Technical photographs
Set photos are taken to record the work of the designer and show clearly the set changes required from scene to scene.
The "technical photographs" of the NT's sets are the only high-quality visual record of what a production looked like in terms of set and major prop settings: the "production photographs" usually concentrate on the actors, while any video recordings would not produce good quality "still" images.
They are useful as a historical record, and where a show is transferred, toured or revived some time after the original production, and its "look" needs to be recreated. I inherited the task of taking the technical photographs from Jock McDougall-Wood in the early eighties: then, the photos were taken during special sessions, with each scene being recreated, minus actors, for the purpose.
Nowadays, I take shots from the director's box during performances using a very quiet digital camera. Digital is much better than film, as it is effectively more sensitive and helps "freeze" movement onstage. Of course, the problem with taking the technical photos during performance is that the actors tend to get in the way...”
Philip Carter, NT Technical Photographer and Software and Applications Manager.
Hamlet
Hamlet Old Vic, 1963
designer Sean Kenny, set model held in the Archive.
Richard III
Richard III Lyttelton, 1990
designer Bob Crowley.
Wind in the Willows
Wind in the Willows Olivier, 1990
designer Mark Thompson.
Midsummer Night's Dream
Midsummer Night's Dream Olivier, 1992
designer Michael Levine. 'No production since Peter Brook's white gymnasium version of 20 years agohas been so thoroughly conceived as a feast of interrelated transforomations.' Michael Coveney, Observer, 12 July 1992.
The Ancient Mariner
The Ancient Mariner Olivier, 1984
designer Marty Flood.
The Misanthrope
The Misanthrope, Old Vic (1973).
The photograph at top is of the set model and at bottom is a photograph of the set as realised on stage at the Old Vic; Tanya Moiseiwitsch designed the show.
After the Fall
After the Fall, Cottesloe Theatre (1990).
The set was designed by Hayden Griffin; set engineering, construction and painting by Kimpton Walker. Additional painting by the National's workshops.
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