Another trailer meeting..

Today I went for another meeting with Ant to give him a list of dates to film the trailer. I have gathered together a list of actors to take part, what date and times they are available and a list of locations so that I can organise a call sheet. We went through the list and narrowed down a weekend in which the majority of cast and crew could attend and then any other filming needed can be done the following week. I contacted everyone on the list to confirm they were still available and committed to take part. A couple dropped out but I wasn't worried too much as I have cast double the amount I need as a back up plan, and I can always do with extras. I have learnt from past experiences that people let you down last minute therefore a couple of my friends who are sisters that used to do performing arts at college have said they will 100% take part and as they are close friends I know I can rely on them.

When I was thinking about the cast I wanted a diverse group with a variety of different backgrounds and a mixture of ages to represent real people as opposed to "good looking actors". I aspire to Dazed and Confused as it is an independent magazine that combines fashion with art, and known for using young up and coming British talent, you won't see the obvious and popular models and celebrities in this magazine. With a similar ethos in mind, the approach to my trailer will use a combination of fashion with film as opposed to fashion with art.

Gagged to Death retouch sample

Jelena the re-toucher has sent me back her edited version of my image. I was not quite happy with the background as I felt it was a little too dark and undefined, so I have asked for it to be lighter and for her to photoshop white zombie eyes. He would be gagged and tortured because he has shown first signs of a zombie. From the image you can tell that he hasn't fully converted to a zombie as there is no indent mark of an infinity sign which occurs once you have turned into one.

Here is the first edit:

Here is the final edit:

Jelena has lightened the background which makes the make up stand out more. She has made is face lighter which also contrasts more with the wound creating more focus on the key aspect of the image which is the wound. The eyes have been photoshopped like I wanted to zombie eyes this completes the image and enhances the zombie characteristics to fit with the theme.

Gagged to death shoot - re-touching

Unfortunately the photographer who took the photo's for this shoot wasn't able to edit them as she is in her third year doing photography and has a deadline next week also. Therefore I found a re-toucher on the networking site 'Model Mayhem'. I looked through her portfolio and was impressed with her work, I was looking for someone who had an eclectic portfolio to ensure they would be able to re-touch my image well.

I emailed her with exactly what I wanted to be done and asked for her price list, in which she promptly replied with £8 per image. I thought this was reasonable as long as she does a good job.

This is one her re-touched before and after images.

Another horror shoot - Gagged to death..

Today I did another photo shoot which was based on an idea I had from the song 'Suzanne' by Plan B which tells the story of the tragic murder of one of the 'Camden Ripper's' victims. (See blog post 'my general inspiration..' 03.03.10 for more detail).

I wanted to create a make up look of someone with a serious injury from being gagged, also indicating some of the pain that would have been caused. Inspired by the events that took place by the notorious Camden Ripper I was able to imagine a similar scenario based on what had happened and put my own interpretation on it for the shoot.

In order for me to create a realistic make up I would have to think of all the factors surrounding the circumstances, such as:

- What was he gagged with?

A thick piece of material soaked in acid, secured on extremely tightly with rubber bands making sure that the acid soaks into his flesh. He was in excruciating pain and in shock. Therefore I have paled his face down using White Mac full coverage as it's thick but not too heavy knowing that it would show, as the lighting used was quite soft. There would be bruising under his eyes from lack of sleep and stress which I have subtly applied using a bruise wheel as I didn't want it to be too obvious. The main focus is on the mouth. The tightness of the gag would have broken the skin and caused the blood to be mixed with the third degree burn from the acid. The flesh would have turned purple around the mouth from a lack of blood circulation, and bruising. I created this by:

1. Painting an outline by blending in a fine line of red greasepaint, to make it look even and precise before I applied the scar make up. I then applied tuplast with a hairpin to the outline, layering it and making it tacky so that it created a raised and jagged mark. If it was applied in a straight line it would look too neat and unrealistic. I applied it using a patting technique with a hairpin to give it a textural definition which will look like raised flesh. I then blended some of the edges with rigid collodion which stretches the skin to make it look like the flesh has been eroded away from the effects of acid and the gag.

2. Colouring in the textural areas with red, and two shades of purple to create the first layer of the aggravated skin. I used these light tones of red as it would have been a fresh wound and I combined this with a small amount of reddy purple and a darker purple for definition, slight bruising that would occur and the illusion of a deeper wound. After experimenting before hand I decided that greasepaint works well on this sort of surface as it sticks well without smudging.

3. Applying wound filler to small areas of tuplast especially in the cracks and under some of the picked up tuplast will create that burnt eroded away effect. I have chosen wound filler purely because it is a perfect red tone for the type of prosthetic I am creating. It looks realistic as it clumps together in a dark red ball of bloody flesh. I then coloured in some more dark purple to look like the wound is deep and added some fresh scratch around the edges with a stipple sponge to blend the blood and redness of the mark. Making it so its not one straight line cut which it wouldn't be as the material used would be rigid.

