Brave | Lesson 5

Today in our lesson we had a demo of how to put on a bald cap. We were allowed to follow along with Sue as she demonstrated, of which I did and I enjoyed doing it and has made me think more of using it for my human hybrid.
Although this wasn't my first time doing a bald cap, however it was my first time doing it all by myself and it was quite nerve racking as you have to be so careful when cutting the bald cap to fit the head shape, I also worried I could accidentally catch my models ears with the scissors, but I managed to miss them both which I am glad of.
When the demonstration started I thought it would be an alright task, as I sort of knew the process. At the start I was just taking notes then Sue said we can go along with her as she done hers. I found this a little harder as I was a step behind her and I couldn't watch her and watch what I was doing with the scissors, but after Sue had finish her demo and I had a bit more of her attention it was a lot easier. I think that it came out really well for my first time doing it myself with the help from Sue, when taking photos I tried using the camera and flash but unfortunately the flash was broken making the pictures come out darker, BUT I did use my phone to take some photos and I also took some in black and white and other effects that are programmed in the iPhone camera. Below is one of the black and white pictures I took.

Bald Caps

Equipment:

- Pin Tail Comb

- Paddle Brush

- Scissors

-Sponge

- Stipple Sponge 

Products:

- Pre Impression Bald Cap

- Water Spray

-Strong Hair Gel

-Spirit Gum

-Spirit Gum Remover

-Acetone

- Supra Colours (Greasepaints)

- Foundations

-Translucent Powder

Method:

1:  The first step is to wet the entire hair with a water spray and using a paddle brush to ensure all the hair is wet. 
2: Using the hair gel, place throughout the hair, making sure you scrape the hair away from the forehead. Separating the hair into two sections.
3: With one of the sections wrap it around the head over the top of the other section and stick it down as smooth to the day as you can.
4: Repeat step 3 but with the other section going underneath the other section. The hair must stick to the head with gel only or even soap if there is no gel left.

Although today my model was a male so I didn't have to do steps 1-4.

5: The next step is put the bald cap on, asking your model to place to fingers pointing out by the forehead. Place the bald cap on there hands then pulling the cap back until it is sat on the head and is positioned right and making sure the hair is still in place and hasn't come unstuck.
6: When the bald cap is correctly positioned the next step is starting to cut away all the excess cap.
- Firstly cut along the top by the forehead.
- Then slowly cut behind the ears straight up. then slowly cut pieces away until you can pull the ear out and the bald cap sits comfortably behind the ear.
- Cut a way some of the cap at the back of the head but making sure that your model leans forwards for this as if you cut it when they are sat upright it could ping off.

7: Once you have the rough shape of the bald cap you can go back in to cut away pieces that are either too long or isn't straight ish, don't worry if it isn't completely straight.
8: Peel back the bald cap, then apply spirit gum to the skin and then to the bald cap, wait until it becomes tacky/sticky then stick back on the skin making sure there is no folds or bumps.
9: Using damp couch roll to press onto the cap to make sure that it is properly stuck.
10: When the bald cap is stuck down, use acetone to blend away the edges.
11: Next step is to colour the cap, using the supra colour palette mix together the white and a red to create a pinkish colour and dap on to the cap with a sponge
12: Using a foundation colour that matches the skin, dap on top of the pink greasepaint with a clean sponge.
13: Either with a large brush or makeup puff , and a fair amount of translucent powder to the head.

For creating males using a stipple sponge and black greasepaint dab on the sides by the ears to create the look of stubble. Then powder over the top of that.

Brave | Lesson 4

This was the week when we applied our first moulds. For our actual lesson I was the model and my partner placed her wound on me, I have to say I knew it would take a long time but not that long. It was fine sitting there getting it down but after a while it was a bit uncomfortable especially because I had to lay there with my neck stretched up. As we only had 4 hours in which to do both my partners and mine, I unfortunately didn't do mine in that lesson as there was only about an hour left of the lesson and I probably could have got mine done but I didn't want to have to rush applying the wound and the makeup.
I ended up doing mine a bit later on, and I thought I took my time as I went quite slowly but I think it is because I knew what to expect. I think the main thing that didn't go so well for me is that when I applied the pros aide on the wound it folded over a little bit and which made it quite hard to blend out.  When it was time for me to create the make up for my character I originally planned to use lipstick smudged around her lips, however at the time I thought this would be too much so I left it out. Another annoying this when I went to take the photos as they hadn't come out as well as I had hoped for. But when it comes to making my hybrid I'm going to make sure that my photos come out really and I get some really good shots, as well making sure my wounds do not fold over on themselves.

