl/VRLEYKG64GsJgvng6. Last accessed 22 November 2020

Pininterest. (2015). 17th century hair and make-up. Available: https://images.app.goo.gl/NqpABZcQxhTJkEH19. Last accessed 22nd Nov 2020.

Week 6 Character and wig development.

19th Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

A further development of the wig using more wadding that I found in a fruit and veg box.Added knitting needles, found cables, photos of things of class I believed the character of the wig would like.After my one to one with the artist Erica Eyre we discussed the further progression of perhaps the wigs character and taking the act in more of a surreal direction. I played about using stop motion with mouths/noses/buses etc and added voices i believed that wig would talk in to the speed of the stop motion. Characters that i believed would be very superficial.

I plan with the video’s with the rotating mouths to put some superficial chit-chat over the top of them trying both an american and an English accent.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWf0oPn0zYj0schF3NbmHTUEPsT3LEqz/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIoSjFnr2ziNdpVeOw87j2BYRoCB3el/view?usp=sharing

This video i think lays the foundations of the surreal path that the wig follows and having a life force of it’s own.

I wanted to take a close look at some of Grandma’s peculiar tastes. What does she get up to in her spare time? Erica had mentioned looking at why she hates Louis so much and recreating the scene that happened between these two on the bus but I feel that what makes the character so surreal and funny is the fact that the audience don’t know why she has such a particular hate towards Louis. So I feel that this part is best left as a mystery for the audience.

She had also mentioned that I should perhaps reconsider the use of the crutches in case it offends. I have worked with people with disabilities for 12 years and crutches aren’t used for long term disabilities. What I find particularly interesting about the woman that does use them is she seems to use them in place of walking sticks.

An artist mentioned to me by Erica of particular interest was Shanna Moulton. I like the fact that the character she portrays in whispering pines is in fact her alter ego; and is drawn from the hypochondriac traits that she often displays. I like the very surreal turn that events often seem to take.

Ryan Trecartin

His characters seem to be very superficial and I think would be good inspiration for the character of the wig.Sometimes the filming can be really dis-orientating which i quite like and there is a lot of repetition and a lot of use of body movement in order to take a microscopic look at character.His characters remind me some of some of the Australians comedians Chris Lilley’s characters in ‘Summer heights high’

Mike Sherry I really like some of Mike Sherry’s assemblages especially the textural elements and how they are collated together.I also like the children’s toys he has created which have a sinister feel behind them. It made me think of the old lady’s wig and how it had a soft playful element to it with the texture but in the video’s where it moves it becomes sinister.

https://images.app.goo.gl/YUmiNEmtYVB6jSzd9

https://images.app.goo.gl/13G8GwnBV4kjg3bz8

Bibliography

Mike Kelly. (2014). Art jouet,les arts,art sculpture. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9e/2e/a4/9e2ea40dc4d76a4891197fc39ed4f163.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.pinterest.nz/pin/328059154102777182/&tbnid=xzs6k_wPpg6mqM&vet=1&. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Moulton Shana. (2004). Whispering pines 3. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=whispering+pines+shana+moulton. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020.

Ryan Trecartin. (2013). Center Jenny. Available: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=center+jenny+ryan+trecartin. Last accessed 22 November 2020.

Youtube. (2013). Mike Kelly by Stedelijk. Available: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bgcSt-5UIuw/maxresdefault.jpg&imgrefurl=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v%3DbgcSt-5UIuw&tbnid=3uo6elwcWXPg_M&vet=1&docid=rvmuYS7jDbYizM&w=1280&h. Last accessed 15th Nov 2020

Week 5 ‘A terrifying night’

8th Nov 20209th Dec 2020 | harussell1

I decided to put together a video where the ‘bus-shit crazy old lady’ appears completely out of context.I hope this to be one film in a series of many. I plan to film other short films with her quirks etc before looking back at how she became the anger riddled/bitter old lady that she is today.

'a wig and cross crutch'I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag. — ‘a wig and cross crutch’I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.

When filming i somehow never realised this picture was behind me untill half way through!And that was when I decided the camera should pan in. — ‘a wig and cross crutch’I thought this was very similar to a skull and cross bones and could potentially be used as a flag.

I like this still ,but it looks too sexual which obviously isn’t what I’m going for.

This still looks quite sexual which wasn't esactly what i was going for but you don't get to see Louis face this close due to the camera angle when filming anyway. — I like this still ,but it looks too sexual which obviously isn’t what I’m going for.

I think the video was far more sucessful then I had envisioned,the red lighting really gave an atmosperic feel and I think the video was the right level of dark avant_garde humour.I’d say for my first time making a comedic performance and not a serious performance art piece it has turned out well.I must admit it was a lot of fun to make and coming up with ideas. Alot of laughter was involved in the filming of this and I hope it it brings laughter to everyone that watches it especially in these dark times.

Medusa has been a very obvious choice in terms of the hair altho Granma sadly doesn’t have the power of looks to entice people in with!

I was encouraged by my partner to watch some of the Monty Python sketches as they may be somewhat of an influence to me.And I just so happened to occur this sketch called ‘hells grannies’ which obviously coincided really well with my project.Altho bus-shit crazy old lady is obviously alot darker I love the thought of grannies rebelling and doing what society doesn’t expect of them.I also think that in a way we all know some old person who rebels like that. I allways remember being in total awe of my friends granny as she looked so sweet but swore like a trooper and would allways be flirting with old men,especially one that used to bring her a paper each day.

A few illustrations of ideas for further filming.I feel that drawing the ideas helps the development of the process and helps them come alive.It also felt natural to use the paper used for creating the wig in order to draw on it.This connection just felt like part of the process.Writing some dialogue also helped with the characters development.I felt that using continous line gave her the most character.

I feel that the prison shot would be a good shot for when she gets caught after all the ‘cable murders’.

A look at giving the wig a personality of it’s own after discovering last week that it had it’s own sculptural almost facial like qualties.I also drew some drawings of potential personalities with added to dialogue.I don’t know if prehaps this would be too much work alongside the character of Granma herself but I am willing to see where this takes me as nothing ventured,nothing gained.

I have the idea of a stop motion where the knitting starts to knit on top of her head and down her face and round her into a scarf.The only issue would be getting the needles to stay upright especially when they are meant to be moving.

I watch alot of murder doccumenties which inspired the idea that every time she creates a murder ‘The cable connects’ appears as she obviously uses this to kill.

I decided to make posters which will be put about town with the hashtag ‘what is the last stop’ so that without people even knowing it she is getting inside there minds as they take a photo and use the hashtag which then connects the image to the internet.So the public become almost part of the performance but without realising it.

I was encouraged by a fellow classmate to watch ‘Commedia dell’Arte.I find it interesting how they talk about ‘moving through the emotions of the character using the body’ as opposed to speaking and this is something I think i will try to take into future performances.

Bibliography

Comedia dell’arte. (2011). Character Shape. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJEwuurzDe4&t=38s. Last accessed 16th Nov 2020.

Youtube. (2010). Monty python-Hells grannies. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmzMzmnB-iQ. Last accessed 13th Nov 2020

Heather’s blog

#surrealart

Week 10 The filming of ‘Bojo’s buses’

Week 8 ‘Bojo’s buses’

Week 7 .The making of the eyes/Artist Manifesto.

Week 6 Character and wig development.

Week 5 ‘A terrifying night’