Storyboard dioramas (2 Viewers)
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JohnReid
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Diodramas and movie making.
I know that this will sound like a stupid question but are these purchased or made by the builder or a little of both?
I love this because it is pure storyboard diorama making without trying to be something else.My personal persuasion is towards scratch building and realism but I love the unpretentious of these dioramas not trying to be something that they are not.I must admit that when I first saw the bases left at the feet of the soldiers it bothered me,now I absolutely love the idea.This is diorama making in its purist form.Make up a story or depict a historical event,take some pics for the record,and take it all apart if you wish, which is a lot like movie making now that I come to think of it.. Great stuff !
I know that this will sound like a stupid question but are these purchased or made by the builder or a little of both?
I love this because it is pure storyboard diorama making without trying to be something else.My personal persuasion is towards scratch building and realism but I love the unpretentious of these dioramas not trying to be something that they are not.I must admit that when I first saw the bases left at the feet of the soldiers it bothered me,now I absolutely love the idea.This is diorama making in its purist form.Make up a story or depict a historical event,take some pics for the record,and take it all apart if you wish, which is a lot like movie making now that I come to think of it.. Great stuff !
JohnReid
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This is the latest addition to the diorama ,a bird bath and a fish pond.Their grandsons made them for letting them use half of their backyard for storing and selling wood.
The bird bath is obvious but I will tack a No Fishing sign to the tree for the fish pond.You can see that these are scratch built as they are not perfectly round etc.. but neither would they be in full scale ,when cast in cement by amateurs.It will also require a little building up of the landscaping and some leafing up around the edges when it is finally installed.I left a slight cupping in the center to indicate greater depth below.
The bird bath is obvious but I will tack a No Fishing sign to the tree for the fish pond.You can see that these are scratch built as they are not perfectly round etc.. but neither would they be in full scale ,when cast in cement by amateurs.It will also require a little building up of the landscaping and some leafing up around the edges when it is finally installed.I left a slight cupping in the center to indicate greater depth below.
JohnReid
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Diodrama 5 is finished and ready to be picked up !Maybe I should post my stuff here as this is really what I am about ? .
JohnReid
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Well three of the boxes are gone,the other two proved to be too heavy for us to lift so they will be coming back to get them next week.At least now my wife has half a smile on her face. C|
JohnReid
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Well I think that I will go back to my original idea of an abandoned movie set.The poster idea was OK but when I put an example up I found that it was a little visually overwhelming with all those posters.
The grey fence around the property is however underwheming and boring and needs a little work too.I tried putting posters up on the outside of the fence too but it also looks like too much of a good thing.
So,I am thinking of expanding the movie set idea to include things like abandoned actors dressing rooms,equipment storage rooms etc...all weathered and a little rusty looking and only the odd old poster here and there for visual effect.
Well now its back to the drawing board.......
The grey fence around the property is however underwheming and boring and needs a little work too.I tried putting posters up on the outside of the fence too but it also looks like too much of a good thing.
So,I am thinking of expanding the movie set idea to include things like abandoned actors dressing rooms,equipment storage rooms etc...all weathered and a little rusty looking and only the odd old poster here and there for visual effect.
Well now its back to the drawing board.......
Napoleon1er
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I really like that building made out of an old passenger car!
JohnReid
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The film portrays two conflicts that take place around Flagstone, a fictional town in the American Old West: a land battle related to construction of a railroad, and a mission of vengeance against a cold-blooded killer. The main storyline revolves around a struggle for Sweetwater, a piece of land near Flagstone containing the region's only water source. The land was bought by Brett McBain, who foresaw that the railroad would have to pass through that area to provide water for the steam locomotives. When railroad tycoon Morton learns of this, he sends his hired gun Frank to simply intimidate McBain to move off the land, but Frank instead kills McBain and his three children, planting evidence on the scene to frame the bandit Cheyenne and his gang. By the time McBain's new bride, Jill, arrives from New Orleans, the family is dead and she is the owner of the land.
Henry Fonda as Frank
Meanwhile, a mysterious harmonica-playing gunman, whom Cheyenne later dubs "Harmonica", pursues Frank. In the film's opening scene, Harmonica kills three men sent by Frank to kill him, and, in a roadhouse on the way to Sweetwater, he informs Cheyenne that the three gunfighters he killed appeared to be posing as Cheyenne's men. Sometime later, Harmonica kills two men sent by Frank to kill Jill.
Back at Sweetwater, construction materials are delivered to build a railroad station and a small town. Harmonica explains to Cheyenne that Jill will lose Sweetwater unless the station is built by the time the track's construction crews reach that point, and Cheyenne puts his men to work building it.
Claudia Cardinale as Jill McBain
Meanwhile, Frank turns against Morton, who wanted to make a deal with Jill. Frank's betrayal is made easy by the fact that Morton is crippled. After having his way with her, Frank forces Jill to sell the property in an auction. He tries to buy the farm cheaply by intimidating the other bidders, but Harmonica arrives, holding Cheyenne at gunpoint, and makes a much higher bid based on his reward money for delivering Cheyenne to the authorities. After rebuffing another intimidation attempt by Frank, Harmonica sells the farm back to Jill. At this point, some of Frank's men try to kill Frank, having been paid by Morton to turn against him, but Harmonica helps Frank kill them in order to save that privilege for himself.
