Final Assessment (Miss Havisham) - Part 1

I was actually very pleased with how both the hair and make-up turned out in the final assessment, everything went to plan and I was able to complete the look in plenty of time. 

Now the real task will be to recreate this look in exactly the same way in 2 weeks time!

Step-by-step Hair Instructions (Miss Havisham)

Final hair chart

Products/equipment needed:

• Pin tail comb
• Paddle brush
• Curlers
• Hair band
• Hair grips
• Veil
• Flower headband 

1. Section the hair into a 'T' shape with a middle parting - clip these sections out of the way
2. Create a high ponytail with the rest of the hair 
3. Plait this and then wrap around itself into a bun
4. Grip this into place
5. Curl the sides of the hair (in small, long and thin sections)
6. Grip the fringe under the curls to make a clear centre parting
7. Grip the veil in, just above the bun, threading the grips between the veil and hair
8. Place the headband on top 

Step-by-step Make-up Instructions (Miss Havisham)

Final face chart

Products/equipment needed:

• Kryolan foundation palette
• Supracolor palette
• Illamasqua translucent powder
• Kryolan eyeshadow palette
• Mascara
• Illamasqua blusher duo
• Illamsqua sculpting duo
• Disposable mascara wands
• Foundation brush
• Kabuki brush 
• Blusher brush
• Angled brush
• Eyeshadow brush
• Very thin paintbrush (size 0 or smaller)

1. Apply a fairly light foundations all over the face, neck and ears
2. Using a very fine brush, create the wrinkles and creases where required (the forehead, around the eyes and around the nose and mouth)
3. Highlight these areas using white from the supracolor palette 
4. Powder the whole face
5. Create a very light smokey eye, using the kryolan eyeshadow palette
6. Apply a thin layer of mascara to the top and bottom eyelashes
7. Create some light contouring on the cheeks
8. Apply blushed to the apples of the cheeks
9. Apply red blusher to the lips
10. Highlight the tops of the cheekbones and down the centre of the nose 

Final Make-up And Hair Practice (Miss Havisham)

I definitely now feel much more confident on my make-up design and application and I feel that I have now practiced it enough to ensure that the wrinkles look as I desire and the look as a whole is what I wanted to achieve. 

Prior to this practice I was slightly unsure and did not feel as confident about the hair, but once I had completed the look I was very satisfied and felt ready for the assessment... 

One problem I did encounter was that my model was actually in the process of growing out her fringe; this meant it was too long to curl and keep as a fringe, but too short to blend into the curls at the side. Therefore, I decided to grip the fringe underneath the the curls to maintain the sleek middle parting and not intercept the curls at the side. I think this worked quite well, the only downside was potentially seeing the grip at some angles. 

When inserting the veil, I used the grips and threaded them into the veil and then into the hair - I felt this was the best way because it made the veil very secure and did not mean the grips were very noticeable. 

I was actually very pleased with how this practice came out because it meant that I felt prepared and ready for the assessment.. 

Further Hair And Make-up Practice (Miss Havisham)

When practicing this time, I used the fine paintbrush and mainly focused on the ageing side of things (because I believe I have achieved the bridal make-up look that I wanted). I think I finally got the ageing to look how I wanted - it is not too much but yet is still noticeable and that is what I wanted.

This is the hair style I have decided to create, where the bun is created by plaiting the hair and then wrapping it around each other and pinning it into place. I will then curl the pieces of hair that are at the sides, ensuring that they curl into the face. I will then add the headband and veil at the back of the design.

Final Idea For Miss Havisham's Hair

I have decided to keep my final hair design quite simple as I want to concentrate on the continuity of my final piece rather than having intricate details which would be difficult to replicate. I have decided to go for an early Victorian style, because I am going for how Miss Havisham looked on her actual wedding day, which was based in the early Victorian era. 

I have gone for curls either side of the face rolling towards her face and a plaited bun at the back of the head. I will try to make the design quite neat and clean because it is before her wedding, and before it would have began moving or becoming aged and messed up, also that means her hair colour will remain the natural colour because she has not yet been sat in the room gathering dust and dirt. 

