Research

To start my research for Rocky Horror I decided to watch 2 performances of the show. One which was provided to my by Shelley and one I found on YouTube of a different schools/colleges performance. I found that they both had a lot of very similar aspects

Whilst researching different types of lighting for Rocky Horror I came across an image of modular LED stairs. I liked the asthetic of it so decided to look into renting out the individual modules. Unfortunately these were incredibly expensive so we couldn't use them. Instead I decided to try and design and make my own version of these boxes. I started off by measuring the height and width of our staging, each section was 75cm by 48cm. With these measurements I could then figure out the dimensions my version of an LED box would need to be. They needed to be 75cm by 24mc. However, I made a mistake with my calculations and divided the height of the staging by 4 instead of 2, meaning that they would be half the height I initially planned them to be.
I began my construction by building a prototype box, to see what materials would work well and whether it would be strong enough to hold itself together. This prototype did exactly what I needed it to but I realised that it was too thin and you would be able to see each individual LED through the material on the front. I changed the depth during the final production to 6cm.
Because I had never worked with LED strips before, I wanted to do some research on how different lighting designers/operaters have used them in the past. I found a forum specifically about this and gained some really useful knowledge. To be able to use the LED strips from our ETC Gio I first needed to attach a DMX decoder.
A DMX decoder translates DMX (Digital Multiplex) signals, sent from the controller, into a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) signal used to dim or control LED lights. This is perfect for what I need because I intended to have a lot of colour changes throughout the show and I didn't want to have to worry about finding a different way to control them.

I watched both the 1975 movie version and 2015 stage version of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' to look for similarities and differences between them. I noticed that a lot of aspect were kept similar with an exception of the set. In the stage show only 3 sets are used. One that is used is the external of the church/Frank's Castle, another is the "living room" of the castle and the third is the Lab. I started my research for each of these scenes by first making a list of what might be found in each of the sets and their practicalities on stage. For the external scene I was asked to create the front of a car for Brad and Janet to be driving before they get a flat tyre, which kicks off the story. I researched how different structures had been used in different productions. I found that whole cars had been used in productions like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Half cars had been used in shows like Grease and flat boards that had been cut and painted to look like vehicles had been used in other productions, including Rocky Horror. I drew a design using a 1970 Volkswagen camper as reference. This idea would have worked quite well as there is not a great deal of space in the wings by the stage for things to be stored. I was later told that the front of a car had been used in a previous production of Grease, put on by the college. After for searching for this I discovered that it had been gotten rid of. Because of this I knew that we would either have to rent a stage prop car or make one using the specification given to my by Shelley, the director. When I discussed the idea with Anna, she thought that it could work quite well and explained that she had made something similar in the past. She then asked me if I knew which material I wanted to use. I explained that I thought that wood would be best but she brought to my attention that lighter materials such as cardboard might be easier to store and would be easier to maneuver around the area surrounding the theatre. Whilst searching in the props cupboard for some extra props we found half of a divan bed. Anna suggested securing a piece of wood to the top of it to be able to support the performers and create a wooden car to be drilled onto the front. This idea should work well as the divan is extremely light and has wheels which will be helpful when taking it on and off stage.

I was also told by Shelley that a door in two of the scenes would play quite a large role in the telling of the story as it is used to introduce the audience to 2 of the main characters, Dr. Frank 'N' Furter and his creation Rocky. I was told that we also had a door that could be decorated as needed for the production. I made two designs, one for each door, that could be easily identified as what they are supposed to be. I chose to go with a wooden door with a knocker as the front door and a pure white door with high contrast colours (Yellow and Black) and designs that can be found in labs including an Electrocardiogram (ECG) screen and number pad. After finding the door that we were told that could be used I realised that it had a single door rather than a double door, which my designs had been incorporating the use of double doors. This meant that I had to go back and redesign my concepts to match the accessible materials. I managed to create a very similar idea for the use of the front door. However, redesigning the door for use in the lab scenes and Rocky's reveal was a lot harder. Because I thought there would be a larger frame on the door I planned on using it to save space with other props on the stage. The original idea had some great concepts and i wanted to transfer these onto the new design. The idea of high contrast colours received great feedback so I wanted to continue using them. The design elements, such as number pad had to be scrapped due to a restriction in space. Instead we came up with the idea of using the multimedia unit in the theatre to house a concealed lever which can be brought out by the performers and used before being removed and swapped out with a fake screen, which will be used later on in the show. This not only solves the problem with spacing but also reduces the amount of additional preparation needed for other props. I then found some boxes which had been made for a second year show which I knew were kept in the props store. I thought about adding some wheels but saw that there were handles on the sides so they could can be carried on by the performers instead of being wheeled on. For the screen I wanted to use MDF as the base material for the screen as it is lightweight and easy to work with. For the lever I wanted to use a material that hadn't been used before