The Ballad of Queen Victoria

Here are a few photographs from the Ballad of Queen Victoria Music Video Shoot (31/05/14), taken by Bleu Hope who can be found on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bleuhope.visualartsanddesign/timeline

The band is Elyssa Vulpes and the Betes Noires:
https://www.facebook.com/BetesNoire?fref=ts
http://www.reverbnation.com/elyssavulpes
http://www.themoonwhispers.com/shows

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                  Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                  Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                   Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                   Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                   Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                                                                           Photograph by Bleu Hope

                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                           Photograph by Bleu Hope

Some activities and opportunities

It's been quieter than usual on my blog lately, but I thought i'd update it with some things I've been up to in case anyone's wondering!

A few weeks back I was involved in the 48 hour film project where i made a latex scar on an actress's arm. The main thing I learnt from that was to keep things simple; as I know now scar wax is a lot easier and quicker when you need an on-the-spot effect.


The next project was doing makeup for a music video for Elyssa Vulpes and the Betes Noires, which was based on a song written about Queen Victoria and her oppressing of physical contact.

Here's a link which takes you to the previous draft of the music video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMIGbMZalyk&list=PL4E6DCB0481538A45

I believe they will use some parts of this version along with the new footage, as we ran out of time on the day of the shoot.



And this led to me being asked to help with a short film this weekend, starring one of the actresses in the music video, which apparently will have a 40s vibe about it.

I thought I'd have a crack at 40s style. I will need to go bold for it to show up properly on camera, and perhaps make sketches of various hairstyles to prepare, especially as I haven't met anyone else in the cast.

Wax wound (hand)

In comparison with latex, I found wax to be much quicker and more realistic for small cuts. There are some drawbacks - wax can be smudged and peels (although i believe using a layer of latex round the edges helps with this), and it can't be reused.

I started off by scraping up some wax (snazaroo) and rolling little pieces into sausage shapes. I then pressed it at one side and smoothed away from the middle of the wound.

It melted into my skin quickly and I found you can't rub it away successfully, instead you have to add more or slowly mold it. In fact I made a mess of it the first time I tried and had to clean off and start again.

During the first attempt I rubbed the wax outwards too for so it melted and got caught up in my hairs:

The second time things went a little smoother:

I tried to be more precise and get a cleaner line.

Next, I darkened the cut with black shadow, as suggested in a youtube video I saw, although I think black liquid liner or black stage paint works better as I ended up having to go back in with that later.

I also used a variety of shadows including brown, purple and yellow around the wound to suggest bruising and tenderness.

Then for the gory bit, I added a little fake blood inside the cut, as well as darkening it with black, green and a hint of yellow Kryolan grease paint. I stipple just a little green and yellow on the outside too to make it look a little infected.

If you feel you haven't been grossed out enough by this, here's a couple of blurry photos of me pinching the cut together and opening it out:

Barber

My third participant, Emma, kindly offered to help me practice another look using latex. At first I had plans for her to be Mediterranean-looking strongman, but this turned into an old fashioned barber with the use of a few costume props.  

Emma (woman)

Emma (man)

The latex chin and jaw was made very quickly using cotton wool. I think it would have been better with some putty and a bit of latex on the top to hold it in place. It came out looking pretty crusty - even being able to make it in advance would have been better I think. I would love to work with gelatine prosthetics as they can just melt into the skin and blend in more easily.

I stuck on the moustache and sideburns with spirit gum and used a fairly dark foundation to cover the face and prosthetics. I also thickened the eyebrows a little and gelled her hair down.

Pictures below show a stripped back version with a smaller moustache, then just without the fake jaw.

Thanks again to Emma for her help!

Corpse

The first rehearsal I will be attending for the music video takes place tomorrow. I have been asked to make someone up to look like a corpse. This is part of the story where Queen Victoria is in the throws of passion with a young gentleman, who kicks the bucket during the act (she then goes on to ban the country from having any kind of romantic contact and problems ensue...)

Alive...

...Not so much:

Took me a while to get the balance right, tried the whole 'crossed out eyes' look, but it was too gothy and wasn't as humorous as I thought it would be, only creepy.

Having my the eyes closed makes it more chilling, as it hides the fact that there is actually life in my eyes. Or at least signs of life.

Looking forward to trying this out on someone new, hopefully with some better lighting too!

Deebsella

I think this post generally speaks for itself. After having ideas of crossdressing men and ladies for an up-and-coming music video, I thought I'd try and see how feminine I could make Deebs look, Will just need to try it out the other way round sometime... as in making a lady look masculine.

The look involved a lot of contouring, particularly round the eyes and jawline, and emphasizing the eyes and lips whilst making the nose a bit more "petite".

I had to make him take the makeup off straight away as this one freaked us both out.

Latex vs Glatzan L for making bald caps

Just on the off-chance that anyone wanted to make their own bald cap, or was just curious, here is my comparison of using Latex as opposed to Glatzan L (a specialist product designed for making bald caps).

I will post up pictures of the new latex cap soon.

 Latex:

• A heck of a lot cheaper
• Peels off the head block so much easier.
• It's white when it's still wet as opposed to Glatzan L which is clear, making it easy to see when it's still wet.
• Takes less layers to make a sturdy bald cap (4-6 instead of around 7-8)
• More flexible once off the head block and so is harder to rip.

Glatzan L:

• Because it's more rigid, it doesn't spring back/shrink once taken off the head block.

It remains to be seen how the latex cap looks once applied, so I should maybe reserve complete judgement. Also most of the problems I had with Glatzan L involved the head block I use so that could have been a hindrance to its effectiveness. 

Nevertheless I definitely would recommend latex, especially for someone like me who's trying things out. It really is way cheaper and does a good job.