Vintage Victorian "Ghost" Pictures

    Evena if nowadays we are living in a modern society where digital camera phones and CCTV are common and simple things, capturing an elusive ghost on film is harder than you would think.The paranormal photographer must state that his pic is the genuine article to a skeptical public.

    However, people from the Victorian era, seemd to have no troubles with capturing pictures where an evil spirit or phantom is present. But the skeptical pubblic continued/continued to believe that the pictures are made in double exposure as I mentioned about the ones from the Memento Mortis post.
    An interesting fact is when in 1861, William Mumler was stunned to see a strange face next to his on the developed plate, he claimed it was the image of a cousin who had died some years earlier. 

http://www.paranormal360.co.uk/the-best-of-victorian-ghost-photography/

Here are some other photographs reolated to this :

1.A familiar affair

2.You are always on my mind…

3.Smoke and mirrors

Links:

•   http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/10/31/vintage-victorian-ghost-pictures_n_2049769.html

• http://www.paranormal360.co.uk/the-best-of-victorian-ghost-photography/

Memento Mori

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    It is important to take into consideration that in that era the mortality rate was very high. So Memento Mori was one of the opportunities to have records of them like as they were still in life. Usually the pictures(especially at the beginning of this ritual) the deceased person was posed in an everyday position to try to capture their essence during life. Different objects such as toys for childer, flowers, etc., were included in the pictures as well. Braces would help to position the body and in some cases the subject’s eyes would be fixed open or later drawn onto the prints.
  During Victorian era it was used to remember and keep records of close persons who went to the world beyond. In many cases, poverty stood squarely in the way of obtaining expensive painted portraits capturing loved ones in the prime of their lives, so the cheap photography sessions started to grow in popularity.
    In 1860, Jane Carlyle remark the importance and the thanksgiving to the people who invented this ritual: "Blessed be the inventor of photography! I set him above even the inventor of chloroform! It has given more positive pleasure to poor suffering humanity than anything else that has cast up in my time or is like to -- this art by which even the poor can possess themselves of tolerable likenesses of their absent dear ones."
    Oftenm the double exposure photography was made to create pictures where spirits are present as well. This would show  that the spirit of the dead person continues tu live and is always by the side of their close to them persons.

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   The reminding of the death wasn't only the photograph taken of the dead people, but also for example locks of haircuts of the dead were arranged in lockets of different forms. The person who had those lockets could have at least something from the person they've lost, always with them.
    Mourning - became a profession as well. So here are some Mourning traditions from the Victorian era:

•     The coutains were drawn
• Clocks were stopped at the time of death
• Mirrors were covered with crap or veilling to prevent spirit from getting trapped in the looking glass
• Black ribbons were tied on the front doors to alert the passerby that a death occured
• The body was watched all the times until burial
• Relatives would sorround the bed of the dying
• Photographs and death masks were produces of the death
• Houses were filled with mementos

    The trend for mourning photography began to fall out of fashion in the early stages of the 20th century as snapshots became more affordable and commonplace.

LINKS: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/30/memento-mori--victorian-mourning-photography-immortalising-loved-ones-death_n_2580559.html

Gothic fashion

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    Gothic fashion is a style worn by Gothic subculture. This style is inspired by Punks, Victorians and Elizabethans. The gothic style is characterized by dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized style of dress. Tupical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both genders of the gothic subculture wear black eyeliner and dark fingernails.
    Goth is no stranger to the world of high fashion. Designers such as Alexander McQueen,Gareth Pugh, John Galliano of Christian Dior, Rick Owens, Olivier Theyskens, have dark angels walking down their runways.

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The TOP 10 Gothic Designers: In the Fshion world the gothic is something that never dies, especially for some fashion designers. Here is the top 10 list of designer for whom the gothic style have never died:

1. Nicolas Ghesquiere- he is one of the masters of the macabre beauty in fashion.
                                             
2. Rick Owens-Best known for being lavishly dark, and the ultimate hipster of goth.  Season after season,  layers upon layers of black, on black, on black leather, on more black leather – with the finesse and polish of the best in Parisian atelier

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    3.Hirooka Naota-revolutionized Japanese fashion, bringing goth mainstream. His fashion sense is a punk-Loilita fusion of rock, Medieval, Victorian, Elizabethan, and anime influences. He’s whimsical, he’s avant-garde, and he’s a must have for sexy rockstars and macabre fashionistas around the world.

