Poster Test Shots

We tried out different make up on the face to find the kind of effect we wanted of decaying skin. We wanted to create shadow on the face to make the face appear more gaunt and also more threatening. Meg used her skills learnt in Art and Design to aid the group in exploring different techniques in order to find the more successful one.

This attempt used porridge oats, fake tan, black paint, flour and water, with a layer of face paint over the top in order to accentuate the black circles of the eyes and the lips. However we found that the mixture did not create the desired effect of flaking skin and instead went brown and sticky. It was also incredibly difficult to paint on without the paint being obvious. Emily's similar colouring to our main character meant that she was selected for the initial experiment of the makeup, while Meg tried different techniques.

This attempt used just porridge oats, flour and water as we thought that the last mixture may have combined too many ingredients. This mixture was also too runny, making it difficult to paint on without the paint running down the face and creating black streaks. The mixture went see-through in some places, making it appear less realistic as so many different skin tones were visible. It did however emphasise the black eyes, although they were perhaps too obvious and created a panda effect. The mixture was somewhat flaky in areas.

This mixture used the same ingredients as the previous test of flour, porridge oats and water, although less water was added in order to make a less liquid-y product. This worked as it made the skin appear more flaky and decayed. It also created an easier base to paint on as it hardened to become more solid. This is the mixture that we moved on to paint over as it was the most successful.

The face paint used over the top worked to accentuate the eyes without being too dark. It makes the face appear gaunt and threatening, reducing the human nature of the face. Some shadow was used across the cheek bones and mouth to create texture across the face and make it appear more decayed. The base mixture was especially effective as the face paint made it flake slightly, leaving some parts darker than others.

The face painting was continued and other colours were added in order to make the face appear more unnatural. The colours mainly used were green and purple, with the purple appearing almost bruise-like to connote ideas of violence and threat. Letters from the ouija board were copied onto the face in random places. We first spelled "Penance", but decided that it looked too contrived so used other random letters. We did not want to completely cover the face in order to maintain the effects of the face paint, but used enough to make it evident that it is important. We thought this looked effective as it appeared unnatural and hinted at the mysterious antagonistic entity.

We then began experimenting with the poses that would be used for the poster image, using the idea of the girl leaning forward out of the darkness towards the camera.


The end result of Emily's face makeup took a considerable amount of time to produce, something that definitely made this process necessary.

-Emily (post and model)
-Meg (makeup and photographs)

Initial sequence for the beginning of our trailer

                        

For the introduction of our characters we really wanted something that would highlight what type of personalities each girl had, as well as help the audience define who the 'Final girl' is through watching this initial sequence. You can see just from the first few shots why these girls will have to pay 'penance'; the main shots show one girl undoing her blouse so that her bra is on show, to indicate promiscuity, another girl applying makeup, suggesting the girls are focused on their appearence and therefore may be percieved as shallow, and finally another one of the characters smoking a cigarette, which shows they are rebellious and like to supposedly break the rules. The formation of the girls is also key to defining their characters. At the front we see the main girl, the one who is in charge of the others and clearly whose instructions they follow, as they follow her out of the shot after she looks at them. Next are the two more outgoing characters, who, although are confident and independent, do still walk slightly behind the more dominant character, showing they don't have the control of the group they wish to have. Lastly we have another girl whose character is similar to the other two in front, and of course the final girl. She is indicated by the wariness in her expression when she passes the camera, as well as her less promiscuous outfit.

- Rhiannon

Shots of the School

The girls in our media trailer are meant to be members of a private school, as we wanted them to have the appearence of being quite arrogant and rich, which, even though it is purely stereotypical, will make them unrelatable to the majority of our audience, and therefore justify their deaths later in the film/trailer. For our media piece we decided to choose a local boarding school, which is elegant and large and fits in with the characters' statuses. Difficulties we faced filming here was the fact that being a school (and a boys' one, so no girls in uniform in sight) there were people walking/driving in and out, so we decided to use one of the side entrances, which fortunately looked just as effective.




 




 




- Rhiannon


Also see... Boarding School Location

Demonic Makeup testers

Getting effective makeup in order to fully represent the demonic possession featured in our trailer was high on our list of priorities. Meg began this task by using expertise from Art and Design and utilising these skills and practical knowledge to start to create a striking and memorable image.

With inspiration such as tutorials on home FX effects...

We became the long task to experimentation in order to achieve our desired effect. This process is explained in great detail later on in a post outlining the creation of our poster.

- Meg

Also see... Poster Test Shots

Test Shots of Actors

 

 

 

- Rhiannon

Mirror Test Shots

For one of our trailer scenes:

We were thinking of having a scene where one of the characters looks into a mirror. She then looks down and breathes heavily, to then look up and either see a demon standing behind, which has been done by many other possessive horror films, or to see her face covered in decaying letters from the ouija board. Here we are just trying to see where the camera can be positioned so that you get the whole mirror and the character without actually getting the camera or one of us in the shot.

- Rhiannon