New Plans for Ligeia

Following my test shoot with photographer Dionne and model Danika I've realised that the lighting ideas i had weren't suitable if i wanted to achieve editorial style images. It only really clicked to me when i was having a chat with Sharon a few days after. As i looked around her office i saw these beautifuly lit, high fashion images and i knew that i was going in the wrong direction.

I've decided it would be a great idea to shoot in the infinity cove, i've worked in there before and i love how the whiteness off the cove looks on camera and it's a much bigger space to work in compared to the studio we shot in during the test shoot. Dionne is unable to shoot on the day i have booked in so i asked my friend Sam who is a photography student at solent and someone i have worked with several times before to help me out. Sam has also worked in the cove before too so i feel confident he will be able to achieve the lighting i want to create.

I've asked Danika to model for me again and i am going to stick with the makeup design as i was happy with how it looked. The other thing i wanted to change was the styling. As the first shoot was only i test i just put her in a black dress but I was inspired with the image below when i was browsing Pinterest. I love the simplicity and i'm really drawn to it.

Danika is already really tall so i thought by putting her in heels i could get some really cool shoots to make her legs look even longer. I had picked up a black bodysuit from Topshop and some killer boots from H&M to dress her in and im hoping to get the editorial style image i have in my head.

Getting back on track > Ligeia test images

It really has been a tough month for me and i'm sad to say that my lack of post has been due to me being unable to cope with balancing my time between my dissertation and my Final Major Project. My dissertation has now been handed in which im relieved about so i'm now getting myself back on track with this project.

Since my last exciting post about Mystic Magic i have been in contact with Ashley a little more so it's now just a case of me paying for the rental of the pieces. I'm still really pleased that he is willing to help and think that the pieces i have chosen are going to look fantastic on camera.

Today i did a test shoot for my version of Ligeia from Poe's story Ligeia. I am still planning to create a look for Lady Rowena, the women are opposites to each other, one being dark haired and mysterious and the other blonde and angelic. I've been pinning away on Pinterest and have found some edgy looking "couple" photos that have inspired me. I particularly like the images i've placed below by photographer Lucia O'Connor McCarthy. The jet black next to the white is exactly what i had in mind for Ligeia and Rowena. 

Dionne came to help me out with the test shoot and Danika modelled as Ligeia. Dionne also brought Jacob along to film.

When i got to the studio i hadn't realised i had booked one of the smaller booths which was a little disapointing as it made it difficult to get wide shots, particularly when filming. I definitley wasn't as prepared as i should have been when it came to poses i wanted Danika to do and what kind of movement i wanted to be filmed. We managed to come together and shoot a variety of different things, some worked and some didn't work so well.

I should have researched into short films beforehand so i had a clear plan of what i wanted so i left feeling a little disapointed that i didn't get great footage which is my fault entirely. On a positive note this proves the importance of test shoots and next time i need to be prepared with what i want.

Following the test shoot i knew pretty soon after that the lighting wasn't what i wanted. The aim is for the images and film to look editorial and i found they were too dark and i don't think they would grab the attention from an audience. I do really like the close up images of the makeup and the shots that show the movement of the hair.

My next step is to do more research into the type of lighting i want so i can hopefully get it right next time!

*Test shoots of Ligeia

 

Ligeia Lighting

From looking on Pinterest i found that i have been drawn to images involving shadow. I like how the lights hit certain places on the models and i feel this would work really well with the Ligeia shoot. I will be testing it out next week during the test shoot i have planned. 

Creating Ligeia

“Ligeia” describes the two marriages of the narrator, the first to the darkly featured and brilliant Lady Ligeia; the second to her racial opposite, the fair and blonde Lady Rowena. Both women die quickly and mysteriously after their marriage ceremonies, and the narrator’s persistent memories of Ligeia bring her back to life to replace Lady Rowena’s corpse. (Spark Notes - http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/poestories/summary.html) 

As i have mentioned before, Ligeia has been my favourite story since the start of my research. I am really interested the contrast between Ligeia and Rowena and think i can come up with something editorial. I found a few images on Pinterest involving mirrors that i feel really inspired by, I have thought about having either Ligeia or Rowena looking into the mirror and the reflection being the other character. I will be taking this idea to Sharon to see what she thinks!

