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.
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