I have also decided to incorporate flowers into the design because I feel Miss Havisham was very wealthy and in the Victorian era, this was often shown by wearing flowers and leaves in the hair, so she would have been quite likely to wear them, as well as the fact that it makes the style look quite fresh and bridal, which is the look I am aiming for. 

Victorian Wedding Veils

I definitely want to incorporate a veil into my design, therefore I have decided to do some research into Victorian wedding veils to get a feel for what they looked like and how they compare/differ from the veils we see today. 

Most of the upper class wore veils and each veil had it's own intricate delicate design. I imagine Miss Havisham to have had a fairly unique and original veil because she is from the upper class and I think she would have spent a lot on her wedding day. 

http://www.antiquelaceheirlooms.com/VEILS2.html

I imagine it to be similar to this veil,with elaborate opulent sculling meandering design with flowers, tapering and ethereal design. There is point d'espirit dotted throughout and exquisite handwork. 

Clearly, I will not be able to find a specific veil like this, but ideally, this is what I would have wanted, but I think any veil will work effectively and add to the overall look of Miss Havisham. 

Problem-solving Miss Havisham's Make-up

When creating the wrinkles and creases on the face, I felt that I could not get a fine enough line and it was not as small and precise as I wanted it to be. Therefore, I went and brought an extremely thin paintbrush to allow me to create the lines and detail that I wanted...

Continuity And Its Importance In The TV/Film Industry

Continuity refers to the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over time.

http://www.gordoncastle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Film-and-TV-locations-2.jpg

In the majority of film and TV productions, the scenes are shot out of sequence. This can be for a variety of reasons:

• Access to locations
• Availability of certain actors
• Weather conditions

What this means is that you could be working on the last shot of the film with actors continuing a scene that was shot a year before. (In fact, it is quite normal for a film to be completed and then scenes to be re-shot unexpectedly when the producer decides this is required.)

Typical Continuity Issues

Crew members - including the make-up department - may be working on other productions by then, so new people are often hired to film these pick-up shots. When the film is played back, it is essential to take notes on the continuity. Actors must be dressed the same, have the same skin tones, wear their hair at the same length, and have the same make-up. If this is not the case, the result will be sadly noticeable when the film is edited.

Should a producer of a TV soap series decide to do some pick-up shots of close-ups of actors shot four months before, for instance, the make-up artist has a number of continuity problems to solve:

• Matching the clothes when many costumes may have been hired and returned to the hire company
• Matching hair. Various hair pieces may have to be tracked down from hire companies or wig makers - or recreated
• Matching make-up. Foundation, lipstick, eyeshadow, and blusher may have been used up or simply lost
• Whilst such scenarios may be stressful, they are an accepted part of the job. In feature films, there is a script supervisor> who deals with the general continuity issues of filming. This includes film stock, camera lenses, and dialogue changes.

Taking Photos And Notes

It is still up to the individual departments to work out their own continuity, either by taking photos of all the main actors - front, back, and profile views - as well as extensive notes. All changes to hairstyles, costume, and make-up should be logged with a scene number and day number of the film sequence.

To make life easier, a make-up artist will keep a hairstyle the same shape. When the action of the filming calls for the hair to be wet or untidy, photos must be taken. The action may take place in a rain storm exterior which might gave to match up to the actor walking into an interior with wet hair. The interior scene might actually be shot in the studio months later and must match up to the exterior shot.

Make-up and hair artists often have to apply beards and moustaches to match an actor’s natural facial hair which he subsequently shaved away, or supply a wig because the actress has had her hair cut short.

Website Reference:

http://www.delamaracademy.co.uk/the-make-up-artist/film-tv-make-up/makeup-continuity

Initial Ideas For Miss Havisham's Hair Design

Victorian Bridal Hair & Developing My Ideas

The expression, "a woman’s crowning glory" had its origins dating back to the Victorian Period.  But ironically, women's hair during this era of romance and feminine mystery was often severely damaged from the relentless use of hot irons.  Hair became scorched and often had an unpleasant odour that had to be masked with heavy perfumes.  It was not uncommon to have ones hair reduced to a wool-like texture.  Hair was never cut except in cases of serious illness.  The simplicity of the smooth, centre-parted styles worn by women in the Victorian era lasted until the 1870s, when the Parisian hairdresser M. Marcel Grateau created a new, natural-looking wave by turning a curling iron upside down.