Brave | Lesson 4 | Making of My Character

Products:
- Bobbi Brown Foundation
- Supra Colour Palette
-Rimmel's Mascara
-Kroylans Eye Shadow Palette - Colour Black
- Water Spray.

Method:

1. After the wound was applied, I went and applied the foundation I did this quite quickly as I didn't want the base to look clean and fresh.
2. I then used a flat brush and black eye shadow to go along the eye line top and a bit of the bottom.
3. Adding mascara to the eyes just so that you would be able to see them on camera, I also used a small fan mascara brush to apply the mascara, and used this to create the smudge of make up down the face.
4. The last thing I did to complete my characters look was to spray some water down the face, obviously I asked my model to shut her eyes so that I didn't spray it in her eye.

Brave | Lesson 4 | Applying the Wound

Products:
-  Pros Aide
- Pros Aide Remover
- Talcum Powder
- Laminating Brush
- IPA ( Isopropyl Alcohol)
-Supra Colour Palette
- Neill's Colour Palette

Method:

1. Cleanse, tone and moisturise your models face, so that it is clean and that there is nothing that can affect the application. 
2.  While the moisturiser is soaking into the skin the step is to take the piece out of the mould, using a laminating brush and talcum powder, slowly brush towards the baldease mixture and you should see part of the mould coming up. When that happens slowly dabbing more of the talcum powder on so that it does not stick to it, as it is tricky and when removing and it can stick together making the application hard.
3. With a baby bud apply some preside clue to the wound as well as to the area of skin that the wound is going to stuck on. Making sure that the edges of the wound do not fold over.
4. Once the prosaide has become tacky, press onto the models skin and then press hard all over to make sure that it is stuck on and there are no loose bits.
5. With a baby bud and ipa, slowly blend away the edges of the wound, making sure you don't get to close to the actually wound itself as it can ruin it.
6. Colouring the wound with Neill's colour palette.
7. Neill's palette is alcohol based which mean you have to add Ipa to colour for them to come out.
8. Once there is enough colour on your brush, with your finger flick the bristles back making splatters on the skin.

Evaluation:

I am happy with how it came out as it was my first time doing this, at first I was a bit nervous doing it as there is so much to remember, but overall I am happy how it came out although my images came out weird and blurry and I don't know it is because of the flash, but the only good ones I could get are far away.

Brave | Character Face Charts

Below are my face charts that I have created a look for my character, I wanted her hair to be in a loose messy pony tail and have it look sweaty so do this I used a water spray I also used it over the face to make it look like she was sweaty.

The Story Behind the Wound

The story behind my wound, a girl called Persephone 'Sephy', she's in her early twenties long brown hair with the ends dip dyed blonde. Sephy has also just started a new job in an office, although she still lives with her parents she still goes out most night with her friends. Sometimes she does not come home for a few days, her parents are used to this so they don't worry much as should would text them occasionally. However not this time...

A night with her friends, she meets a boy who she thinks is interesting and mysterious however little did she know about his deep dark secret, of which she would find out later on in the evening. After a couple of drinks she feels drunk. Her vision blurring. Her palms are sweating. Sephy resliases that she has been drugged and blacks outs.

She awakes in a cold dark room, where her vision is still blurred but is becoming focused. When her vision is almost back, a bright light shone on to her, slowly flickering her eyes to adjust to the light. She tries to move but she can't. She's restricted by something poking into her chin and in between her collar bones. Her hands tidied together by what seems like rope. A beads of sweat roll down her face, from the beaming light. That's when she noticed the figure sitting in the corner watching her suffer. Sephy stands there wondering if she will ever she sun light again, whether she will ever have her life back, but will she ever get out alive....

