Water Colour - Inspired by Cristina Otero 

While conducting my research for this project I want to experiment as much as possible with different materials and techniques. In previous projects I have found painting and drawing has really helped to develop my visual outcomes. Drawing and painting has also helped to improve my understanding of proportion which is essential when working with the face.
This water color is inspired by Cristina Otero, which I feel captures my initial interpretation of the character of the clown statue who turns out to be a murderer. I imagine this character to be desperate and insane. After escaping prison it is likely that the clown would do anything to get away. The blood around the eyes and mouth not only represents a clown face paint but also shows the after math of a brutal murder.     

Cristina Otero Photography 

Researching a range of different sources is essential to developing strong ideas. In my initial stages of research I feel it is important for me to explore other artist's work in order to inspire my own work. I came across Spanish photography; Cristina Otero's work which I feel perfectly defines the 'gothic horror' theme of this project. Her images are intense and the makeup plays a huge part in conveying the story to the viewer. In all three of these photographs the model is looking directly into the lens, this creates an intense connection between the 'character' and the viewer. I feel this is an essential aspect when producing imagery which purpose is to represent a horror theme.   

This image 'Trauma' particularly stood out to me as its key theme is a clown. Clowns are very often portrayed as brightly colored fun character's, but this is a very dark sinister representation of a clown character. The use of blood to represent the symbolic face paint of a clown creates a sense of horror and puts the viewer on edge. I feel this image fits well with the idea of the escaped fugitive dressed as a clown that murders the baby sitter and children in the urban legend I have chosen to base my work on.  

I will use these images to inspire a sketch as I want to create as much visual inspiration to develop my ideas further through out this project. 

Temperley SS 2010/11 Zoetrope Circus Installation

This 12 foot zoetrope was created to showcase Temperley's SS circus inspired collection and was exhibited in both New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. A zoetrope is a device that produces the illusion of motion from a rapid succession of static images and was one of the earliest types of film making.

I was drawn to the original concept behind this fashion film. They have taken a very simple way of creating motion images that has a vintage feel to produce a modern fashion film to exhibit their contemporary collection. You don't often see modern designers reverting back to old fashioned techniques but I feel this adds a real originality to the video which creates more interest to the viewer.

The garments featured fit well with the 'vintage circus' theme created by the zoetrope and the MUA Lucia Puci has reflected this well in her makeup looks. She combines flawless skin with bold features highlighting the lips using velvet red tones on the lips and contoured cheekbones. The models appear more like toys as their movements are very jagged and static, this movement is created by the zoetrope when the images are in motion. I feel this film, although based on a circus, has a edge to it, this sense of unease comes from the dark background and eary music. When the zoetrope suddenly comes to a halt it starts to make you question what else is in the room with it. Some of the models movements also reflect very uncomfortable and unnatural positions which may make the audience feel uneasy.

I have chosen the Urban Legend 'The Clown Statue' to inspire my designs. The legend of the statue that turns out to be a man is something that could plausibly happen to anyone. I feel in order to produce imagery that draws an audience in it is important for the visualizations to be realistic. When someone is confronted with and uncomfortable situation that could happen to them it often creates an extreme sense of unease, this is something I want to capture within the looks I create. Although I like the overall theme of this Urban Legend I prefer the ending to a different version of the story, often sent via chain mail online.

                                                                 MOOD BOARD

Using Photoshop I have complied a visual mood board based on my initial interpretation of my chosen urban legend. Gathering a variety of different imagery from editorial fashion images to old string puppets, I feel this mood board established the foundations of which I will be basing my initial idea development on. The images certainly create as sense of feeling on edge. Many people find the image of a clown to be incredibly disturbing. My challenge is to incorporate this with in a fashion-focused look.  

