The Importance of Continuity

When working in film or television the scenes are often shot out of sequence so it is important to keep good continuity, this can be because of issues such as access of locations, availability of certain actors and also the weather conditions. So the scenes can be done up to a year after and the hair and makeup still needs to be the same, or something might happen where the film needs to be shot again. If the makeup and hair is not the same this can ruin the whole atmosphere of the film.

Some of the issues you might have with continuity that might arise are the makeup department might be working on other productions by then, so new people might be hired to pick up the shots. These new makeup department will have to watch the film and make sure that all the actors are dressed the same, have the same skin tones, wear their hair at the same length and also have the same makeup. In TV soap series if the director picks up shots of close-ups four months before, the makeup artist has a number of continuity problems, matching the clothes when many costumes have been returned to the hire company, matching hair and hair pieces to be tracked down from wig makers and also matching makeup because some of the makeup (foundation, lipstick ect) may have been lost.

Dealing with continuity can often be very stressful, but some of the way to overcome these issues is by taking photos of the actors from the front, back and profile views and take extensive notes, and log all the changes to hairstyles, costume and makeup with a scene number and the day of the film sequence. Makeup artists often keep a hairstyle the same shape to make their lives easier, when the action of the filming calls for the hair to be wet or untidy photos must be taken. When the person is outside in the rain the inside shot of them might be shot in the studio months later and needs to be exactly the same.

Some examples of bad continuity in moves are in the original Batman, Jack Nicholson's Joker rubs off a bit of skin toned makeup revealing his dead white skin underneath, this small patch changes shape and location throughout the remaining shots in the film and also in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Frodo has a wound on his lower right cheek near his chin, this can be seen flipping to the left of his cheek.

Unknown. (2009). An Introduction to Continuity For The Make-up Artist. Available: an-introduction-to-continuity-for-the-make-up-artist. Last accessed 22nd Feb 2015.

Nulph R. (2007). Maintaining Continuity. Available: http://www.videomaker.com/article/c14/12988-maintaining-continuity. Last accessed 22nd Feb 2015.

What Are Monsters?

A monster is a distortion of something that has a normal, non threatening form. The monstrous form is threatening and disturbing because it is beyond what we consider normality, it is a deformation of what we consider normal.

As an exercise we had a go at creating our own monsters we got given the charismatic maker; this made us think of mad scientists with crazy hair and glasses, he would be very intelligent, and would also create monsters for example, Frankenstein, The Fly and Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde.

Zombies - originally about voodoo where a which doctor would summon the dead to do their bidding. Now it is all about the fear that as we grow older we become something monstrous, no one can escape this.

Ghosts - Ghosts are spirits of the dead this has come about because we are afraid of our own mortalit, ghost are usually created if we have unfinished business.

Werwolves - Change during a full moon, there is a distinct focus on self and separation of mind and body (I think, therefore I am). Often an alien or lupine form that is threatening to the social collective.

Vampire - Started off as being rat like, but then over time becomes more human and good looking. Can come from the fear of capitalism, and also the spread of AIDS, and can be representative of human sexuality.

Contagion is one of the dominant horrors of the 21st century, marked by an era of war, terror and economic crisis.

For my monster Camilla she fits into the Vampire section, she is attractive and is described as cat like and is also concerned with the fear of human sexuality.

Gelatine Burns

Products

• Supracolour palette
• Powder
• Brushes
• Gelatine
• Hairdryer
• Witch Hazel
• Moisturiser

Procedure

• Melt a nugget of gelatine in the microwave, this usually takes about 20 seconds, check every once in a while to make sure it does not boil.
• Can colour the gelatine at this stage if you need too.
• Test the gelatine on yourself before applying it to the model to make sure it isn't too hot.
• Apply the gelatine and blend away the edges, this works best using a metal palette knife.
• Create holes in the gelatine and texture.
• Set with a cool hairdryer.
• Get a baby bud and witch hazel and blend away the edges.
• Dab powder onto the gelatine with a powder puff.
• Use Supracolour to colour and mix it with moisturiser to get a sheer effect.

Health and Safety

• Always cover model over.
• Test gelatine on yourself before the model to make sure it is not too hot.

For my gelatine burns I decided to try and make blisters, I am moderately happy with the result, although the blisters aren't quite the right shape, the could have been a lot smoother as this would make them look more realistic, I also feel like it would look a lot better if I applied a deeper red around the blisters this would give them more dimension. However I think the colouring of the red looks like irritated skin rather than just painted on so it would be good for HD. I created this burn as like a scald burn from hot liquids falling onto the hand, I am pleased with this as a first attempt but I do believe it could be a lot better.

Late Victorian Hairstyling (Technical)

Products

• Hot rollers
• Comb
• Pins
• Hairspray
• Small curling iron.

Procedure

• Start by putting rollers in the front of the hair, as seen as in the pictures below.
• Take the back of the hair and create rolls or buns (I created two rolls and a twist.)
• Curl the remaining hair.
• Take out the rollers and pin them back creating a pretty wave.
• Let the curls hang out of the style and make it elaborate.
• Take the curls at the bottom and pin them up into the style.
• Spray hairspray to finish.

