Brave

This post is a little aside from our count down. Yesterday, our daughter Ellie turned 14. It was also the day the Pixar/Disney film, Brave opened in in the UK Cinemas near us. 

So we decided to celebrate both events with a trip to the Kinema in the Woods.The Kinema is the last remaining back projection Movie theatre. We've used it as a set for one of the scenes in our Beyond the Sea DVD.So when I mentioned to the owner that Ellie looked just like the main character he invited her to the opening day showing.

 Ellie already had the hair and Pauline Loven from Crow's Eye Productions provided the costume. Now this is the really neat part, Pauline just re-dyed one of the costumes from the Luttrell Psalter DVD. Pauline's costumes are historically accurate. They're copied from the illustrated borders of this amazing manuscript which gives us a window into the life of medieval England.

When we realized that the Brave film had the same costume as those we used in the Lutrell Psalter film, we were impressed. It meant that Pixar/Disney had done their homework. It was nice to know that the animators had taken the trouble to be historically accurate too.

Wealthy and Royal people could afford to have servants to dress them, so their dresses laced up the back. Ellie is having to make do with me here.

Ordinary people had to dress themselves so their dresses laced up the front. You can see both types modelled by Kate and Emily in the photo above taken during the Luttrell Psalter film shoot.

We had a great day.

and we all thought

that Ellie did look truly amazing!

About the Dress

1940's swing dress created by Pauline Loven

Need a period costume for your film shoot? Ask Pauline Loven! Pauline usually does much older stuff, so a 1940's dress was just a little hop back in time. Pauline creates period costumes for museums and film and often just for sheer pleasure. She has the uncanny ability to grab hold of the idea in your  head and make it happen. Amazing. This dress is perfect. Just what I was imagining. I found the perfect fabric at ZandS Fabrics,  an online fabric shop based in Pennsylvania, USA. They have lovely collections and send them beautifully wrapped, ever so quickly. This fabric is a reproduction of a 1945 print, just what we were looking for!

 Among her many projects, Pauline is also working on a 1940's swim suit collection to be featured in the Beyond the Sea DVD.So stay tuned. Meanwhile you may like to visit some of her online sites.

Martha Milne, Pat Roberts and Pauline Loven

Waltz Class Finale

Yesterday was the film shoot at Gainsborough Old Hall. I was so proud of all the dancers! They were so hot in all those lovely layers yet they danced beautifully in the gorgeous Victorian costumes.This was our third session. On the first session we learned the steps. The second session we practised moving across the dance floor. And on this final session we worked on the spacing and tried not to bump into each other. Each session was a good two hours.The dancers had so much fun! My son Ben is leading Rochelle, the lady in red (above photo, lower right) and my daughter Emily is dancing with Ryan in the photo below. I'm slipping out the door just before the filming starts.

Gainsborough Old Hall commissioned Wag Screen to create a film showing how the house has been used over the years. In the storyline for the film, Violet, the girl in the centre in modern clothes, wanders from room to room. She can see into the past and with her eyes we see the various activities that took place through out the history of the Hall. As ever these film shoots are a collaborative effort. Pauline Loven designed the costumes. They're authentic replicas of Victorian clothes. Pauline often uses portraits as primary sources.The photo below is a recreation of the portrait which Pauline used as inspiration for the dresses. Photos are by John Bennett and Pauline Loven. We can't wait to see how the film turns out, the stills show off the costumes beautifully but we need the moving image to do justice to the dancing.

Here's the original; Empress Eugene Surrounded by her Ladies in Waiting By Franz-Xaver Winterhalter, 1855