Costume & Make-up Ideas

Costume

When trying to decide costumes for my characters I looked at existing films in the supernatural sub-genre to see if a pattern could be found. 

It seems that the protagonist, both male and female, seem to dress in a simple and relaxed fashion. Below are some pictures of the female protagonist from the movie 'The Uninvited'...

The protagonist is the female who appears on the left hand side of the frame. When looking at the first picture we can see she wears a simple floral blouse. A blouse is extremely feminine as it is lies on a woman with an elegant flow. Furthermore the floral design and pink tone emphasises the characters femininity and innocence. In the second picture we see the protagonist wearing a vest top, which again is very casual and even though she is revealing a little more flesh she does not look promiscuous to maintain an innocent representation. Th reason behind these simple outfits is to keep the character as realistic as possible so that the audience can imagine themselves in their places. This realism allows the audience to enter the world of the movie and so the threats become much more terrifying.  

Below is the male protagonist from the movie 'Sinister'...

When we look at his costume we can see that he too is wearing a simple t-shirt with a cardigan to add a sense style. These practical outfits help the characters get on with their day to day jobs which again makes the character much more realistic for the target audience. 

My Costume Ideas

The Mother:

During the trailer the mother’s outfits will not differ greatly. Her look will be casual as she is a mum who has a lot of activities to carry out during the course of the day. Also she doesn't follow a particular fashion style. She enjoys looking good but takes her comfort into consideration. Below are some images of the costumes which she would wear. 

Cardigans are a major part of her daily wear. I am aiming to achieve a look of ‘normality’ so that my audience can image themselves in her place and also most girls have cardigans in their wardrobes! The cardigans also connote the idea of warmth and comfort; this can be seen as ironic as they crave these factors in their lives. 

Blue jeans are the ultimate fashion item which does not go out of style. The mother will wear jeans with all of her costumes because of their ability to almost match any top.

 

Her shoes will be a little more stylish due to the fact that she has a love for shoes, just like every woman!

Towards the end of the trailer, we see the mother in a more distressed state however this will not affect her costume and will mainly involve the use of make-up and hair. When she is experience the turmoil, her hair will be messy and unkept to show that at this point in her life she is too stressed to worry about these minor issues. Furthermore I intend to use make-up to make her skin appear aged when she is distressed to show that she is not coping and experiencing a lack of sleep. This effect will be done by using foundation to create wrinkles and eye shadow to create bags under her eyes.

The child:

The daughter is twelve years old and I intend to make her look as girly and innocent as possible so the audience fear for her well-being. White dresses and floral patterns are cute and will truly capture the innocence of the child.

Below are some images of my final outfit for the child in my narrative. I aimed to make her look as innocent as possible so that her later possession becomes emphasised.

Hair and Make-up

I hope to achieve a realistic portrayal within my trailer as I find this heightens the audiences fear. As I have actors who are the actual age of my characters, the need for heavy make-up is minimal and so will only be used to cover blemishes. The mother’s make-up will include more, such as mascara, eye liner and blusher as these are daily products which the majority of woman would wear.

The daughter’s make-up will be slightly more complicated. At the beginning of the trailer foundation/blusher will be used to create a warm glow however as the narrative unravels, I am going to use the make-up to make her look pale and tired so the audience can see that she is being tormented. Below are some YouTube tutorials on how to achieve a 'possessed' look...

I thought the eye make-up in this tutorial is extremely effective especially in black and white. 

This video inspired me on how to create pale skin and messy hair, it looks creepily realistic!

The video above teaches a easy and quick way to create scratches. After viewing several supernatural horrors a pattern occurs that the antagonist's target always ends up with scratches and bruises on their bodies and so i hope to recreate this make-up on the daughter's back to show that she is being targeted.

The Antagonist:
The antagonist for my trailer is unseen however we do see the antagonist's soul in the child's body and this will be shown through the use of make-up...