SG/GK Section 2 notes

[nakedbee]

This week I bring you more descriptions of the images for each stanza and some proof-of-concept images (images in a separate post). In Section 2, Gawain leaves Camelot and wanders around lost for almost 2 months before fetching up at a castle, where he quickly develops a big crush on his host.


Section 2
2-1 Arthur got what he wanted, but Gawain was moody; seasons pass: winter to summer

• montage shows time speeding up and the year passing; opportunity for artistic license with the seasons; also opportunity for gratuitous smut
  
• left: winter feast continues, but now the lords and ladies are frolicking around naked in the background while Gawain is physically present but obviously mentally distracted
  
• right: spring; Gawain's position is identical, but everything around him changes; decorations are willow buds and flowering branches and other spring-like things; still with the naked frolicking, but new poses
  

2-2 Summer to winter; Gawain starts to think about leaving

• second half of montage
  
• left: summer; ditto spring but dandelion puff balls and green leaves and sunshine
  
• right: fall; and again with gourds and straw and fall-colored leaves etc
  

2-3 Arthur holds a feast on All Saints Day; Gawain says he's leaving and everyone is sad

• Day of the Dead decorations! also, we're now out of the montage and back into real time
  
• left: feast; a huge pile of sugar skulls, and some marigolds, and probably some candles; composition should be different than the previous seasonal ones, perhaps a closeup of a decorated table
  
• right: farewell; zoom back out, they're in the feast hall, still decorated; Gawain's talking to Arthur with a bunch of other knights crowded around; a heavily decorated altar covered in offerings is visible
  

2-4 Next day he gets dressed up in his armor

• clothing closeups, lots of detail
  
• multi-panel:
  - early morning sunrise through a window
  - pile of armor on a cloth on the floor
  - double of silk
  - fur-lined leather tunic
  - shoes
  - metal leg guards
  - knee guards
  - thigh guards
  - mail shirt
  - arm guards
  - elbow guards
  - gloves (metal)
  - gold spurs
  - sword
  - silk belt
  

2-5 Gawain goes to mass, then says goodbye to everyone; his horse Gringolet is readied

• switch back to wide shots to vary things up; introduce Gringolet (show off how buff she is)
  
• left: crowd gathered on the steps of the church as Gawain circulates and says his goodbyes
  
• right:
  - Gawain is pats Gringolet on the head and feeds her a lump of sugar (woot! another place for a sugar skull!)
  - Gawain checks over the gear
  - he picks up his helmet to kiss it before putting it on
  

2-6 He has a 5 pointed star on his shield because he's so awesome

• focus on the shield. question: should his shield be new to emphasize this is his first real quest, or beat up, since he has done a lot of tournament things?
  
• mid-closeup, cropped at chin and hips; we see the shield (slung onto his back) and enough of Gawain to recognize that it's him as he continues to pet/prep Gringolet
  

2-7 Detailed list of the ways in which he is awesome

• excuse for artsy panel arrangement to represent each attribute
  
• A red page with a big gold star; a circular image placed at each of the 5 points
  1. five senses: diagram-ish, maybe labeled: eye, ear, nose, mouth, fingers
  2. five fingers: hand closeup (should be caressing some body part)
  3. Christ's five wounds: closeup on lips, kissing a crucifix pendant
  4. Mary's five joys: contemplating her image painted on inside of shield
  5. five virtues (bounty, brotherhood, courtesy, clean heart, compassion): hmmm, maybe some sort of manly soldierly bonding group embrace?
  

2-8 Everyone cries when he sets off on his long journey

• finally, he actually leaves; we get to see his whole shiny outfit and all his gear in one wide shot; setting up for the contrast later as his food supplies shrink and his clothes get dirty later in the trip
  
• Gawain and Gringolet start off down the road, looking back and waving cheerily in the background/top of frame; meanwhile the foreground/bottom is filled with weeping courtiers watching him go
  

2-9 He rides through the land all lonely and moody; no one knows where the Green Chapel is

• isolation and loneliness; also opportunity for gorgeous landscapes
  
• left: Gawain sitting next to a campfire brooding; Gringolet looks on worriedly but he doesn't see her
  
• right: long travels over varied country, 4 or 5 long thin panels with tiny figures in big landscape, the pair starts out on the left side and moves rightward in each successive panel; trees, beach, meadows, mountains, etc; optional last panel where Gawain asks after GK but gets a bewildered shrug from a random local
  

