Philosophy Friday -- Scene One, Take Two.... Action!

[jwhitten]

"Scene One, Take Two.... Action!"

O'dark-thirty... the usual nocturnal stroll through the city... paused a moment to take in the sights and sounds... reflect upon it's diversity... and whatever the heck that is up ahead lurking in the shadows...

At the far end, a biker bar... its smoky yellow light spills out into the street... illuminating a row of neatly parked hogs.

Next door, a seedy motel. It's last remaining letters wink out a tired 'H O'... the rest just flicker glumly. Across the street stands a pair of midnight Madonnas lit in the glow of the one working street lamp cracking their gum and looking bored... watching a small black cat slink its way along the fence surrounding a vacant lot piled high with boxes and urban detritus obscured in the shadows. The railroad track, smelling distinctly of grease and creosote, cuts a groove down the center of the pavement... no trains rolling through here tonight.

Suddenly the quiet night is pierced by a brisk cry off in the distance, "Hey, come back with my pants!"

A masterful modeler, like a good author, tells a story through his models. Just as the author carefully selects his words to connect with his readers, the modeler must thoughtfully choose the correct details to frame the setting, establish the tone and set the mood, in order to immerse his audience into the world he is creating for them. But what may not be so readily apparent is the importance of the details which are left out. Too much detail can clutter the scene and distract from its purpose-- which is to convey the storyline elements to the audience. And of course, just like in a written work, there can be more than one story threaded throughout a scene, and multiple scenes can be connected together to present a more complex story, and so on. In a modeled realm, scenes and stories can even be presented dynamically with an element of animation or motion, which if done carefully, can add some additional "zing" or impact to the story. All that is required is to give the audience some sort of visual clues to help them understand where the story begins, it's general direction, and where to look for the next piece. One by one, as each scene is revealed, the story is told and the audience is entertained in its revelation.

I sometimes wonder if designing a great layout isn't a little bit like creating a "Silent Movie" of old. Many of the elements are the same-- a visual medium, the actors, the need (desire) to tell a story, the compilation of the set with all its supporting details, and the need to bring it it all together-- to connect it cohesively, convincingly and with minimal anachronism.

In the movie business, stories are told a frame at a time, sort of like they are in a comic book. The story is examined carefully to determine each of the signature scenes and their elements. And then each scene is carefully rendered onto the "story board" in its correct sequence which then assists the directors, the actors, all of the set designers and costumers and so forth in knowing what's supposed to be happening, when. The story board, in essence, becomes "the bible" for the movie and all questions directed to and clarified by the story board. And of course if there's ambiguity in the story board, then it must be resolved. The story board is the backbone of the production upon which the "world" presented to the viewer is hoisted into existence.

So, My Questions For Today:

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

As usual, I'm looking forward to reading all your great thoughts and comments!

And of course, post pictures if you got em...

John

[Mike Kieran]

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-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

 

It’s certainly the backdrop for the story that you want to tell.

 

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

 

I used to love reading John Allen’s Gorre & Daphetid articles because he would throw in little stories about railroad personnel, the Sorefeetz Brothers, or the Diesel Salesman.

 

Another magazine, Model Railroading, had a regular contributor, David A. Bontrager (The Colorado & Western), who would have a story for everything from locomotives to layout details. It made for interesting reading.

 

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

 

I plan to have several little stories going on. It would help to make a layout as small as mine more interesting.

 

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

 

It wouldn’t hurt since it can help you plan ahead for details and materials.

 

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

 

Keep it believable.

[BATMAN]

Mine is simple. I am trying to convey the almost insurmountable task of putting a rail line through the Canadian Rockies in the 1800s. I want people to look at my mountain passes and have them realize what an undertaking it was to build.

Also I wish to show that it is an ongoing struggle to keep the line open, and remind them by displaying an old washout or two where some old rusty rails and ties can be seen falling off into the the canyon below from where a roadbed cut into a canyon wall once stood. And where the replacement now skirts around it by means of an even deeper cut into the cliff.

If you peer below the surface of the lake where the track is cut into the rock face that follows the shoreline, you will see a rusty hulk, that is a Locomotive that has been abandon, just because it was impossible to remove. Further down the line a small Graveyard. Buried there are some of the many workers killed building and later running the Railroad. The Graveyard is all that remains on the site of what turned out to be a short lived Railroad town.

