Gothic Horror in Music Videos: GORE!!!

Because the "Gothic" part of my design is going to be portrayed by blood, I wanted to research some music videos that centred around gore and blood to see how this is presented in a music video format. I will get inspiration from these videos and apply that inspiration to my Sixties themed design.

The music video for It Never Ends by Bring Me The Horizon

The music video for The Sweetest Kill by Broken Social Scene

The music video for We Are Water by Health

Looking at how gore is portrayed in music videos has shown me that there are no rules where blood is concerned. It can be as subtle or as over the top as you like and doesn't necessarily have to look real or convincing - the idea of blood is horrific enough.

I will apply what I've learnt from this gore-fest to my glamorous Sixties model.

Sixties Horror Face Design 1

This is a the first concept draying and face chart that I did in Ink. I have devised this from the research I have done of the Sixties style, contemporary versions of the Sixties style and the physical effects of brain trauma.  The key points of this face chart is the heavy use of eyelashes, darkening of the eye crease, pale lip and blood slowly trickling from the ears and nose. I have not shown any trauma to the brain because i want this to be expressed through the bleeding of orifices in the face, as I want the gore to be simple but effective and not over the top.

Sixties Styling in Fashion: Gaultier, Jacobs and L.A.M.B influences.

I want to look at how the Sixties style has been brought into contemporary styling to get more of idea how I can turn authentic Sixties styling into a high fashion editorial shoot.

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

Jean Paul Gaultier featured Beehive hairstyles heavily in his Spring/Summer 2013 Couture show.

The stylist has made the hairstyle a lot more "fashion" by making the Beehive VERY high, this is something I will incorporate into my own design to keep the look fresh and interesting but still typical Sixties.

MARC JACOBS

Marc Jacobs was also influenced by the Sixties and used the typical twiggy make-up on his models at his Spring/Summer 2013 show.

The stylists for Marc Jacobs have made the Sixties make-up more "fashion" by intensifying the black crease and hugely defining the eyebrows.

GWEN STEFFANI'S L.A.M.B SHOW 2012

I found that Gwen Steffani also used the Sixties to influence her L.A.M.B show in 2012.

She used a half-up half-down version of the Beehive and the Sixties make-up focused on the extension (and drawing on of) the bottom lashes.

WHAT THIS HAS SHOWN ME

Seeing the ways that designers have used the Sixties style in their work has shown me how to make a Sixties design look Editorial and high-fashion while keeping it authentic.Each designer has focused on something different, which has helped me a lot because many of these things are aspects that have been thinking about incorporating into my own design. This research has helped me think about this in more of a "fashion" way.

"Sixties Victim" Moodboard

Here is my initial mood-board now that I have done the first part of my research. The main points i want to include are a pastel colour scheme, a strong sense of the spiders and gore and accurate Sixties styling. The image of the nun with stigmata symbolises something bad crossing something good, which represents the clash that I want to have between a glamorous body and hideous wounds. The spiders and the big beehive relate to the theme and the i.D cover shows how you can give a Gothic, creepy twist to a Sixties girl.

GORE: Brain Trauma Research

My concept depicts the model having spiders eating or nesting in her brain, so I researched the physical effects of extreme brain trauma and haemorrhaging. The ones that I'd like to incorporate into my work are:

-Dilated pupils

-Nosebleed

-Bleeding from one or both ears

-Sensitivity to light

I've chosen these ones because I think I will be able to work them into my design in a high fashion way. I also think that these symptoms will contrast the most with the "glamorous" victim, which will give my design an eerie, surreal look. I still want to have my photos have the same effect as Roger Ballen's - scary and horrific without using tonnes of gore. There's just something about them.

EXAMPLES IN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

Nosebleeds and blood from the eye.

Dialated pupils and pale skin from light sensitivity. 

Sixties Hair Research

I already know that the Beehive is relevant to the Sixties, but I wanted to do more research to see the different variations there were. I also wanted to look at some other types of BIG hairstyles that were worn in the Sixties, to make sure I've chosen the right one and to give myself other options should anything go wrong. I want to rule out the short pixie "Mod" haircut strait away because, although very sixties, it does fit with the Fatal Hairdo story that I've chosen. Here are some of the most fitting:

The most important thing is height to the crown of the head. Now I can go away and start planning hair charts and suggesting ways to create height and volume.

Sixties Make-up Research

Here are a few of the images I found through research that most inspired me, out of the hundreds that are available. The research of this era of make-up will help me make my Gothic look more authentic and era-appropriate.

Further research has enabled me to see more of a "high fashion" side to the Sixties style, rather than the toned-down every day make-up I have described in the analysis' of the Sixties horror movies. This is important as I want my model to be glamorous  as I feel this will make the gore and horror aspect a lot more shocking with such a contrast.

