Creating My Instagram Account

I want to create an Instagram account to follow my project development as a promotional tool, to hopefully create awareness for my educational fashion film. I want to use all my own images of behind the scenes, for example design sketches, face charts or me doing the model's hair etc. I want to give the viewers sneak peaks of what the final outcome may look like to gain their interest and create suspense. I will plan my posts prior to their posting date as I want the layout of the images to be carefully considered, for example, I want all my images to be square so they fit the Instagram layout perfectly and I want the content to be evenly distributed to keep it interesting and diverse.

I will post an image or video on the Instagram page every two or three days, so Monday and Thursday one week, followed by Tuesday and Friday the next. I want to post enough so my film stays on people's minds but not so much that it becomes annoying and excessive. I will use my existing Instagram account that I created to promote my makeup work because it will then not only promote the film, but me as an artist.

I have created a rough plan of the images I want to post in order; however I don't want this to be set in stone as I want to post my genuine progression to keep my viewers updated. I have included the chart below:

28th February  - Title/Introduction

3rd March        - Images of sketches

6th March        - Sneak peak of society styling

9th March        - Scattered face charts

14th March      - Show structure of white styling

17th March      - Hair test on model

20th March      - Test shoot boomerang

23rd March      - Music sneak peak

28th March      - Closeup of mouth piece

31st March       - Boomerang of storyboard

3rd April          - Behind the scenes, shoot 1

6th April          - Sneak peak of dance's full look

11th April         - Behind the scenes, shoot 1

14th April         - Sneak peak of look 3

17th April         - Behind the scenes, shoot 2

20th April         - Sneak peak of look 1

25th April         - Behind the scenes, shoot 2

28th April         - Sneak peak of look 2

1st May             - Image of university viewing

3rd May            - Link to final film on website

Post 1

Below is the first post on my Instagram page. I chose an ambiguous image to inflict uncertainty and fear, from the cold concrete walls to the hanging rope, but also to reveal the concept gradually to sustain interest. The blurred image reflects the film's avant-garde style and society's shielded view of discrimination and its damaging effects. The black and white format reflects She's depressed emotions as she feels frustrated and drained by her losing battle. I explained the film's overall concept in the image's caption, as seen below. 

Post 2

I will be revealing face charts and styling sketches to my Instagram in the trending style of flat lays. Flat lays are images taken from a birds eye view used to display different objects. They are aesthetically pleasing as they can include a variety of objects in an organised and classic way. I thought I was going to be able to choose some items, lay them out on a table and take an effective image; however I found it more difficult than expected to lay them out in an organised and interesting way without looking messy or too disjointed. I read many articles giving advice, including Five tips for taking the perfect flat lay Instagram photo by Amanda Mabel in Vogue Australia (Mabel, 2014), to understand how to create my desired aesthetic. They advised to use a simple background, natural lighting, leave space between the objects and stick to a theme in the photograph. I experimented with using naturally; however unless the sun way directly above the flat lay it left shadows between the objects; I therefore used a soft box and held it directly above my objects to give a clean and crisp look.

(Nuchylee Photo, 2017).

I was inspired by the layering of objects in the above image as I had tried to do a flat lay with all my objects spread out but it looked too simple and I had to zoom far out to fit the sketches in, losing the detail. I was inspired by the diagonal layering in the background and decided to create a similar effect using folder material I was using for my designs. I then collated objects I used when drawing the sketches, including pencils, paper and my laptop for inspiration, and then experimented with their positioning. The sketches are central as they are the main subject but I layered them so not all of them are revealed completely to add suspense to the build up of my film. I was nervous to put my sketches on my Instagram page as I am not a confident drawer; however I wanted to showcase a variety of mediums and sketches were a vital factor in deciding my designs. 

I will continue to use flat lays to reveal different aspects of my film to its viewers, including sketches and styling sneak peaks, as they are a clear, aesthetically pleasing and organised way to show a variety of objects.


References:
MABEL, A., 2014. Five tips for taking the perfect flat lay Instagram photo [viewed 28th February 2017]. Available from: http://www.vogue.com.au/blogs/spy+style/five+tips+for+taking+the+perfect+flat+lay+instagram+photo+,30509

NUCHYLEE PHOTO, 2017. Creative flat lay design workshop [viewed 28th February 2017]. Available from: https://creativemarket.com/Nuchylee/697298-Creative-flat-lay-design-workspace

Updated Production Schedule

Re-Evaluating Production Schedule

I was very hesitant to re-visit the production schedule I created in my proposal because I knew I hadn't stuck to certain aspects of it and so didn't want to feel down heartened or demotivated. However I decided to go through it to work out what I needed to prioritise and what was left to do. 