2-10 Gawain survives encounters with bulls, bears, boars, and wild men but really it was the winter cold that really depressed him

• continuing to show how this trip is beating Gawain down, the poor guy (also, if I want ninjas, this is probably the best place to shoe-horn them in)
  
• left: multiple images of Gawain being startled by or running away or hiding from monsters (fantastically decorated people; good opportunity for body paint and costume); dragons, wolves, bulls, bears, boars, and "wodwos" (which I want to translate as ninjas, even though there's some evidence this actually refers to yeti-like hairy wild men)
  
• right: freezing cold; he's sleeping exposed in the sleet and ice and shivering; he's huddled up in his cloak, soaking wet with storm clouds and ice-covered rocks in the background
  

2-11 On Christmas Eve he's in a forest and desperately praying he finds a place soon

• the low point; Gawain's really desperately miserable now
  
• a cold, wet, muddy forest; Gawain on his knees, praying to the image of Mary on his shield; Gringolet waits discreetly in the background
  

2-12 He sees a castle on a hill and heads to it

• a ray of hope; also as this is our first encounter with the High Desert Castle, it should start establishing the landscape (NorCal, so it's a redwood forest) and culture (China, so the castle should have an elaborately carved roof with upturned ends; not really sure where I'll find this but that's what I want)
  
• forest on the left, a bit of the castle visible in the distance on the right, connected by a long and windy road moving left to right; we see Gawain and Gringolet traveling along time panorama style, with the most prominent element in the composition being them big and close in the foreground in the middle of the road, looking hopefully toward the castle; we also see them small at the forest and the castle
  

2-13 The castle is described

• try to sell the existence of the castle; show how elaborate and intricate it is, with many towers
  
• lots of little closeups; if we don't have a real castle maybe we can make do with a small model (like the pagoda at the Japanese Tea Garden in SF)
  

2-14 Gawain is enthusiastically welcomed into the castle, Gringolet is stabled and then Gawain goes to the great hall and gets hugged by the Host

• first look at the people of the high desert; their hospitality is lavish from the beginning; things are looking up; stark contrast to the earlier winter scenes; the great hall should be large enough for 40-50 people but smaller than Camelot; high ceiling nice but not necessary
  
• left:
  -Gawain calls up to the porter
  -Gawain enters the gate with a welcoming committee on their knees before him
  
• right:
  -Gringolet is led into a stable, we see other horse-people all cozy in their stalls
  -Gawain is helped off with his helmet, sword and shield; people are crowded helpfully around him; he's tired but happy
  -The Host pulls Gawain into a welcoming hug; we don't get a clear view of the Host until the next stanza; perhaps he's backlit by the big fire in the hall; should remind us of the GK's entrance without being too obvious
  

2-15 Gawain notices how handsome his host is and is shown to his room where he changes into fresh clothes

• introduce Host and establish that he's hot; introduce Gawain's room so we'll recognize it later; Gawain cleans up nicely
  
• left: Gawain checks out the Host; most of the page is focused on him, but we should also see enough of Gawain to tell he's looking; the Host is unaware and is calling over some servants
  
• right: we see the bedroom and the big curtained bed; servants are scattered around; Gawain preens in front of a mirror as more servants help him on with new robes
  

2-16 He sits by the fire in a blanket and eats some fish, getting a little tipsy from the wine as well

• this is the least extravagant feast scene; should be warm and homey and comforting and a welcome change from camping, but subsequent feasts here need to be fancier; also leave plenty of room to differentiate Camelot and High Desert feasts - Camelot is the pinnacle of luxury and extravagance and sophistication; the High Desert is very festive and plentiful, but still a level below Camelot in complexity
  
• left: back in the great hall, Gawain is seated in front of the fire all cozy in his blanket/cloak
  
• right: three panels, closeup of a plate of fish, with other dishes in background, goblet and bottle of wine; the level in the bottle gets lower in each panel, at the end all that's left is the fish skeleton
  

2-17 Gawain says he's from King Arthur's court and everyone is very impressed and excited

• I think everyone else has already eaten and this meal was set up special for Gawain; everyone is just sitting or standing nearby watching as he eats; Gawain would be overwhelmed by the attention if the wine and food weren't relaxing him so much; he talks a lot
  
• left: Gawain talks, gesturing expansively (and looking a little tipsy)
  
• right: wide shot of the crowd whispering amongst themselves in the foreground while looking at Gawain in the distance (let's assume that the rest of the court isn't in on Morgan's game and are just genuinely interested in their big city guest)
  

