Exploration around the makeup department - and all of London just for good measure

This morning me and my classmate set off for the National theatre to have a look around the makeup department, allowing me to compare their approach to makeup and costume for theatre with those produced for tv and film. Initially, I took us to the theatre on Drury lane where the production of War Horse is showing, confusing the buildings as this used to show at the National theatre. After chatting with a performer hanging around in the green room, we realised my mistake and headed for the theatre along the Southbank. Once in the right place, we collected a pass from the stage door and met Joyce, head of makeup. Talking to her was a really insightful experience as she had been working in this sector from aged 17, she is now 60. Her contacts into the theatre world were made through her mother, encouraging her to take her hairdressing experience to the Royal Opera house.
The process of realising a piece of makeup is initially designed in the costume department. It is then up to Joyce to interpret their idea and tell them if it is possible within their budget to create. She explained how the people she works with are constantly exploring new techniques and processes to achieve the final look, considering how the performer will be lit and whether they are comfortable in the makeup is crucial here. She then showed us synthetic and real hair wigs along with a latex mask made to create a scarred face. All the detail into the mask was lost when lit on stage, meaning that a lot of makeup had to be applied on top to show the crevices in the surface of the rubber.
A typical working day for them starts at nine and can end at half ten in the evening. This is due to them currently providing makeup for three west end shows, including matinees and evening performances. Wigs have to be curled and set and actors have to be done up twice a day. In between, they are creating pieces or repairing worn ones. The "gore" section at the back of the studio was particularly interesting as it contained many mock-ups and masks for them to see if it would work and was necessary for a storey line. Costume changes are often extremely quick so this effects how elaborate a piece can be and how complex it is to apply. Overall, a lot of commitment is required from the people who work here, some have experience at the BBC as with Artem and one girl came straight from uni to undertake a paid internship, if the work continues to be consistent, she will become a full-time team member.

National Theatre - planning tomorrow's visit

Through their website, I found many helpful links into the company history and running of all its different departments. For my bibliography, the site is: http://www.nationaltheatre.org/ .uk in the Discover section.

The costume design for theatre video documentaries provide a brief but useful insight into what I should consider when presenting my character in costume. The department consists of tailors, dressers, maintenance, dyers and a costume prop maker. The designs for much of the finished costumes are provided by freelancers who know the director and may have previously worked for the in-house people at the National theatre. These designers often request drawings of the set their work will be placed into context. They will then research the period and similar style clothing that fits the brief to include in a mood board. Less designers present drawn images as those who produce computer drawn designs and ideas that can be further developed. It is then up to the in-house team to plan the work-load across the department and provide feedback to the designer. The designer featured in the video insists that the finished costume should be a fully finished garment that looks worn and suited to the character.

V&A supporting images

Sculpture work has theoretically, changed little since the examples on show made by the guilds of artisits and craftsmen from the 13th century. The initial idea for a sculpt would be drawn and made as a clay mock-up before being scaled up or down for its intended purpose using the "pointing" method. The clay sculpting tools on display were modern wire and wood ones, with a note explaining that there is very little difference between these and ancient ones. Their example of the use of granite marble was initially roughed out with a claw chisel, applied at criss-crossing angles. A flat chisel was then used to add in detail such as feathers. For areas of dark Shadow, he made small drill holes under the owls wings.

Coat mock-ups

To guide my small- scale patterns, I looked at the shapes from a large sleeved top before cutting them out from applique. This was then pinned and ironed onto the fur and leather fabrics and cut out. Once I had all my sections, I could assemble them together by hand stitching the sleeves inside-out, attaching them to the arm tabs and pulling them back out of the body the right way round. To hide any unsightly seams, I lined the inside of the fur fabric with a cream material. I lastly stitched on the fur trims to the cuffs and collar, adding a belt to the leather one to add shape to an otherwise straight coat. To see if these clothes would fit my figure, I dressed a barbie in them to make sure everything was in proportion and in the right place.

V&A fashion section

The pieces on show here gave me a really good understanding of their structure and design influences throughout the decades. Here I saw the style coat I feel most suitable to my final outcome, it crossed over with a long sleeved dress in its shape and how the fabric fell, with a furred collar in cream and brown. I was reading how one fashion students fur pieces on display had been back combed with glue to make a spiky texture which I might try for the fake fur I will be using.

V&A museum visit

The materials and processes section at the V&A allowed me insight into a variety of sculpting and casting figures methods. Here I watched two short films on how a bronze figure and clay piece were made for display pieces. Common materials featured wax, terracotta and clay for sculpting an original piece to then be re-produced in bronze, marble or stone depending on the value and prestige attached the the object. .

