Sam Reinders E-Portfolio
Set 1 - Joe Gunn
Aim: With my first set I wanted to portray a supernatural movie-like badass regenerating character such as Wolverine in the X-Men and Alice from Resident Evil. All my sets for this project must feature myself as the model.
Process: I created a bullet wound on my forehead using moulding wax, foundation and thick fake blood; I also dressed in a black hoodie. I photographed myself in a studio using the ten-second timer on the camera.
Critique: Mainly I feel I should have made more of an effort to include a few more of the hallmarks of the action hero (apart from the intense stare) at the moment I'm just a guy with a gunshot wound. Perhaps I should have done something with my hair or found some stylish leather.
Further Development: The 'supernatural' element is an interesting one. I want to see how it works mixed in a set with both similar supernatural elements but also more ordinary people
Set 2 - Nick Eastwood
Aim: With the second character I wanted to create the sense of a real person rather than a supernatural one like the last set. I envisioned this character as a music producer somewhere between Moby and Tim Westwood.
Process: I applied A bald-cap on myself and changed the shape of my nose with moulding wax, blending it with my face using make-up. I used photoshop to iron out the rough edges.
Critique: Though I did establish a personality for this character I don't feel that these pictures give a real sense of it. It's this set that makes me want to explore with video.
Further Development: From this set I learnt how important interesting expressions are to define character. In later sets will attempt to be more dynamic in expression.
Process: I applied A bald-cap on myself and changed the shape of my nose with moulding wax, blending it with my face using make-up. I used photoshop to iron out the rough edges.
Critique: Though I did establish a personality for this character I don't feel that these pictures give a real sense of it. It's this set that makes me want to explore with video.
Further Development: From this set I learnt how important interesting expressions are to define character. In later sets will attempt to be more dynamic in expression.
Barney Sandhurst
Aim: My aim for this set was to imply subtle comedy and dysfunction in the character.
Process: I put white foundation on and dressed in an orange wig, beanie hat, huge scarp and green coat. In the pictures I made a face like I was going to sneeze.
Critique: This set could have been better photographed. In retrospect I would have changed the lighting to not make the background so light. I do however, like the impression that the character gives.
Further Development: This set was an exercise in making a quirky character while still grounding him in the real world. In my next sets I want the characters to be louder and more over-the-top.
Process: I put white foundation on and dressed in an orange wig, beanie hat, huge scarp and green coat. In the pictures I made a face like I was going to sneeze.
Critique: This set could have been better photographed. In retrospect I would have changed the lighting to not make the background so light. I do however, like the impression that the character gives.
Further Development: This set was an exercise in making a quirky character while still grounding him in the real world. In my next sets I want the characters to be louder and more over-the-top.
Velasquez
Aim: With this set I wanted to create a living cartoon-character. Someone with a very dynamic face and range of OTT expressions.
Process: I styled my hair and added grey intro it. I used white foundation on my face, pinks and reds around my eyes and black facepaint to enlarge and exaggerate my beard and moustache. I wrapped a blue robe around me.
Critique: With this set I feel like I met my aims completely. I have a lot of confidence in my selection.
Further Development: I feel my next set needs to push the boundaries when I comes to makeup. The look of the character needs to be visually shocking and really hide myself under it.
Process: I styled my hair and added grey intro it. I used white foundation on my face, pinks and reds around my eyes and black facepaint to enlarge and exaggerate my beard and moustache. I wrapped a blue robe around me.
Critique: With this set I feel like I met my aims completely. I have a lot of confidence in my selection.
Further Development: I feel my next set needs to push the boundaries when I comes to makeup. The look of the character needs to be visually shocking and really hide myself under it.
Herman Sylvester
Aim: My aim was to use a lot of makeup to create a character who's visual appearance alone, more than any of the others, told the story of who he was. I also want to make sure the final selection is of higher contrast than the last set.
Process: I added liberal amounts of grey to my hair and eyebrows. I then scrunched up my face, added a layer of latex and let it dry. I then repeated the process several times to give the old-age effect I wanted.
Critique: I think character really comes through in this set. The pictures are of quite high contrast but on two of them the lighting feels wrong and he's underexposed on the right.
Further Development: This concludes my stills. I now want to move on to video, some of these characters will cross this gap as well and will be gven voices on film.
Process: I added liberal amounts of grey to my hair and eyebrows. I then scrunched up my face, added a layer of latex and let it dry. I then repeated the process several times to give the old-age effect I wanted.
Critique: I think character really comes through in this set. The pictures are of quite high contrast but on two of them the lighting feels wrong and he's underexposed on the right.
Further Development: This concludes my stills. I now want to move on to video, some of these characters will cross this gap as well and will be gven voices on film.
Vox Pop
Aim: The concept behind my video work was the idea of a set of interviews. Several dysfunctional people, all played by me, being interviewed... by me, about their lives and important social issues. I want everyone who sees it to come out with a different feeling towards each of the characters and for these feelings to be partly based on their own social beliefs and partly based on their appearance. The characters could all exist in the real work but they are all either caricatures or over-the-top characters. I will be shot as and interview straight to camera but I will draw attention to the staging by cutting back to the setup (as in picture) and having the characters react to the interviewer.
Process: I wrote a script for about half of the questions and ad-libbed the rest. I used costume and makeup to create the characters who included a black teenager and an upper-class lady, as well as Velasquez and Nick Eastwood from the previous sets. I then edited them together in the style of a studio vox pop.
Critique: Though there are some slow answers, a lot of the video is really interesting and requires multiple viewing for some of the messages to become clear. I am very proud with how they turned out although, after the event, I should have made more of an effort for the backgrounds and lighting to match each time.
Process: I wrote a script for about half of the questions and ad-libbed the rest. I used costume and makeup to create the characters who included a black teenager and an upper-class lady, as well as Velasquez and Nick Eastwood from the previous sets. I then edited them together in the style of a studio vox pop.
Critique: Though there are some slow answers, a lot of the video is really interesting and requires multiple viewing for some of the messages to become clear. I am very proud with how they turned out although, after the event, I should have made more of an effort for the backgrounds and lighting to match each time.
