Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
Rabbit Resource Pack - Frantic Assembly
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DESIGN CONCEPT<br />
a) Modern living - keeping nature at bay<br />
The set was essentially a window through which we can see the forest<br />
or the mountains that surrounded the house. Practically the windows<br />
would encompass the forests, contain them within their parameters.<br />
It would give the impression of the dominance of the city over<br />
nature. It is a reverse representation of what exists in reality; that the<br />
house is of course surrounded by, swallowed by, the forest.<br />
We wanted the set to show this skewed perception. It represents the<br />
views of a world obsessed with material gain, with successful living<br />
within the rat race. This is an image of a world where people escape<br />
from the city on the odd weekend to sit in central heated rooms with<br />
expensive Belgian beers in their hands and look out at their own view<br />
of nature. This is good living. Mastering the modern world through<br />
the week and getting in touch with nature at the weekend! Except<br />
when they leave the comfort of the front room everything starts to<br />
break down. They are out of their depth and Nature takes on a<br />
malevolent role.<br />
We were interested in the concept that the windows were not just<br />
portals looking out to the world. They were also bars that protect the<br />
people inside from the menace of what lurks outside. Once outside in<br />
the forest it doesn’t take Paul long to cast off the remnants of his life<br />
and surrender to the forces of nature. Naked and confused he moves<br />
towards the light of the moon, towards death, or Fate, and away from<br />
the folly of his own existence. Only in these last moments is Nature<br />
embraced. Also Spin sees nothing but danger and mud in the forest.<br />
He mistakes the approaching Driver for a bear and leaves Paul to fend<br />
for himself, running back to the safety of the house (Also to the safety<br />
of his heroin habit - see Drugs vs The Real World 1.2.c).<br />
b) Widescreen<br />
<strong>Frantic</strong> <strong>Assembly</strong> shows are nearly always inspired by films that we<br />
have seen whether music videos, or television programmes. With<br />
<strong>Rabbit</strong> we wanted to show the world outside Paul and Kate’s holiday<br />
home as somehow contained (or constrained) yet still give the sense<br />
of it being epic, of it being enormous. This is not just about what is<br />
shown through the glass of the windows but also the shape of the<br />
windows themselves. It was important to us to present the outside<br />
world through the ‘epic’ shape of a ‘widescreen’ cinema screen and<br />
not present a flatness but instead suggest a rap-around 3-d effect to<br />
the forest outside.<br />
c) Felt Mountain<br />
For the epic outdoor feel we were looking for we looked at<br />
the photography of Ansel Adams but this of course, being<br />
photographs (in monochrome!) of America’s most famous<br />
natural landmarks, was too specific and would place the<br />
Cave’s house as being perched on a mountain in Yosemite<br />
National Park.<br />
We talked about something that would be both beautiful<br />
and imposing. Truly astounding wonders of nature have a<br />
capacity to inspire both joy and fear in the beholder. It is<br />
also quite important for the themes of the play to present<br />
something which has the capacity to turn from one<br />
perceived view into another. (Mountains, rivers, cliff edges<br />
all have this capacity to turn on the beholder and create<br />
unbridled terror). The script talks of a forest and our<br />
finished set might well be that but for the time being we<br />
have spoken about an image that has captured our<br />
imagination and fulfils the criteria set out about above.<br />
The image is a romantic representation of the Matterhorn<br />
taken from the cover of Goldfrapp’s first album Felt<br />
Mountain. This image has become our guideline and any<br />
subsequent image has been judged against its success. This<br />
is the Felt Mountain effect / test.<br />
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