Week 2

design inspiration from 'Bajirao Mastani'

During the second week in I gathered reference material from two major motion pictures of the Indian film industry that were directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, known for his large grand scale period productions on historical dramas. The first film was ‘Bajirao Mastani’ that is set in 17th century historical India. It’s a cultural retelling of the age old tale of Romeo and Juliet as a musical. The production design is immaculate with little to no detail left out from that century. The aspect I picked up on in this film was the warm colour palette reflected in the design elements and elegant silhouettes which conveyed each story point with a level of grace I have never seen done before in historical dramas.

design inspiration from 'Padmaavat'

The second film I referenced was ‘Padmaavat’ another grand historical drama set in 13th century India and the differences between both are evident simply based on the tonality. This was very important to include as my research boards because the themes in Othello are layered, with complex characters and motives. Padmaavat was cinematically darker since the story itself covered themes of violence and lust. The inclusion of both for me was in a way to express the duality of the spaces as a character, as where there was darkness it would be followed by a crack of light.

I gathered image references for both film as a part of my visual research to develop my own ideas. The next step I moved onto was studying the text itself. I used a website that held translations beside the original script that helped me move faster through the play and break down the key points in a scene more effectively while I made hand written notes to retain any information.

Soliloquy-

The parts of the text I saved for later was mostly a literary theatrical device called ‘soliloquy’ which is when characters were having a monologue with themselves. This was often with the case of Iago who revealed his desires, motives and plan of action all within one paragraph in most instances, he was if I must say a quite an open book.

Symbolism of water – Act II

Water is portrayed early on as a notable symbol in the play that gradually develops further as an important element to convey the nature of its unpredictability. In Act II water is introduced when Othello and the cast of characters are travelling on board the ship to Cyrprus and the fleet gets caught in a storm of wind and heavy currents that nearly sweep it off its course, this outlines the constant threat of death. However when the quote shifts to Desdemona its acknowledged that because of her beauty the raging seas spared her life.

Othello’s Rage-

We see a glimpse of Othello’s rage in Act II, Scene III when he responds to Iago’s claim of a drunken brawl between his men at night. Othello without hesitation jumps to the conclusion he would sever ties with the wrong doer simply based on Iago’s words. This tells the reader two important points in the play and foreshadows what Is to come- firstly that Othello blindly trusts Iago and has enough faith in his words to act on them without no clear proof which puts Iago in a great position of power and tells us that Othello is by character quite naïve and easily manipulated. Secondly this points out that Othello as a character by nature is very impulsive and acts on instinct instead of proper judgement.

Architectural moodboards

After spending time studying the text and looking at film references I moved onto visualizing my own idea as structural references of silhouettes, light, colour and texture from a cultural point of view based on my decision to base it on the 16th century Mughal time period in india. I made separate boards for the inspiration for my interior and exterior locations.

moodboard of the tone of the interior

Hideaway- Interior

For the interior, my approach was based on the fact I noted the primary setting and the details of scenes unfolding late in the night, bonfires and brawls and hidden dialogue unravelling behind closed doors which helped me visualise the environment which reflected a lot of secrecy and as a physical space these were hideaways, often seen in Mughal architecture as hallways, domed archways concealing the doorway to a space, perforated windows casting shadows and pillars framing a scene and tying the space closer together.

moodboard of the exterior

Exterior- balcony

For my exterior I chose a traditional Rajasthani architectural feature common to Jaipur which were the ‘jharokhas’ or balconies built into the structure of a haveli (mansions). These were very detailed in their framing, carving and placement that made it stand out on its own and I felt it would be an interesting story point to the play that could accompany my interior as an extension of the space.

moodboard of the location adaptation concept

Exterior- Location adaptation

For the location adaptation I wanted to choose a particular street scene that reflected the vibrant and chaotic everyday life of the locals who inhabited the old city of Jaipur, which would cast natural light from the atmosphere that would reflect the exterior balcony and feel authentic to the narrative.

Character design-

baby Rhesus Macaques

We had to create a character design as a part of the project for a two week lesson which could be a part of our idea or an unrelated concept that tied into the story of Othello. I chose to base mine on my idea and looked at the Rhesus Macaques which were the most common monkeys found in India particularly in religious and historical sites as they were close to the hills or forest areas where they stayed in clusters gathered on the branches of trees.

I wanted my character to be an amalgamation of a monkey and a barn owl that created an original creature and felt realistic to the point it was believable to audiences.

An interest face about the Indian monkey was it was highly adaptable to living in human communities and they are regarded as sacred among Hindus which meant it would be an interesting concept to have this character be given by Othello to Desdemona as a gift during his many travels.

The aim of this character design for me was to visually communicate a character that was harmless, friendly and nervous by nature since I was inspired by Disney’s Dumbo and wanted a similar approach to this by creating a winged monkey who couldn’t actually fly because he was kept in captivity for so long that he became accustomed to being a pet.