Fashion Images Miss Haversham References

Today I was reading through LOVE magazine and found some great inspiration for my Miss Haversham design. I really loved these distorting images. These images made me feel something and that is something I want to take into consideration for my Miss H final design.

The spooky images are really disturbing to me and I love how the photographer has incorporated dramatic lighting within the photos.

These few images include a skeleton which reminded me of Miss Haversham being described as "half skeleton" by Pip.

These images reminded me of Miss Havaershams deteriorating wedding dress. The fabrics look like they're decaying. The right image especially reminded me of an Alexandra McQueen reference from his collections.

The white hair and skinny boned, pale appearance of the model here also reminded me of Miss Haversham in a high fashion style!

Final Assesment Photos Taken For Continuity

Here are some more images of my Miss Haversham first assessment.

Gothic Horror in Great Expectations

The novel Great Expectations has aspects of Gothic and Horror within it. The setting, the themes, the time it was set and the story all show different ways of how it could be related to these two words and meanings.

How is 'gothic' and grotesque depicted in Great Expectations?

When I read GE I found it was gothic from the beginning of the story. The first chapter shows Pip a young boy in a grave yard, he is abandoned and this shows his family aren't looking after him properly. In his mindset he was very afraid to be there and the story of Pip goes on to be a very lonely guy who has a lot of love to give. Miss Haversham is a ghostly woman who is very disturbing and someone if you would imagine to meet you would feel as if you'd seen something out of a horror/gothic movie. Satis house is a very ghostly setting which is almost haunting when you think about it. The house is full of years of old cob webs, dust and has frozen from many years ago without any maintenance.

The words distorted and repulsive are similar to grotesque. So when I think of grotesque factors in GE I think of questions that come in to my mind about Miss Haversham and Satis house, questions that come to my mind are:

Has Miss Haversham washed since the day of her wedding?
Does she have rats/mice/mould?
In the Victorian era they often used basins as a hole in the ground to go to the toilet, Miss Haversham barely moves from one room so does she keep a toilet in there?

Many questions which are revolting and grotesque which shows how the reader feels when reading into Miss Haversham's situation.

What are specific elements of the uncanny?

1. "The uncanny (German: Das Unheimliche, "the opposite of what is familiar") is a mixture of the familiar and unfamiliar that is experienced as being peculiar." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny
2. Unfamiliar scenes in GE are when Pip goes into Satis house and the lead up to going into Satis house. "On this day of the year, long before you were born, this heap of decay," stabbing with her crutched stick at the pile of cobwebs on the table but not touching it, "was brought here. It and I have worn away together. The mice have gnawed at it, and sharper teeth than teeth of mice have gnawed at me." (11.99) This explains how disgusting the house is and the fact that Miss H has stopped her life in time to this has made it clear that Miss H has gone mad. Pip's perspective of the house must see a very unusual disgusting appearance and setting and the thought of the tother senses when reading this chapter made me think about how the house could've smelt and felt to be in. 

How does Dickens give the uncanny a unique twist within the novel in terms of characterisation?
How do you interpreted the gothic?

I find it interesting how Dickens has used Pip a very vulnerable innocent young boy to go into a house with such character and disgust! And he also has to face Miss Haversham who appears very intimidating. She is a strong character who is very unfamiliar who has 'no heart'. The fact that she's stopped everything in time shows how crazy she is. Theres definitely a unique twist when Estella comes into this as well as Miss H influences Estella to 'make Pip fall in love with her' to get her own back on men! This shows evilness to Miss H and also Estella and shows through at the end of the novel too where Miss H burns to death! It's ironic as she's been rotting the whole time and then she gets set a light and Pip sees her. It shows the horror on Pip as he has always been the one to be unfortunate within the situation; going to work in Satis house was out of his comfort zone as a child and then he falls in love with Estella who shows coldness to him after he opens up to her and then he finally sees Miss H die in front of him. This shows how Dickens has cleverly shown gothic the whole way through the novel. I also think that the setting is very gothic, the time frame which is in Victorian time; a time of gothic history etc.