Anatomy of the Chin and Collar Bones

Chin

For my wound it will be placed under the chin just behind the mentalis muscle. Which means that this  end of the fork would not damage anything important if it were to move side to side so nothing to go wrong with my character in that way. However if the fork were to move up quite a bit it could damage the mandibular nerve which would be painful, this is highly unlikely as the forks prongs aren't that long and also are trapped to a piece of leather, the only way this nerve could be damaged is if my characters head jams forward.   

Where the fork will be placed it is in between the lower jaw line, this bone forms the lower part of the skull, the movement of the lower the jaw opens and closes the mouth and allows to chew the food. The bottom set of teeth are also rooted in the jaw bone. Within this area there are four different muscles, these muscles are the master, the temporals, the medial pterygoid and the lateral pterygoid. These muscles are in pairs with one of each muscle on both sides of the skull. These muscles work in combination to pivot the lower jaw up and down and allow the jaw to move side to side.  If my character were to move around and the fork happens to slip or move and hitting the jaw bone depending on how much and how hard to move and impales the skin, if the jaw bone gets fractured they can be minor or severe, if there were to be more severe fractures if she survives then her jaw would have to be wired shut to prevent movement during the healing process.

Collar Bones

This part of the body is located between the clavicle ( collar bones), it is known as the jugular notch. this part of the body is quite fleshy so the wound should harm anything if my character does not move about much making the fork become loose and move if this happens and moves either side it will hit the collar bones and can be quite painful. If the fork is to move into the skin further it could go into the jugular notch which is the bone at the top of the sternum.

Image 1: Available at http://www.allicanbe.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Cosmetic-image.jpg [15th October 2015]

Image 2: Available at https://web.duke.edu/anatomy/Lab02/Lab2Exercise1.jpg [15th October 2015]

Internet: (5th February 2015)  http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/mandible  [15th October 2015]

Brave | Lesson 3

Moulding and Casting

In my lesson this week we learnt how to make the mould for our sculptures and then how to cast them. At first I was excited to learn how to create moulds this way as previously I have learnt the way by using a plaster mould which was a tedious, slow and messy process.

Once I did the first set of making the silicone I was comfortable and a lot more confident that I wouldn't get it wrong, however I will still be cautious when measuring out silicone A and silicone B as you should be because if that gets contaminated it will literally be the worst. During class this was a long process as there wasn't many scales to how many people there were, so this got me thinking that if I buy my own scales I won't have this problem of having to wait, also I will be able to work at home instead of having to rely on products and equipment supplied at university, I also feel like I can take longer for creating my hybrid moulds instead of rushing it in the four hours I get in class, like it wasn't a major deal having to wait for scales it was just a bit annoying that when one part of your mould was done, you couldn't move on to the next part straight away.

Finally it was time to go home although I really enjoyed this lesson by far the most so far, I felt exhausted and overwhelmed and a little bit stressed out at how much information I had taken in throughout those four hours. I know that it was the first time everyone was leaning this new thing and that we only have a short amount of time to learn all these techniques for them, I just feel like we were rushed and if we had longer on this project maybe split the lesson in half I wouldn't have been so exhausted or even make the lesson slightly longer to ensure everyone's near enough at the same place. I do know that Sue and Kat aren't there to baby sit us just to over look us and make sure we are going in the right direction.

Making of Wound | Mould and Casting

Equipment:

- Plastic Measuring Cups

- Black Gloves

- Scales

- Marker Pen

- Wooden Spatulas - Marked with a pen 

- Glue Gun

- Scissors

- Tuberware boxes

- Tissues 

- Baby Wipes

- Cling Film

- Breathing Mask

Products:

- Clay Sculpture 

- Silicone A

- Silicone B

- Deadener 

- Fixing Spray

- Petrolease

- Baldease

- Isopropyl Alcohol

-  Colour Pigment

Method:

 1: Start by making sure the work surface is clean and that cling film has been placed down. Also have everything close so both pair of gloves are out and ready for you change when changing to silicone A to silicone B, as well as baby wipes tissues and the wooden sticks marked A and B.

2: Using the fixing spray, spray on the sculpture at about 20 cm away, making sure you are by the window as well. Once the fixing spray is dried spray on petrolease at 20 cm's away and by the window.

3: While the petrolease is drying, cut the plastic cup in half using the top half to place around the sculpture( see left image), and the bottom half can be used to place all your used stuff in, instead of having to take many trips to the bin.