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   4.Marko Mitanovski- Goth Serbian Designer. He has certainly taken fashion by its dark cloudy nether region – with his theatrical macabre designs. Lady Gaga is a huge patron of his and its clear to see why. Voted also as London Fashion Week’s Must Watch Designer

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    5.Alice Auaa- known also as “Alice in Modern Time” and “Alice e Laboratory”, the Japanese luxury goth brand certainly marries the whimsical goth, industrial tech, and darkness that haunts us in the most romantically frightening way.

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    6.Ann Demeulemeester- Flowing layers which are hauntingly sublime and cut to perfection. She is muse, inspiration and perfection for the goth style.

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    7. Comme de Garcons- Rei Kawakubo is the Japanese anti-fashionista designer and creator of Comme de Garcons, caused an uproar in the Paris fashion scene in the 1980’s.  With her black, weighty, austere and gloriously macabre designs, she is the penultimate inspiration for contemporary goth fashion designers and artists.

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    8.Pretty Macabre- the name sums it up. Specializing in what she calls “horror couture”, designer Andrea Hansen creates custom and one of a kind goth show-stoppers ranging from Elizabethan worthy dresses to bloody burlesque, and vaudeville. These performance art pieces and costumes are truly to die for.

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    9, Riccardo Tisci- Since the beginning of his reign at Givenchy couture house, his avant-garde eye grace was seen in the most elite runways, editorials, and red carpets. His fantastic incorporation of dark fairytales and mythology has given jaw-dropping creations, leaving even the most jaded fashionista in awe.

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    10.  Sara Burton- Alexander Mc Queen-  His work has been exalted and immortalized, his romantic and sometimes uncomfortably dark vision is carried forth with great aplomb, by the darkly beautiful mind of Sarah Burton.

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Links:    http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347413042l/7981812.jpg
                http://cherrypickeddesign.com/2013/10/09/top-10-macabre-and-goth-fashion-designers/

The Gothic, The Grotesque and The uncanny in Great Expectations

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• How is the Gothic depicted in Great Expectations:
   The Great Expectations is a novel fromb the Victorian times written in the Gothic genre. The Gothinc in this novel is depicted through the mistery, through the darkness... through Pip's broken heart and the Miss Havisham's goal to break his heart....also I think it is depicted through the coldness of Estella's heart.
      If to analyze the film, the gothic is depicted through the misery of the london of that time, through the darkness, through the way the houses were made and also through all the misteries we descover in the film.
  
• How is the grotesque depicet in Great Expectations:
  The Grotesque is what goes contrary to the real, and in Great expexctations it is depicted throughthe shock and surprise which are central qualities of the grotesque in fiction. Magwitch's sudden appearance is indicated by his immediately addressing Pip with the phrase "Hold your noise!" , alarming the young boy and the reader. There is a sharp contrast between the leisurely nature of the preceding passages which recount Pip's contemplation of his parent's graves, and the extremely aggressive content of the convict's dialogue, where he threatens to cut the young boy's throat.
  One feature of the grotesque is its blending of human and animal forms in its descriptions of characters. Magwitch is frequently likened to an animal, both by himself and by Pip. When the protagonist wishes the convict goodnight, the man glances at the cold and dreary marshlands. When Pip returns the next morning with food for the convict, the boy is reminded of a pet dog of his while he observes the ravenous manner with which the man eats. The way Magwitch snaps up the pork pie Pip had brought, with his strong sharp sudden bites, lends the protagonist to reflect that Magwitch "was very like the dog".The blurring of distinctions between life and death is another aspect of the grotesque. Here we can refer to the way Pip was still maintaining the ralations with his parents. He alway went to their graves.
• What are the specific elements of the uncanny:An encounter with the uncanny often occurs in the home itself. This is the place where we should feel safe, and yet it is the very place where our repressed fears are most easily projected. Consider this statement in terms of how Pip, Miss Haversham and Estella interact as characters within the setting of Satis House. The uncanny manifests itself in the form of the supernatural: ghosts, apparitions, mysterious figures and warning dreams. uncanny encounters in crowded streets, empty graveyards, alleyways, and drawing rooms. Revenant figures appear with unsettling regularity.   

