In the video, my actor will be hitting the piñata with a bat quite aggressively as the character in my video is heart broken - the heart shaped piñata symbolises her lost love and bitterness toward her ex. Therefore, it will have to be hard wearing to endure the force inflicted upon it.
There are different ways that you can create a piñata. For my first attempt, I decided to create a heart shape out of two balloons.
First Attempt/Proto-type
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| I blew up two party balloons that are commonly used for making balloon animals. Using masking taped, I taped them together to create the heart shape. |
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| After the balloons were taped together, I covered them in newspaper to create more padding. |
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| The balloons completely covered in newspaper. |
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| After the balloons were completely covered by the newspaper, I added more masking tape to so the piñata would be firmer and would break less easily when confronted with force. |
Once I had gotten to this stage of creating the piñata, I realised that it was not only too small, but the balloons had deflated slightly - this means that the piñata would break very easily, and the balloons may even completely deflate by the time I am ready to start production. I had to search for alternative ways to create the piñata that did not involve using balloons as they were ultimately unsuitable.
Piñata - Second Attempt
Furthermore, I decided that making a piñata out of cardboard would be the most sturdy and suitable material and could be hit several times before breaking and releasing the polaroids contained inside.
I cut out two heart shapes from the cardboard, as a front and back for the piñata. Next, I made two cardboard strips which would act as the sides of the piñata and glued them to the front and back of the piñata with a glue gun. However, I allowed a space for the polaroids to be inserted, which will be sealed later on in the process when I am ready to begin production.
Next, I intend to decorate the piñata with red tissue paper and tassels so it does not look hand made and looks more professional. The red colour will also contrast and stand out again the white back drop where the scene will take place. The colour red also has connotations of anger, which is the emotion my actor will be channelling during this scene.
Firstly, I covered the piñata in shiny red wrapping paper to act on both sides.
Next, I took lengthy pieces of red tissue paper and cut the strips halfway to create a fringing effect. I covered both sides with with the tissue paper fringing.
This was the progress of the fringing, and how it looked half covered with the tissue paper.
Finally, this was the end result with both sides of the piñata covered in the fringed red tissue paper. When the actor in my video hits the piñata, the fringing will heighten the sense of impact on it. Plus, it looks more professional and is more visually compelling for the audience.
I have yet to insert the polaroids which is why I haven't sealed up the opening for the piñata. I will close the fold when I have planned my schedule and shot list; as I will be re-using some of the polaroids, I will most likely have to leave this as one of the last shots as they may be damaged during the filming.
I will continue to plan and organise everything that is necessary and vital to the pre - production stage. This includes sourcing the last few props, search different locations to film in and create a shot list.