My main concern when looking at my schedule is I still haven't completed a storyboard which I had hoped to finalise in my first week. I think it was naive of me to think I could complete it that early as I am still working on my music and am still looking at different inspirations for footage, so I wouldn't have been knowledgable enough and there would have been a lot of guess work. I will make this a priority to gain inspiration and sketch out my storyboard; however I had hoped to complete this alongside finalised music. 

Another reason I feel so behind is I thought I would use the exact, or very similar, styling and beauty looks from my proposal; however I am now collaborating with a designer and stylist which motivated me to develop my designs further. This therefore took up more time than I had anticipated and meant I have not done all the things on my schedule to this date. 

In my schedule I put a lot of pressure on myself to get a lot of things done in the first few weeks and then from 6th March on it is much less demanding; however I think I should have spread my tasks more evenly to set more realistic goals. I think I underestimated the amount of work I would have to do, for example where it says 'Finalise She's styling and beauty for all 3 looks', that took me weeks to do because I had to have meetings with my stylist, take measurements and I developed the looks completely, along with other tasks. I didn't include music in my schedule which was very time consuming as I found it challenging to decide exactly what I wanted the music to sound like and also how I would make sure it wasn't copyrighted. I thankfully found some music guys to help me; however I did not allow time for this in my schedule which was, again, naive of me. 

According to my schedule I would have finalised my two locations, which I did; however after a meeting last week with Sebastiane he warned me that my locations may be slightly cliche and so I should consider changing them. This was frustrating because it pushed me further off my schedule; however I knew I wanted to find the most appropriate location so I will make sure I leave time to find these. 

I had to change the date of shooting the powder paint/dance scene to 25th March because my dancer had an opportunity arise that meant she was no longer free. This gave me more time to plan the shoot and get the styling ready; however it left less time for me to edit the footage. I originally thought my final hand in date was 1st May but it is now the 5th May, giving me more time than inspected and therefore more time to edit. My stylist and designer were glad to hear about the pushed back dates as it meant they had an extra week to finalise the styling and do fittings. 

For my project proposal I had started my website using Wix and bought the domain name, so I would have been on schedule; however after a meeting with Sharon we agreed Wix can be clunky and restricting so I should create my website from scratch in Adobe Muse to create a unique design. Unfortunately I made me Wix site go live with my domain name so I need to talk to my IT teacher to see if I can delete the website and redeem the domain name or if I have to choose another one. I have been focusing solely on creating my fashion film so have not started making my website; however I have looked at design inspiration so am ready to start this. I will make an undated schedule from now until my deadline to schedule in a time for me to start this. 

I haven't heard back from The Sophie Lancaster Foundation since 30th January when they said they would forward it to Sylvia. I need to chase this up to see if they are interested in collaborating with me in any way. I also need to chase up the university I would like to present my film to.

After I made my schedule I secured work experience over Easter for 2 weeks so I did not allow time for this. I am concerned that I will still be able to manage my project around this so I will need to create an updated schedule including this to make sure I can work around it. If this is not possible I will have to postpone my work experience to after I finish my project. I did also not include my cheerleading competitions, which are over three weekends, so I will need to include those too. 

Looking at my schedule and how much of it I've actually achieved is slightly disheartening because I have so much to catch up on. I thought I would take more inspiration from my proposal and therefore just have to practice the makeup and hair looks and find the styling; however I have changed nearly all my look completely and am now collaborating with a stylist and designer so that took up more time than expected. I have also been working hard creating the music, which wasn't included in the production schedule. Reviewing my schedule taught me to take more time to consider what might go wrong or the possible developments that could happen as I gave myself very short deadlines for certain tasks and unrealistic goals. In my updated schedule I will try to make it more manageable so I can follow it and stay on track. I think it will be easier to do this now because I am more aware of how long I need to leave for certain tasks.

First Music Draft (Flashback Scene)

I was extremely excited to receive a first draft of the flashback scene music from Dan, the music technician, and was eager to listen to it. He had previously sent an email to confirm he understood what I wanted and this was evident in the draft. I could clearly see my inspiration was incorporated but it sounded unique and eery, with unsettling ticking noises and an ongoing electrical wining noise. 

