Hamlet Project - Soliloquy Films
1. Select a soliloquy:
"O that this too too sullied [solid] flesh would melt" (1.2.129-159)
"O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!" (2.2.549-607)
"To be, or not to be, that is the question" (3.1.56-89)
"How all occasions do inform against me" (4.4.32-66)
2. Copy the etext of the soliloquy into an MS Word document.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/MobHaml.html
3. Create a promptbook for the soliloquy.
Follow these instructions to create your promptbook: Download file
Try this great online resource on About.com.
4. Read a summary of a professional director's notes for the play:
Act I: Download file
Act II: Download file
Act III: Download file
Act IV: Download file
Act V: Download file
5. Create a storyboard for your film.
How to develop a storyboard
Use PowerPoint slides as storyboards—scan/insert drawings or clip art or photos—add narration to explain shots—experiment w/ transitions as precursor to establishing camera angles and editing footage.
Include on each slide: number them, which lines covered in scene, sound effects, music, narration, lighting, special effects, camera angles/movement, graphics, on-screen text, titles, NOTES.
6. Explore past stage and screen interpretations and historical examples of promptbooks.
Reviews of stage and film productions: http://pages.unibas.ch/shine/linkstraghamletwf2.html#reviews
Stage production: http://www.georgedillon.com/theatre/hamlet.shtml
List of contemporary performances to investigate: http://www.is.bham.ac.uk/traffic/
http://pages.unibas.ch/shine/revengechesnoiu.htm Romanian Hamlets
Ophelia in Film Productions (Helena Bonham Carter, Kate Winslet, Julia Stiles)
More Ophelia
HamletWorks.org
Historical Examples of Promptbooks
sample promptbook for scene 1.4: http://shea.mit.edu/ramparts/collections/upenn/index.htm
Shakespearean Prompt-Books of the Seventeenth Century at UVA: http://etext.virginia.edu/bsuva/promptbook/
19th Century Hamlet Promptbooks: http://www3.humnet.unipi.it/nutshell/hamlet/start.html