PJ Liguori is a British/Italian YouTube and film producer known for works like Tiny Planet Explorer (2012) and Oscars Hotel for Fantastical Creatures (2014-2015). He enjoys experimenting with different film roles and believes in trying new things. Es Devlin is renowned for imaginative set designs that complement performances. Her 2017 opera stage in Austria was complex and symbolized the story. Neil Gaiman is a prolific writer known for works like Coraline and Neverwhere. He encourages creatives to write for pride over money and see mistakes as a sign of progress.

1. Contextual research
FMP
Aasiyah Chopdat

2. PJ Liguori
PJ Liguori is a British/ Italian YouTube and film producer born December 1990. He started making short
videos with his friends whilst studying at the university of the creative art. He said in a video that one of
the best ways to learn and get experience whilst at university is to do mini projects along with what you
are already doing.
some of his most notable works include; Tiny Planet Explorer(2012), The Forever Train (2012), Oscars
Hotel for Fantastical Creatures(2014-2015) and Hair and Brimstone (2016). Tiny Planet Explorer was a
short film PJ made that got a lot of notice, it won a virgin media award. Oscars Hotel for Fantastical
Creatures was a mini web series starring some internet personalities as well as actor Patrick Stewart. This
series had a lot of monstrous type characters/creature, to make them come to life they partnered with Jim
Henson's creature shop. They needed many props from puppets to costumes and prosthetics.
PJ himself likes to work in many areas of film, going from set designing to story telling and costume design.
He said in a video titled “HOW TO MAKE THE SADDEST GHOST” he said that the reason he likes trying out
new things is because he read once that “you might be really good at something but will never know
because you haven't tried it”. PJ’s outlook on life is to be creative and experiment in trying out new
things.

3. Oscars Hotel for Fantastical Creatures
Oscars Hotel was a mini series directed by PJ Liguori in partnership with New Form Digital. Its about a hotel
(as the name suggests) for mysterious and fantastical creatures. It follows Oliver as he suddenly has to take
over the hotel while his uncle(Oscar) is away on business.
One of the most memorable things about the series are the designs of the creatures. They used a mix of
puppets and costumes to bring the creatures to life.
PJ likes to create set designs that creates an atmosphere
related to the story being told. He achieves this by focusing on
certain factors such as lighting , colours and materials. This is
helpful to my project since when creating my set design I will
need to consider these things as well to get the outcome that
I want.
Something I really look up to about PJ is his outlook on life and the way he takes on new creative projects and
ideas. the fact that he tries things even if he may not be the best, he is willing to work on it, learn and improve.
his way of thinking - living is something I feel is really important for creative's as if your not willing to try then you
can’t improve.

4. How does PJ Liguori work help me to create my final
product?
In PJ sets something I have noticed is how he uses small details that
relate to the story or character. This can be see in Hair and Brimstones.
The main character (Hades) is shown drinking coffee multiple times, his
love for coffee is also represented through the background of some
shots in the film where a pile of used mugs and tea cups can be seen
on a table. The fact that there are used mugs laying around also reflects
Hades personality and suggests that he isn't bothered about keeping
his place tidy. This reflects on his character and helps the audience by
giving them more information about the character.
I can use this technique in my own work by finding ways to give the
viewer information though analysing characteristics. If a character is
someone who likes order and control they are more likely to be living in
a tidy space with simplistic colours.
This also can be used to show the characters social status, purpose or
goals, by considering this you can make sets that fit them. Considering
these details will make a set make more sense along side the story.

5. Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is well known for his writing whether it be in books, comics or screen play. Some of his work
include; Coraline (2002), Neverwhere (book in 2008), and the Grave yard Books(2008) as well as writing 2
Doctor Who episodes in 2011 and 2013. His works are mostly sci-fi fantasy and adventure. He likes to cross
genres and write books both for kids and adults.
Neil as a child loved spending time in the library reading the works of C.S Lewis and Edgar Allen Poe (as well a
many others). On is website he states that he wouldn't be who he is without libraries.
In 2012 he made a graduation speech at the university of the arts. In this speech he not only gives advice
about the creative world but also shares his experiences. One experience he shared was when he decided
not to write for the money but to instead write things that he was proud of, this was so that if he did the
work and didn't get paid at least he was doing the work for himself, however if he wasn't proud of his work
he would not feel he had to take it further. This tells his audience that intention is very key when it comes to
what you are creating, do it for the right reasons. He goes on to say that the things he did just for the money
never came out well and that it something that he need to remind himself of from time to time.