4: Using a hot glue gun place glue around the cup so that it sticks on to the plastic palette and that there are no gaps for the silicone to come out through the sides.

5: Putting on gloves, the breathing mask and another plastic cup, placing the cup on the scales and making sure it is on 0g. Use the wooden spatula you marked with A to measure 30g of Silicone A. It is better to use a spatula as it will help to control how much will come out as pouring it out maybe be difficult.

6: When there is 30g of silicone A in the plastic cup, the next step is to put the lid back on then using a baby wipe, wipe around the pot. Once it has been wiped it is essential that you remove those clothes and that the wooden spatula is either in the bin or far away from the other pot.

7: With new gloves on measure out 30g of silicone B, with spatula marked with the letter B. Once measured out screw lid back on tightly and wipe down the sides with a baby wipe.

8: Mix silicone A and B together with spatula B for a few seconds, then tap the cup down on the side to get rid of any big air bubbles.

9: Pour mixture over the sculpture back and forth making sure you get it right into the sculpture. Throw away the plastic cup.

10: Wait at least an hour for the silicon to set, then gently touch the silicon to see if it has set, if it feels jelly like then it needs to set for a bit longer.

11; Once the mould is set, cut down the plastic cut and take out the mould and wipe down with IPA (isoproply Alcohol). Spray the mould with petrolease by the window at 20 cm distance.

12: Making a mixture of baldease and Isoproply Alcohol of 1:2 of the products.

13: Using a brush, brush the mixture over the mould making sure you don't flood your mold with this mixture and leave to dry, to make this process quicker you can use a hairdryer on the cold setting and on a low speed.

14: Once the first layer is dried place another layer on top and allow it to dry.

The next big process is making the actual piece that will be placed on the body.
15: Mix together 8 grams of silicone A and 8 grams silicone B in the same way as first described in this post. With another spatula marked with letter C measure our 12g of deadener to the mixture and mix, this will give the fleshy feel to the moulds. To work out how much deadener you should put in is 60% of what ever the amount of both silicon A and B that has been used.
16: Add in colour pigment to the mixture to make it look like your models skin colour. Add only a few drops as it is really strong.
17: Pour the mixture over the mould back and forth again to ensure you get all into the little pieces.
18: Using a ruler scrape over the mould to get rid any excess mixture. repeat this again if it looks like the mixture is dipping in.
19: Leave to dry.
20: Once dry use talc to make sure it doesn't stick, and place in a tuber ware box to keep safe.

Brave | Lesson 2

Sculpting:

In this weeks lesson we started to sculpt our wounds with the sulphur free clay.
When we were doing this I felt like a had a bit of an advantage of how to sculpt as I had done it in my previous college, which allowed me to get on with it straight away. The next challenging thing for me was to create the holes of the heretics fork as there is only two of them it isn't as hard but the shape was a bit tricky as they are pointed then get bigger and go a square sort of shape. It took a little while but I think I sort of got there by using one of the tools with a pointed end placing it in the clay and then spinning the plastic tray around slowly whilst pushing in the tool to create that sort of shape.

After having a conversation with my parter whilst doing the mould, we decided that we were going to have the fork present in our photos, we looked online for heretics fork however they were quite expensive. We then thought about making a heretics fork in which we did and is in another blog post explaining how we made it. After making the fork we both re did our scultpures and used the fork to make the dents and now that I have made that change I feel like my wound will look more realsitic when I apply to my model.

Making of Wound | Sculpturing

Equipment:

- NSP -Sulfur Free Clay

- Sculpting Tools
- Clay Cutting Wire
- Scraping Tool
- Heretics Fork

- Hair Dryer

- Black Gloves

- Plastic Palette  

Method:

 1: The first step is to warm up the sulfur free clay with a hair dryer, by doing this it will make the clay more pliable and easier to work with when creating the shape for the mould. Using the clay cutting wire to cut off a small piece of clay.

2: Making sure you are wearing black gloves as the silicone solution is very sensitive, which I will talk about in a separate blog post. With the small piece of clay either roll it into a ball or a sausage shape, I went for an in between shape, and spread a small amount so that the clay is stuck on the plastic palette.

