Making It Visual: Composition |
CHAPTER
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IN THIS CHAPTER
Putting the Composition Together
Study Words
The next logical step in the conversation is to discuss composition. Theatre is a visual art form. In order to plan any production, the producers must hire visual people. These people are called designers. Designers are visual artists who need to understand composition. Let’s explore the basics of this topic. All that the audience sees and perceives is directly relayed to them through composition and color. Composition is the basis for all things visual. At its most basic we can discuss whether a line is straight or curved. Does it have pattern or rhythm? This begins our discussion of composition.
Interesting Quote:
Before you compose your picture it’s a good idea to ask yourself why you’re doing it.
—Anonymous
Let’s start by defining composition. As simply as I can say it, composition is the placement or arrangement of objects. Objects are placed in relation to other objects to form a grouping. This grouping is called a composition. The goal is to inform your viewers where you would like them to look within the composition. The theatre stage is a dynamic composition. Scenery, lighting, and actors are constantly moving around the stage reconfiguring the composition. In artwork, whether it be a painting on canvas or a sculpture, compositions are static. Another word for composition is focus.
Bringing Order to the Whole
Theatre Technology Finally Catches Up with Sunday in the Park with George David Barbour
Excerpt 1:
The Broadway revival, which comes to Roundabout Theatre’s Studio 54 from London’s Menier Chocolate Factory via a hit West End run, makes use of the most up-to-date capabilities of projection technology to give us a view of the first George’s creative mind at work. It must have been a natural approach for the director, Sam Buntrock, who, earlier in his career, was an animation director for many television shows. To realize this projection-driven production, he has engaged Timothy Bird and his firm, Knifedge: The Creative Network; using the whole of David Farley’s atelier setting as a canvas, Bird and his colleagues have designed enormous images that are continually subject to revision and undergo dramatic shifts of perspective. This technique is made apparent at the top of the show, when Daniel Evans, who plays both Georges, says the first words of the script: “White, a blank page or canvas. The challenge: Bring order to the whole through design, composition, balance, light, and harmony.” As he speaks, an invisible hand moves over the set, filling it with pencil scratches until it arrives at a black-and-white sketch of La Grande Jatte. It’s an extraordinary moment.
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(Source: Originally published in Lighting &Sound America, April 2008)
RULE OF THIRDS
Many factors can affect a composition. Let’s start with some basics. The basic rule of composition refers us directly to the rule of thirds. As you start to really look at images, analyze them. Draw lines through an image both horizontally and vertically, dividing the image into thirds in both directions.
Notice how the “focus” of the photograph of rowboats is not in the center of the image. Your eye is drawn around the photo. The row of boats creates the reference horizon line. The water in the background, as well as the tree line on the left and right, comes to an apex above and to the left of the boats. The tree on the left side angles in toward the center. This has the effect of bringing your eye back into the photo.
The goal with any good composition is to have the audience’s eyes continually moving around the image. Each area within the lines should be its own smaller composition. Our instinct is to look at the center of whatever we are looking at. Think about it for a second. When you look at a person, do you look at his or her whole body? No, you look at his or her face. And within the face, you concentrate on the eyes. The eyes are the center of the face.
By keeping the main subject of the composition outside of the center area and near the intersection of the lines, you assure the viewer will look at the whole image and not be drawn to one detail to the exclusion of all others. If you want to simplify a composition that has only one focal point, obviously the best place to put the focal point is in the center of the image. Even with the central focus, you still need to help the composition. Blurring or darkening the background often helps to achieve this.
FIG. 3.1
Photograph of rowboats lined up on the shore. Analyze the composition…
FIG. 3.2
Photograph of a stone wall and sidewalk. Follow the lines of the composition. Where does your eye go?
FIG. 3.3
Stained-glass art entitled “Sunday,” by Isabella Rupp. The two circles are a focal point, and the swirling lines keep your eye moving.
FIG. 3.4
Detail of the same stonewall and sidewalk photograph. Even in this composition, follow the lines of the stones.
Now let’s translate the idea to the theatre. Think about a single actor on the stage, standing at the edge of the stage on the center line. This is one of the few situations when simplifying the composition to this extreme will work in the theatre.
PUTTING THE COMPOSITION TOGETHER
OK, that is the background information. Now the question is: How do we do it? Well, creating a composition is like putting a puzzle together. You’ve got a whole bunch of pieces that all have to be put together in the right order to make it all work.
Interesting Quote:
Nothing goes by luck in composition. It allows for no tricks. The best you can write will be the best you are.
—Henry David Thoreau
FIG. 3.5
Ghost of Versailles at the Metropolitan Opera in 1991. Director, Colin Graham; Scenic and Costume Designer, John Conklin; and Lighting Designer, Gil Wechsler.