After Morton and the rest of Frank's men are killed in a battle with Cheyenne's gang, Frank goes to Sweetwater to confront Harmonica. On two occasions, Frank has asked Harmonica who he is, but both times Harmonica refused to answer him. Instead, he mysteriously quoted names of men Frank has murdered. The two men position themselves for a duel, at which point Harmonica's motive for revenge is revealed in one last, clear flashback: When Harmonica was a boy, Frank forced the boy to kill his own brother by tying a noose to the top of an arch, placing it around the brother's neck, and forcing the struggling Harmonica to support his brother on his shoulders with a harmonica in his mouth while playing the song that's heard throughout the film.
Harmonica draws first and shoots Frank, and when Frank again asks who he is, he puts the harmonica in Frank's mouth. Frank nods weakly in recognition and dies. With Frank dead, Harmonica and Cheyenne say goodbye to Jill, who is supervising construction of the train station as the track-laying crews reach Sweetwater. Cheyenne collapses almost immediately, revealing that he was shot by Morton while he and his men were fighting Frank's gang. The work train arrives, signaling the arrival of 'civilization' and the end of the Epic age of cowboys and gunfighters; thus the film ends with Jill carrying water to the rail workers and Harmonica riding off with Cheyenne's body towards the horizon. A creature of the frontier, Harmonica can't "settle down" and decides to ride in search of a place where a man like him can still have a role and a reason to exist.
Henry Fonda as Frank
Meanwhile, a mysterious harmonica-playing gunman, whom Cheyenne later dubs "Harmonica", pursues Frank. In the film's opening scene, Harmonica kills three men sent by Frank to kill him, and, in a roadhouse on the way to Sweetwater, he informs Cheyenne that the three gunfighters he killed appeared to be posing as Cheyenne's men. Sometime later, Harmonica kills two men sent by Frank to kill Jill.
Back at Sweetwater, construction materials are delivered to build a railroad station and a small town. Harmonica explains to Cheyenne that Jill will lose Sweetwater unless the station is built by the time the track's construction crews reach that point, and Cheyenne puts his men to work building it.
Claudia Cardinale as Jill McBain
Meanwhile, Frank turns against Morton, who wanted to make a deal with Jill. Frank's betrayal is made easy by the fact that Morton is crippled. After having his way with her, Frank forces Jill to sell the property in an auction. He tries to buy the farm cheaply by intimidating the other bidders, but Harmonica arrives, holding Cheyenne at gunpoint, and makes a much higher bid based on his reward money for delivering Cheyenne to the authorities. After rebuffing another intimidation attempt by Frank, Harmonica sells the farm back to Jill. At this point, some of Frank's men try to kill Frank, having been paid by Morton to turn against him, but Harmonica helps Frank kill them in order to save that privilege for himself.
After Morton and the rest of Frank's men are killed in a battle with Cheyenne's gang, Frank goes to Sweetwater to confront Harmonica. On two occasions, Frank has asked Harmonica who he is, but both times Harmonica refused to answer him. Instead, he mysteriously quoted names of men Frank has murdered. The two men position themselves for a duel, at which point Harmonica's motive for revenge is revealed in one last, clear flashback: When Harmonica was a boy, Frank forced the boy to kill his own brother by tying a noose to the top of an arch, placing it around the brother's neck, and forcing the struggling Harmonica to support his brother on his shoulders with a harmonica in his mouth while playing the song that's heard throughout the film.
Harmonica draws first and shoots Frank, and when Frank again asks who he is, he puts the harmonica in Frank's mouth. Frank nods weakly in recognition and dies. With Frank dead, Harmonica and Cheyenne say goodbye to Jill, who is supervising construction of the train station as the track-laying crews reach Sweetwater. Cheyenne collapses almost immediately, revealing that he was shot by Morton while he and his men were fighting Frank's gang. The work train arrives, signaling the arrival of 'civilization' and the end of the Epic age of cowboys and gunfighters; thus the film ends with Jill carrying water to the rail workers and Harmonica riding off with Cheyenne's body towards the horizon. A creature of the frontier, Harmonica can't "settle down" and decides to ride in search of a place where a man like him can still have a role and a reason to exist.
JohnReid
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People often ask me why do you love Sergio's work so much ? Here is just one of thousands of reasons why.
Sometimes I ask myself a simple question "How can a man take a child's life for no reason ?" Even a good looking man with beautiful blue eyes? But these are the eyes of a killer as depicted by Henry Fonda.Who would have believed it Henry Fonda a killer of children ? Who would believe that men such as this could be responsible for mass murder.Sergio wanted his audience to be shocked as the camera panned his face,(as Fonda himself said) "Jesus Christ its Henry Fonda !!!)
JohnReid
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I am planning for this diorama to be from the late 60's era when movies were made the old fashioned way.With all the animation of the modern era this is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.Sergio would be very familiar with this way of doing things.
Diorama wise it is also a good way of presenting a certain time frame.The back lot will be depicted as used but not yet completely abandoned.That way I have a lot more leeway with the weathering of the piece.Everything weathered the same way would be boring.
Then if I decide to go ahead with the old west building facades I can make them look as old or new as I like depending upon the movie being filmed at the time.
Diorama wise it is also a good way of presenting a certain time frame.The back lot will be depicted as used but not yet completely abandoned.That way I have a lot more leeway with the weathering of the piece.Everything weathered the same way would be boring.
Then if I decide to go ahead with the old west building facades I can make them look as old or new as I like depending upon the movie being filmed at the time.