First draft:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mny6uwh72h1yfjd/Flashback%20Scene.mp3?dl=0

I sent him an email back explaining the improvements I wanted, as shown below:

_________________________________________________________________________________

Hi Dan,

It sounds great! Thanks for creating it so quickly! I love the ticking and electrical wining noises, particularly between 1:02 to 1:15, and how they build and slow down at points. I'm not sure about the slow chiming sounds throughout (first one at 00:05 and another example at 00:25) as I think it makes the music seem too calm and almost peaceful; whereas I would like it to sound more hectic and frantic throughout. Also could you possibly add a shocking shrieking noise in a couple of times so I can give the model a sudden shock element. I am recording the whispering noises today to add into the flashbacks so will email them to you later.

Adding to what I said before, maybe also make the music slightly more fast paced to reflect how the model is feeling panicked and confused; however I do like how you build up to it being more fast paced at the beginning so please still keep in the build up. 

Thanks so much, 

Becky
_________________________________________________________________________________

Dan emailed me to clarify if I wanted the whole track to be sped up or if I wanted it to sound sped up with selected beats closer together. I said I thought adding more notes closer together would create the effect without making it sound too fast; however I said he could make the final decision as he is a lot more experienced in music production than me. I said I thought the main aspect making it sound slower were the long chiming noises in the background, making it sound almost therapeutic when I'd like it to sound more frantic and fast paced to reflect her scribbling down her nightmares. I am hoping I was clear enough in my feedback so he can develop the music into something even more suitable. I feel so happy and grateful to have the opportunity to work with such a talented music technician; it has further motivated me to create a final piece I am proud of!

Developing Asylum Staff/Society Styling

Chester Psychiatric Nurses
(Bradford, 2017).

After discussing my primary research of Victorian asylum nurses with Sebastiane, I decided to focus on the nurse's muslin cap (left nurse) to develop it into a more intimidating headdress used to conceal the identity of the asylum staff/society figures I want to incorporate was the red cross as many asylum nurses wore this on their uniform, giving the viewer an insight that these phantom figure represent the haunting asylum staff that She morphs society into. I want to incorporate these aspects from my primary research to create the avant-garde styling for the ghost-like figures in my film.

(FairestForce, n.d.)

The image above shows a victorian nurse wearing a long muslin cap as part of her strict uniform. There were slight differences in the nurses uniform to reflect their position, for example maroon cuffs; however all nurses wore very similar uniforms in soft blues and greys making them almost look like clones of each other. The image above shows specifically a military nurse, however it was common for asylum nurses to wear the same headpiece, which was used primarily for hygiene reasons and to keep the hair off the face.   http://www.fairestforce.co.uk/13.html

(VisualizeUs, 2017).

After researching many different oversized hood designs I chose the one above as my main inspiration because of its high impact, unique curved design and stiff structure. I felt too many design looked like a wearable hood that was oversized; whereas this design looks more avant-garde and edgy. If the nurses' muslin cap was flipped forwards and increased in size, it would make a similar shape, solidifying the link between how victorian asylum patients felt discriminated against and how victims of discrimination view society. The extended hood shields the model's identity, overshadowing any hope of individualism, reflecting the danger of society becoming clones of one another. 

(Hughes, 2013).

This oversized hood will be incorporated with the phantom figure above, engulfed by a mass of draped black material. I have continued the inspiration taken from this image from my project proposal as I think completely smothering and covering the person's identity to create this ghost-like figure sparks the fear of the unknown, allowing the viewer to imagine the person who is personally discriminating against them; it feeds their imagination. 

All images: (Garzon, 2012).

Visual artist, Rebecca Horn, inspired my use of body extensions. Her body extension work explores the balance between the human body and the space around it and how extensions of the human form can alter the body's interaction with the surrounding world. Horn's work is abstract and ambiguous, allowing the viewer to interpret different meanings and messages. This inspired me to add an extension escaping from inside the hood, emphasising how even though people in society like to shield themselves from discrimination and hate, they are always reaching out to strike their next victim.