3: Using a scraping a tool smooth out the edges and making sure that it goes out smoothing as this will make it easier when creating the piece. I also scraped away the clay that would be in between the two holes so that it makes the skin look more swollen when I put it on. The next step is to place the heretics fork that I made in to the clay, I then wiggled the fork about a bit so that the mould wouldn't be just two boring holes.

4:Once I was happy with the shape I made I then had to go over the place the middle bit where I scraped away just to make sure it was all smooth and there was no harsh edges.

5: The final step is to cover the sculpture with cling film, so no dirt or dust will get stuck in the clay.

Making of Heretics Fork

For our prosthetic piece my partner and I pick fork out of a bag, with that be decided to go down the route of a torture fork, and chose the heretics fork, which was used during the spanish inquisition. We originally didn't plan for the fork to be involved in our final look, but after having a few discussion with each others as well as our lecturers we have decided to use the fork in our final images. At first we looked into buying one online however ones that we found wanted around £60 for one, which got us thinking how we would go about making one.

Here is the process of making the Heretic's Fork:

Step: 1
With two plastic forks, break away the two middle prongs, so you are left with just the outer two prongs. As the forks are too long for this heretics forks, the next step is to break off some of the stem, so about half way up is where you want to break it in half. Then placing one of the forks on top of the other but in the opposite direction, so that there is two prongs either end.

Step: 2
Carefully measure the gap between your chin and in between your collarbones, for how long you will need it, once it is at the correct length use superglue to glue them together. Once the glue is set and the forks don't come apart it, it is time to paint the fork. For this I used black water paint which wasn't the best idea but it was all I had to paint with, but I would recommend using acrylic paint as it is a lot thicker and will cover it easier and you will only need to do one coat of paint where as I am having to do a few to make sure no white is coming through.

Evaluation:
At the start when looking for ways to make a heretic's fork, there was quite a list of things we could use such as a barbecue fork, or wooden forks, although these all would have been good materials use, but when we were shopping for them they were either too long or the prongs were too wide apart which wouldn't look arcuate. We then thought of using plastic forks, which of course was perfect for this and it was really a cheap buy. I am really happy with how this has come out, and I am now just hoping that it will add to the affect of my final image.

Heretic's Fork

The Spanish Inquisition was just one of many that occurred from the 12th to the 19th centuries. The word inquisition refers to the tribunal court system used by both the Catholic Church and some of the Catholic monarchs, which was to root out, suppress and punish heretics. The definition of the word heretic means someone who holds different beliefs and views that are in opposition to what are the popular beliefs and opinions of the church.
The inquisitorial system was based from the ancient Roman law, it was different from other court systems as the court actually took part in the process of trying the accused.

Image 1

To torture the heretics an instrument was created called Heretics Fork. It consisted of two forks set against each other that penetrated the skin under the chin at one end and then at the other end was at top of the chest in between the collar bones, however this instrument didn't penetrate any vital points, therefore the suffering was prolonged and death was avoided. There was also a small collar that supported the fork in a way that made the victims head erect and preventing any moment.

Obviously the victims hands were tied up behind their backs to prevent any escape, this instrument was used after a confession to avoid hearing the victim plead anymore. Sometimes the victims were incarcerated as well as having this fork. The fork often harmed the neck of the victim as well as potentially spreading an infection or disease.

Image 2:

References:
Image 1: http://godchild.buzz/live/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Heretics-Fork1.jpg
Image 2: https://grabcad.com/library/heretics-fork-torture-device-1
Internet: Freeman, Shanna.  "How the Spanish Inquisition Worked"  05 February 2008.  HowStuffWorks.com. <http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/spanish-inquisition.htm>  http://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-figures/spanish-inquisition.htm [Last Accessed: 9th October 2015]
Internet: (29th November 2008) http://www.medievality.com/heretics-fork.html                                           [Last Asscessed:9th October 2015]

Health and Safety

When mould making there are obviously precautions you have you take to ensure everything goes smoothly and you do not get injured.

