To Be Submerged In a Character

To be submerged in a character is how I have also felt when coming into contact visually with a completely transformed character. I have always been hugely fascinated by the concept of using make-up to completely transform someone’s appearance and it was the monsters of Lord of the Rings that initially sparked my enthusiasm to want to complete this course and work as a make-up artist in either film or television.

I have learnt so many valuable skills through the degree however I do feel that I haven’t had chance to fully explore my love of prosthetics. Although I have learnt basic special effects make-up, I wanted to use the creative scope of this final major project to explore in depth how prosthetics and special effects make-up can be used to completely change someone’s appearance and through this help to fully bring a character to life.

 'The Orks'

Initial Ideas

I want this final major project to be based on my main interests within in make-up design, as I have already expressed I have a great enthusiasm for character make-up and the idea of transforming a normal looking person into a monster or character that is sometimes completely unrecognisable from the actor underneath. My struggle now is how can I use these interests and skills to create something new and challenging as a final major piece, the best way for me to begin this process was to create a brainstorm of initial ideas that stem from my main interests. 

Before this project began I was already offered the position as a head make-up artist for a short film called 'Ruthless', as I want to work within the film industry in the future I felt this was a good opportunity to test my skills in managing a team, being organised and designing and creating the looks. The project will be filmed over 3 weekends and will take up a lot of my working time so I've decided to use this in a portfolio format as part of Final Major Project submission. 

 Through using my original brainstorm and researching further into my options I have chosen to create a published book that will run alongside the film. As I have a keen interest in both characters and special effects I felt the best option to express both would be to create a book based around the darker side of fairy tales using 4 or 5 specific fairy tales and 8 - 10 characters. As the concept of the book is the darker side of fairy tales, I can use prosthetics and special effects to create characters such as monsters, witches, evil animals, wounds, and other elements to show the more violent and gory side to the now known happy fairy tales. I want to use things such as prosthetic pieces, wigs, bald caps and other special effects products such as fx blood, derma wax to complete successful character transformations.

A Time Schedule 

Although this is just a first draft time schedule it is important to be organised and realistic about the amount of time you have to achieve your goals. By using a time schedule you can work to a set plan knowing what goals you need to achieve week by week. My time schedule leaves me plenty of time to complete all of my intended work to a high and professional standard.

Target Market

It is important that both elements of my Final Major Project have a specific target audience so that I can tailor both to attract the viewers or readers of a specific target group in order to create a successful and to industry standard outcome. 

     The intended target audience for the film Ruthless (2013) would be a younger generation particularly interested in the horror film genre, as they are more likely to understand the reality of the genre and less likely to be effected by violence and gory images.

 The typical age bracket of ‘horror fans’ is between  ’15 - 24’ years old (UK Film Council) or '19 - 24' years old, this could be due to the fact that the largest number of cinema goers also fall between this age bracket; they have the most disposable income to spend on luxuries such as the cinema. The horror genre is generally aimed at men as they tend to be attracted to violence and action and usually seek thrill in films, however 'the number of women attending cinema screenings of horror films now marginally exceeds male attendance figures’ (UK Film Council) and proves that the horror genre is now reaching out to a larger audience of both males and females.

 Competitors of ‘Ruthless’ (2013) would be other short films involving the same concept, for example the 2011 short film ‘Alice Jacobs is Dead’ (2009) directed by Alex Horwitz, whereby the film’s plot is based on ‘the scientist who cured the Z virus’ now ‘hiding a secret from ‘a’ zombie infected world’ (Foster, 2011). Also, references such as ‘George A. Romero, the film maker who stands as a touchstone in the history of the modern zombie’ (Stokes, 1984). In order to comply with the conventions of the genre and to compete with the high standards of the industry, the makeup designs will be original as well as being gory and bloody to attract the fans of the horror genre. 

In regards to the book I am creating it will be targeted at the same audience as the film, an audience of older teens to mid-twenties who enjoy viewing horror and are attracted to a more violent and gory plot. We are constantly bombarded with the latest horror films, Saw, Paranormal Activity and various others. 

However the horror novel isn't so publicised and although image books are mainly aimed at children I believe the target audience would be enticed to read a book that isn't full of pages of text but offers a visual element too. 

Competitors of my book would be other books and authors that have used original fairy tales to re create new and modern adaptations however my interpretation will have visuals as well as stories.