4. Lastly, by adding congealed blood. I tested 4 different bloods before to make sure I had the right consistency. Such as pro blood - which was too runny. Charles Fox branded blood - too brighter red it looked more orangey. Ben Nye's blood - which was again not thick enough and looked too ketchup like. Congealed blood - which worked the best, it was thick dark red blood which looked the most effective as it stayed put but still kept its freshness.

(experimenting with bloods before hand)

5. To finish I added a little bruising around the lips and corners of the mouth where the gag would have been pulled so tightly. I also dabbed some tuplast onto the lips to create chapping. Which would also occur due to dryness from the gag.

What is the scenario?

I have mentioned above what had happened for this massive wound to appear. The victim has already ripped off the acid gag and the image shows him aggressively pulling the elastic to free himself completely he is blind with rage.

The shadow created in the background was created by mistake but I thought it looked extremely effective so decided to keep it in.. It creates a tense mood and atmosphere, and reminded me of the film 'Psycho' by Alfred Hitchcock.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland....

I went to see Tim Burton's 'Alice and Wonderland' at the weekend. The make up was absolutely amazing and has been inspirational!

Twenty eight people worked in the make up department on this film. All the main characters were made up with outrageous and impressive make up designs. They are all highly editorial, using wigs, contact lenses and prosthetic pieces, for example six of the characters had oversized prosthetic features, such as: 'the woman with a large nose', 'the woman with big ears', 'the woman with a large poitrine', 'the man with a large stomach', 'the man with a large chin' and 'the man with a big forehead'.

The red queen had a unique look that took at least a couple of hours every day to complete. The wig sits at the back of her head, showing a receding hairline, and Helen Bonham Carter had to have a bald cap, that got rid of her natural hairline this then had to be coloured over, followed by her make up. The big wig went on last. After researching this character, I have been able to relate it to the bloody zombie shoot as I wasn't entirely happy with the way the blood didn't extended into the hair. From looking at this character I realise I could have used some of the methods and techniques used to disguise the hairline, and apply it to the 'bloody zombie' shoot. This is something that I can consider in future. Although I haven't learnt properly how to apply bald caps, they're used so frequently in TV and film, I will have to understand the process and will need training.

I have aspired to all the bright colours he has used in the characters especially on Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. I loved the bright fluorescent green contact lenses and his contrasting bright orange hair. The gap in his teeth, white face and different shades of pink under his eyes, cheeks and mouth culminates in a freaky, interpretation of the storybook character. With regard to the lenses, I have used white lenses widely in my shoots, and also my trailer. Like Tim Burton, I feel that the changing of the eye ball gives another dimension to a character. In Alice In Wonderland it adds to the zany, wild, fantasy character of the Mad Hatter; in my zombie shoots and trailer they add an eerie quality that takes the viewer out of real life into a nightmare scenario.

The White Queen played by Anne Hathaway, is the most literal in terms of make up. She has given me an idea of what I want to achieve in my next photo shoot (see Renaissance). I like how the White Queen has extremely pale skin, almost white, but her eyebrows remain dark with dark red lipstick. The white face and red lips show the innocence of someone sheltered from the real world. I want to recreate this ethereal look and try and keep the naivete of the White Queen and apply it to an editorial design in keeping with my project.

Edited Images

Eddie the photographer has just sent me back the photos he has edited and asked me which ones I prefer. Im not sure if I like the way he has edited them as I feel it doesn't do my make up justice!

These are the ones he sent:

I like the way the face is lit up and the background is dark. Im not that keen on the black frame so I might email him to ask if I would be able to get a copy without it.

This is my least favourite version. I think that the lighting is too dark which makes my make up look a little dirty looking especially on the forehead. I also dislike the orange tint to the lighting as I paled my models face down, the lighting has made her look tanned which isn't the look I wanted to achieve.

This is my personal favourite! I like the lighting being brighter as it makes her face look pale which is how I did the make up and wanted it to look. There is still something I'm not sure about but I cant quite put my finger on it.

Overall I am happy with last image but Eddie the photographer said that if I want any more edited photos he will do his best. He was extremely quick at sending the images and put them on a disc that he sent to my home so I am very grateful for his professionalism.

Shoot Day!

My Alex box shoot went really well! The photographer was excellent, he really knew what he was doing as the lighting was well lit and he took a great variety of poses so I had a selection to choose from.

The make up looked good, however I wish I hadn't used greasepaint to draw on the veins as once I powdered over the top I lost the paleness to the face a bit and it didn't look as clean as it had done initially. However I was still pleased. The lighting was extremely strong and so therefore I was constantly powdering my models make up! Next time I think I will make sure the base is extremely thick and powdered really well and then draw on the veins or whatever detail with aqua colour so that it looks sharp and doesn't smudge. I wanted the hair to be simple so that it didn't distract from the make up so I put her hair into loose curls and pinned them to one side.

Once we had finished the shoot he mentioned that he needed a make up artist for a shoot he was doing in May which is good for my portfolio. He said that he would edit a couple of photos straight away and then put them all on cd and send them to me in the post so that If I wanted any others he would just edit them for me - which was extremely nice of him!

Looking forward to seeing the finished image!