Health and Safety:
- Wear old clothes when dealing with silicone as it will damage your clothing and will not come out.
- When creating the silicone solution make sure you use a different stick and gloves for silicone tub A and silicone tub B. If either become contaminated with the other it will ruin both tubs.
- There must be ventilation, so windows must be open at all times when molding and casting as there will be chemical smells.
- All solutions unused should go in the bin and not down the sink, as this will cause damage to sink and its pipes.
- Any product left over should be scooped out with couch roll and put in the bin.
- Lids should be left on any products that have been used, to prevent any spillage.
- Masks should be worn when molding and casting as again there will be chemicals which will not be good if you are inhaling them for any amount of time.

The Walking Dead

After reading that article about Greg Nicotero and blogging about it, talking about the walking dead I thought that I should also do a blog post dedicate to The Walking Dead, as so much work goes into creating these zombies. For instance at the start of series one of the main characters Rick wakes up in hospital, finding that there is nobody around, after leaving the hospital and picking up a big there is half a women laying there, but you wouldn't really call it a human being anymore as its a desiccated corpse who is still alive.
After watching many youtube videos it took about three and half hours to create just this one zombie, of course they couldn't just get anyone to do it ad they were after specific requirements, eventually they found the perfect actress as she was naturally skinny, tall and had a long face, of which is what they were searching for. After selecting the right actress they then had to cast her head, body and her teeth.

                 

Image: http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--TT_YX5iY--/18lpija8w4pagjpg.jpg  [8th October 2015]
Image: http://ego-alterego.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/540.jpg [8th October 2015]
Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVHoO2Jd9iM [8th October 2015]

KBO EFX

As soon as I start this project I had so many things going through my head with what to do for this unit as well as what to blog about, and then my head went into over drive and I just got overwhelmed.  So to be honest I didn't get on with my work straight away, I did in fact leave it for a couple of days. I then took a more slower approach to it with just looking on the internet. I came across this article from Greg Nicotero. Who talks about the nightmare factory which is a documentary about prosthetics and how they are made, the length of time it takes and all sorts and it was fascinating watching it and I would definelty recommend it to anyone who loves special effects makeup.  I loved reading about how his career just happened by chance and that sometimes it is more of who you not what you know, and sometimes just being in the right place at the right time. I also loved reading about his work on the American hit Tv series 'The Walking Dead', I think I found it so interesting because I am currently watching the fifth series on netflix, although the whole series keeps me on edge as you can tell something bad is going to happen and the mass of zombies that are approaching, but at the same time I am fascinated at how they area all created. I think this is my favourite scene from the whole series so far as it literally had me on edge the whole time I was watching this episode.

And for anyone else that wants to read the article about Greg Nicotero here is the link;
http://collider.com/greg-nicotero-nightmare-factory-walking-dead-interview/

Internet:http://collider.com/greg-nicotero-nightmare-factory-walking-dead-interview/ [Accessed 8th October 2015]

History Of Prosthetic Limbs

In Ancient literature there are references to prosthetics limbs in there stories and poems, however some of the earliest historical accounts of the use of limbs were recorded in Greek and Roman. There is this one historical account of a Roman general called Marcus Sergius, who had lost his right hand in battle of the Punic War, he then had it replacement hand made out of iron for the purpose of holding his shield and was able to return to battle and continue fighting.

In 2000 researchers in Cairo, Egypt found what the believe to be the oldest documented artificial body part. A prosthetic toe made of wood and strapped on by leather. This prosthetic that they found was nearly three thousands years old mummified remain of an Egyptian noblewomen and shows how little prosthetics limbs have changed throughout history. Apart from recent years, the prosthetic devices have been construction of basic materials such as wood and metal and held to the body with some form of a strap.

In all fairytales and stories the pirates are all portrayed to have peg legs and hooks. However this was the standard throughout history, pirates would have peg legs with wooden cores and metal hands shaped into hooks, although hollywood has portrayed the use of these prosthetics as much more than they would have, but pirates did use them and reply on these types of prosthetics. The materials used for them could be taken from any common pirate ships, for a pirate to come close enough to find a doctor they were extremely hard to find as a trained doctor who could actually amputee was rare, instead the ships cooks would perform the amputation but with hardly any medical things the success rate was poor.

Internet: Available at: http://science.howstuffworks.com/prosthetic-limb1.htm [

History of Special Effects

Since the start of cinema and films, special effects have always played a big part. In the first silent films they were a little more than a theatre play, that was photographed with static cameras, but as time went on and filming techniques and cine equipment improved, it became obvious to directors that the medium lent itself could create illusion.