I initially thought of using face masks under the black material to create disguised facial silhouettes, together with a neck extension and a covered face mask so a silhouette of a face is visible appear from the depths of the hood. This would have reflected how people in society have always got their heads in other people's business, ready to make quick judgements and unfair assumptions. However I felt this was slightly cliche with the use of face masks. I therefore took inspiration from Horn's sharp finger gloves (middle) to represent the painful, aggressive effects discrimination has on its victim. I want the spikes to be reflective, like razor sharp spears, reflecting discrimination's painful hate and intimidation towards its victim. The spears will protrude from under the hood and be scattered throughout the body emphasising that discrimination can be verbal or physical. The spears also represent how a person who discriminates must be damaged themselves to treat people in such a negative light as they go out of their way to cause others pain. The physical extension of spears emphasises the message that this hatred can be removed and banished to reveal the pure person beneath, but that person has to realise their ways before a world free of discrimination can be unveiled. 

I will be making this styling myself so will need to make a list of materials and a detailed plan of action. The materials to be bought are as follows:

- Sharp spears

- Face mask (to attach spears to)

- Black elasticated material

- Black tights (to cover face)

- Black tread and sewing kit

- Fabric scissors

- Structured black material (for hood)

References: 

BRADFORD, 2017. British Nursing [viewed 14th February 2017]. Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/307230005814810774/

FAIRESTFORCE, n.d. The Fairest Force: 7. Uniform [viewed 27th February 2017]. Available from: http://www.fairestforce.co.uk/13.html

VISUALIZEUS, 2017. Designed by Qiu Hao - F/W 2011 'Serpens' [viewed 27th February 2017]. Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/318911217349766656/

HUGHES, D., 2013. VEDAS: GARMENTS AND SPACE DESIGN BY NICHOLAS ALAN COPE & DUSTIN EDWARD ARNOLD [viewed 27th Janurary 2017]. Available from: http://www.yellowtrace.com.au/vedas-by-cope-and-arnold/

All images: GARZON, M., 2012. Rebecca Horn: Body Art, Performance & Instillations [viewed 27th January 2017]. Available from: http://www.marthagarzon.com/contemporary_art/2012/07/rebecca-horn-body-art-performance-installations/

Meeting with Zhane (Dress Designer)

First Design sketch.

I had a meeting with Zhane to discuss the development of the dress and because I was concerned she hadn't asked me for any materials to start the dress yet. She said she was struggling with the workload of her current project and so needed to focus on that for now, but that the deadline was 6th March so she still felt confident she would get it done it she started after that. I was concerned she hadn't mentioned this to me earlier because then we could have come to some arrangement or I could have asked someone else; however she said she was confident she would be able to achieve this within the time limit so I agreed to continue the collaboration. I am nervous about this because of the short deadline so I will need to think of a backup option. I said that I wanted there to be a fitting before the shooting to make any final adjustments which she agreed to.

(LOVECHILDBOUDOIR, 2017).

This meeting was very valuable as, after discussing how the design would be made, we decided that the oversized feathered shoulder pads would be too dominating and distract from the open caged skirt and dancer's movement. We also felt they would be too restricting because the model would be cautious about not breaking the dramatic shoulder pads when doing her expressive movements. We therefore decided to continue the caged leatherette look on her top half to complement the skirt and not over shadow it. I was inspired by the design above with the high neck and thick strips of material.

Updated sketch

I wanted the whole design to look rebellious and daring to reflect the character's confidence and strength to be herself, so I did not want to add a bra or bandeau because it would be obvious that I was trying to cover her chest. We therefore decided to place a thick strip of white leatherette directly across her nipple area so they would be covered but the outline of her breasts would still be visible. I checked if my model was comfortable with this before confirming the design. Zhane said this top design would take less time than the feather idea and she felt confident she could create it. I have already given her my dancer's measurements and asked about buying materials, but she said she'd have to measure everything out first and get back to me. I am so excited to see Zhane's development of this design!


Resources:
LOVECHILDBOUDOIR, 2017. NEVADA Sexy Chevron Harness Top [viewed 27th February 2017]. Available from: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/318911217350303481/

Meeting 3 with Sofia (Stylist)

After my meeting with Sofia we agreed she would send me images of her sketches for each design so I could clearly see what she wanted to do before she started making it. Our first discussion was for She's Look 3 (white look).