During the Victorian Period, the hair receiver was commonly found on a woman’s vanity.  After brushing her hair, she would remove the hair from the brush and  place it through the opening of the receiver for storage. Once enough hair had accumulated, it could be used to construct rats, or could be woven or plaited and put into lockets, left visible through cut-glass windows of a brooch or even made into watch chains, bracelets or jewellry.  Hair receivers were usually made from ceramic, bronze or crystal. 

Victorian hairwork is a popular collectible today.  Bracelets, watch chains, necklaces, rings, and even ear rings were carefully crafted from human hair.  A few museums where hairwork is displayed
are the Dearborn Historical Society in Dearborn , Michigan and the  Swedish Institute, Minneapolis,  Minnesota.

A 7inch bracelet woven with human hair

Romantic Victorian Hairstyles

To me, I see the majority of Victorian hairstyles to be quite romantic and almost fairy tale-like; I think the reason for this is because of the use of curls in the majority of hairstyles that I have seen, and the fact the the Victorians had such long hair (which reminds me of Rapunzel). 

http://img.whitezine.com/Brian-Cummings-Fairy-Tales-Rapunzel

Therefore, I think that I could chose a style from the early or late Victorian era, and it would still suit and be appropriate for a bride (Miss Havisham on her wedding day).

I also have found that a lot of the hairstyles from the Victorian period incorporate flowers and leaves (explained in a previous post), and this, again, adds a romantic feel, and thus would fit my idea of Miss Havisham being a bride.

Finally, I also want to incorporate the use of a veil into my idea, just to emphasise the fact that she is a bride and make it quite traditional. 

Website references:

http://www.hairarchives.com/private/victorian1new.htm

Further Practicing Of My Make-up Design (Miss Havisham)

I think this practice was more successful in the fact that the colour used within the wrinkles is less orange-toned, and the lines are slightly thinner than perviously, however, I think they still need to be slightly more precise and defined...

Also, as you look through the images, you are able to see how I kept blending the wrinkles out to try and make it look more realistic and not make her look as old as in my previous attempt, but by the time I finished, I think I definitely blended the lines out too much because the camera barely picks up the wrinkles and creases, and this will not/does not look very effective on TV and/or film.

I also preferred the 'bridal' make-up in my previous practice, where it was all slightly heavier and more visible to the eye - I think this is necessary when working with TV/film and it enables you to see her more as a bride.

I now think I know the heaviness and overall look of the make-up I want to create, so I will now begin to practice and apply the make-up in the same way each time I create the look, to try to ensure continuity.

Initial Practice Of My Make-up Design (Miss Havisham)

Products used:

•  Apply a light foundation all over the face (I am not using any concealer because I do not want the skin to be airbrushed and perfect - I am happy for natural blemishes to appear)

•  Using a fine brush, apply supracolor to create wrinkles and creases on the face, especially on the forehead

•  Using white supracolor, highlight around these areas
• Blend this all out, to make it look as realistic as possible

•  Create a fairly soft/natural smokey eye, which is slightly darker in the outer corner
• Apply quite a light layer of mascara to the top and bottom lashes

•  Apply a fairly light blusher to the cheeks
• Using a red blusher, apply this to the lips to create a quite natural rouge tint 

Overall, I was fairly happy with this for a first attempt, but I was not too happy about the wrinkles and ageing technique I had used. I think the colour was slightly too orange, and the lines were slightly too thick, and it just did not look as realistic as I wanted. Also, I think I tried to age Miss Havisham too much - she is not supposed to look extremely old, therefore I will pull the reins back slightly on how many wrinkles she has and how prominent they are.

I will aim to improve this in my next practices, but I am happy with how the 'bridal' make-up turned out.