I wanted to research more contemporary versions of sixties make-up to see what was possible, because its important to me to keep in mind that this will be an editorial shoot and that means thinking outside of the box. Here are some of my favourite inspirational images of contemporary sixties make-up:

 

The enhancement of the socket is the main thing that I want to play with after evaluating all these images. The original images have shown me the REAL make-up that was the trend in the sixties, and the contemporary images have shown me what's possible and where you can play while still making the look appear authentic. and I am now able to go away and design some face charts.

 

Sixties Horror Movies: Psycho

Psycho was a good film to look into because it had the same "glamorous" style to the actress as The Birds did. Its strengthened the initial research of make-up I've done, showing strong eyebrows and long long lashes and a pale lip.

The only thing these movies haven't shown me is beehive hair or voluminous hair. I'm hoping further research into sixties fashion, rather than film, will help me.

Sixties Horror Movies: The Birds

The Birds is another Sixties horror movie I watched as research. The protagonist has a more sophisticated  make-up style than the youthful style of Mia Farrow in Rosemary's Baby, which is what I envision for my own shoot. As the main character is in the same clothes for the majority of the film, it doesn't tell you a lot about style, it does however show you more of Sixties make-up than Rosemary's Baby does. 

Make-up: The classic but more sophisticated make-up comes into play in this film, Tippi Hendren sports the classic sixties pale lip, large lashes and sculpted eyebrows. 

In the clip above, the children can be heard singing "She combed her hair but once a year..." which is very fitting for the Urban Legend that I've chosen to portray.

Sixties Horror Movies: Rosemary's Baby

As part of my research I want to narrow down my research to Gothic genre in the sixties, seeing as that would be the theme of my first character. 

Rosemary's Baby shows a lot of fashion and styling from the early sixties. Above is a mood board I created to easily reference some of the fashion points. The main points shown in the film are:

- A lot of pastel colours, especially blues and yellows

- A lot of peter pan collars

-Short un-tailored dresses with no shoulders that fall strait down and out

-Youth-quake style is highly visible

-Vidal Sassoon hairstyle heavily referenced 

Initial Concept of my Two Characters

My initial concept and interpretation of this legend will be to portray two characters that both suffer from the "Spiders in the brain" problem, but in extremely different ways. One will literally have insects burrowing into her scalp and the other will be a mental patient who is having delusions of spiders gnawing on their brain.

Character One: Sixties Victim

The "Sixties Victim" will be the name of my first character. My concept for her is that she has been using dough as a sort of hair rat to enhance her 60s beehive hairdo to achieve maximum height, and insects have chewed the dough and slowly are gnawing away at her brain. She will be glamorous, even in death.

This character will allow me to use the knowledge I've gained in Contextual Studies about the sixties era. I will design hair and make-up that pertains to that period and research horror movies, music, paintings and literature from the time, as well as icons, MUAs and techniques.

Character Two: Bedlam Insomniac 

The "Bedlam Insomniac" will be the second character to my shoot. I remembered hearing about cases of people with sleep deprivation hallucinating that spiders were covering them in my A Level Psychology lessons and though would be something really interesting to apply to an editorial make-up design. My concept will be that the character has been hallucinating due to sleep deprivation that spiders are in their brain, and therefore has ended up in an asylum. 

This will require me to do the necessary research into the mental illness to see the effects that it would have on the body, and at the same time keep it contemporary and editorial. I will also need to research music videos and films that reference mental patients. 

I want my shoots to make the audience feel uneasy, without necessarily using tonnes of blood and graphic gore, very like the feeling you get from Roger Ballen's photography.

Gothic Urban Legend: The Fatal Hairdo.

The Fatal Hairdo.

I have chosen to base my two characters around the Gothic urban legend of "The Fatal Hairdo."  The legend depicts people who have had insects (mainly spiders) eating and living in their scalp due to either using food products to style their hair or due to neglect and uncleanliness.

I have chosen this legend because it will give me a chance to use the knowledge I have gained from Contextual Studies, A Level Psychology and Gothic Fiction.

Inspiration: Roger Ballen

‘‘Death is stalking them. Death is around them. The shadow of Death is always there. And I think my photographs portray that.”

I came across artist/photographer Roger Ballen and his work through South Africa depicting real people and their conditions, and it has really inspired me to begin thinking about the Gothic Urban Ledgens brief.To me his work is very surreal and evokes strong emotions without using excessive styling or effects, which is something that i think i would like to achieve in my work on this project.

Ballen, R. 2001. Outland. New York: Priadon Press Limited.