Sketch 1

Sofia's original sketch concerned me as we had agreed the look would represent She's new strength and confidence to battle discrimination; however her design was very elegant and feminine. I wanted the look to have a feminine aspect to it to reflect her beauty and innocence, but I wanted the look to be very structured and strong. I don't want any of the styling in my fashion film to be wearable as my educational fashion film will be avant-garde so the styling will be a tool to reflect the model's emotions, rather than be used purely to make her look beautiful. I had discussed my main inspiration image with Sofia of a white structured blazer so I was unsure why she decided to design a long gown with a shawl-like shoulder detail. I was very concerned how our ideas were so different so I decided to sent her a document of all the other styling for my models to give her an idea of the avant-garde styling and also the narrowed down images of inspiration I had selected for each look so that she was clear on what I was expecting. Pages from the document are as follows:

For She's Look 3 I decided I wanted to narrow Sofia's inspiration images to long blazers as I felt she was struggling to understand my vision when I gave her too many inspiration images. My main inspiration image was clearly labelled so it was clear which image I wanted the full styling based on. I listed the look's key features which were to show empowerment and confidence, to use white faux leather and to keep it structured. I also said I wanted a blazer that looked similar to my inspiration image but possibly longer at the back and made into a blazer dress. I decided on a blazer dress because I think a suit represents confidence and importance, giving the wearer a feeling of empowerment and strength. This suit blazer could also be interpreted as She's suit of armour as she feels she can battle against discrimination. I suggested adding high waister, structured shorts underneath the blazer but to leave the stomach and chest free to add a rebellious feel. However after some discussion we agreed this would make the look too wearable and so we wanted to find a way to cover her bottom half in a more abstract way. 

Sketch 2

Sofia's second sketch was a lot closer to my vision and my inspiration images which meant she had more clearly understood the more concise document I sent her. The dramatic high collar exuded confidence and empowerment and the daring neckline reflected her new rebellious streak; however I felt the oversized belt was slightly cliche and made it look too wearable, like a classic trench coat. I explained to her that I wanted structured shoulders to mirror the dancer's bold shoulders; however she did not do this and instead chose to put emphasis on the cuffs. The sketch was not clear on what was underneath the blazer but she explained it was a full body suit. This concerned me as we had never discussed using a full body suit. I appreciate that she is trying to incorporate her own suggestions; however I will make sure I am more specific with my vision. 

I think Sofia is used to designing more wearable looks for photoshoots; whereas this is pushing her out of her comfort zone of wearable fashion and into avant-garde styling. I have explained this to Sofia and she said she is excited to expand her knowledge and portfolio; however this needs to be worked on. I was trying to explain my vision further to Sofia but it was difficult for me to explain without any clear visuals. I therefore drew her a sketch of what I had envisioned so she could look at it and let me know if it was possible to create, as I am aware this is not something easily accessible on the high street. 

I drew her a sketch of the long blazer above for her to look at and possibly develop. I was unsure of what would be possible; however I wanted to draw exactly what I wanted to she could make or buy something as close to it as possible. I incorporated the high collar from her sketch to express her new confidence; however I also added some sharp shoulder pads to give her a striking, empowering silhouette. I added some extra shoulder detail to accentuate her bold styling and add a rebellious edge. I want the blazer to be structured so is goes in at the waist without a belt to give her a flattering hourglass figure to add a feminine touch to this otherwise striking design. I designed the back of the blazer to have a sharp tail, like a tuxedo, to reflect her new self worth and self love to feel privileged enough to wear such a formal design; she no longer feels belittled or restricted by society. The daring neckline and bare top half under the open blazer reflects her rebellious side to no longer live by society's expected rules.

I am not certain on what I want on her bottom half yet as I want the blazer to be the statement piece. I suggested, in the document I sent to Sofia, the model should wear structured shorts; however we agreed this was too wearable. I then suggested the model wore nude high waisted, high leg pants to cover her crotch with white fishnet tights over the top. However Sofia was concerned this would add too much detail and therefore distract from the blazer. The bottom half of this outfit is something we both need to think about so we can come up with a design so her to source.

Practicing Hair Looks on Model

I practiced the two more advanced hairstyles, I had previously practiced on a model head with Lottie, on my film model. I was concerned with the length of her hair for the caged hair look and the colour match for the hair piece.

Hairstyle 1

In my previous practice I pulled all the hair into three buns; however this time I left the front section out so I could back comb and style it separately. I used gel in the model's hair to make it look more slick and neat. I noticed the back bun sagged slightly so I will ask the model to tilt her head backwards when tying the back section so it is taught when her head is straight. I do not like how there is a clear line of scalp showing between the first and second bun because it makes the hair look disjointed and messy; this was not as obvious in my previous practice. I will therefore only create two buns to go under the padding and make sure the hair on the sides looks more uniform and seamless. I am concerned only having two buns under the padding will not be sufficient support to hold the hair piece up evenly so I will have to experiment. I could also bring each bun forwards towards the parting so the hair is pulled up in the same direction; again I will have to experiment with this. 