Visit to Atem studios

After emailing the receptionist trying to arrange a weeks work experience making speakers for an advert, the job went to my classmate as he lives closer to the site. Over the phone I managed to arrange a studio visit instead, so I could have a look around there work shops and gain some feedback for my written and visual CV.

The building is located in Perivale industrial park amongst other warehouses. When I arrived I was able to speak to one of the designers working in the office upstairs. His job is to speak with clients and agree with them how much their project will cost to make. He also has creative input to their ideas at this stage and will suggest what the final model will look like. It is then up to the full time team of six downstairs to start production and decide if more people are required to be brought in such as designers and freelance modelmakers. On their biggest project to date, 40 freelancers were required in the workshops.

The space at Artem is utilised and adapted to their needs, occasionally filming has even taken place in its car park. There is a fabrication room, a machining room, a main workshop with a CNC and bigger machinery, a sculpting and casting workshop and a smaller studio. The people present on the day were the permanent staff, some previously had worked for the BBC before it started to outsource all its props and effects. There was also a girl from Heartfordshire university undergoing three months of work experience arranged by her tutors. She was making merchandise for a new ride called 13 in Alton towers along with a pile of anamatronic roots.

Two objects on display here that really caught my eye included an animation reference for jumping bunnies for a Sony advert and animal fetuses in the womb for a television documentary. The process of animating the bunnies can be found at http://www.creativereview.co.uk/ and has drawn much attention due to the scale of the project, using traditional stop-frame methods during an age where most advertising campaigns favour CG methods.

Screencraft Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman, Rotovision, Switzerland

Extract from an interview with Eiko Ishioka, art director and set and costume designer:

"My final drawings serve as a vital communication tool for the entire production staff - everyone from producers, the director, actors, director of photography, visual and special effects team and craftspeople who execute my designs. The drawings act as storeyboards and allow a smooth collaboration with others."

Costuming for film

"Design support staff, including assistant designers and sketch artists assist designers by doing research, costume design sketches, breakdown work, fabric swatching, shopping and character styling."

"The industry thrives on production teams that work together over and over again."

"for me, filmmaking is all about flexibility, challenge and change. The keystone is finding a supervisor and crew I trust, and who will back me. After that, it's all about communication." Catherine Adair, costume designer.

Just Wow

interesting examples of character sculpts:

www.shiflettbrothers.com

The Goblins of the Labyrinth by Brian Froud

The Jim Henson film, Labyrinth directed by Terry Jones required many goblins, fireys and creatures to make up the large cast of puppets that filled this fantasy world. Visualising the storey came as a result of character designs and concept paintings of the sets devised by Brain Froud. As the storey progressed and production began, this film proved to be a huge challenge for the puppet makers in the level of detail required and the sheer volume of creatures. Brian explains how his drawings have been altered to work for the film:

"I often describe the space between my rough designs and fully realised creatures on the screen as being a magical mystery. You cannot walk away from a concept drawing and expect it to be expressive on film. My function is to allow the idea to live, changing my design to make the technical problems work for you, not against you."

The Art Of Howl's Moving Castle - a film by Hayao Miyazaki

This book was recommended to me when I search the library for character development, as it is an animated film with a strong drawn look being a studio Ghibli production. The Supervising Animator, Akihiko Yamashita was responsible for the initial character sketches during the pre-production process, choosing to and work closely alongside another animator and the director for their input and influence during this process:

"I must have drawn 50-60 sheets of the main characters Howl and Sophie. I would try out various face types and proportions, then show the sketches to Miyazaki for feedback." p59

How Studio Ghibli itself operates is also described by Yamashita as a place of, "communal work". p59. Close communication between different departments allows all the members of production to inspire each other as to deciding the overall mood and look of the character. Many people's interpretations of a character can give a new angle to the character's personality:

" If I had directed Howl's moving Castle, it would have been a war between wizards where Howl would ward off the witch of waste. But Miyazaki wasn't interested in portraying the with as evil. His open-minded approach was very inspiring." P59.

Inspirational research

Over Christmas I have been reading several bocks related to animation, fashion and character design. Of these , the most insightful has proven to be Coraline, A visual companion by Stephen Jones, based on Henry Selick's film adaptation of the children's book by Neil Gaimen. The initial concept art for the animated puppets were drawn by Tadahiro Uesugi, a Japanese illustrator who is mainly influenced bu American illustrators of the 1950's and 60's. His images show a continual development through changing the characters body shapes and trying them out in different clothing inspired by the 1920s up to the 1970's. For Esme, I have found a strong look for her fur coat from the 1930's, referncing the shape and cut considered fashionable back then.