300 WORD TECHNICAL EVALUATION OF FMS507

Overall I have enjoyed this project and learnt a lot about a world I knew nothing about. I found that the health and safety regulations were a lot more crucial to this part of the industry, not only applying to the client as they usually do but also to myself as the make-up artist. For example wearing facemasks and gloves when dealing with the different chemicals such as the Plastil Gels and the fixing and petrolease sprays.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this project was experimenting with completely new materials, for example using clay to mould the prosthetic, and using something as simplistic as the netting fruit comes in to create a scaled effect on the face for my human-hybrid.

However despite learning so much and having the ability to be so creative, which was a massive bonus and a lot of fun for me, I feel that this unit has been the biggest struggle for me since starting the course last year. I always had my heart set on becoming a special effects make-up artist for films and television in the future so was very excited when I got on to this option. Unfortunately I have really struggled with successfully creating prosthetic pieces to a high standard. I had to make my wound 3 times before I got a piece I was happy with and this resulted in me being very short for time and very stressed. I also feel that, although I am happy with how my final shots came out for my hybrid project, the prosthetic is quite thick and it is quite obvious it is not part of the rest of the skin. Therefore although I feel that my final shots are my best effort and I put a lot in to them, they are not of a very high standard. This has led me to feel I am going to have to rethink my aims and goals for the future and possibly look in to going down a different path within the make-up industry.

Evaluation of Hybrid Project

Overall I am very happy with the way my hybrid shots turned out. I had a lot more fun with this part of the special effects unit than I did with the previous project, in all areas. I found researching hybrids as a concept both fascinating and surprising, for example Ralph Fiennes' character 'Voldemort' from the Harry Potter films is a hybrid made up of both snake and human elements and qualities. This was very enlightening for me, when we were first introduced to our second project, I had no knowledge or understanding of what a hybrid is and I had always just seen his character as the 'villain' of the famous 'octology' but after the information I had learnt from both studio sessions and my own research I felt I had been enlightened into a world in which I wasn't even aware existed. 
The process of developing my hybrid concept was quite easy for me. Once I decided on what two elements I wanted to combine (a fish and a human) my ideas and gathering of research flowed easily. I looked in to why fish need gills, how they work, how other people had carried out similar projects etc. and as I got more and more information I began to enjoy myself more and more. 
When it came to creating my prosthetic I was very nervous, due to struggling so much with the previous project. Therefore I went above and beyond to ensure I would be able to create the gills prosthetic with as little stress and as few problems as possible. I used a whole 4 hour studio session and, having already created two moulds so I could make two prosthetics at a time, I followed the steps to make my prosthetic and waited for it to set. I am glad I decided to make two moulds as when I removed the prosthetics from them, I felt there was a huge difference in standard between the 2 different pieces. This enabled me to move forward with what I felt would be the most effective choice, without panicking about time restrictions and model availability as I had already booked someone in to shoot the following week.
When it came to shooting my hybrid I was prepared with face and hair charts, costumes and all the makeup I needed. The fitting of the prosthetic went smoothly and so did the rest of the shoot. I enjoyed being creative with different materials, using the netting fruit comes in to create scale like makeup on the face and using the alcohol activated palette to colour the prosthetic.
Looking at my final shots, in general I am very pleased with my work and feel it is some of the best and most elaborate work I have produced since being at solent. However when I look at the shots closely it is clear that the blending of the super-baldiez into the skin was not as clean and neat in front of a camera lens as it was to the eye. 
If I was to change or improve anything about my work it would be two things, first of all, as mentioned above, I would have inspected the prosthetic as I went along by taking photos to make sure it would look flawless on camera. I would also, in hindsight, reduce how deep the mould was, as I feel the prosthetic is too thick and doesn't blend well with the natural skin, making it obvious it is a prosthetic piece. Instead of making one prosthetic piece, in future I would create 2 or 3 completely flat prosthetic pieces and then individually fit them, creating the gilled effect by overlapping the pieces. I feel that this could perhaps be more effective in making the prosthetic look more realistic.