In my previous practice I noticed the hair piece was extremely glossy, making it more difficult to style and shape, so I sprayed it generously with dry shampoo to give it a dryer, more manageable texture. 

I decided to secure the padding onto the model's hair before applying the hair piece to give a more even structure and to make the whole style more secure. In my previous practice I applied the hair piece first and then added padding where I felt necessary; however this was meant it wasn't properly secured and looked uneven. 

I tucked the hair piece clips under, lay the hair piece over the padding and then tucked the ends under to create the mohawk shape. I then pinned the sides of the hair down to cover any padding and create an even shape. I found the hair grips weren't as secure as I'd like them so Lottie showed me how to pull the hair out slightly with the hair grips and then tuck them under which covered the clips more and gave a more secure feel; this is a useful technique I will use in the future, for all my hairstyles. The dry shampoo in the hair allowed me to mould the hair more easily gave a more realistic texture and look. The clips from the hair piece were difficult to cover; however I will cut these out and sew the sections of the hair piece together for the next practice. I wanted to make sure I was happy with the amount of leather used and the layer order before sewing them together; however I am confident with the hair piece so don't think I will need to alter this. After moulding the hair piece to the head, some of the leather sagged slightly so I used hair grips to pin these into place to make them look taught and slick. 

The colour of the hair piece blends in seamlessly with my model's natural hair which I am so relieved about! I was concerned the colours would not match as then it would have looked obviously fake; however the hair piece looks like it could be her own hair. 

The main aspect I struggled with the most for this hairstyle was the front section. I wanted to use it to extend the mohawk shape forwards; however I found creating this shape extremely challenging. I heavily backcombed the hair to give it a mouldable texture, but when I showed Lottie she said my backcombing could be improved on. I would put the hair in sections and then lightly backcomb the hair in across motions; however Lottie said I should backcomb the hair with more tension and push each layer to the root to create even lines of backcombing. This not only give the hair more strength to stand up, but also is easier to brush out afterwards. The example above it when I first backcombed the hair so it didn't hold itself well; I therefore created a messy scrunched look. The hair looks very textured and messy, but it had no strength so when the powder paint hits it or the model moves it will fall easily. 

In the example above I lifted the hair upwards and backcombed the front so the hair could be moulded coming forwards. I folded the hair over slightly and pinned it to the hair piece so secure it, disguise the joining of the hair piece and make the natural hair look slightly shorter. I also curled the very ends of the hair to help manipulate the hair to create a soft curl at the front of the mohawk to give a feminine edge. I will need to continue to practice this front section to make it exactly how I want, as it still wasn't as steady as I'd like or in the correct shape. I will experiment with using more hair in the front for a fuller effect; however then I am concerned it will not hold in position. 

In this final example I experimented with twisting the hair and taking it back. I think it would be more secure being pinned backwards into the hair piece and therefore not lose its shape as easily when moving; however I think it covers too much of the front of the mohawk and stops the mohawk's elongated shape, making it stop suddenly in a blunt way. This is a back up option if I can't create a suitable pointed shape, like the previous example; however I will continue to practice this until I think it's suitable and visually exciting. 

Hairstyle 2

My main concern with this hairstyle was that Natalie's hair might not be long enough!

I used some oil in the hair before plaiting it and I found it so much easier to control and style! There were no fly aways, making the hair look slick and neat and I am happy that the plait looks straight and even the whole way down. I will need to buy some more clear elastics as in this practice I had to use coloured ones which made the hair look messy. I could improve on my sectioning as the point isn't perfectly in the centre and the link on the right is not perfectly straight. 

I applied hair oil on each section of hair before plaiting it and it made the hair so much easier to control, with not fly aways or fluffy hair, allowing me to create clean plaits that were crisply separated from each other. The sectioning was straight and even and the french plaits were tied close to the scalp, even thought they could still be even tighter.

Above are image of when I first connected the front three plaits and I noticed the hair was not long enough to join to the middle plait; however this is because I wasn't plaiting the hair against the face and instead I was pulling it outwards slightly. This meant that when I did pull the plait tight to the face the strands of hair would bulge outwards. This relieved me because it meant the hair would be long enough if I plaited the hair tightly against the face.

