Character 2: Mrs Laderman. Mood board.

In this mood board, I have chosen to use strong 80s themes, as well as Miami vice, gangster and femininity. This board focuses heavily on the aesthetics of my character. I want my character to look bold, strong and glamourous. For this board, I am going to talk through each of the images and discuss what I feel they reflect for my character:

(Left to right, top row)

1.A neon sign is very typical for 80's Miami. I like the colours used, they are bold but not too bright and harsh which is something I would like for my character. Due to my character being an ex-mobster wife, I feel that the name 'Tony's' seems like a very likely name for a place the gangsters of such era would own as a way to justify their income to the government as a cover-up to their actual money earning ways.

2. I like this graphic image for it's shapes and use of colours as it's very typically 80s. I would like to incorporate such shapes and colours for not only the hair and make-up but also the styling for my character. Geometric shapes such as these could be easily added with something simple such as hoops earrings.

3. I found this 80s make-up advertisement to be interesting as it's a very bold reflection on the beauty ideals of the era and also the shapes and blending styles of the make-up of that time. Although the make-up of my character won't be like this, it will have subtle influences due to her adapting to modern times.

4. I chose this image as I liked the use of bold colours mixed with pastel colours in a way that somehow works. I also felt it continued the mood of the board.

(Left to right, bottom row)

1. I liked this Miami Vice poster as it's a literal representation of the mood of my character: 80s, gangster and Miami.

2. I chose this image of Debbie Harry/'Blondie' as I see her as one of the key icons of the era. I really like the soft and well blended use of make-up that is used, as well as the chosen colour palette of pastel pinks.

3. I chose this interesting image as I really like the use of Marilyn Monroe, someone who is the epitome of glamour, which contrasts with the use of tattoos and a gun. This 'glamorous gangster' character that is created similar to the one in which I am aiming to create.

4. Lastly, similarly to the second image of the top row, I chose this one for the shapes and colours that are used, and want to focus on this pastel take on 80s fashion.  

Character 2: Mrs Laderman

Chosen Inspirational Word: Awakening

I chose the word 'Awakening' because I felt that it reflected what my character is going through. As she is suspicious about Claudia committing a murder, she has suddenly become fearful and aware of her surroundings as she no longer feels safe and feels she has a duty to prevent Claudia from committing another.

The key word has helped me to investigate strong female characters who are put in fearful situations where their aim is to protect themselves and others. I have looked at how they are represented as mother-like yet strong through their hair, make-up and clothing:

Character 2: Mrs Laderman

Red, Orange is the New Black. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://tvnz.co.nz/orange-is-the-new-black/galina-red-reznikov-6061527 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016].

Pulp Fiction. (n.d.). [image] Available at: http://ourgoldenage.com.au/film/pulp-fiction/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2016].

For my Mrs Laderman character, I am going to have her as someone who is suspicious of her neighbour, Claudia. Mrs Laderman is aware that Claudia is not mentally well due to her agoraphobia, but has reason to be suspicious that her illnesses go beyond that. She has agreed to keep Claudia in the know about the outside world in order to keep her close to keep an eye on her.

As an individual, Mrs Laderman is an ex mobster wife, who's husband's death is not discussed. She lives in Miami, where she has lived most of her life. Due to her past, Mrs Laderman was big in the Miami scene back in the 80s, where her ex husbands profession provided her with a lavish lifestyle when she was young. Mrs Laderman is nostalgic of the past and her hair, make-up and clothing choices are influenced from this time, where she remembers herself as her happiest.

As a large part of the audience demographic is older women, typically around 40, they may find this character type relatable and even find the nostalgic influences in themselves. As Mrs Laderman is a mother-type figure to Claudia, the relationship between them will be very familiar.

The scene I will be putting this character in is one where she is snooping around Claudia's house while Claudia is upstairs asleep. Her aim is to settle her suspicious that Claudia may have committed a murder. While she is doing this, she accidentally knocks over a glass ornament and cuts her hand trying to pick it up.

Character 1: Claudia - Final Images and Evaluation

Evaluation

Overall, I am quite happy with the final outcome of this character for the project. I feel that the combination of the hair, make-up and costume ties together nicely and creates the type of typical preppy look that I had aimed to achieve. I feel that the use of blood in my design really helps to create the 'cute but psycho' character type I had wanted. I feel that the weakest element of my outcome was the application of the blood. I would like to have achieved larger splatters of blood and should have taken the time to research and experiment with the different ways for this to be done to make it stronger in appearance. I am also not happy with the shade of blood that I used, and would have liked to have gone for a medium shade instead of dark as I feel the dark is too purple-based instead of red. I also feel that my use of cat-eye make-up didn't give her the sinister expression that I had hoped and instead made her eyes look wider and friendlier. I expect this could be solved by making the flick come out straight rather than a upwards angle to do this.

My favourite part of the outcome is the hair, as it suits my model very well and really adds to the character by being feminine and detailed and creates a juxtaposition of the darkness of the blood and innocents of her appearance.