The Evolution of Miss Havisham on films

Florence Reed was in role of Miss Havisham in the film "Great Expectations" based on the book by C. Dickens.  The following picture is a scene from the film made in 1934.
     In this way of representing Miss Havisham I find very strange the idea of perfectly dressed hair. I think the hair must be messy, as after years and years of never changing her look, her hair cannot be as perfect as it was in the day of her wedding.

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1946: In the film made in this year the actress who played the role of Miss Havisham was Martita Hunt. In this representation of the character I feel that she looks more realistic to how the author describes her.  She looks around 50 years old. And one of the most imposrtant thing I appriciate in this presentation is the way her hair is dressed, which is a real mess- what actually makes it look more similar to how I imagined her. Also the dress on her is still suitable to the period of time the book is corelated which is the Victorian era. It is noticeablea as well, even if it's not coloured picture ,that the colour of the dress is not snow- white which proves the fact that she is wearing it for ages.

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    In 1974, another recreation of the book was made. This time the character of Miss Havisham was played by  Margaret Leighton. I really like the way she looks for representing Miss Havisham. The make-up she is wearing make her look tired, desperate, sad, depressed at the same time. The pale skin, the redness under her eyes and her grey/black eyes make her look very similar to ho I imagined this character. Also teh hair is a real disorder and the dress seem to be worn a lot of time. By saying it I try to explain and desomstrate how  the cast that worked on this film, from my point of view created the look that represents the way Dickens describes her.

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In 1981, another film was made and Joan Hickson was in the role of Miss Havisham. The first thing I notice is the hair and the make-up which correspond to the Victorian era. The make-up is very natural and it seem to be nearly inexistent and as I mentioned already when talking about the victorian beaty- more natural you looked more beautiful you were considered in that era. While the hair is composed of tight curls that cover the ears on both sides that represents an Early Victorian hair design.

















Jean Simmons, who had previously played Estella in 1946, played Miss Havisham in Great Expectations in 1989.

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In 1998, Anne Bancroft played a character called Ms. Dinsmoor in a modern version of Great Expectations, set in New York, directed by Alfonso Cuarón. In fact even her look is very different to what it is suposed to be, but as a new version of Great Expectations I think there are no limits in representing the characters. She is not even wearing a wedding dress, as well as the make-up and hair and all other details are completely different.

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Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations in 1999. The fist thing I've noticed is tht the hair is styled in an mid-late Victorian way, ant id is also very clean and neat.

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Gillian Anderson cuts a ghostly figure as Miss Havisham in the BBC’s Christmas adaptation of Great Expectations in 2007. In this presentation of Miss Havisham, I think her look corresponds to the era. The hair is styled in an Early Victorian style. The make-up ris very soft looking very natural at the same time.

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The film version, directed by Mike Newell, is likely to generate much controversy. The screenwriter David Nicholls said the scenes in which Pip meets Miss Haversham are “a bit like going to see Hannibal Lector”. This time the role of Miss Havisham is played by Helena Bonham Carter. I love the way she looks and how she represents the character.

Some ideas/ inspiration for Miss Havisham

Trying to find inspiration or ideam for the project which is Gothic Horror and thinking of the character of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by C.Dickens, I've tried to show what are the first thoughts that come in my had:

I'm not good at drawing at all, but I try to put the ideas in a visual way not only in my imagination, trying to show and make others understand my ideas.

    I also did a face chart for the character of Miss Havisham:

With this facechart I've tryed to represent how I see Miss Havisham's make-up after years from her unsuccessful wedding. The idea was based on imperfection, because I thought that of course the make-up cannot be as perfect as it was during her wedding day. This is the reason why the lips are smudged, she has circles under the eyes. I've designed it in a way to show also how cruel she was, this is why the eyes are covered with black eyeshadow and but also nut in a regular and very simetrical way. I've also showed the imperfection thinking about eyelashes which with the passing of the time, just something remained, that's why on one eye is on the upper lid while on the second one is on the bottom one(giving the sensation that il fell).

