5 minute theatre film

Our application to the National Theatre of Scotland to be included in the 24 hour on-line broadcasting of 5 minute films to celebrate their first five years has been successful, and a 5 minute film of a section of the Angus McPhee show will be broadcast to the world on 21st June 2011. The film has to be of a live performance in front of an audience, so we will film an extract during our 'workshopping' of the show from Berneray Community Hall, in the outer Hebrides. More information here.

Alison is taking a well-deserved Easter break, and I've spent the past week looking at the material we have for the NTS film, as well as the film projections and animations we'll need for our own use (the script is in its eighth re-write); making some simple puppets for test purposes when we're on the islands; slowly building up the paint on the 5 masks of Angus; and talking with Christina (our new member of the Horse + Bamboo arts team) about the technical jobs that will need doing - again with an eye to what we'll be doing on our mid-May visit to Berneray. Above, three shots of my working notebook for the project - this notebook is a wonderful thing in itself - made by Joanne B Kaar. 

I've also been discussing the film and animation sections of the Angus production (quite different to the film for the NTS) with Daniella Orsini, who designed the Horse + Bamboo website. There will be four sections of film projected onto (and behind) the set as part of the performance narrative - each probably about 5 minutes in length, and the films will overlay the performance, being projected onto and becoming an integral part of the stage action. I'm hoping that Daniella will be able to work with me to animate and create these important parts of the production.