Character 1: Claudia. Hair & Make-up Step by step.

Products Used (in order):

• Illamasqua's Matte Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Step by Step:

 1. First, I prepared the skin by cleansing, toning and moisturising. I then used Illamasqua's matte primer.

 2. After, I applied Kryolan's ultrafoundation over the face and neck using a foundation brush and then blended it with a kabuki brush. I concealed any dark shadows and imperfections with kryolan's concealer palette. I then powdered over the face with Illamasqua's translucent powder. I contoured the face using Kyrolan's Glamour Glow where I applied a natural amount of bronzer, highlight and blush.

 3. I filled in the eyebrows with Benefit's 'Brow Zing' in the shade 'medium'/

 4. I applied eyeshadow with a cat-eye effect using black, dark brown, light brown and white from the Mac Cool Neautral palette, creating a ombre effect.

 5. I applied mascara on the top and bottom lashes using Max Factor's 2000 Calorie Mascara. I then applied Kryolan Creme Liner in Ebony.

 6. I applied a soft pink shade of lipstick to the lips, using Kryolan's Lip Palette.

 7. I then started with the hair, which I created by back-combing the front of the hair, parting it down the middle at the back. Then I plaited the two halves, crossed them over the top of the head and pinned them together.

 8. I then took the two strands that I purposely left out, and curled them using a curling wand.

 9. I then applied blood to my model's hands and spattered blood on her face using a brush. I then finished off by applying blood to my own hand and making a blood print on her face. This is the finished look.

Health and Safety:

• Decant all product on to a palette before use.
• Make sure all electrical equipment is PAT tested.
• Use spray products such as hairspray in a well ventilated room.
• When flicking product on to the face, ensure model's eyes and mouth are closed during.
• Use disposable wands when applying mascara.

Evaluation of practice:

Overall, I am very happy with my practice and the outcome. In the future I will work on ensuring the eye make-up and eyebrows are more even to refine the look.

Character 1: Claudia - My Final Design

Products Used (in order):

• Illamasqua's Matte Primer
• Kryolan Ultra Foundation
• Kryolan Concealer Palette
• Illamasqua Translucent Powder
• Kryolan Glamour Glow Palette
• Benefit Brow Zing
• Mac Cool Neautral Palette
• Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
• Kryolan Creme Liner
• Kryolan Lip Palette
• Kryolan Transparent Blood (dark)

Consultation Notes:

Skin Type: Combination

Skin Sensitivities: None

Current Skin Care Regime: Moisturises daily

Allergies: None

Skin Disorders: None

Contact Lens Wearer: No

Design

Above is my design for my Claudia character. For my design, I wanted my character to look very feminine as she is influenced by TV shows, and currently the show 'Scream Queens' and therefore has a preppy style. I felt that using pink colours in my design would translate this chosen style well, which made me decide to incorporate the colour in both her styling and her make-up to compliment each other. After experimenting with different feminine eye make-up, I decided on a cat-eye as this makes her eyes look  more sinister yet empowered, to suggest her strong personality. I decided on a hairstyle that, again, is feminine, but I also wanted it to be a style that Claudia could realistically do on herself as she lives alone. I wanted my model's skin to look fair and not tanned due to her very rarely leaving the house, despite the hot climate of Miami. Lastly, I added the blood on her face to contrast against pretty and feminine aspects of my character after she commits a murder. I felt this would work well against her appearance and shows the audience that you can't judge a book by it's cover. I wanted the blood to look like it was splattered on her face, as it may be expected after frantic stabbing. I also wanted her hands covered in blood and a bloody hand print on her face to look like she accidentally touched her own face without realising the blood on her hands due to her zoned out state after realising what she has done. I also felt the bloody hand print allowed me to add more blood to the face as the splatters alone did not create enough impact on their own. I also felt the use of blood splatters would be a great edition due to Blood Splatter Analysis being a key theme to the show due to it being Dexter's profession.

Character 1: Claudia - Initial Designs + Feedback

Above is my initial design ideas and then my final idea that I had decided on for my class presentation.

Idea 1 - for my first idea, I went for a simple feminine hair and make-up as I felt it closely fitted with how the characters from Scream Queens might typically look. 

Idea 2 - After looking at it, I decided that I would like to do something with the hair that was a bit more visually interesting as well as a bit more preppy. I felt adding adding a very subtle smokey eye might make her more sinister in appearance. After looking at it, I realised that although it fitted with my intended type of visual outcome, it still looked too pretty and innocent and I was going to have to go with with something a bit more dramatic with the eyes if I want my character to have a sinister look.

Idea 3 - I decided that winged smokey eye makes a much better impact to the eye shape to help it look more mysterious and slightly less girly, to suggest something is up.

Feedback:

As my initial intended scene for my character would be an establishing one, my designs included no special effects which is something that is essential to the brief. My teacher advised my that I find a way to include some special effects, therefore I decided to change my character's scene to a post-murder one, which meant I would have more of a open approach.