6. here are some quotes I took from his speech that I found gave me a better idea of who he is as well as useful for me
and my work. They can help to show a new perspective and suggest how I can improve on my work.
“I suggest she pretend that she was someone who could do it”
Sometimes when we want to do something we can compare ourselves to other people or not have trust in our
instincts and ideas. But in reality everyone is in the same boat, we are all just doing the best we can do. By
pretending we are someone who knows what to do we have more faith in our selves, its sort of like seeing yourself
from a different perspective. This advise will help me through my FMP project
Especially through production when things can get stressful. By using this
advise I will be able to have more trust in myself and my work.
“if you make mistakes it means your out there doing something”
Here Neil Gaiman explains that although you will make mistakes, that only
means you are doing something and moving forward. When we make
mistakes we can be hard on ourselves, however when you look at it from this
perspective ( your out there doing something and making progress/trying) it
give us a positive outlook and thus makes us more motivated to keep going.

7. how does Neil Gaiman influence my work/projects
Neil Gaiman writes many fascinating scenes and environments in his
novels. These scense inspire me because of the thought and detail
that's gone into them. They intrigue me because not only are they
creative (environments that don't exist) but they also reflect things in
the story. for instance in Neverwhere there is a scene where the
main characters are travelling up a long bridge. Below and around
the bridge is nothing but darkness and reflects the main character
sense of uncertainty and lack of knowledge in this new world they
has been thrown into. The imagery of a long bridge can also be seen
as a reference to the afterlife or starting a new journey.
I really enjoy these types of scenes and plan on making my set design
like his by creating a distinctive mood with my set. To do this I need
to think about what I want to express to my audience ( for instance
thrill, adventure or mystery). Depending on this factor I can create
my design accordingly and use specific props to give the audience
information.

8. Es Devlin
Es Devlin is an artist well known for her set designs and sculpture work. She was born in 1971 in London, and
attended Bristol university studying English literature. She then went on to study at Central ST Martins doing a
foundation course in fine arts, specialising in theatre design. Whilst studying she worked preparing props for Le
Cirque Invisible. I have found a common factor with most successful creative people is that whilst studying they
have found experience outside of their studies in their spare time. this shows that finding outside experience can
really help you get into the industry and improve yourself/push yourself.
She has worked on numerous projects both with major brands and celebrities. In 2017 she worked on the stage
design for the Opera Carmen at Bregenz festival in Austria. The stage was on the lake Constance and had to be
made to be able to withstand two Austrian winters. The stage itself is also complex as you can see in source 1, it
symbolises a character (from the play) hands throwing a deck of cards that form an arch on the stage. It looks
amazing especially because it looks as if the hands are coming from out of the water. You can tell that Es Devlin
really looked into the story the set would be used for and instead of creating a standard stage she went all out
and did something out of the box. Looking more closely at the design of the stage you realise how it frames the
centre of the stage well, the set doesn't take all of the attention away from the performance. this is a great
example of how the set is meant to complement the rest of the performance and not completely takeover.
Source 1

9. How does Es Devlin’s work help me to create my
final product?
Es Devlin is really good at making her sets unique and specific to the purpose/artist/story. Because of
this her stage designs are never the same and there's always something new and exciting about them.
She is able to do this by taking time to fully understand the project she is working on. She can then see
the purpose of the project clearly and from there can create a stage that matches it as well as one that
will suit the audience. The result of this is uniting the audience as they all crowd together and
experience the end result, they all get the message or interpret it in their own way. This inspires me to
really think about what I want to create and express to my audience and to explore new ways to
convey a message/story.
I can do this by spending more time on planning and really
looking into what sort of set I want to make and what I want my
audience to experience from it. I can research into relating
topics and draw inspiration from them (if its crime I can look at
popular existing cases and reference them in my scene by
including specific details or props relating to that case)

10. Bibliography
• (2013). Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming . Last
accessed February 2021.
• (2017). 10 Influential Set Designers You Should Know. Available: https://somethingcurated.com/2017/10/03/10-
influential-set-designers-you-should-know/ . Last accessed 2021.
• “Oscar's Hotel for Fantastical Creatures” watched on amazon prime
• Es Devlin. (-). Biography. Available: https://esdevlin.com/information . Last accessed February 2021.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Gaiman -wiki on neil gaimen
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PJ_Liguori - wiki page on PJ Liguori.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeOadxT7kPA -Mind-blowing stage sculptures that fuse music and
technology | Es Devlin
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikAb-NYkseI -Neil Gaiman - Inspirational Commencement Speech at the
University of the Arts 2012
• https://youtu.be/mUvKPrjYGTE- Making of the Food Creatures | Oscar's Hotel x Jim Henson's Creature Shop
(Oct 2, 2015)
• Neil Gaiman. (-). Biography. Available: https://www.neilgaiman.com/About_Neil/Biography . Last accessed
February 2021.