Other Shots

My Final Hybrid Shots

Making the Prosthetic - Technical Folder

When it came to making the gills for my hybrid unlike my previous attempts to make the a prosthetic for the wound project, everything went smoothly. I decided I was only going to make one set of gills for my hybrid as the model was going to have half her body fish like and the other side completely human. When I began making the clay mould I decided to make two so I could make 2 prosthetics at a time so I was covered if anything went wrong with one of them. After nearly running out of time with my wound prosthetic I thought I'd learn from this and avoid any excess stress I could possibly cause myself. 

This worked out great as when I released my moulds I was a lot happier with one of them than the other, so decided to use this one to make my prosthetic. As I have done quite a few times before, I mixed all the necessary chemicals, added the pigment I thought would match my models skin best, poured the mixture into the mould and left it to set. 

As I had a whole 4 hour session to create my prosthetic as my model was not coming to shoot the hybrid till the following week, I had plenty of time to leave my prosthetic to set and then also remove it from the mould to make sure it turned out well so I could make another one if it went wrong.

This level of organisation proved to work a lot better for me and meant everything went smoothly. 

After 90 minutes my prosthetic had set and, using talcum powder I eased it from the mould. The prosthetic looked exactly as I had imagined and wanted it to look and the layer of super-baldiez was overly sufficient and even around the edges of the piece. 

Overall the process for making my hybrid prosthetic was very straightforward and successful, which I was very pleased about. I am really happy with my gills prosthetic and can not wait to fit it and shoot my hybrid as a whole next week.

Inspiration

I have put together a moodboard containing elements of the ideas behind my hybrid, for example the black fish and mermaids in the moodboard are representative of the fish part of my hybrid. In addition to this there is also elements that I hope to be physically present in the shots of my hybrid, for example the black lips, brown smokey eye make-up, gills and the poses. 

My Concept

WHERE IS THE HYBRID SUITED TOO?
My hybrid would live in the sea, being part fish it has a set of gills to enable it to breath under water, however it only has one set of gills so would stay near to the surface of the water as it would need to come up for air every so often in order to rejuvenate it's respiratory system. 

WHERE HAVE SIMILAR CONCEPTS APPEARED?
Although it was not my intention, the cross of a female human being and a fish is commonly known as a mermaid. This hybrid has appeared in an endless number of novels and films, for example one of the hugely popular Disney films 'The Little Mermaid' where the protagonist 'Arial' is a mermaid longing for human feet, or more recently and I feel a lot more compelling than a cartoon film, the fourth Harry Potter novel and film contained mermaid-like creatures that were a complete contrast to what comes to most peoples mind when you think of a mermaid. They were fierce and ugly and very dangerous, nearly taking the life of Harry Potter. However because it is a completely fictional concept there are no documentaries or factual resources regarding the hybrid. However a short 'mockumentary' was shown on the television show Animal Planet that told of how, 3 million years ago mermaids travelled in 'pods' and had to avoid giant sea predators. 

HOW HAS ANATOMY AFFECTED THE HYBRID?
Due to my hybrid being part human-female it will have many of the characteristics you would expect a woman to have, such as breasts and a waist, this will be simple for me to achieve as I am using a female model to create my hybrid so these elements, common and obvious in a female person will already be present.

MY PROSTHETIC.
My prosthetic is not going to be very big or complicated, I want to create something that is effective but at the same time is not too extravagant for the very limited experience I have in prosthetics. It is going to be quite small, as it needs to fit neatly on to the neck and enable me to blend it into the skin without any creases or bumps.

http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/mermaids/videos/mermaids/

http://howtobearedhead.com/10-ways-to-incorporate-the-little-mermaid-into-your-everyday-look/

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Great_Lake_Merpeople_colony