I thought about this design to be more for fashion than for TV or film. I can see it more for a fashion week with a topic based on this character, as for example the one from John Galliano(Spring 2010/ F/W 2009):

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/572238696377028665/

What is High Definition Broadcasting and how does it affect make-up and hair artists

    As the world is in a continuous progress, it's unbelievable to what point arrived the modernity if compared even with 20 years ago, especially if reffering to the technology.
     High Definition Broadcasting for television(HDTV) is basically a term that applyes to any digital television production, transmission or recepyion technology. When viewed on a large screen, HDTV images are brighter, sharper, cleaner and they also look very real. HD is the highest quality digital format available over the present.
    Does these aspects affect the make-up and hair artists? YES, it definitely does. The increased pixilated imagesare so clear that you can see down to the pores of skin, including blemishes and wrinkles. It is exceptionally noticeable a person's true quality of skin, bone stucture and features, and hair. HDTV can provide images nearly 5-10 times sharper than those on broadcast of standard television sets. This means that heavy or layered makeup is painfully evident, and powder can end up looking very obvious. Many makeup artists are still somewhat inexperienced to the harsh reality of the high definition format and that skin imperfections are extremely obvious. Some skin issues you can clearly see are blemishes, ruddy skin, overdone concealing under the eyes, thickly applied base, and over-powdered skin. With these obvious details the viewer ends up looking at the makeup rather than be drawn into the drama.
    The standard definition television sets  was extremely advantageous to talent because the low resolution helped makeup to visually smooth out and hide skin flaws. With special makeup effects applications analog also helped prosthetics to look very realistic, or lace hair fronts to be undetectable, and blood effects look alarmingly real. Heavy cream makeup and concealing had been the norm in analog to create the flawless look on talent seen in these formats, such as soap opera actresses who look seemingly looked ageless over the years. Many studios were also using strong overhead track style lighting which also necessitated the use of stronger concealments or products to bounce light.
    However, there are still some inherent problems in HD cameras that still need to be overcome, particularly control over the nuances.Tight shots require extra lighting techniques to soften the blow of the resolution, and are often avoided for that reason.There are filters that can be used to make aged or blemished faces look better but they are not always effective and can end up looking over or under saturated in post production. As more broadcasts are being done in HDTV, makeup artist must refine their technique and product usage for a screen resolution that has as much as 10 times more picture detail than analog television. Camera formats have changed significantly as well as the lighting configurations and makeup artists will need to stay informed as the science continues to progress.
    Makeup artists are responsible for making the less than perfect skin look like perfection, and HD presents a host of challenges to their skills. HDTV is still causing a major revolution in media makeup techniques that were originally perfected over the years for film. This included handling the different lighting conditions and creating the visual image of actors that is significantly different than their in-person look.The proper technique and product formula usage has always been the biggest
factor in high quality makeup work and that will continue at even a higher level in work for HD. This medium requires even greater attention to detail, and not just the face but the body as well. It means that you will need adjust how you apply the makeup, and to blend it out even further. The make-up artists need to keep your eye tuned on the monitor to catch flaws that need correcting because in HD recording the results are immediate! For instance, mascara clumps are very obvious. Colors that don’t stay true on darker skin tones are painfully obvious, so they have to be careful in how they choose products and prep skin.
    To deal with the less forgiving electronic eye of HDTV, makeup artists are turning to airbrush makeup for certain skin types to achieve the balance they need in covering skin to look more natural in high resolution viewing. In other words, they are bringing their own “pixels”. Airbrush provides a way of depositing base onto the face through a conical spray pattern of thousands of tiny dots or “pixels” at a very low pressure that gently overlaps on skin, and from a distance the eye perceives it as a smoother, natural looking complexion. Some skin discolorations and imperfections, scars, and puffiness are visually blended outm ore successfully under airbrush makeup. Depending on the micronization of the pigment contained in the airbrush product, these tiny “pixels” of base on skin gives somewhat the same effect as what the digital camera sees, and the natural tone of the skin comes through giving a smoother and natural looking appearance.


Links:
http://www.creativeartistryfx.com/high_resolution_media.pdf