The side plaits were even and slick, with clear sectioning and crisp edges; however the model's ears distorted some of the strands between the plaits. When I practiced this look on my fake model head, the ears weren't a problem because they were so flat; however my model's ears stick out further so the strands have to reach over them. To avoid this I could move the plait further forwards to come in front of her ear; however I like how plaiting behind the ear elongates the caged strands, making the cage engulf more of her identity. I will continue to create this plait behind the ear but make sure I make the strands tighter underneath the ear as I found I made these as loose as the ones having to reach over the ear, therefore making them look saggy. Looking at this photo, I also noticed there are some strands of hair straying from the rest, making the caged effect not as strong and defined. I need to make sure I use more oil or hair gel to smooth these into place if this happens again, as I think in this case the hair wasn't quite long enough to reach and therefore fell. 

I plaited the middle three plaits together again, making sure to keep the strands tight and much more of the hair could reach the middle plait. The caged effect on her forehead looks very neat and separated; however as the strands get further down they don't look as neat. I think this is because the strands of hair got shorter and so I was finding it more difficult to connect them to the middle plait neatly. Some of the strands of hair fell out of the plait because they were only just entwined in the plait, meaning they weren't as secure as they should have been. This is a major concern of mine as the model will be moving in the film and so I want the strands to be secure so they don't fall out mid shot! I found a solution to this which is describes below. The plait isn't perfectly down the centre of her face because I was focusing on getting all the strands to reach the plait; however I will not be able to do this in my film so I will to come up with a solution for this lack of hair length.

The hair that is secured under her chin will be covered by the styling; I have spoken to my stylist about this. I was concerned her blonde hair would blend in to her skin colour; however I think the blonde hair is more effective because of the different tones in her hair giving it more dimension. My model's roots are a lot darker than her ends which gives the french plaits a beautiful ombre effect. The styling for this look will be black so her lighter hair will add a slight softness to the harsh look; however still reflecting her battle to unveil her true, unedited identity.

I noticed the cage didn't look as complete as the one I had done previously on my model head and that is because this cage didn't continue down to her chin. Unfortunately my model's hair isn't long enough to achieve this which was very disappointing; however Lottie suggested I could use sections of my hair piece and then, using a pin, weave it through the plaits at the bottom to make it look like strands of her hair. The image above shows a small bundle of white hair sewn through the plaits which could be tied at either end. I was so relieved when Lottie suggested this because I was so excited to create this hair design and didn't want to have to change it too much. This method also takes the pressure off me having to make every strand of hair reach each plait because if it doesn't, I can just use this method. I will experiment with doing this to make sure it looks as realistic as possible. 

Designing She's Mouthpiece for Look 1

I was inspired by Alexander McQueen's Savage Beauty exhibition to include a mouthpiece in She's first makeup look. I love how it distorts the mouth into an uncomfortable and almost painful looking position because I think it reflects how society is controlling her and forcing her to doubt her own sanity.

(Knight, 2017.)

As shown in my chosen face charts I want to design a mouthpiece in the shape of a cross to sit within the model's mouth. I want the edges of the cross to poke into the sides of the mouth and distort the mouth slightly. I think it will work if the model bites onto a piece of flat plastic, with the cross attached to it, to keep the cross in her mouth. When designing my face charts I said I wanted to experiment with the design with an added black strap across her mouth; however I think that will look too suggestive and therefore be distracting the the message of the scene. I therefore will only experiment with materials to create the design below as I think it is more appropriate.

I considered many options to secure the black cross in my model's mouth, like using a retainer, metal bars and black coated wire; however I decided it would be easiest and most comfortable to cover cotton buds with black paint, tie them together and then have the model bite down slightly to secure the design. I was concerned what black paint to use as I did not want my model putting anything toxic in her mouth, so I searched to find an acrylic paint that was mouth safe. I tied the middle of the cotton buds together with black thread to make them secure. I had initially tried to used glue but this was not as strong. One concern I had was the paint flaking off in my model's mouth; however I knew she would only be wearing it for a short amount of time and there would only be one closeup of the mouthpiece, which I would film first. I made three versions of the mouthpiece with the cotton buds in slightly different angles so that I could determined the shape that fitted the model's mouth the most comfortably, whilst still giving her a distorted, stretched look. 

Example of a mouthpiece.

References:

KNIGHT, N., 2017. McQueen: The London Years [viewed 2nd February 2017]. Available from: http://showstudio.com/project/mcqueen_the_london_years/editorial_gallery