Special effects Makeup Practical Experiment

Since my group and I have decided that we want to do a trailer that is a mix between the horror and urban drama genres, I decided to conduct my first practical experiment, regarding special effects, looking at some of the effects that we could be inspired by within this initial research and planning section of the coursework.

The following pieces are experimental and are made purely to get inspiration from. They are all meant to relate to either genre through the type of wound, for the urban drama, and the gore level, related to the horror genre. I have commented, also, how I created each piece and annotated the photos with thought that I have about the special effects and any inspirations that I got from them.

Neck Wound

 To make this, I initially covered my models neck in liquid latex, making it so that it would be easier to later take the prosthetic off of his neck. Once dried, I then applied nose and scar wax in random lines across the "wound" section, creating a random shaping on his neck with lots of 'skin' type material within the wound also. Using a pointed tool that I have, I started adding detail to the wound, blending the wax into my models skin tone and also creating lines and rough edges on the wound to make it look more authentic.

At this stage, I needed to start adding the colouring. So, using my bruise wheel, I used a red/purple colour to start the initial colouring of the wound adding black to some places to add depth and yellow tones to make it look more realistic. Once completed, the final stage was to add the fake blood to the wound and allow it to drip down the actors neck slightly. The end result can be seen to the left and also below.

I didn't really have an initial idea when starting this piece except for the concept of a "neck wound". I really like the animal look of the deep lines that I created with the pointed tool adding to the realism of the fake injury. That, together with the bruising around the wound and the fake blood really makes this piece look good.

Inspiration that I took from this piece is the idea of having a gang, relating to a urban drama, that are werewolves or vampires, linking to a supernatural horror aspect. That would mean a lot of neck wounds and an extensive amount of blood shown within the trailer, matching the conventions of a horror film.

Can in the eye

This piece I created inspired by my model and a story that he told me. For this wound, I wanted to make it look like someone had got into a fight with my model and it had ended with a can being smashed into the models eye, going into the socket and killing him. This, I felt, linked to the urban drama genre because of the "fight" between two guys aspect, but due to the gore, could be related to the horror genre through the idea that someone goes around, getting into fights and killing people in bars.

To make this wound, I took a piece of tissue and shaped it so that it would cover my models eye. Applying it to his face with liquid latex, I then took the already crushed can and attached it to the fixed tissue using more liquid latex. Once secured, I then took my nose and scar wax and covered the visible tissue with the wax, making it look like the skin was enveloping the can into my models head.

Next, I coloured the wound with reds and yellows with my bruise wheel and adding black to the parts of the inside of the wound that could be seen to add depth. Adding fake blood, I splattered and dripped it all around the wound to add to the realism of it, finishing off the piece perfectly. Within the photographs, you can see the finished product at various different angles.

Gory Hand

 To make this, I applied liquid latex over my models hand initially, creating the base layer of the prosthetic. I then built up the edges of the wound with nose and scar wax using my pointed tool to add detail to the edges so that they looked ripped and torn. Using three strips of tissue and liquid latex, I created the tendons by fixing them to the wound in the appropriate places and then colouring them yellowish using my bruise wheel. I also applied red and black tones within the wound and around it to create bruising.

Finally adding the fake blood, the gory hand piece was completed, shown in the photographs to the right and below. This piece I found hard to get an inspiration from due to the fact that the wound is very unusual. I think that the only way to get this type of wound would be for it to be inflicted manually, for example through torture. This could link to both our genres through the idea of someone getting kidnapped and tortured for information for an idea.

Open Chest

 My final experimentation was an open chest prosthetic. This was a really large piece that took quite a long time to create. After the first two bases of liquid latex were applied, to make it easier for my model to take the application off, I started building up the ribs with tissue and liquid latex, creating the initial structure. Then, using nose and scar wax, I made the edges of the wound, making the wax look like it was going over the ribs created so that it looked more realistic.

Next, I used my bruise wheel to add red colouring within the wound, black to add depth and tone and also yellow to go on the "bones". Once the blood was applied, the piece really looked good, and allowing it to drip down and adding splatter around the edges added to the authenticities.

This piece definitely reminds me of a torture type of wound where the chest has been ripped open. Or possibly a surgical influence can be input into our film trailer relating to the urban drama genre more.

This practical experiment is the first of many and is simply the start of ideas for our coursework storyline. I really want to specialise on the special effects side of this project, making the physical effects and also the digitalised effects look really authentic and dramatic for a target audience.