As things improved with film  the box office saw a rise in how it attracted the public were and this is all down to the development in to trick photography, special effects make up, costumes and ingeniously designed sets. At first the trick effects were just crude improvisations by the directors with the help of his small crew and actors. Although in a short period people were employed as specialists and departments set up in each studio to help organise with the work.

Film makers mainly concentrated on the make up and costume side of things as the technical stuff was quite complicated for there limited knowledge at the time. Also without sound the directors and cinemas had to intrigue the audience visually and the ideal genres were horrors and fantasy films with grotesque characters in sinister settings. For example in the film Frankenstein in 1931, the main sets were in the basement of this cold, old house and some were outside in the shed, but without these sets and the monster being the grotesque character the audience would not be so drawn in to the film.

The main person who was behind the makeup in the silent period was Lon Chaney, who studied the art and when working in the theartre and brought it successfully on to the screen. Lon Chaney created and applied his own makeup , often taking a long time in front of the mirror to get the look exactly right. Lon Chaney's characterisations of Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a great example of this, not only did he take such an interest in the make up but also in how the characters appeared physically. In order to do this Chaney would strapped up his limbs in an unnatural way and even painful positions and on top of that wore heaving body paddings. It was not unusual for him to distort the eyes, nose and mouth as well with the help of tape, unfortunately with all these process came a price, his life, they had damaging effects on his body, he died just as the cinema has reached the sound era.                                                                                                                 

Obviously as time past and people get more experienced in this industry , it wasn't long until directors found a way in which an actors face could change the way the character is portrayed. This was done by adding a little bit of make up to the actors a bit at a time and exposing their faces to film after each application. It was a very slow and tedious process especailly for the actors who had to sit still not only when the makeup was being applied but also when parts of the film were being shot.
As peoples knowledge grow further the makeup materials became more specialised allowing the technicians to age the skin, distort to change an actors features to any given requirements. One of the main products was latex rubber, a solution which can be painted on to the skin in layers to build or re shape the features before the colouring process began. In some instances it is taking a complete mould or mask of the face, so that the face can be extensively altered, without the actors having to sit for hours on end waiting for the makeup to be finish, however with this the actors will just be able to wear it over his own features. Although this process was quicker and less harmful it was still a long process, colour and hair would have to be added in after.

YouTube: (28th June 2011) Available at: http://www.lookandlearn.com/blog/10620/the-special-effects-of-makeup/ [Last Accessed on 7th October 2015]
Image: http://www.catholiclane.com/wp-content/uploads/Boris-Karloff-Frankenstein.jpg [ Last Accessed on 7th October 2015]
Image:http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/04/06/arts/06HOBERMAN1_SPAN/06HOBERMAN1_SPAN-master675.jpg [7th October 2015]

Brave | Lesson 1

It was my first lesson with special effects, which we just went over the brief that I explained in a previous blog post. But just to recap in pairs we have to create a wound out of weapon, which we then model for each other with the same weapon but made our moulds differently. The next part is to create a human hybrid with the help of silicone pieces. We will also need to think about how to make our hybrids without the emphasis of it being on clothing but of accessories on the body.

As I said earlier about creating a wound of a weapon, the way we got given a weapon was for my lecturer to come around with a bag with various weapons written on a piece of paper, I put my hand in and out came the piece of paper with the word fork written on it. When I read that we had a fork I was a little disappointed as I thought it was going to be quite boring, however then I thought it was going to be hard as forks prongs are tiny so the wound would have to be precise. But when I got into researching it all that came up was people with a pitch fork thought there bum. It was also really hard trying to come up with visuals for wound created by a fork. However whilst I was still researching I came across a heretics fork which was used as a torture weapon, and with discussing with my partner we decide that we will go with this idea.

Once we found out the second part of the brief about the human hybrid, I was excited and nervous as there are so many things you could do with it and so many ideas came flooding into my head, but then Kat went on to say how it has a natured inspired behind it and the way I felt about it was like oh god great I have no idea what I am going to do?! But after that one minute of stressed out I thought I've got a few weeks before I need an actual idea and after that I wasn't stressed out but I wouldn't of really called it stress either maybe more worried.