I think the story I am trying to tell is one of accomplishment. If my model can show blood,sweat and tears without a figure in site. I will be happy.

 

                                                                      Brent

[MisterBeasley]

"All the world's a stage..."

I like to think of a layout in terms of a play, rather than a movie.  The stage is small, generally only a tiny fraction of the "world" we are modeling.  We are the set designers, creating a static space in which our rail-bound "actors" enter, move across while speaking their lines, and leave.  Some of us weave intricate stories with our "sets," drawing the viewers' eyes in deep, while other provide a bare minimum, a couple of chairs, perhaps, to allow the actors to posture.

"A poor player who struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more..."

Well, what do you think "staging" means?  It's a direct line back to the theater, on-stage, off-stage.

"I'm walkin' down that long lonesome road...."

My "story," though, doesn't go down the tracks.  It goes along the streets of Moose Bay.  The lines of buildings folow the roads, not the rails.  The engines blow their whistles, but only at the grade crossings.  The people walk on the sidewalks.  And yes, there are stories, and names.  The Clampett place out by the edge of town, with an old car broken down in the driveway and a hand-pump for water out back.  Follow that road and you'll come to Lady Buc's clam bar on the bay.  Cross the bridge and say hello to Tom and Aretha, Carl and Lenny sitting on their front stoops on Bridge Street.  Take Penny Lane from there, through the center, past the Heartbreak Hotel and the House of Haggis, above the subway tracks and you'll get to the Coal and Oil dealership, where you can look in and see Mr. Burns and Mr. Smithers.

On Phase 2 of Moose Bay, I'm still paving Beaver Street.  Down in Mooseport, John's tale of night people could describe the plans.  A slow street-running switcher pulling a few cars past a bar called The Brass Rat, a few ladies looking for a late customer or two, water in the car-float slip lapping quietly against the pier.

It's all seduction, you know.  The girls on the street, the words on the page, and the models on the layout.  Each triggers a fantasy, lets your mind follow it, and draws you in.

[Colorado_Mac]

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

Certainly.  All of our layouts tell a story, even if the story is only about the owner/builder.  I want my layout to show a small slice of the American story .

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told?

Yes, just as I am a fan of museum exhibits or non-fiction books, which tell a story, rather than simply lay out cold facts.  Judging from lines at the museum and the best-seller lists, many agree.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

Small vignettes I have thought of for my planned layout are a southern family arriving fresh off the farm to work the mine or mill, a draft board/recruiter's office, a war-bond rally in the park, a couple of victory gardens and a military funeral in the small hillside cemetery.  The railroads will be busy and a bit weary.   You should be able to guess the era and the story from those details alone.

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

Oh, I don't know.  As a writer I develop story boards all the time, and for my hobby I prefer to be a little bit less structured.  However, I do have a history of the town in my mind to lay supporting backstory into the narrative.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

I don't know if I am qualified to give any advice, not having actually completed anything, but I would think that if you look at your railroad(s) and towns and simply ask "Why are these here?", answering that question will go a long way to creating your own "story".

 

[tshryock]

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

A good story sets a sense of time and purpose, so a good layout should do the same. A story has a beginning, middle and end, with the character changing at the end of the story for better or worse. I'm not sure that applies as much, but there are certainly some similarities.

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

I've never seen an entire layout with a story. There are certain scenes within it and usually a general sense of place and time. As long as the mini-scenes match the overall theme, then that helps link everything together.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

Good question. I think only visitors can answer that. My goal was to model lots of industry with lots of switching action. Is that a story? Probably not. The vehicles and trains should set the time and place and the scenes of workers in and around the factory hopefully create a sense of "being busy" to help justify the rail traffic. But I'm not sure it actually tells a coherent story throughout.

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

I keep going back to a sense of time and place. I think you need to define that, build everything around that, then everything should naturally pull together. I'm not sure a story board is necessary, but it might be helpful when planning out a more detailed scene. Some people need to draw stuff like that out, others just envision it.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Don't ram it down people's throats. Subtle is best. Make the viewer work a little bit to find interesting things. There should be a lot of "what's that over there?" moments with just enough of something showing to draw further inquiries. Don't put all the interesting scenes right at the front of the layout. They should be visible, but not always obvious. 

