This term’s project theme was Gothic Horror. As a
whole I really enjoyed this theme and learning about all the different types of
Gothic meanings and how they can be portrayed via make up and character design.
It opened my eyes to the thought that goes into creating a character within a
Tv series (for example) and how all the tiny, little details have to be taken
into account throughout the whole of the filming. Both parts of the project
showed the detail that goes into it. The second part of the project, which was
the character design, showed me how much detail has to go into each individual character
to make sure that it fits into the storyline. The first part of the project
which was the continuity assessment showed me how important it is to take notes
and pictures on every little detail that you do to make sure that the
continuity is good and the make up and overall image of the character looks the
same.
I enjoyed the technical lessons with Sue the most as
special effects is something I have never done before. I now have a much better
understanding as to what all the different products can do and what they can be
used for and how to improve what I already know to make my special effects
skills better. Before Sue’s lessons I had never used gelatine or latex before.
I found these products to be the most interesting to use throughout the
project. The pre made gelatine moulds were my favourite part of special effects
as I think they looked the most realistic and were good for continuity. I didn’t
enjoy using the latex as I found it very hard to use, however I’m sure with practice
I will get better at using it to create different wounds. I would like to try
different techniques using latex and gelatine as I found them both hard to use but
when used correctly they gave a really good effect and looked really good on
camera.
For gothic horror as a whole I looked at various make
up artists who did work for Tv programmes such as Dexter, Walking Dead,
American Horror Story etc. I found that after I had been taught some basic
special effects make up I found myself really looking into detail at the make
up on screen on a Tv series or film. I read an article and watched a time lapse
of how the special effects wounds were created on Leonardo DiCaprio for the
film The Revenant. Sian Griggs and Duncan Jarman were a part of the prosthetics
team for the film. It was amazing what they could create on Leo to make him
look like a completely different character. When it came to designing my
characters based on the Tv series Dexter I knew I wanted to include blood because
Dexter is a blood splatter analyst in the series. I came across work that Alex
Box did for a Issey Miyake show late last year where she used MAC pigments and
a water based mixing medium with a straw to create a splatter, blown out water colour
effect around the eyes. I was really inspired by this as I knew I wanted to
include something like that on my characters face, so i tried different tools
and products to see how I could create a similar effect. I ended up using a
toothbrush and brushes with different densities to create different textured
splatters on the face influenced by the work done by Alex Box where she used
straws to create her desired effect.
The part of the project that went best for me I think
was the continuity assessment. I really enjoyed working with my model Josh to
create a look based on the Wuthering Heights character, Heathcliff. Coming up
with the look was really fun as we could use any of the techniques we learnt in
class with Sue to try and create a character based on what we had read in our
chosen novels. Creating one look and then having to recreate it a week later
for continuity was a massive challenge as we had never done anything like that
before but I enjoyed trying to create the exact same make up and hair look
using my notes and images I took of the previous weeks. I think I did well with
achieving the continuity in the 2 looks I did and I thought they were very
similar for my first ever go of trying to recreate the same character look.
The only problems I had during the project were issues
with shooting my final images for Claudia and Mrs Laderman. At the time of
shooting the studios in the university were fully booked so I didn’t have the
option of shooting in a studio with a large space. I had to use one of the
smaller beauty booths upstairs which limited what I wanted to do lighting wise
and I didn’t have the correct equipment that I would have had in the larger
studios. I also had an issue with models, unfortunately one of my models fell
ill at the time I wanted to shoot so I had to find someone quickly to replace
her. The images for the Mrs Laderman shoot didn’t come out as well as I wanted
them too at all. Next time I will make sure to have a bigger studio so that I have
the correct equipment that I need to shoot the best images I can. Although they
didn’t go to plan I learnt from my mistakes in the first shoot and when it came
to shooting Claudia those images were really good and came out a lot better
than I had expected!
