As part of my Film Studies course, I will be using various strands of investigation into how a very personal piece of literature can be re-moulded into an equally personal film project. At the moment I have no clear strategy but as I work my way through this domain, I will attempt to make a coherent pathway that will enable me (and anyone else foolish enough to tread in my footprints) to make some sense of the transference from paper to celluloid
I've always assumed that the Thames only froze over once but it seems that during the 17th Century it turned to ice 10 times. and 7 times since then... Not that this has any relevence to this project...
I got very excited by the heading "Casting - Interviews/screen tests". I'm hoping that this part of the archive is still under construction as, despite the promise of a clip of Quentin Crisp reading, it seems it's only a still; and that is all there is. I'd love there to be more: I'd want to know who came up with the idea for casting Crisp, Sommerville and Sherrin. It's the kind of genius decisions that should be given credit. Maybe I'll come across some answers somewhere else in this archive. Anyone found anything that might help?
I suppose that it should come as no surprise how beautifully Sally Potter writes about herself. This journal of her tour with Orlando seems honest and she has the ability to connect her brain with her pen. If this is really written "on the hoof" (and with the amount of stuff she packs into her days, it seems it must be) it fills me with admiration. But more importantly it highlighted ownership of Orlando. Where I had previously thought of the work as Woolf's, it now seemed to belong far more to Potter.
This is by far my favourite part of the archive that I've found so far. This presentation book goes right into the mind of Sally potter and her vision of Orlando. It's a very clear indication of how"telling" is turned into "showing". It also touches onto my current personal obsession of the casting of Pope, Addison, Swift and Elizabeth 1 but I still want more about this...
Another really helpful document that stands in the centre of the literature to film proccess. The examples of storyboarding are fascinating. I particularly like the fact that the narrative is broken down into chapters and matched with colour schemes
This goes some way to satisfying my curiosity as to casting. Potter says she cast Crisp because of his physical resemblence to Elizabeth and that she also thinks of him as "the real Queen of England".. It made me laugh... Also, Potter talks about the looks and dialogue that are made to camera. these would seem to be a direct link between Woolf and the spectator.