Garden designers talk about creating little surprise as people walk through your garden and putting some things where only the most inquisitive will find them. I think the same lessons apply. Putting a few really cool details/scenes in not-so-obvious places will create a sense of mystery and entice people to really look around. Just like the real world, some people can walk by a burning building without noticing while others note which direction the smoke is rising. And sometimes it's fun to have some detail that only you know is there, but only the most observant guest would ever notice.

[gandydancer19]

So, My Questions For Today:

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

No, not really.  I don't get that impression at all.  I think of it as constructing many dioramas.  Some of them will be connected.  Most will stand on their own.

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

Yes, very much so.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

I think the big story is about what the railroad does.  The layout itself is divided up into scenes (dioramas) and each of those tell a part of the big story.  My scenes are being separated by "view Blocks".  These can be a river or stream, a road, hill, or line of trees.  This tends to keep you looking in one area for a while.

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

Only if he doesn't have a vivid imagination and has trouble seeing the finished area while he is building it.  Some modelers have it, and some don't.  Everyone needs an aid now and then, so if a Story Board will help, go for it.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Don't try and do it all at once.  Put some basic ground cover down on the whole layout as soon as you can to give it something other than a pink, blue, white plaster, or wood surface.  Then come back and work on individual areas and scenes as time permits.

[superbe]

To give the layout life you need people imo and that is the beginning of a story, I don't see it as a movie but more like a series of short stories about each scene. As we create the scene we see it the way we want it but any one else will see it differently.

For example in the scene below Ms Miller mgr of Miller Milling Co plant #3 (no relation) has just been elected president of her garden club. She put Tonya in charge of a crew to plant some flowering trees. The men hope they don't have to plant flowers but as long as Tonya is in charge they won't mind.

 Next door at the oil co there's all kinds of activity are going on. The owner's daughter is mowing the grass while a motor cyclist speeds by. In the back ground the dispatcher is giving the driver last minute instructions while men are moving drums on the dock.

 

 That's the way I see it.

Having people in the scenes makes the layout interesting and it is up to the viewer's imagination to write the story.

That's my story

Happy Railroading

Bob

[leighant]

Since the 1920s, some “ordinary people” have longed to become movie stars, and more recent dreamers want to be director, screenwriters or even producers.  My fantasy is to be a motion picture production designer.

I have fulfilled that on a small scale, designing TV commercials, a local TV news set,

and designs for my own low-budget experimental films.

This is a 1/12 scale model of a lunar-surface shuttle, photographed 200 inches from the camera, while the full-sized girl standing “under” the shuttle is 200 feet away.

 

I have seen claims that model railroading is the one hobby that includes more activities than any other.  But I would argue that taking on ALL the parts of making a movie has more.  Orson Welles is supposed to have said something like “A movie studio is the best electric train set a boy could ever have!”

Selective compression of the south corner of MGM lot 2, 1940-1965 as a switching layout.

 

I object nitpickingly to the use of the term “storyboarding” to describe planning a layout because I have used the term with a special meaning some 50 years.  It is a plan with 2 spatial dimensions plus time represented by multiple panels.  The 2-dimensional plan defines the SPECIFIC viewpoint to be taken by the camera through the 3-dimensional reality of the set.  A model railroad is a 3-dimensional world which the viewer experiences through multiple- though not necessarily unlimited- perspectives which the viewer creates through his or her movement, while this world also has its movement in train operation, lighting changes and animation.  I don’t find a storyboard the best way to plan that world- but i use other design techniques from the film craft.

 

(Hey, if this sounds high-faluttin’, remember it’s philosophy.  Sort of.)

 

The stars of my show are Santa Fe trains like the streamlined Texas Chief

This is like an embarrassing early career picture of a star- a 1976 view on a small display layout.  Supporting cast includes the all-stops heavyweight accommodation, the merchandise freight trains, and specialized trains for grain, cotton, sulphur and bananas.  The height of the streamlined train and some other rail factors set my era around 1957.

 

But the STORY of my railroad, at least the part modeled, centers on a special place- an island seaport on the Texas coast-- Reached by a 2 mile long masonry causeway over water.

