Costume was briefly discussed in the previous ‘behind the scenes’ post. This post focuses on a more in depth look at the articles of clothing used and the possible meanings behind them.
The previous post can be viewed here:
http://motionlesspictures010.blogspot.com/2010/10/behind-scenes-filming-progress.html
Costume is an essential part of film and entertainment and is one of the five components of mise en scene. It includes the clothing, accessories and hairstyle of the character and establishes the time, location and setting of the scene. We wanted the costume of the protagonist in our production to make her stand out from other students, though the scenes featuring other characters have been cut out of the final production. Since I was heavily involved in the costume and make up as well as being the actress in the trailer, many of the ideas were inspired by my own style, which possibly helped to make the costume look more natural.
The protagonist’s hair is shoulder length, messy and is dyed a bright pink colour. The unnatural colour may suggest that there is something unusual about her. However, being a stereotypically feminine colour, it may also connote an image of childlikeness and innocence.
The dyed hair together with the snakebite piercings (one piercing on each side of the lower lip) could be considered the image of a young girl trying to appear older, as is typical in many teenagers. Dyed hair and piercings are also common of those in ‘alternative’ subcultures, which is the look we were going for.
The protagonist is seen wearing two different sets of clothing in the production. One article of clothing that is the same in both are the boots she wears. They are brown leather boots decorated with silver studs. This too is common with teenagers and typical in specific subcultures.
The girl also wears a padlock on a chain around her neck. This is important because a padlock has connotes an important secret.
The effect of the padlock is supported by the hoodie jacket the protagonist often wears. Hoodies are common articles of teenage clothing; however, the girl wears a male jacket that is too large for her. This may be interpreted as the jacket possibly coming from a brother, friend or boyfriend, or the girl simply choosing to wear a man’s jacket. No matter the interpretation, the hoodie may imply different possibilities about the protagonist; it could be a sign that she has something to hide, or possibly that she has something to hide from. It is likely that the audience will not actively pay attention to this fact, though the information may sink in subconsciously as they watch.
The most often seen outfit the protagonist wears, aside from these three garments, is a pair of jeans and a stripy long sleeve jumper. Both are considered normal clothing for teenagers and actually make her appear more ‘normal’.
We see another outfit in the scene where the protagonist finds her own body in the janitor’s closet. The camouflage style trousers fit in with the previous idea that she has something to hide or hide from. The style is also typical in the punk subculture and is common in teenagers trying to look different. She also wears a long sleeve grey shirt and a dark blue t-shirt over it, another common style in punk and alternative subcultures.. These colours are dull and as such may fit in with the idea that the girl is dead.
The rips and blood stains in her clothes tell the audience that she has been violently attacked.
No comments:
Post a Comment