The Game is On!
Episode 1 – The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair
In a fictional land called London, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson meet a curious client: the toymaker Joseph who has just recently signed a deal with some Hollywoodland producers to make a movie featuring Joseph’s most famous toy. However, soon after the deal was announced, a graffiti artist – a mysterious girl with light blue hair – started painting violent and bloody images all over London, images that Joseph finds disturbing. What does the mysterious girl want? Why is she painting her graffiti? Sherlock is intrigued. The Game is On!
On 12th November 2015, The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair won the AHRC Award for Innovation in Film.
Annotations
At the following URL you can download the annotated script of The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair.
Case Files
Supplementary educational materials providing points of discussion about copyright for teachers and students.
1. The Red Bus
The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair starts with a red double-decker bus travelling across Westminster Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament in the background.
2. The Monster
One of the graffiti that scare the toymaker Joseph portrays a monster eating his ‘beautiful, wonderful toy’. The image of the monster is inspired by two different artistic works
3. The Baker Street Building
Sherlock Holmes and John Watson discuss Joseph’s case at 221B Baker Street. The above illustration is inspired by two sources…
4. The Anonymous Artist
Joseph, the toymaker, has asked the police to identify the culprit making ‘dreadful images’ of his toy, portraying it in violent situations.
5. The Terrible Shark
This illustration from our video depicts a terrible shark-like creature about to eat Joseph’s toy. It was inspired by two different images…
6. The Famous Pipe
The pipe has been associated with the image of Sherlock Holmes since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s (1859 – 1930) stories were first published in The Strand Magazine with illustrations by Sidney Paget (1860 – 1908).
7. The Matching Wallpaper
In the background of Holmes and Watson’s apartment you can see wallpaper with ‘flowers scattered over it in a somewhat impressionistic style’.
8. The Dreadful Images
The ‘dreadful images’ that scare Joseph, the toymaker, are graffiti drawn all over the ‘fictional land called London’. The illustration above, depicting Joseph’s toy hung from a tree, is based on an actual place in London.
9. The Improbable Threat
In trying to persuade Holmes to take Joseph’s case, Watson asks: ‘What if it’s a threat? That’s what the graffiti might mean.’ These eleven words are based on dialogue from The Blind Banker…
10. The Uncertain Motivation
Joseph, Sherlock Holmes and the Girl with the Light Blue Hair are all creators: Joseph draws and designs toys; Sherlock composes music; and the mysterious girl is an accomplished street artist.
11. The Mutilated Work
In trying to persuade Holmes to take the case, Watson argues that: ‘If you were a professional musician, you wouldn’t want people copying or mutilating your work’.
12. The Hollywoodland Deal
Joseph explains to Holmes and Watson when and why the dreadful images of his beautiful, wonderful toy began to appear all over London. When ‘some guys’ from Hollywoodland approached him ‘to option a movie’…
Teaching Notes
Each Case File comes with a set of Teaching Notes. The Teaching Notes provide clearly defined teaching aims as well as key questions and suggestions for additional activities. We hope these will help teachers plan active, engaging lessons. You can download the Teaching Notes of The Adventure of the Girl with the Light Blue Hair at the following links:
Case File #1 – The Red Bus (teaching note)
Case File #2 – The Monster (teaching note)
Case File #3 – The Baker Street Building (teaching note)
Case File #4 – The Anonymous Artist (teaching note)
Case File #5 – The Terrible Shark (teaching note)
Case File #6 – The Famous Pipe (teaching note)
Case File #7 – The Matching Wallpaper (teaching note)
Case File #8 – The Dreadful Images (teaching note)
Case File #9 – The Improbable Threat (teaching note)
Case File #10 – The Uncertain Motivation (teaching note)
Case File #11 – The Mutilated Work (teaching note)
Case File #12 – The Hollywoodland Deal (teaching note)
Credits
Film
Written, Produced and Directed by Ronan Deazley and Bartolomeo Meletti
Art Direction / Design / Animation: Marco Bagni
Illustrations: Davide Bonazzi
Music / SFX: Sarc:o
Voice-over Artists (londonvoiceover.co.uk): Joseph – Vincent Brimble; Sherlock Holmes – Cliff Chapman; John Watson – Anton Saunders
Case Files
Authors: Hayleigh Bosher and Dinusha Mendis
Editor: Ronan Deazley
Design: Marco Bagni
Production: Bartolomeo Meletti
Principal Investigators, CopyrightUser.org: Kristofer Erickson (University of Glasgow) and Dinusha Mendis (Bournemouth University)
Related
The Game is On! – Ep. 2
When Holmes and Watson receive a letter from Mary Westmacott, a new adventure at the border between illusion and reality is just about to start.
Parody & Pastiche
Parody refers to a new creative work which uses an existing work for humour or mockery. Some parodies take aim at well-known artists or their work in order to make a critique.
Copyright Bites
Copyright Bites is a series of short videos that makes copyright law and policy easier to understand, exploring the relationship between copyright and the public domain.
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