2-18 They all go to church, Gawain and the Host sit together; afterwards the Hostess and Morgan appear

• opportunity for religious imagery and Gawain/Host bonding; introduction of the women
  
• left:
  -the whole company heads over to the church, with the Host and his lady at the head of the procession, a bunch of clergy flank the entrance to the chapel ringing some sort of bells (gongs? large brass bells?)
  -we watch the priest at the altar, seeing Gawain and the Host from behind; Gawain's paying attention to the service; the Host has his arm draped casually over the back of the pew and is subtly watching Gawain, head turned toward him just the littlest bit
  
• right: Gawain and the Host still seated, the women start to approach them from the aisle (focus on the women)
  

2-19 Gawain gets introduced to the Hostess and the old woman; they go back to the hall and party until bedtime

• contrast Gawain's relationship with the Host (both of them comfortable, easy, and friendly) with his attitude toward women (formal, showy, flamboyant and non-serious) and also the two women's response to him (predatory, condescending, seductive, calculating)
  
• left: still in the church
  -Gawain stands up and asks leave to greet the ladies, the Host is still seated, all casual, but there's definite sexual tension in the way Gawain stands between his legs
  -Gawain bows extravagantly over Morgan's hand, she looks on sternly; he's making a good impression but she's reserving judgement for now (think Judi Dench as M)
  -Gawain dips the Hostess in a showy kiss; she takes it all in stride
  -they exit the church with the women holding on to each of Gawain's arms, the Host walking behind, enjoying the view
  
• right: time panorama in the great hall, ~40 people all standing around mingling, with Gawain and the Host repeated in several poses amongst the crowd
  - drinking wine, servants circulating with wine on trays
  - Host leaping about with his hood on a stick and laughing
  - Gawain headed off to bed, perhaps sleepily leaning on the Host for support as he looks on fondly
  

2-20 Christmas morning comes and they spend the day feasting

• Christmas feast - the most elaborate High Desert feast; an opportunity for prettiness in food as well as some atmospheric mood setting to establish the Christmas season
  
• collage, alternating views of people with views of the food and decorations; many tables with guests; at the high table are Morgan (in the highest/best seat) with the others in a line down the table: the Host, the Hostess, Gawain, and a few others
  

2-21 The company feasts for 3 days and they party late into the night on the last evening; Gawain starts to say farewell but the Host pulls him aside and asks him to stay

• switch from the days of feasting to a more late-night party atmosphere; start of a big Gawain/Host talking sequence - want to keep the background varied and interesting while we focus on them for a few pages
  
• left:
  -wide shot of all the feasting, day time (maybe three shots to show three days of feasts?)
  -servants in the background breaking down the tables as the lords and ladies talk and dance and drink in the foreground, late afternoon
  
• right:
  -Gawain approaches the Host in the middle of the party, starts making farewell motions
  -the Host cuts him off by dragging him over to a secluded nook
  

2-22 Gawain says he can't stay because he needs to find the Green Chapel; the Host reveals that it's only 2 miles away

• getting dimmer, lamps start to be lit
  
• left: they stand close together in the nook, secretively, both looking very serious as Gawain explains
  
• right: the mood lightens with the Host's reveal of the Green Chapel's location; some manly backslapping is probably appropriate
  

2-23 Gawain consents to stay and they settle down in a small group including the women; the Host asks Gawain to obey him by staying home tomorrow while he hunts

• full dark now, but hall is brightly lit; background shifts but the guys remain in the center of the image
  
• left:
  - they're still in the nook as Gawain happily says yes
  - the Host drags them back out into the party and waves over to the women
  - a group reclining on cushions, ~8 people, the Host in the center, laughing expansively
  
• right: close up on Gawain and the Host, as the Host loudly announces his plan; there's a lot of good tension between them, the Host is obviously building up to something but Gawain isn't sure what
  

2-24 The Host proposes the exchange and Gawain agrees; they party, then kiss and head off to bed

• by the end of this scene the lamps have burned down and area is sparsely lit by candles/torches; we get the impression that the Host and Gawain have stayed up late into the night talking
  
• left: Gawain is relieved that the game seems so easy and cheerily seals the deal with a drink
  
• right:
  - still on the cushions, drinking and talking, lots of empty cups around them; others are nodding off around them
  - they stand up, hanging off of each other for support and kissing goodnight (Gawain's a pliable drunk and the Host takes fond advantage)
  - they stumble off to bed, escorted by scantily clad servants bearing torches