Practice Of Gothic Shoot-Claudia Inspiration

Today I collaborated to shoot a Gothic Doll shoot. The inspiration was taken from death masks. The character is disturbing and mentally ill. She is found dead in a forest. My Claudia is found in a forest but is not dead. This character really related to my version of Claudia as she's been beaten up with no one knowing what is going on. I really liked the makeup I created for this look including bruising on her neck and puffy eyes as if she'd been biten by a vampire. This is a similar idea to my Claudia and Quentin scenario.

My final images from the shoot are to come soon!

The Importance Of Continuity In Film, TV and Theatre

I have understanding of continuity and its importance in TV & Film industry. In my look I hope to fulfil these skills. In my Miss Haversham design I have clearly stated which products I will be using on the facechart. I think a facechart is essential for this kind of task as it gives a translated outline of where you will be placing these products onto the skin. I enjoyed creating the character of Miss Haversham and felt the task was a great idea for us to practice these looks onto the skin. In my design I have chosen to use theatrical ageing as a way of giving Miss Haversham an old look. To keep continuity within my design I have practiced the look a few times to get it to where I want it to be. The first layer uses skin base by Illimasqua which is a white pale foundation, this is to be placed on with the same brush each time I do the look to give the product the same look. I used a foundation brush for this and blended and buffed it out with this on the forehead, tops of the cheekbones, nose,  chin and mouth area. To continue to this I then added the ageing lines in the face with supra colour. I use a small angled thin brush to do this each time and get my model to scrunch up their face accordingly to how I want the ageing lines to be. I hope to make these lines very thin but not too light, just the right amount of product to be visible as my look is for TV. I then blended the lines into the skin a little to give a more natural effect. I looked at photos of my previous work and my facechart to try and get the exact product placement on the skin. For the eyes I used supracolour, I tried each time to mix in the sam reddish/yellow colour for the bruised tired looking eyes. I made sure that my design would show the same shape for this each week for our assessment. I then used powder to make the skin look dry and flakey especially the nose. I used MAC shine over the top of the makeup I did on the eyes and tried to place it in the same area as I did the week before.


In terms of hair and styling I kept it simple so it would be easily created again. The plait I used was a hair extension piece which helped me to have a similar plat the next week as I had the same amount of hair both weeks in this plait.
In film and TV the show needs to flow and show that if its the same scene but a different day on set it needs to show the exact same costume, makeup and hair. If it has any slight differences or something e.g. is on the wrong side of the hair, the audience will notice. It's a very important factor of film to make sure that this will be exact to the time it was last cut on a scene. The idea is to make the transition as swift as possible.

I have enjoyed undertaking the task of using continuity as I feel I have been able to strengthen this talent. You have to be a lot more careful of the way you apply the makeup and where you're placing the make up and hair. I hope that my Miss Haversham looks are very similar when they come out in the photos. I was pleased with how organised I was as I used a stage by stage detailed plan of how to apply the makeup.

Fascination With Horror?

It seems that there is a fascination with horror in media and in our general lives. Horror is everywhere. TV shows, movies, real life stories, books, wildlife, ghost scares and museums. Horror themes crop up in the fashion industry and fashion catwalks too. young children love the thought of horror in evil characters in movies and TV. The thought of being 'thrilled' or scared or feeling of tension gives humans an adrenaline. Halloween is a time which reminds me we are brought up excited to dress up as something traditionally 'scary' for fun, horror is a sense of excitement and fun in a different way.

TV Shows: Many TV series include the aspect of Gothic and Horror now. Many mini series are inspired with the idea of horror, I have seen lately especially lots of new shows which include supernatural beings such as vampires and werewolves! These are however original too as the aspect of Ghosts and creepy stories have been seen in e.g. Buffy the Vampire for years!

True Blood, American Horror story, Dexter are all shows which show a horror side of supernatural beings being included in their shows. I find it interesting how these shows have appeared more and more over the years and become very popular with award winning shows.

Movies: Dracula, Frankenstein, Amiteyville Horror, The Exorcist and The Interview With The Vampire are all horror movies which are either old or more new. It shows how horror has been remade for years and year and how new horror stories are being made all the time. I find Horror a really interesting genre which is popular in all ages.