VERSION ONE

The Clown Statue / The Clown Doll

An Urban Legend

Also known as "The Killer Clown," "It the Clown," or "The Clown Serial Killer"

Example:

As told by Tamra S., Dec. 22, 2004:

So-and-so's friend, a girl in her teens, is babysitting for a family in Newport Beach, Ca. The family is wealthy and has a very large house — you know the sort, with a ridiculous amount of rooms. Anyways, the parents are going out for a late dinner/movie. The father tells the babysitter that once the children are in bed she should go into this specific room (he doesn't really want her wandering around the house) and watch TV there.

The parents take off and soon she gets the kids into bed and goes to the room to watch TV. She tries watching TV, but she is disturbed by a clown statue in the corner of the room. She tries to ignore it for as long as possible, but it starts freaking her out so much that she can't handle it.

She resorts to calling the father and asks, "Hey, the kids are in bed, but is it okay if I switch rooms? This clown statue is really creeping me out."

The father says seriously, "Get the kids, go next door and call 911."

She asks, "What's going on?"

He responds, "Just go next door and once you call the police, call me back."

She gets the kids, goes next door, and calls the police. When the police are on the way, she calls the father back and asks, "So, really, what's going on?"

He responds, "We don't HAVE a clown statue." He then further explains that the children have been complaining about a clown watching them as they sleep. He and his wife had just blown it off, assuming that they were having nightmares.

The police arrive and apprehend the "clown," who turns out to be a midget. A midget clown! I guess he was some homeless person dressed as a clown, who somehow got into the house and had been living there for several weeks. He would come into the kids' rooms at nights and watch them while they slept. As the house was so large, he was able to avoid detection, surviving off their food, etc. He had been in the TV room right before the babysitter right came in there. When she entered he didn't have enough time to hide, so he just froze in place and pretended to be a statue.

VERSION TWO

Subject: Fw: clown

this creepy or what?

:: a few years ago a mother and a father decided they needed a break, so they wanted to head out for a night on the town. So they called their most trusted babysitter. When the babysitter arrived the two children were already fast asleep in bed. So the babysitter just got to sit around and make sure everything was okay with the children.

Later in the night, the babysitter got bored and so she wanted to watch tv but she couldnt watch it downstairs because they didnt have cable downstairs (the parents didnt want their children watching too much garbage) so she called them and asked them if she could watch cable tv in the parents room. Of course the parents said it was ok, but the babysitter had one final request. She asked if she could cover up the large clown statue in their bedroom with a blanket or cloth, because it made her nervous. The phone line was silent for a moment, and the father (who was talking to the babysitter at the time) said..... take the children and get out of the house..... we'll call the police... we dont have a clown statue..... the children and the babysitter got murdered by the clown. it turned out 2 be that the clown was a killer that escaped from jail.

if you dont repost to 10 peeps within 5 minutes the clown will be standing next 2 your bed at 3:00am with a knife in his hand....

PROJECT BRIEF

The unit requires you to engage with contemporary media technologies, giving you the opportunity to develop in these technologies. It also enables you to develop the skills of visual presentation that are required for further study at higher levels and in the workplace. Design two fashion-focused images for a music video, which are to represent the theme of a Gothic Urban Legend.

Urban legends are popular stories alleged to be true and passed from individual to individual. Typically, said stories concern outlandish, humiliating, humorous, terrifying, or supernatural events — events which, in the telling, always seem to happen to someone other than the teller. 

I will use this blog to record my journey, showing my own development and interpretation of two different characters based on an urban legend of my choice. I must consider the different restraints of producing a look designed for video media. To help inspire my initial ideas and development I will create a visual digital mood board to use as a starting point. I feel this project will allow me to build a wide range of different skills appropriate for video, and also allow me to experiment and play with a variety of different techniques to create fashion-focused looks.  

Previously in my A-levels I focused on created short films featuring slightly disturbed yet beautiful imagery inspired by 'The Black Swan' a film that is filled with imagery of extreme beauty and elegance that has a dark underlying edge to it, this causes the audience to feel uncomfortable yet completely captivates you. Looking at a range of different films like this will inspire my own work, and also demonstrate what is needed to create strong video imagery.