Modern Gothic Horror Films

When I think of Gothic Horror films I always think of old fashioned black and white versions of Dracula and Frankenstein made in the early 1900's. I rarely think of gothic as a modern genre. I however was interested to see which Gothic Horror films I have heard of or watched which make it into this category.

The Woman In Black 2012

I have read the book of the 'Women In Black' and also watched the 2012 film. When reading it I was unaware that it had gothic undertones, I only thought of it as a ghost story. In the 2012 film, Daniel Radcliffe plays a lawyer, Arthur Kipps who when working for a client has to visit a haunted house set on the marshes. Strange places is one of the main features of the gothic genre, and the house where Arthur visits is very strange and spooky, due to its location where fogs regularly form. The house is also only accessible at a low tide, making it easy to get trapped on, which adds to the terror of the location. Terror is also a main element of gothic horror. Throughout the film there are many scenes that create shock and make you jump. This terror is evident for the characters in the film as well as the audience watching.

http://www.visitmidlothian.org.uk/event/cinema-the-woman-in-black-national-mining-museum-scotland/

Other Modern Gothic Films Which I Have Not Watched

Corpse Bride 2012, starring Emily Watson, Helena Bonham Carter and Jonny Depp, from the director Tim Burton.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121164/

Sweeney Todd 2007 starring Helena Bonham Carter and Jonny Depp and from the director Tim Burton.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0408236/

Twilight 2008 starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1099212/

http://www.horror-movies.ca/top-ten-contemporary-gothic-movies/

Estella Face Charts

These are the face charts that I created for my Estella informal assessment. After reading quotes about her in the book, and from my prior knowledge of traditional Victorian make up, I created these very natural and feminine make up looks. I am focusing on Estella when Pip first meets her. In this scene she is still very young, therefore I have made the make up very minimal and tried to keep it youthful.

Look 1: In this look I created a soft brow, on my model I would keep it looking quite messy and natural as well as quite thick just to accentuate the youthfulness of her character. I kept the eyes quite bare just so that it still looks natural and as if she has not put time into getting ready as she is still young. I kept the cheeks and lips quite neutral but flushed as to intensify further her youthfulness. 

Make Up Look 2, Final Design:

In this final look I also kept it very youthful and fresh. I added some more colour on to the cheeks just to make the look more beautiful and accentuate the beauty that is spoken of so frequently throughout the novel. I like this design as I think it is more pretty than the other look and the beauty of her character is what I am trying to capture. 

Estella Hair Designs

Estella Design 1:

For my designs I decided to keep them very simple to make them more realistic and appropriate for the young age of Estella which I am trying to convey. For my first design I decided to do a simple Apollo knot style with ringlets at the front of the design surrounding the face. This was the first look that I learnt how to create in this unit, and really liked it because it was simple but was really attractive. I decided not to use this style as I prefer the look of plaits at the front of the hair and feel that if the curls do not hold properly can look a little messy.

Design 2:

In this design, like the first one, I thought I would include the apollo knot. I did this as it is a very traditional Victorian look, and believe that it could be a realistic style that Estella may create on herself. For this design I would start off by sectioning the hair in to two and creating an Apollo knot with the top section of hair. With the lower section of the hair I would create ringlets using the curling iron.

Section 3, Final Design:

With this design I decided to go for a very traditional Victorian look. I decided to go with the Apollo Knot with plaits. Like the first design I thought it was a style that Estella may create on herself. I thought that it would be a hairstyle that would go alongside my make up designs which, like this look, are very simple. When previously practising this look I struggled with getting the sectioning neat, so in the practise and assessment I will focus on improving this to make the look as polished as it can be.

Review Of The 2012 BBC TV Mini Series Of Great Expectations

I decided that I would watch the BBC Mini Series of Great Expectations, I did this so I could see its portrayals of Miss Havisham as well as become more familiar with the rest of the story. I did not want to be influenced by the previous looks that had been done of Miss Havisham but it was interesting to see and analyse these looks as well and see what I would do differently or improve upon.

Overall I liked this BBC Mini series. I thought that the choice of actors for the characters was good and think that generally they played their roles well. I thought Gillian Anderson, who played Miss Havisham, acted as I would have imagined Miss Havisham to; she played the weak, tormented and sad role well.  However I believe that the voice she put on for the role was too high pitched and almost child like, which to me did not fit to what I had imagined. I also thought that Vanessa Kirby, who played Estella, was too innocent and I don't think she quite captured the nasty side of her character. I do however think that Ray Winstone, who was the convict Magwitch, played the role how I had envisaged, I think that he captured the rough, dangerous and thankful persona well. I think that it was a shame that they did not include the character Biddy in the TV Series. She played an interesting role in the book as she evoked the humble side of Pip, who throughout the book always wanted to better himself.

I think that Gillian Anderson resembled the Miss Havisham I had imagined through the make up, hair and costume. I think that the design of the make up in the very early scenes in her and Pip's first encounter, was good as it was minimalistic so therefore represented the make up trends in the Victorian era, but highlighted the mistreatment and the effect of her torment, for example through the use of the dry lips and the pale, almost grey skin. I think the hair design was also clever as it showed off well the fact that she had started to prepare for her wedding day but stopped after she was jilted. I liked the wedding dress as it was distressed and hung loosely from her body as described in the book.

Overall I like the TV mini series and thought that it portrayed well the story and characters that I had imagined. Watching this has inspired me and made me aware of styles and looks that I like as well as the ones that I do not want to create with my Miss Havisham look.