I have booked some time in the studio so i can do my first test shoot. I will be using my friend Danika as a model, i have chosen her to play Ligeia as she has dark hair and eyes that fits the character perfectly and she photographs beautifully.

My idea is 1980's New Romantic inspired. I would like the focus to be on the lips and plan to create an ombre style that is dark on the outside and a bright pink towards the centre to soften the look. I've placed a beauty spot on the chart to link it with the 18th Century style of makeup. I have been playing with the idea of using black lace across the eyes so i will play around with that during the test shoot.

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/567453621778202924/

Mystic Magic

During my first year i collaborated with a photographer on a shoot where we used pieces from a brand called Mystic Magic. They are all hand made and original made and the creator Ashley Pearce specialises in bespoke pieces. Looking through his website i thought many of them would work really well for the gothic theme i am aiming to create in my short film.

I e-mailed Ashley who has kindly offered to loan me any 4 pieces of my choice for a small price of £30. I'm incredibly excited about shooting with these, they are going to really finish off the looks and give my characters that original look that i am aiming for.

E-mail conversation between me and Ashley:

Hi,

My name is Danielle and I am a make-up artist and student studying at Southampton Solent Universtity.

I heard about Mystic Magic after working with photographer Ellie Mitchell last year and I love all the collections! I am working on my final major project which is going to be a film based on characters from Edgar Allan Poe's 18th century gothic horror stories that i will be giving an editorial twist and some of your pieces would be amazing from my work!

I was wondering if theres any way of renting a few things? I wish I had a huge budget to just be able to buy and keep but as a student it's very difficult!

I would love to hear back from you if theres anything you would like to do to help!

Thanks so much in advance

Danielle Packman
 ________________________________________________________________________

Hello Danielle,

Thank you contacting and for your lovely words.

I'm so glad you got to work with Ellie she truly has a talented eye for photography and always comes up with fantastic images!

Your project sounds really cool and I love the twisted theme of Edgar Allen.
With regards to hiring Mystic Magic allows the opportunity for unique individuals that are bursting with creativity a loan of up to 4 designs selected from our website for the price of only £30, plus postage.

Which designs would you be interested in using for your project?


Also do you have any recent examples of your makeup artistry that I may see?

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Ashley
  ________________________________________________________________________

Hi Ashley,

Thankyou so much for the quick response!

Ellie is really great to work with so I'm really glad I have been lucky enough to work with her and hopefully will some more in the future! I actually did the makeup for the short fashion films that she created that are on her tab on your site!

I'm so excited for the project and can't wait to start putting it altogether!

It's so hard to choose as I love them all and so many would be great for all my ideas! I think my favourites and the ones that would best suit some of my characters would be purple rose, cat woman (my absolute favourite!), havisham and innomorato.

Here is a link to my website:



http://daniinpackman.wix.com/makeupandhair


Apologies as it is still a work in progress but it has some images on there! I also have a facebook page and an instagram which are below for you just incase you wanted to look!

https://www.facebook.com/DaniellePackmanMakeupAndHair/
https://www.instagram.com/daniipackman/

Looking forward to hearing back!

Danielle
________________________________________________________________________

Hey Danielle

So cool those fashion films were awesome!

Great selection too! Which one was purple rose again? 

Also with the Innomorato headpiece design that's unavailable for loaning due to being too delicate but I might have another design I've just finished you may be interested in instead...

When I get back in I'll forward on a photo. 

Thanks for the links you've got some pretty work.

Ashley

 ________________________________________________________________________

Hey

Thanks they were really fun to make!

The purple rose is the neck ruffle, one of the characters im creating is a jester type character so though it would be really cool!

Yes that's perfect I can't wait to see!

Thankyou so much it means a lot to me!

Danielle

_________________________________________________________________________

*3/4 Pieces I have chosen to rent from Mystic Magic

                        
    

Moving forward

Since my last post a lot has happened and tasks have been set into place which is nerve racking but i'm excited to be moving foward with this project!