Inspiration

 
This is my first attempt at a late Victoria hairstyle, I was really lucky when creating this as my model had lovely long hair tow work with, however I think that I made my style too symmetrical which ruined the effect of the overall hairstyle, I would like to add some extra hair to the back and curl it and let it hang down the back as this would make the style look a lot more elaborate. One of the main criticisms I have for my hairstyle is that I believe it looks too contemporary, so I would like too re-create this hairstyle again to make it look more accurate to the period.

Late Victorian Hairstyling

Mid Victorian Hairstyles

 The late Victorian period is shown as being from about 1870 - 1901, the hair during this time was a lot more elaborate and less structured around the face, the curls have shifted from around the face to the back of the hair, fringes were often short and curled and women often wore hats and flowers in their hair.


Late Victorian Hairstyles showed a rapid change in how women would wear their hair, false hair spread like wildfire women often wore so many hairpieces that their hair underneath was often obscured, most of this hair came from Paris the prices ranged from fifteen to two hundred dollars (£71 in our terms). During the late Victorian times a brown hair dye was introduced by Mr. Condy of Battersea and it consisted of a solution of permanganate of potass, and stained the hair to a chestnut hue. The few women who had an abundance of hair of their own tended to wear it in "thick plaits, turned up and fastened at the top of the head, the arrangement completed with a bow of ribbon."

Late Victorian Hairstyles

Women gained extra padding to their hair by using pads, that were composed of long, large sausage like separate pieces that were only held together at the top, this enabled the hair to be dressed higher than ever and would tower high above the forehead.
The year 1872 found that ribbons were fashionable for head-dresses, the ribbons were made up into bows, which nestle in a fullness of white lace, and pins were worn in the hair, they sometimes had filigreed gold or silver heads or were enamelled with butterflies or flowers. In 1872 Marcell also created the first curling iron and the Marcell wave, this was created by holding the curling iron upside down and it imitated the natural curl of the hair, so it was less of a crimp more of a curl. Hair was sometimes seen to be a reflection of a girls character, curls indicated a sweeter temperament, whilst straight hair was seen as more reserved or even awkward, and hair was pinned up as a right of passage.

For men in the late Victorian Period beards gradually disappeared leaving only the moustaches, men used Olive Wax Pomatum 'for fixing and lying the hair, whiskers and mustaches.' and it was 'highly perfumed, each stick was wrapped in tin foil.'

Warner M . (Unknown). Victorian Hair. Available: http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm. Last accessed 14th Feb 2016.

Corson R (1965). Fashions in Hair - The First Five Thousand Years. London: Peter Owen Publishers. p 398 - 463.

Courtas G (1973). Womens Headdress and Hairstyles in England From AD600 to the Present Day. Essex: The Anchor Press Ltd. p 112 - 144.

Gothic Archetecture

In my book Carmilla there seems to be a very strong influence of nature and architecture, so I have decided to look at gothic architecture to get a good idea of what the castle would have been like. The castle was described as "nothing can be more picturesque or solitary. It stands on a straight eminence in a forest. The road very old and narrow, passes in front of its drawbridge... the schloss shows its many-windowed front; its towers, and its Gothic chapel." and "At the right a steep Gothic bridge carries the road over a stream." There is lots of reference about isolation and loneliness, as it is said that the forest around the castle extends fifteen miles to the right and twelve to the left, the nearest inhabited village is about seven miles to the left.


Gothic Architecture is a style of architecture that was around during the late medieval period, there was many characteristics that include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic Architecture is often the style of architecture for many castles, palaces, town halls and guild halls.

                                                                                                                                                                                              Gothic Architecture, Morris, William, London : Electric Book Co. c2001                                                                          
        
 

Victorian Mourning

Victorian Post Mortem Photograph



Two Women in Mourning Dress

The Victorians were in a way obsessed with death and had very unusual mourning traditions before the funeral the dead are dressed as they would be when they were alive, as this gave people a feeling of comfort, there was a tradition called watching the dead, where a friend or relative would sit up to give the dead any attention necessary, this was also a tradition to make sure that the person they were burying was actually dead not just in a coma. Black crepe tied with white ribbon was placed upon the door bell or know as an indication that the dead visitor has entered the home, sometimes the door is left ajar so people could enter quietly, people would speak softly and would be helpful, children would get white crepe looped with white ribbon and black crepe with black ribbon for the aged. When someone died curtains would be drawn and clocks would be stopped at the time of the persons deaths, mirrors were covered with crape or veiling to prevent the deceased's spirit from getting trapped in the looking glass, and family photos were turned upside down to stop the close relatives and friends getting possessed by the spirit of the dead.

Post Mortem Photography.

In the 19th century grave robbery was a huge problem, so some graves were bricked over to ensure safety after death, coffin makers even created coffins with warning systems like a bell on the grave if the person was prematurely buried alive.

Post mortem photography became a huge thing in the Victorian era, so people started to photograph their deceased relatives, especially infants and children, they were a normal part of European culture in the nineteenth century, grieving families made these to help with the mourning process and were one of the only visual remembrances of the deceased, and were one of the families most precious possessions.

          

Unknown. (Unknown). House of Mourning - Victorian Mourning & Funeral Customs in the 1890s. Available: http://www.victoriana.com/VictorianPeriod/mourning.htm. Last accessed 17th Feb 2016.

Unknown. (Unknown). Victorian Mourning Etiquette . Available: http://www.tchevalier.com/fallingangels/bckgrnd/mourning/. Last accessed 17th Feb 2016.