My version of Galveston, named “Karankawa” under the movie tradition of  “names have been changed to protect us from lawsuits.”  Karankaw was the native tribe, supposedly cannibalistic, that lived on the island when the first Spaniards arrived.  A group connected to Pirate Jean Lafitte had a pirate colony in early 1800s, then when Texas became a Republic and later a state, the locale became the major port of entry. 

A major fire burned most of downtown in 1875 so the city fathers ruled all downtown buildings would have to be fireproof-- which meant masonry.  DPM or Magnuson style.

Then the 1900 hurricane- the deadliest disaster in US history devastated the town.  Old buildings were raised to a higher grade...but the town’s economy and business was so depressed, it lost its place as the state’s port and business center to Houston.  The old Victorian downtown buildings- an entire Victorian downtown city commercial district did not get torn down and modernized.  Except for the Santa Fe station and office building at the end of the main business street.

This is a 2001 photo after modern “touristization.”  But in the 1957 setting of the layout, it was somewhat depressed.

The port came down, but Houston and Texas City got the petrochemical business, leaving the island seaport as a terminal for export of grain, cotton, sulphur and import of bananas, raw sugar, raw coffee beans and jute.

(Elevator B, gone now)

Motorists arriving on the island passed four blocks of bougainvillaea-covered cotton compress warehouses, along a boulevard landscaped with palms and oleanders. 

Vacant in 1995, now gone.

A major part of the island seaport feel was its beachfront tourist district, with both family and adult entertainment.   ...shell and souvenir shops

 

cutesy accomodations

now gone, but I got a picture.

There used to be an old wooden roller coaster, gone for 50 years, and what was once a gambling pier, gone in Hurricane Ike.

The island was protected from possible Nazi attack in World War II by bunkered shore defense guns.

 

I have used 3D computer modeling, the cheapo and rough version of movie CGI, to imagineer my layout. 

The causeway and gambling pier...

The downtown rail passenger terminal

and with night lighting...

One way to visualize buildings is to scan parts into computer, colorize, cut and paste in Photoshop.

Magnuson’s Victoria Falls hotel kitbash with one story cut off and canopy added to deflect the Texas sun...and change the appearance

Victorian store rendering from the FRONT sections of Pola kit

(The blank side walls of two kits were used for insulated walls of an ice plant...

 

I coped one DPM kit into computer, computer bashed it

then bought the 2^nd DPM kit needed to suggest this prototype Peanut Butter Warehouse.

 

Another moving picture procedure is the casting office.  I pretended to be a casting agent, picking miniature figures to serve various roles in the gambling pier scene...

 

So yes, model railroading can be like making a movie.

 

[tbdanny]

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

I do feel that a model railroad must have a sense of purpose - the 'plot', if you like.  Where are the trains coming from, going to, why are they doing this?  Without some sort of story, be it the comings and goings at a locomotive terminal or a supply run to a remote mining site.  Waybills and switch lists, or other operating schemas, provide the 'script'.

Having said that, it could be said that a model railroad is more along the lines of producing a play, more so than a movie.  A movie is the same thing over and over again, no matter how many times you watch it, whereas a play varies from performance to performace, much in the same way as no two operating sessions ever run the same. 

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

Yes.  If I'm running a train, there must be a purpose for it to be there.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

My layout, the 'Bradford Branch', tells the story of a week's work at the A.N. Bradford mine in Colorado, served by the narrow-gauge D&RGW.  Trains bring the miners in for the week, supplies come up and gondolas are loaded & taken away.  There will also be vignettes, or 'subplots' modelled on the layout - the blacksmith working in his shop, the mine manager inspecting a piece of equipment, etc.

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

I think it is important to have a good idea of the narrative your layout is trying to convey, so you've got a target to aim for.  If a story board helps work this out, by all means, use it.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Speaking as a hopeful author, I'd say don't put in too much that's irrelevant to the story you're trying to convey.  It may be tempting, but ultimately it will distract from the main plot.

Well, that's my worth.

Cheers,
tbdanny

[jwhitten]

leighant

I object nitpickingly to the use of the term “storyboarding” to describe planning a layout because I have used the term with a special meaning some 50 years.  It is a plan with 2 spatial dimensions plus time represented by multiple panels.  The 2-dimensional plan defines the SPECIFIC viewpoint to be taken by the camera through the 3-dimensional reality of the set.  A model railroad is a 3-dimensional world which the viewer experiences through multiple- though not necessarily unlimited- perspectives which the viewer creates through his or her movement, while this world also has its movement in train operation, lighting changes and animation.  I don’t find a storyboard the best way to plan that world- but i use other design techniques from the film craft.