I have revised my schedule again as I was advised by my mentor Sharon to split my weeks into individual days and set daily tasks. It has been really useful so far and it's very managable to get my tasks done each day. I've had a few set backs already, main one being that James who had agreed to film for me hasn't replied to my recent e-mails but luckily i have a backup!

My photographer Dionne recommended a Solent student named Jacob. He doesnt do film production as a degree but Dionne said he has some experience with filming. I've have managed to get them together along with my model Danika on Wednesday 10th February to do a test shoot for Ligeia.

I also have another photographer who has agreed to work with me so i plan to balance the shoots between the two photographers. I wasn't sure if i needed both of them but i need to take into consideration that they have personal schedules themselves so if one can't do a shoot then the other will hopefully be avaliable. It will also be interesting to get different creative eyes on board for variety.

Fashion Styling student Jasmine has offered to help too which im really excited about as i have worked with her before and she has very individual styling techniques that are always quirky and indivdual.

*Previous collaboration with Jamine: 

Character plans

As discussed in my first post, my ideal number of characters i want to design is 5. I have been reading Edgar Allan Poe's stories and have found the 18th century way of writing difficult to follow, the sparknotes have been incredibly helpful for that. Sparknotes break the story down in a short summary and it also contains list of characters from each story.

Another useful site i have been looking at is:  www.poestories.com
It summarises the stories and includes a wordlist section which explains certain words people may not be familiar with. 

From what i've read so far Ligeia is my favourite story.

"The narrator of the story describes his beautiful wife, Ligeia. She was tall and slender with pale skin and long black hair. She dies and he is heartbroken. Some time later he decides to move on with his life and he remarries. Strange things start to happen as the narrator thinks more and more about his first love, Ligeia..." (http://poestories.com/summaries.php) 

I would love to do a shoot involving the main lady Ligeia as well as the new wife Lady Rowena.

Another story i enjoyed reading is The Fall of the House of Usher. 

"The narrator receives a desperate letter from a "boyhood friend" requesting that he come to see him. The friend, a mister Roderick Usher, lives in a very old mansion out near a swamp. Once inside, the narrator finds more than he expected. A classic story of a creepy guy living in a haunted house." (http://poestories.com/summaries.php)

The unexpected is a character named Madeline. The story describes an image of her standing bloodied in a white robe which is a really eerie visual to think of and i could definitley come up with something interesting.

By researching the stories and having a full understanding about them I will be able to put together a showreel that will tell these stories using visuals alone. I will continue to read through Poe's stories to explore other character choices and get as much information as i can. 

The time has come

The time has finally come to create my Final Major Project and i can't believe how quickly it has come around! My whole uni experience has been full of ups and downs and has been extremely challenging for me. I'm putting the difficult moments behind me and I'm really excited to throw myself into this project.

In my proposal i discussed how i planned to create a showreel that would be put onto an online exhibition. The film is to be based on characters from 18th century Gothic horror stories by Edgar Allan Poe and M.R. James which will be recreated as editorial versions.

Since writing my proposal i have decided that i would like to focus on just Edgar Allan Poe. I really enjoyed reading his stories and found i had more of an interest in his work and the characters in his stories. I felt i had an instant image of the characters that i wanted to recreate when reading them which is something i didn't get with M.R. James stories.

Today I have come up with a revised plan and have begun to contact creatives that would be interested in collaborating with me on this project. I have been in contact with film production student and friend James who is interested in getting involved and i am waiting on a response to confirm if he is available to start filming on the dates i have given him.

I have also e-mailed a fashion styling student who was recommended to me. I included a link to a Pinterest board that i have created with inspiration for styling and am waiting for a response. My next step is to contact some photographers as i also want still images of my creations featuring on the online exhibition.

This week i will be focusing on designing face charts. During my proposal i decided on 2 characters from 2 different stories that i would like to create but ideally i would like to have 5 altogether. I am going to research more of Edgar Allan Poe's stories and come to a definitive decision. Once designs are created i will have a clearer view on how i want my models to look.

Hopefully i can get my team and models together by the end of the week. Look out for my design plans!