LINE AND DIRECTION
The first element, or puzzle piece, to consider is the line. The mathematical definition of a line is the shortest distance between two points. Sounds easy, right? Well … a line also has direction. The designer or artist will often infer what that direction is as part of the composition. Direction will give you movement. This is critical to the composition, as I’ve said before. The use of movement in a composition helps the viewer to know where to look next.
SHAPE
Next let’s talk about shape. Shape is the definition of any two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) object. Keep in mind that three dimensional in drawing is simply an illusion. The line you draw holds the shape you see. You have to use shadow to turn a 2D image into a 3D image by giving it volume. Shapes can have light or line to help define them. The shape of the highlight, middle tone, and shadow are what add up to create the illusion. Two-dimensional shapes can be geometric or organic.
FIG. 3.6
Drawing of a basic line, by Salvatore Tagliarino.
The arrangement of how the shapes go together creates the image. The visual images we see are all made up of shapes. These shapes are 2D images described by a line or series of lines. When put together in the right way and the right proportion they create a compositional image. You can distort the image by screwing up the shapes—or not. It’s up to you and this is what designers play with to create their designs.
Interesting Quote:
No matter what the illusion created, it is a flat canvas and it has to be organized into shape.
—David Hockney
TEXTURE
Texture is our next puzzle piece. Texture represents a 3D detail that we observe two dimensionally in a drawing. It also represents the properties that differentiate objects of similar shapes from each other. Textures can be either tactile on non-tactile. Think of tactile texture as the surface detail you can feel when you touch something.
Non-tactile textures can be patterns that are scaled up or down to differentiate objects when using line alone to describe the object. Keep in mind that in two dimensions you can only allude to texture.
FIG. 3.7
Drawing of basic shapes, by Salvatore Tagliarino.
FIG. 3.8
Leonardo daVinci’s self-portrait. Notice the lines and how they create shapes and textures.
FIG. 3.9
Drawing of basic textures, by Salvatore Tagliarino.
The drawings in this figure might be grass, brick, concrete block, and stone. The difference between the brick and the block is the difference in proportion. Start keeping a mental log of everyday items and what they look like. For example, you probably have an idea in your head about the difference between traditional TV screens and how they differ from the new widescreen sets. This is proportion, which we will define in a minute. The difference between bricks versus blocks is that exact same thing. The more you keep in your mental log the easier it will be for you to draw these things.
Theatre Technology Finally Catches Up with Sunday in the Park with George
David Barbour
Excerpt 2:
Conceptually speaking, “I call Tim Bird my co-designer,” says David Farley. “We worked very closely on developing the look of the show.” The design, he adds, is rooted in the concept that “we are in George’s studio, and he takes us to the park as he works. For me, it was so key to integrate the projections with the performers, to make it their world.”
Entering the theatre, one sees the studio. (There is no show curtain.) It’s a large room, designed in the Empire style, with cream-colored walls. There are enormous double doors at left and right, with additional single doors further upstage. There is a large swag of cream-colored drapes at upstage center. It’s a grand, open space, yet the plaster is cracked in several places. Downstage right, at the proscenium, one sees a table and two shelves containing painters’ gear (brushes, frames, and bottles of various colors). On the opposite side is Dot’s vanity table, with pieces of cheap jewelry hanging on the wall. The stage is raked.
The idea of the studio as the base setting is important, says Farley, as it allows for “projections onto real surfaces— these walls, with all their architectural details. It’s a way of giving the images a kind of tangibility.” (The upstage wall is made of RP screen; the left and right walls are functional scenic pieces, however, and are built as such.) As the show begins and we are transferred to La Grand Jatte, the first large-scale projection—the black-and-white sketch of the island—forms a panorama that covers all three walls of the set. Later, as George’s work on the painting progresses, the image will take on the colors of the finished painting. There are many imaginative details: The upstage swag parts in two and becomes a pair of trees, their transformation aided by projections. Later, during the number “The Day Off,” a pair of dogs appear, each in a little picture frame placed downstage.
The concept of projecting, say, a tree-shaped image on a tree-shaped surface was inspired, Farley says, by the visual artist Tony Oursler: “He’s made an installation of rag dolls sitting in the corner of a gallery, with images of babies crying or talking projected onto the faces of the dolls.” The use of such objects as projection screens, he adds, is central to the show’s concept, as it allows George to arrange anything onstage, in the manner of an artist creating a still life; the stage is his canvas. This is seen clearly in the first-act finale, when George arranges the actors into a tableau of Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
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(Source: Originally published in Lighting & Sound America, April 2008.)
LINE WEIGHT
Next comes line weight. Any pencil, depending on its softness, has a thickness it can create.Contrast in line weight adds interest to your composition. It can also help focus the viewers’ eyes. The better and more varied your line weight, the less you will need other factors to define your shape. Keep in mind though that it is just another piece to the overall puzzle. Take a look at some of the drawings by da Vinci and Raphael—look at the contrast in the line weight. It’s not important that they use line weight … it’s how they use it!