 

Actually that is nearly the exact meaning I had in my head and intended to convey-- except for the camera angle, which-- while I agree it's important for a movie production-- is not really required for a storyboard. Consider a comic book storyboard, for example. Or in some senses, the storyboard for a modern video game-- although that one probably would include "camera" (view) angles, at least as some small consideration.

John

[howmus]

"All the world's a stage."

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

Absolutely, life itself is full of drama, villains, comedy.  Why not the MMR?  If we strive for realism there must be some sense of daily life and the unusual as well present on the layout.  This can be subtle or completely blatant, but is best with some sort of balance like the writings of a great playwright!  (I quoted my favorite above.)

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told?

Actually, I usually look to see what a person has put there for all to see upon the tiny stage.  One of my favorite is a baseball game on a friend's layout, complete with someone watching the game through a knothole.

-- Does your layout tell a story?  Ah yes, but of course, my friend.

The guy with the car trouble....  Danged Fords anyway!

The nervous horses, tired of waiting while the owner loads the cart.

The crowd enjoying the summer concerts in the park while the old boys have a game of checkers in front of the dinner.  We won't mention the guy in the outhouse.....

And since it is 1925, right in the midst of prohibition, we find old uncle Albert over in the woods on Bare Mountain making the principle ingredient for the Sister's famous "Recipe".  Well he was there, but evidently he had sampled a bit too much of the produce...  Gotta make sure it is a good batch you know.  He saw something in the woods that scared the livin' daylights out of him and he is making a bee line to the house to warn everybody!

Storyboard for me is in my head, but use what helps.

My only advise is to have fun!  It's you're layout!!!

73

[Flashwave]

I've always said more a play than a movie, but I've been on stage since Mom was still pregeannt and banging together sets with me, so maybe that's just theatrical bias. We use viewblocks to hide the backstage, and seperate scenes from each other. Each train becomes an actor, and the story is very much the work-a-day operations that they do.

the real beauty, is that each character can be it;s own star. And everyone has a role, a supporting job. It all depends on who you want to tell that particular day. The yard job getting things reasy, or the through trains trying to wade their way to the next big town. And all the little side bits, batman or a baseball game. are just fun sidelines, or "easter eggs." Much like finding R2D2 in theStar Trek flick. (Yes, he's in there, as space debris)

Not sure there is such a thing as a layout without a story. Maybe a boring one, but they all do something.

Storyboards and webs and the like all prove to be futile to me. I'd rather "freehand" it. I'll do trackplans, but whenever I write, I find myself going farther tghan I write it if I plan, and then donb't want to go back and do it all over again. Madison will tell a story, much like a Thomas flick, of a small railroad trying to make up for its size and be more than a speedbump and a slow order as the Chessie rolls West to St. Louis or east to Cinncinati. Unfortunately, I've tried to do a lot of follow the engineer stories like the Coal Belt stories in Model Railroader, and I'm just not sure if there's enough diversity in the CMPA to do that. Every train runs the same tracks, and maybe that's a sign I need to either diversify or find a new prototype before I start bilding. And maybe that's where a storyboard helps, to find out if there's enough interest to be modeled.

[tomikawaTT]

jwhitten

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

IMHO, constructing a model railroad is like building a theater and equipping it with the necessary sets.  The play is what takes place when the model railroad is being operated.  I have frequently referred to my `netherworld' of staging and hidden thoroughfares as the wings and dressing rooms where my flange-wheeled thespians await their cues to come out and strut their stuff.

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

I enjoy viewing a layout in the same manner that I enjoy attending a play.  The sets should look good and provide a proper background and necessary foreground details, but the play's the thing.  I don't have to play the hero or the heavy to enjoy the play, but a bare set is only the beginning.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

My layout tells a story in that the railroad is a latecomer.  The geography and the culture were there first.  It will also tell a story aside from the operation - 'minor actors' will eventually include, but not be limited to, an operating pile driver and a working tunnel boring machine.  The railroad is being double tracked - which tells a story of increasing traffic.