Fashion: Fashion especially high fashion shows references of horror all the time. Even certain materials and colours show up each season to show references to Gothic. I will show within my blog many posts of how fashion and horror has a connection.

Books: In books ever since the Victorian age there have been books referencing horror, ghost stories etc! The original Dracula book was written in 1897. Now we have teens reading all sorts of horror books such as Twilight saga, True Blood etc. Different elements of horror appeal to different people too, some love the romantic style and some people purely love the original novels.

Wildlife: As I live in the Cotswolds we see a lot of roadkill unfortunately. People are always fascinated by the animals we see dead or alive! Even though I cant stand the thought of dead animals we see Gothic Horror examples in our every day lives which we cannot escape from. Creepy crawlers also have a sense of scare within us humans even though they're so small compared to us!

Ghost Scares: There are always people in my everyday lives talking about how 'they've seen a ghost' and tell you about their ghost stories! My grandparents always tell me stories of how they saw a ghost a few years back of a passed away loved one!

Museums: I find that I've seen a lot of horror within museums! The National History Museum shows Egyptian tombs which I was scared of as a child which I still memorise now! Gothic horror can be so memorable and having scares is also memorable as a child and as you get older too. I find this so interesting.

Children: Even children's Tv shows and movies include a 'baddy' in their shows and films. So from a young age we all experience the thought of an evil character.

Pip And Estella Character Breakdown in Novel, FIlm and BBC Series

From reading the novel Great Expectations I have now got an understanding of Pip and Estella. Pip is by far the most important character, we see him at the start as a child and see how his journey changes as he grows up into a young man. The novel is based on how Pip is seeing and experiencing things. Pip comes from a poor background which is reflected on how he appears and dress's. His actions in the novel make up the story line. He makes up the opinion of the reader and shapes how things appear in the story. Pip is explained as being immature and a hopeless romantic who falls in love with Estella who leads him along. For imagining Pips appearance we don't have much evidence as the novel does not explain much on his appearance. But we imagine him as being not well dressed in some old clothing that has been passed down from the family, a hat, muddy boots from being at the forge and possibly a waistcoat. Character estimations have been created on both the BBC show and the films of Great Expectations. As Pip gets older he gets more sophisticated, almost embarrassed of his family and upbringing as he heads to travel to London we start to imagine the new Pip and how he would've appeared. 

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/greatex/canalysis.html

BBC: In the BBC series Pip first appears on screen as a very innocent looking young boy. He appears vulnerable but brave to take on everything that comes to him. He is a strong character in the series as he isn't too shy or timid from the start. 

 He then grows into a handsome young man who is still shown as vulnerable but more confident. He continues to have a love for Estella no matter how mean she is to him. His persona is shown through his styling, makeup and hair in the series being smartly dressed reflecting on being more successful. His hair is soft natural curls with some length which appears groomed and well looked after. He suddenly becomes a gentleman.

 Young Estella is also an important character of Great Expectations. She is a mean young girl who grows up with Miss Haversham looking after her. She is constantly undermining Pip. And she casts Pip under her spell of falling in love with her. She is a cold character who is manipulative. "as Pip learns near the end of the novel, she is the daughter of Magwitch, the coarse convict, and thus springs from the very lowest level of society." 

She appears as a young girl in the BBC series with a perfect complexion, tidy hair, immaculate clothing. Like Miss H she has a pale skintone suggesting she is more wealthy as she does not work in the sun. 

When Estella grows into a young woman we see her character develop into a strong young woman. The hair in the series suggests mid-late Victorian hair styles as she has loose romantic curls coming down but also has part of her hair up at the back. Her parting is in a middle parting too which suggests a later Victorian hair do'. 

How do you think you'll show Estella through production through styling/makeup and hair design?

I want to show Estella looking young, innocent but still sophisticated. I want to style her hair in a very romantic, curly way with references to the BBC series of chosen hairstyle for Estella. I want to choose a side parting to show it will be later Victorian style too. I think the viewers/audience will see my Estella as a natural looking young lady with natural makeup with flushed cheeks, she will have a little obvious makeup around her eyes and lips will match her blush with a bit more orange tone.