Miss Havisham Video

I absolutely love this video, with all different scenes of Miss Havisham, showing her personality and character traits. It helps me develop my ideas even further.

Who's that trip trapping on my bridge?

Every time i watch the beginning of Great Expectations, when Pip crosses the bridge, it reminds me of when i was a child, and the nursery rhyme of  billy goats gruff, Heres how;

Estellas Hair

Whilst watching the movie, i screen munched parts which show Estellas hair, to get an idea of how to have it in my final image.

As you can see above, her hair is placed in a centre parting.

Her hair is pinned at the back in a bun form, this is what i will try to do at the back of the hair, however i have a typical victorian image and placed my own ideas on it, as shown below. This is how i want the hair to be:

Victorian Makeup

As seen above, hardly any makeup was worn in the victorian era, a light rouge on the apples of the cheeks, a reddish lip, and very little eye makeup, maybe a brown shading in the socket. The base however, is the most important, as it has to look flawless, as if none is being worn.

Here is a contemporary version, and a face chart-

Emily (Estella)

I am very lucky to have the gorgeous Emily be my model for Estella! Her big blue eyes and natural complexion are very helpful towards my final image. Emily also has extremely long wavy hair, so to my advantage i am going to curl it all and pin it, as will be shown in a drawing below. I will also incorporate some small flowers in her hair to give it a more natural look. I want to have Estella looking beautiful, maybe a pale bruise to show her past life, but also a pinky/red lip will look great, along with a small amount blush to enhance her cheekbones. Estella will be pictured when she becomes her own woman, being her true self. 

Emily will be wearing neutral colours, e.g pale pink/blue, as blue signifies youth and truth. I have to search around some charity shops to see what i can find!

Hair Drawings;

I would like the curls to be like this at the sides of the face.

Estella

Like Pip, Estella is an orphan and a victim. She has been used by her surrogate mother, Miss Havisham; to extract revenge from society. Despite her cold, cynical, manipulative behaviour and the damaging influences in her life, Dickens nevertheless ensures that Estella is still a sympathetic, honest character. and is just what she has been trained to be;(break mens hearts). By giving the reader a sense of her inner struggle to discover and act on her own feelings rather than on the imposed motives of her upbringing, Dickens gives the reader a glimpse of Estella’s inner life, which helps to explain what Pip might love about her, and finally, Estella’s long, painful marriage causes her to develop along the same lines as Pip—that is, she learns, through experience, to rely on and trust in these inner feelings. Yet underneath this rigid unemotional surface is the passion and emotional fury of her parents, Molly and Magwitch. The one time she responds to Pip and lets him kiss her is when he displays rare aggression and forcefulness in beating her husband.Estella is married to the cruel nobleman Drummle, who treats her harshly (beats her) and makes her life miserable for many years.  There is, deep within her, something that responds to emotional fury. The story has a happy ending, when Estella becomes her own woman and says; 

 “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching. . . . I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape.”

"Alas, poor Yorick"

This image is taken from Shakespeare's famous play, Hamlet in Act 5 Sc 1. The skull that Hamlet holds has so much symbolism, and i thought this could be an idea for Miss Havishams final image. 
-The moment with the skull marks a turning point for Hamlet. It's here, in the graveyard, where Hamlet thinks about the commonness of death and the vanity of life which seems like a new, more mature acceptance of a common human fate.
-Hamlet begins to remember his childhood as a happy time in which Old Hamlet was alive and all was well in the world. 
{The skull could be significant for Miss Havisham; her remembrance of her unloving husband, and could be a turning point, as for when she asks Pip for forgiveness.}

Kate Benton-PAM

On the 23rd January, Kate Benton, a founder of PAM came into the university to give us a tutorial. This was a great experience, as she herself works in the industry of makeup for screen and television, so her advice would be very useful for Great Expectations. I volunteered to be the model, and Kate decided to do the Miss Havisham look on me, here are some images;

Kate showed us how to place wigs correctly, how to fix them to the head; Even to overcome  bad situations where the actor/actress has no hair, how a wig can still be stuck down to the head, without moving. She really surprised me when she used the spring from a pen to do this, and it showed how everyday practical things can be more useful than you think. Also, how an old stocking or pair of tights are great ways to cover the natural hair before wig placement.

