Alex Box inspired 'Vein Zombie' shoot

Veins Zombie Shoot

I have finally found a photographer and a model for this make up shoot. I mentioned the theme earlier in my blog, I'm going to create it in the style of Alex Box and make it look a bit like a painting by using brushes of colour and contour shading. I want to create a pale, gaunt face with veins coming out of the eyebrows to look different from all my other zombie images.

I found the photographer, Eddie Mansfield, on model mayhem. I'm a bit nervous to use him as the photos that he has put up on his profile are quite weird and his themes are quite outrageous! However I have decided to go with my instincts as he has edited all his photos really well so I'm sure with my theme it will work well.

The model I have chosen is a friend of a friend. I picked her not only because she is attractive and photographs well but she has quite a long forehead so I will be able to extend the veins further!

The studio is all booked now. I have printed off a medical reference to help draw on the veins accurately otherwise they'll end up looking amateur.

Graduate Film Re-shoot

I was disappointed that the photos taken of my Graduate Film make up design weren't very good and the file was too small to be able to use. Therefore I booked the studio and today I intend to re-create the look for a re-shoot.

Some things turned out better, and some I thought didn't look as good as when I did it for the graduate film.

I learnt from last time that it's better to use aqua color rather than grease and then blend in using a similar shade in powder, so it looked more blended and the colour was brighter. I remembered this time to place some loose translucent powder under her eyes before starting, to stop the make up from marking her cheek if it dropped, making it easier to correct and that saves time.

On the day of the Graduate Film I luckily got to use Illamasqua's black lipgloss which unfortunately wasn't available to use on my shoot, so I had to make use with a deep purple lipstick with gloss over the top. I preferred the Illamasqua gloss but never mind, it looked fine.

I used eyelashes, however the glue I used wasn't very good so they were coming off slightly. Lee, who was the photographer on my last shoot as well, covered it up on photoshop.

I'm also a perfectionist!

Apart from that I was extremely happy with the images and they were photoshopped well by Lee, in a similar way to the last set. The tattoo across her chest really complimented the make up and looked great as part of the composition in the photo.

Because the make up is detailed and complicated, I wanted to keep the hair simple, so I backcombed it up and pinned it to one side revealing the other side shaven. This was similar to the film shoot, although I clipped her fringe to the side as I learnt from last time that it kept falling into her face.

I like the way Lee edited this image to look like it's moving. It almost looks like she is fighting to get the string off her face. The effects he has used in the top right hand corner indicate the horror theme and give character to the composition.

This is my favourite image of the three as the composition is great and cropped in the right place. The lighting highlights the make up and gives a dark, edgy feel to it. Also you can see the make up really well as she's looking down. Shame you can't see the white contact lenses which would give more 'zombie expression'.

I like the composition of this pic and the way it's made up of horizontal and vertical lines - the string and her tattoo going across, and her hair vertically connecting the two. Her eyes look a bit wonky though, as the contact lense seems to have moved 'up' a bit on her right eye!

I guess this is ok though as it looks more zombie like!

Casting call for cast and crew on www.mandy.com

This is the casting call I did on www.mandy.com which a site for production people to network and find jobs. I did the same for model mayhem and purestorm, to advertise for actors and a lighting guy. Its a good way of finding talented people who want work experience for their CV and portfolio. I've been booked from this site in the past for photo shoots and work experience, such as a short horror film produced by a student studying film and production at Solent University. For this, I had to make up a character to look like she'd been stabbed to death. It was excellent work experience for me as I was credited and will get a copy for my portfolio. It was also very good practice for working on film before this trailer, and have applied some of the skills I learnt such as how make up looks on screen, and how I need to exaggerate certain aspects of the make up such as the wounds, and also making foundation thicker because of the lighting.

The Bloody Zombie Pics!

These are my final images for the 'Bloody Zombie' shoot I did with photographer Lee Knight.

I am extremely happy with the final edited images as he has retouched them so that the lighting is sharp and clear, and brings out the colour in the make up. I like how he has added effects to make them look 'zombie action' like. I was worried about the hair, as I wished I had continued the blood into the hair however in these pics it doesn't stand out too much and I think it makes it look more editorial. I like the blurred vision effect in the pic where he is stretching out the beaded string as it looks like a caption or moving image.

My least favourite one is the third one down as I feel it isn't as strong as the rest, however I like how his eyes are wide spread and he is looking into the camera for impact.

The Bloody Zombie shoot..

I had a bit of trouble finding a model for the shoot as I was put off finding someone from model mayhem after I was let down last minute on my last shoot, and everyone has so much work on before their deadlines! Luckily I managed to get my friend Duncan to model.

The shoot went really well and I got a great photographer who was extremely professional.