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

Having a solid history is equivalent to having a screenplay, or an operatic libretto.  Then, specific sketches, even if only scribbled on the backs of envelopes, help in visualizing the detailed scenes within the larger context of the entire railroad.  I have both, and find them helpful in keeping me from deviating in some unproductive direction.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Keep the story mundane and comfortable, even if unlikely.  `Cutesy-poo' might be amusing for a little while, but it gets tiresome in pretty rapid order.  A scene has to be able to stand the test of time to be believable.  Two old men playing go have more long-term staying power than a traffic stop or a policeman chasing a cliche burglar in mask and horizontally-striped shirt.  Likewise, seeing a loaded schnaebel car in every other freight would stretch my suspension of disbelief well beyond the breaking point.  As for giraffe cars, missile cars and de-winged aircraft standing on their notoriously flimsy landing gear...

 

Granted that my pile driver, TBM, articulated coal hoppers (and their articulated motive power) are equally unlikely - but they're proper to the place and the story.

 

Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - sort of)

[Anonymous]

John,

your philosophical questions for the weekend get ever more challenging!

Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

The layout I am currently building serves no other purpose than being a stage for watching some trains run on it and having fun building it. But:

Most forum members will remember the number of different layout ideas I had posted in the past two years. My favorite one was an ISL with an Alaskan theme (one day I am going to build this one!). This layout does not only have a theme, but various scenes, different acts and a plot. Aren´t those the elements of a play or a movie?

Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains)?

Very much so, Sir! Actually, I am part of that story, either in the role of an engineer, or a conductor, or a dispatcher.

Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

Well, again, the layout I am building right now does not really tell a story, it is just a stage for trains somehow "appearing" on  a scene. My switching layout was intended to tell a story, something like "A Day in the Life of..." You can add "Bill, the Engineer on the ARR", or "Trainman Joe" . The story is a day in the work life of this fellow, beginning with the arrival of the car float, the loading and unloading routines, switching jobs etc.

Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

A "storyboard" will certainly help developing the track plan and individual scenic features. We tend to view a layout as a whole, but it is most helpful to break it down into individual scenes and to arrange them along your layout. That´s why I prefer to build shelf-type layouts, or "along-the-wall" layouts, because arranging these is scenes is much easier, just arrange them in a sequence.

What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Aside from keeping it simple, not necessarily stupid, my advice would be keeping it focused and "clean". Abstain from overburdening a scene with lots of gimmicks, them being static or in motion. Try to avoid "frozen" movements in your scenes, as they may look right in an instant, but not for any length of time.

[jwhitten]

Sir Madog

John,

your philosophical questions for the weekend get ever more challenging!

[...]

What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

Aside from keeping it simple, not necessarily stupid, my advice would be keeping it focused and "clean". Abstain from overburdening a scene with lots of gimmicks, them being static or in motion. Try to avoid "frozen" movements in your scenes, as they may look right in an instant, but not for any length of time.

 

Thank you Ulrich, the responses have been pretty interesting this week. They were last week too, for that matter.

I agree with you in general about the frozen moments, over time a frozen scene does start to get old. However, one of the techniques I will be using on my layout is to have a collection of people that are posed in various ways, and fitted with a pin in the leg or posterior (as warranted) to permit them to be set up in a scene, photographed as desired, etc., and then repositioned into a new scene when the present one grows stale. But for scenes that never change, I completely agree, it often seems better to depict action "about to happen" or else people at rest, rather than catching them in mid-motion. Plus it's easier on the actors that way. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to pause "mid-step about to reach for the door" for any length of time? People don't realize how much work those little guys have to put out in order to make our scenes!

 

John

[B&O1952]

Following up on John's post, I also like to reposition figures and vehicles for photos. We use a product called Mini Hold that I found through Scenic Express. It's a soft wax that can be warmed up with your fingers and placed under the feet of your figures. You can usually pose figures just about anywhere on your layout temporarily.  Here's just one example:                                                                              -Stan                                                    

[jwhitten]

B&O1952

Following up on John's post, I also like to reposition figures and vehicles for photos. We use a product called Mini Hold that I found through Scenic Express. It's a soft wax that can be warmed up with your fingers and placed under the feet of your figures. You can usually pose figures just about anywhere on your layout temporarily.  Here's just one example:                                                                              -Stan                                                    

 

Cool! That's good news. I've never heard of that before, but I'm making a note. Much better than having little pin holes all over the place! LOL :-)

Great photo too. Got any more?

