So to begin our research we visited some of the museums that are part of the 'Edinburgh Museums & Galleries' group. I visited the Museum of Childhood, the Writer's Museum, the People's Story Museum and the Museum of Edinburgh. The Writer's Museum and the People's Story Museum offered some opportunities; writer's lives, and about the different ways of life in Edinburgh through history. Then in the Museum of Edinburgh I was quite surprised to see Greyfriars Bobby's collar - which I didn't realize existed in a museum. So the museums were full of lots of interesting and surprising things!
There were two objects however that sparked my imagination in particular:
Firstly at the Museum of Childhood - the only thing that really caught my eye was the various toys related to horses, and the idea behind why horses were such a popular theme:
The object of most interest here was a wooden horse that was carved by a Prisoner of War in 1945. That is all the information that was given, but I thought this could have potential for an interesting back story - factual or imagined. So far I have been imagining a back story to the wooden horse starting with that the horse was carved by a German PoW in Edinburgh, as there were a few PoW camps here including Donaldson's College. So far I have made some quick sketches - some in a sort-of storyboard style to help me imagine how the short film might begin:
The second object which inspired me was in the Museum of Edinburgh. It was a stags head with a metal cross on it's head. The actual object was a bit gross I admit, but it had an interesting legend to go with it! The legend is about the creation of Holyrood Abbey and the Canongate Burgh in the 12th century, and explains why the Burgh's arms is an image of a stag with a cross between it's antlers. I thought this could make a fun little film and is maybe something little known about Edinburgh's history:
Here is a quick sketch of my imaginings of the legend. The story is set in a forest, a stag charges at King David I but stops suddenly, and David said he saw the holy cross appear between the stags antlers. I imagined that in this forest there could be some dramatic lighting from the sun shining through the dense foliage, which then makes the 'cross' appear above the stag in sunlight.
I really like this idea, but I think the wooden horse story could give me more scope with the narrative, and maybe be a bit more interesting in the long run (even though a stag with a cross on it's head is pretty dramatic). Although I think I will return to the legend at another time!
So I have decided to develop the PoW wooden horse story further, and I am looking forward to getting started...
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