Gillian Anderson As Miss Havisham
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8907506/Gillian-Anderson-Helena-Bonham-Carter-and-Miss-Havisham-on-film.html

Gillian Anderson As Miss Havisham
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/8907506/Gillian-Anderson-Helena-Bonham-Carter-and-Miss-Havisham-on-film.html?image=1

Continuity Assessment Of Miss Havisham

This week was the continuity assessment of my Miss Havisham look. I had to recreate the original look that I carried out a few weeks ago and try to make it exactly the same. The aim of this assessment was continuity which is an important skill, and something that I need to practise if I want to be a make up artist. In some film and television productions scenes can be shot on a different day but the make up, hair, styling and props all needs to be same, otherwise it will be distracting for the audience and detract from the story or point to the film or television show.

In the previous assessment I had made notes on things that I thought were important when carrying out my timed assessment, therefore going in I was confident that I was able to carry out the look well. As well as the notes, I also took step by step images of the stages of the look in the first assessment which I printed out and could therefore refer to throughout the second assessment. I had also practised a lot so this also added to my confidence. During the assessment I began in the same way by starting with the hair. I made sure I referred to my notes so that I had the same amount of curls and figure of eight twists. Overall I was pleased with the look of the hair style, I think that it looked very similar to the original look, so I was pleased with the way that it turned out. In the images the placement of the hair is slightly different, which does alter the overall effect of the look, which I am slightly disappointed with. When creating the make up look I also started off doing exactly the same way, always referring to the notes and images that I took in the original assessment. I was pleased with the way the make up turned out I do believe it looks similar. It was difficult to create the dry lip effect as I was creating it using duo lash adhesive, this means that I had to create the dry lips effect from scratch each time meaning that it was difficult to create them exactly the same. I consequently spent the most  time on this and focused on the images that I took of the lips previously. I was pleased with the way that they turned out and do believe that they look similar. Overall I think that the whole look does look similar but I believe that the eye make up does look slightly darker in the first assessment image, however I think this could be due to the lighting, as there is more shadow. I was also concerned in the second assessment that the colour of the hair was not as white and looked very dissimilar. However after looking at the images side by side I can see that there is not a huge amount of difference.

I thought this was a good assessment and I enjoyed creating the look again, I thought it was challenging but interesting as it highlighted the importance of attention to detail as well as writing, and taking visual notes.

Assessment 1

Assessment 2

Miss Havisham Hair Designs

Hair Design 1:

For this first design I started with a basic apollo knot, centre part and plaits going around the side of the head and joining up with the knot. I wanted to be in keeping with the idea of her being half dressed, and half ready so wanted to make the plaits at the side of the head messy and not as smooth as they may have traditionally been. The design will also incorporate the use of dry shampoo which will help to make the hair look white as Miss Havisham is described as having 'white hair' in the book. I am interested in using a veil in my design, however am not sure if it will not suit this design as it is quite simple and the veil will therefore cover up too much of the details at the back. 

Hair Design 2:

For this hairstyle I decided to do a later victorian hairstyle, I did this hairstyle as I had learnt how to create it and enjoyed the process. In my designs I was keen to give them a messy element, I think this hair style lends itself well to the look. I would start off by creating a ponytail, using half the hair at the back which is curled in individual strands and pinned to the top of the head. I would then curl the lower sections of hair and pin them up into the already pinned down sections. When I have previously created it I always thought that it was a pretty look very suitable for a bridal occasion. Like the other hairstyle, I would spray it white to give it more of an aged effect as well as loosening some strands to make it more messy. In the end I decided not to use this look as I was worried that it would take too much time, and it is a later Victorian hairstyle, and I am focusing more on the earlier part of the novel, which is earlier in the Victorian era.

Hair Design 3, Final Design: 

This design incorporates a frizzy curly underneath layer of hair, as well as ringlets on the top. This design also incorporated the idea that she is half dressed as the top of the hair will appear to be 'done' and finished and represent the style that she may have started creating for her wedding day, but the underneath will symbolise her lack of effort since the day and the minimal amount of care that she has given to herself. In this design I will be using a veil as I think that it will work and add to the overall effect. Her bridal clothes play a big role in Pip's first encounter with Miss Havisham so I am keen to incorporate them in my final design. I will also be using dry shampoo in the hair to create the effect of white aged hair.

I have decided to use this look in my timed assessment as I like the way it looks as well as the symbolic references behind it, I also think that the design is more interesting and more striking than the others. I think that the use of the veil is important as it was such a large element of Miss Havisham's character and unlike the other designs I do not think that any effect or detail will be lost.

Estella Quote Inspiration

Part of this project will see me creating an Estella make up and hair look. Before I created my design I wanted to look at and find different descriptions of her so I could capture her look and character the best. For this look I will be creating it in the style of the Victorian era, which means I will have to draw on the knowledge of the era that I have already gained through previous research. I have decided to focus on the beginning of the book when Estella is her youngest, in this part of the book Estella is described as being, 'beautiful and self-possessed'. Throughout the book Estella's beauty is a large theme therefore my design will have her looking fresh, young and pretty. When Miss Havisham asks Pip what he thinks of Estella he says, "I think she is very pretty". This also makes me want to create a design that is attractive. In the Victorian era the make up was very minimal and it was almost frowned upon to wear it, and furthermore in this part of the book Estella is very young so she would not wear very much make up. These quotes helped me and made me think about as well as giving me inspiration for the make up and hair designs that I wanted to create. I am looking forward to this assessment as it will be nice to create a look purely to be beautiful.