 

John

[B&O1952]

John, I'm glad you like it! That stuff works great. you can position guys hanging on the sidw of the rolling stock as well.  Here's another look.

[B&O1952]

John, That stuff is handy, and you can mount figures on rolling stock with it too. here's another pic. -Stan        

[shayfan84325]

The thing about movies is that they usually tell a story about something that is not really "everyday" stuff.  As a model railroader I strive to create a convincing representation of the everyday world.  Therefore, my layout becomes sort of a setting in which anything could happen or has happened, but those happenings are up to the beholder to create in their own mind.  Of course the everyday goings on in the real world include a lot of small stories and a certain amount of subtle drama, so I have small clusters of figures who appear to be engaged in conversation, and a few folks working, and a few folks who appear to be daydreaming, etc.  I leave the subgect matter of their thoughts and conversations to the viewer's imagination.

On my layout, there are also a few oddities that might cause someone to ask themselves "what's that about?" and thus get them started thinking of how a 1909 Oldsmobile happens to appear on a 1934 main street in a western logging town , for example.  Just like there are occasional unexpected/unusual events in the real world, I include just a few because of the story that must have brought things to that point.  Still, I don't tell the story; I let the viewer create their own.

I consider myself a good observer of the things/events around me and try to present similar "scenery" in a realistic fashion - if a story is being told on my layout it is vague and there is plenty of room for interpretation (I can think of a few good stories that could justify that 1909 Olds).  I like to think that the people who experience my layout take an interpretation from it that is as much their creation as it is mine - I think it makes the layout more engaging.

[BRAKIE]

Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

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No..I seen it as modeling a form of transportation..We may use some Hollywood scenery tricks but,we  are far from modeling movie sets.

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Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

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Only if the story coveys the message of the goal-a miniature transportation system in action.

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Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

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Only if the modeler is showcasing a prototype scene that he modeling such as a station,crossing,bridge,junction etc.

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What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

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IMHO one word sums it up..Believability.

[wm3798]

 

-- Do you think that constructing a model railroad is anything like making a movie? Or perhaps a play?

I'm sure one could draw all sorts of parallels, for instance, we frequently use the terms "staging" and "scenery" and "blocking" when describing our layouts and their operations.  In theater, an actor enters from the wings, performs his part, then departs.  In the process, he attempts (along with the playwright, director, and all the other performers) to make the audience understand what's going on.  Our trains do the same thing on a well thought out layout.

-- Do you enjoy viewing a layout where there's a story to be told? (In addition to, naturally, being able to run the trains :-)

Absolutely.  Whether it's roundy round or full blown car cards and waybills, I like it when there's a story behind the model railroad.

-- Does your layout tell a story? Or if you don't have a layout yet, the one you're planning?

Yes it does.  You can find all the gory details at www.wmrywesternlines.net

-- Do you think it would be helpful for a modeler to construct a "story board" as an aid to guide him the development of his "signature scenes", and in the general development of his layout?

Definitely.  My planning always begins with sketches of the key components of the layout.  Whether it's a purely scenic bridge, or a complex industrial area, I try to visualize how it will all work together in the finished scene.

 It helps to anticipate structures when planning the track, and vice versa.  Digital photography and simple computer programs make this much easier than it used to be.

-- What other advice do you have for a modeler aiming to tell a story on his layout?

I know this will bring howls from the "Rule #1" crowd, but I've found that be narrowing my focus to a particular era and a particular prototype, my experience with model railroading has become far more enjoyable.  Maybe it's because I'm ADD, but I really like researching the little details of my layout, and making fun discoveries along the way.  It's also pretty important to note that keeping to a particular theme also helps you keep your budget.  I.e.:  The Fox Valley Milwaukee Road Hiawatha that was recently released in N scale is a magnificent piece of engineering, but I don't feel the need to get one, as I'm an eastern coal hauling road afficianado.

Think of it like getting a Bachelors degree, then a masters, then a PhD...  You learn more and more about less and less!

Lee