On my face, Kate then placed spirit gum, to create a more wrinkled effect, however as i have young skin, they couldn't form as well as they could on an older model, this is why finding the right model is extremely important; to be able to emphasise everything to the highest possibility. She also drew some small purply veins to stress my age. These would both be great effects to take into consideration when creating my final image. 
Here are some photos-

Studio Session-Crimping+Rolling

In todays session we did crimping. I find crimped hair is amazing, so i had a lot of fun doing this. I found that crimping gives the hair a more volume, as it gives it more texture, and dramatic look. It also  brings the 90's frizzy style back. After sectioning and crimping the hair, i then used my finger to roll the hair in a circular motion and pinned it, to create a victorian hairstyle.

Studio Session-Bruising

The other day in the studio, we practiced bruising. I wanted to create a bruise that looked preferably new, 3-4 days old. I loved working with a different type of makeup, a more darker/arty side, and to be able to learn how effective makeup is. Many people use it to cover up their insecurities, such as abuse. Here are some images to show you:

 I used dark blues, purples, yellows and greens to create a bruise. I added the grease paint to the sponge and dabbed the paint onto the skin, so all colours can be mixed together to create more impact and a realistic. The purple/green undertones show that there has been internal bleeding, as my model is supposed to look as if she has been injured. The viewers can also see that the bruise is shiny; this is because i placed vaseline to show that the skin has become swollen.

                                                         Being a student isn't easy!

who wouldn't want to stop time, rewind, or fast forward?

I was watching t.v, and came across this advert of Guinness, set in Czech Republic in the 1890's (victorian era). “Clock” tells the story of a town clock that doesn’t acknowledge the normal rules of time – the clock starts to control time to improve the locals’ days; speeding up time to make the daily grind go quicker, going back in time to prevent disastrous events and even stopping time completely to make cherished moments with loved ones last longer.
When i saw this, i instantly related it to Great Expectations. The cobbled streets, people travelling by horse and cart, the costumes, the females dress just like Estellas.

The fire also reminds me of the scene when Miss Havisham is set on fire, as seen on another post. The flames rushing through the house, recounts when Pip looks back and sees smoke from Satis House. 

I love the ending of the advert, with the phrase:

"Because in the end we have a choice, do we settle with the ordinary, or do we strive to be made of more"

Miss H really needs to read this phrase, or hear it, as it basically sums her character in one piece. She has a choice to be everyday mourning for a man who never loved her, or  to grow stronger, move on, and make the most of life.

What is?

Miss Havisham

Miss Havisham, is a middle aged fragile woman, suffering over her long lost husband to be, that left her alone at the altar on her wedding day. The only love she recieves is from her adopted daughter Estella, who deep down has a lot of hatred for her surrogate mother.  
The be-witched humiliated woman ever since has lived in Satis house. Her life and world stalled, and the house deteriorates along with herself as a result of a single loss, creating a never ending pain. She has not left her house since she was abandoned on her wedding day, and wanders throughout rooms with her messed up mind. I also noticed that she never changes her clothing during the episodes, meaning Miss Havisham constantly lives in her wedding dress, which gradually becomes more squalid as time goes on. Her appearance haunts the viewers, dressed all in white, but of a white which had long ago “lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow”; a cross between a waxwork and a skeleton. The white could also resemble her purity.
Her agony and sorrow is presented by her daughter Estella. She adopted Estella to exact her vicarious revenge on the male sex and being taught how to break mens hearts, also known as an emotional torturer.
Here are some images i screen shot when watching the episodes, showing Miss Havishams deterioration: 

 As you can see, her weakening is shown by makeup, her bags under the eyes become darker, her skin becomes more grey, and her hair no longer has texture or shape, the curls have completly disappeared, and it turns dryer and matted. Another fact is her lips are more chapped, and her body has become thinner and frailer. This is shown both by her facial and body structure. Her bones become more visible showing weight loss and her body wilts.

For my final image, i am almost certain that i will use burning paper as a prop, to emphasise Miss Havishams character even more. Also i think the red/orange colours forming from the flames will be a great contrast to the Miss H's pale, skeleton like makeup. 

Celebrating Charles Dickens bicentenary Year - 2011

The Mini-Series-BBC1

Over the past couple of days i have been watching the three episodes of Great Expectations. It was shown over the christmas period of 2011. I really enjoyed watching the film, and i found it truly inspirational. I myself, prefer to watch the film than read the book, as i am a much more visual learner, however i will try to read the book as quick as possible. Dickens makes it clear of how society can create such an impact on human beings, and how much striving takes place in the world, even more in the 20th century.