Costume/ make-up/ props/ cast and crew
Introduction
I was restricted due to Covid-19 and lockdown, so when preparing for costume, make-up, props, cast and crew, I had to organise these elements before filming. All my choices and decisions about these elements of my narrative project are below.
Costume & Make-up
Make-up wasn't an excessively important aspect to my narrative, so I tried to keep in simple but symbolic. Therefore, a make-up aspect I wanted to use was the lipstick, the character of Fay (the person who is killed) wears a dark red lipstick, while Blanca (the doppleganger who comes to the house) doesn't wear any. However, when Blanca transforms herself into Fay, it can be seen that she has put on the lipstick as her lips are darker. It is a subtle make-up choice that I believe works well for the style I want to achieve with my film. I used fake blood in another moment of my film, which is another effective make-up moment in my film. Overall, I found this to be an effective usage of make-up in my film and I believe it does work well because I didn't make it too excessive. Therefore, I am happy with the results of make-up in my narrative film.
Costume isn't a key element of my narrative film, so the clothing I chose wasn't a key part of my film. However, there were specific parts that I wanted a specific costume (look) for. I knew for the character of Blanca I wanted her to wear a blue-white long t-shirt with shorts underneath to imply that she has very little clothing and therefore her background is more mysterious. I also wanted this look to hint at a key inspiration for my film: the film 'US' and the character of 'young Adelaide', who also wears a long t-shirt in the opening of the film. The basic costume concept of the character of Fay wasn't specific, but I did have an idea of how I'd want her to be presented. I wanted the character to wear a dress, which would later be seen on the beach (worn by Blanca): because I desired a specific imagery for the beach scenes. Specifically, I wanted the imagery of a stereo-typically feminine outfit to contrast the effort the character puts into pulling the dead body across the exterior areas.
Props
Because I wanted to limit the dialogue in my script, I decided to use prominently visuals in my narrative film. I was able to use items I already had, so purchasing extra props wasn't a requirement. One of the props I put most work into was the cleaning product: I emptied a bottle I had in my house and refilled it with apple juice and food dye to get the colour I wanted. Another prop I was pleased with was the body, bin bag: I got a
Props Pictures:
Cast
Because my script only needed one actor, who would play both roles, I only needed one actor in my cast list. However, due to lockdown restrictions and with half of my film shots being indoors, I couldn't use my friends as actors. Therefore, to be able film before the return to college, I acted in my narrative film. Doing this allowed me to get exactly what I wanted in my characters, which made filming easier and quicker as I didn't have to do too many reshoots.
Character Pictures:
Crew
Once again, because of Covid, I was restricted to how much I could do and achieve, as well as who could assist me when filming. In all of the scenes shot indoors (the dining room, kitchen, bathroom and hallway scenes), I was able to shoot all these scenes by myself, with occasional assistance from my brother. I set up my tripod and camera, made sure the camera was in the right angle (by putting tape on the floor) and after taking some practice/ set-up images, I followed my script and filmed the scenes. I couldn't film the exterior shots on my own, I got my mother to drive me out to my chosen location (Fremington Quay) and she helped cary the camera equipment and props down to the area in which I wanted to shoot. I was able to set up my tripod to get the shots that I had planned, when everything was in position, my mother would operate the camera (press record and stop at my request).