I was happy to get the contact lenses in easily due to my constant practice, and I put charcoal used for burns on his teeth to make them really grubby. I tried to get fake teeth but they were too expensive, however this technique worked just as well!

The only thing I was disappointed in was that Duncan's face was all bloody and gored, and I wanted to continue it up into the hair, but he wouldn't let me as it would have mucked it up and he had to go out somewhere afterwards. It was a great shame as I felt it ruined it. Although as this is to be an editorial, it'll look more stylised as it is.

STEP 1

I started off by layering tissue mixed with heated up gelatine onto his forehead taking it slightly down his nose and side of his head. I did a few layers and waited for that to dry. Meanwhile I fixed in his contact lenses making sure his and my hands were COMPLETELY clean..the lenses had been soaking in the cleaning fluid over night so we just had to take them out, clean them again, and gently place them into his eyes. After a fair few attempts we managed to get them in - well I must say it was joint effort! I made sure that they were the first things to go in otherwise the eye make up could run, as a result of constant tears and rubbing/stretching of the eyes to get the damn things in!

I used a purple greasepaint under the eyes to achieve the look of redness and irritation. The purple also compliments the white contact lenses, I also darkened the outline under his eyes with black eyeliner so that it contrasts with the white of his eyes and stands out! I rubbed and blended underneath to create a more subtle affect and then gently powdered to stop any shine. I got inspiration from the vampire on 'True Blood' as I have noticed the make up he wears is subtle but draws attention to the fact he's a vampire, and I wanted to achieve this.

I added dark purple to his lips so that he looks less healthy, and with the same colour shaded his cheek bone to make him look gaunt. I started to create the first scar on his left cheek and I did this by pinching a bit of loose skin together and filling it with rigid collodion. When it dried I did another layer, then slowly and carefully let go to give a dried 'old scar' effect.

I did the same scar again but this one crosses over the first one, to look more realistic then painted them with a skin coloured concealer and a small brush.

I picked out some parts of the scar with a pair of tweezers to add texture, and make it look realistic. I have also paled his face down using mac full coverage in white, as it's a creamy make up it won't look greasy or melt under the lights. I then set it with translucent powder. I made sure that I took the foundation down the neck and round the ears so that it's even all over and looks like paled down zombie skin.

This is the final design. I coloured in the gelatine and tissue once it had dried with a light red greasepaint and added deeper tones such as dark red, purple, blue and green to create more depth. I picked up some of the tissue again with tweezers to look like broken skin/flesh. I finished by adding wound filler to the deeper parts, fresh scratch, and dabbed congealed blood all over so that it looked like a fresh wound. I added charcoal used for burns in some parts, to look like dirt had got into the wound.

I filled the scar on the left side of his face with dark red/ purple greasepaint and added wound filler with a small amount of congealed blood. I was going to use running blood but I thought it would look too messy in the shoot, as I would have to keep on re-touching. I also preferred it without because there is so much going on, and on his forehead it would look too much.

I added some fresh scratch to his lips and underneath, to look like cuts and as if he had been eating on something (or someone!), and the blood had dried.

I added bruising under his eye and around his lips using a bruise wheel. I would have powdered over but bruises are often shiny, and after the photographer showed me what it looked like on camera I decided not to powder.

Lastly, I brushed charcoal over his teeth to dirty them up and make them look grimy and horrible. I thought it looked really effective on camera!

The only thing I'd have done differently, is I'd have taken the blood into his hair more.

Trailer casting! (and found a lighting man)

After a successful casting call on mandy.com I got 40 replies from actors and actresses that would like to participate in the trailer. I have now started to sift through them and shortlist the best bearing in mind location, experience and age. I will contact them and see who seems genuinely keen to take part.

I have found a lighting/camera guy called Giles Andrews from Ealing which isn't far from Kingston, which is where we'll be shooting. He has very kindly offered to pick up a lighting kit from an equipment rental store near him where he gets 20% discount which will save me money. I have decided to go with this guy as on his CV he has plenty of directing and lighting experience, with a degree in film production. When I spoke to him on the phone he was very enthusiastic to take part, and from the way he has described exactly what lights he'll need to create the dark, moody atmosphere I wish to achieve, he sounds like he knows what he's talking about. I have given him filming dates and I'm in the process of making a call sheet that I will send him, and post up on for everyone to see! I have agreed to pay for the equipment rental and his expenses.

Another Zombie Shoot...The Bloody Zombie!

I have just realised I have the studio booked for next week.. so I'm to do a gory zombie design, entitled The Bloody Zombie. I have bought white contact lenses and have ordered more gelatine in time for the shoot. I need to try and find a model.. I am not too fussed what they look like as their face will be covered in make up, however I want them to be confident as I will need them to pull angry zombie facial impressions..

Check out my sketch book for the designs...