BAlANCE AND PROPORTION
Balance is next. OK—picture an acrobat on a tightrope. That is balance, right? Right. It is similar in art. You’ve got to get the composition balanced and this usually means the contrast between all the different characteristics we’ve already discussed. If the composition looks awkward, that means the contrast in the line, shape, texture, or line weight is out of whack.
Proportion is the most important thing and goes hand-in-hand with balance. Proportion is a mathematical thing. It defines the relationship between two objects, or two parts of the same object. You can measure proportion mechanically, and most people should! That is what a scale rule is about; that is what a tape measure is about. You might be one of those rare people who can look at something and know exactly how big it is. I can’t do this, and neither can most people. So, if you can’t “eyeball” the size and proportions of an object correctly, get a ruler and measure it. In order to relay graphical information clearly, that information, in scale or actual size, needs to be noted on the paper.
Interesting Quote:
Even in front of nature one must compose.
—Edgar Degas
FIG. 3.10
Drawing of basic line weights, by Salvatore Tagliarino.
Let’s talk for a minute about the best example of proportion known in the art world today. It is Leonardo daVinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” Vitruvius was a Roman writer, architect, and engineer born during the 1st century. He studied proportion in all things, culminating in understanding the proportions of the greatest work of art: the human body. This led Vitruvius to define verbally his concept for what has come to be known as the “Vitruvian Man.” Leonardo daVinci later illustrated this concept magnificently by showing the human body inscribed within a circle and a square.
DaVinci’s drawing is good because the line weight is good, the understanding of human anatomy is incredible, and the draftsmanship of the square and the circle is totally mathematical. Try to copy it! It may look simple, but trust me it’s not. All the elements we’ve been discussing in the chapter are done to perfection in this figure. Don’t be intimidated—look at the drawing. No, really look at it. Look at the line weight. See the differences in the lines that form the outside of the body versus the ones that are used for contour on the inside of the body. Look also at the lines around the body and notice how they help to set the body apart from the paper background.
OK, another way to look at proportion is to think of that gimmick when artists look at their thumbs … it is all about proportion. You can measure a tree with your thumbs. It could be five thumbs tall versus three thumbs wide. This is a different way to measure the world, similar to using a tape measure or scale rule. All of these are just different techniques or tools. Each is valid and appropriate. You just have to determine which is right for which situation.
PATTERN
Our next puzzle piece is pattern. A pattern is a repeated element within a composition such as a stripe or zigzag. Make any shape; if you repeat it, it becomes a pattern. Think about wallpaper or fabric for a second. They contain great examples of repeating patterns. Patterns can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. Plaids are a kind of pattern with multiple directions. Plaids are complex. They are made up of various line weights into a grid.
FIG. 3.11
Leonardo daVinci’s “Vitruvian Man.” Balance and proportion to perfection!
FIG. 3.12
Photograph of a really cool tree. How many pieces of the composition can you identify?
SCALE
Scale is the next piece to the puzzle. Scale is a term that relates to how big or small the object is, as well as the drawing of the object. The world we live in has a set scale. In set design, the measure of the scale is the human being. In theatre we generally use 6´-0˝ as the height of a “standard” person. When we are determining relationships and the surrounding proportions, the 6´-0˝ human height divides out easily in halves: 3´-0˝ –1´-0˝ –0´-9˝ A standard chair seat height is 16–18 inches. Tabletops are generally 30 inches high. Height of doors, windows, and other architectural elements are all based on this same scale. How the human body moves and bends determines how all of these details come together. A comedian once said, “Imagine what chairs would look like if our knees bent the other way.” I rest my case— it’s all about the scale of the human body.
FIG. 3.13
Drawing of basic patterns, by Salvatore Tagliarino.
Interesting Quote:
Man is the measure of all things.
—Vitruvius
It’s all about the human ratio and then … how it translates onto the stage! Fashion designers aren’t costume designers. Architects aren’t set designers. Marc Chagall and David Hockney bridged the gap between the art world and the theatre world. They took visual style that is all based on good line weight, proportion, etc. and with help translated the ideas into stage sets.
Now let’s put it all together: line, direction, shape, texture, line weight, balance, proportion, pattern, and scale. These are the pieces of a composition. You can put them together in a variety of ways to create the compositions that are in your head. The way to put the pieces together to form a good composition is by using contrast to create an emphasis or focus.
Useless Factoid: Break a Leg
One possible explanation for this expression is its relation to “taking a knee,” which itself has roots in chivalry. Meeting royalty, one would “take a knee”— in other words, bend down to one knee. That breaks the line of the leg, hence “break a leg,” a wish that the performer will do so well that he or she will need to take bows.
CHAPTER
THREE
STUDY WORDS
Balance
Contrast
Direction
Emphasis
Line
Line weight
Pattern
Proportion
Rule of thirds
Scale
Shape
Texture