Claudia & Quentin Brief

This stage of the project will allow you to utilize your skills in design development and characterization. Using references to Gothic Horror as a point of inspiration, you are asked to design two proposed characters for a TV series intro – Claudia, Quentin or Mrs Laderman. TV series intro is a show opening conveying the essence of the production: title, cast, the tone, mood and genre of the programme. Claudia, Quentin and Mrs Laderman characters must reference gothic and/or urban horror and you are to use the suggested themes referenced in the seminars.

To embrace the range of possibilities through research and subsequent design development you will continue to develop a blog to record your journey throughout this project. Use your blog to record thoughts and ideas together with any sourced imagery, video and music that you feel would be of help to the production team at planning meetings with set and prop designers, hair and make-up and directors and producers.  You will have to create moodboards to support your concept and the characters. As the emphasis is on developing your skills in gothic hair and make up, you will be expected to record several test shots to establish the look most suitable for the characters.

How can you use the ideas and techniques from the project brief for Great Expectations, TV series, gothic horror text, film and historical references to inform the makeup design for the characters of Claudia, Quentin and/or Mrs Laderman.


Character Profiles:

Claudia
Claudia is a girl in her twenties. As a child she was left alone to develop with little parental guidance and through her relationship with T.V. movies developed an unhealthy relationship with Horror films, believing this to be the way life really is.

All the scenes take place in various parts of Claudia’s apartment, which is European in style with
a great deal of kitsch décor. She is agoraphobic and is kept in touch with the outside world by her neighbours who provide her with her every day requirements.  She models herself on a variety of girls often twisting her look to suit whichever film she is watching at the time and there is often
a nod to the main character in the current film within her appearance.

The script portrays her as psychotic and there is always the feeling that although her character is scripted/can be seen as humorous, danger is just around the corner.   However all this is normal to Claudia and she is of a cheerful disposition in this mad world of hers.

Quentin
Claudia has an imaginary boyfriend, Quentin, who is long suffering and a constant disappointment to her. They don’t live together but he visits regularly and they talk on the telephone if he can’t get in to see her. As he is part of her imagination his appearance changes to suit her mood. Sometimes he will be a David Beckham looking guy, whilst in another scene he will appear as a Pete Docherty type, Daniel Craig type or a Hollyoaks Babe. If she is having a bad day he will morph into an uncouth couch potato chav with all that brings with it.

He is as into the horror film genre as she and into role-playing to suit her whims and moods.
Claudia has a paranoid suspicion that he is constantly having affairs behind her back and keeps him firmly under her thumb, sometimes restraining him or keeping him prisoner in one of the rooms.

Mrs Laderman
Claudia’s neighbour in her 40’s. She alternately changes into a variety alter egos and is Claudia’s friend and confidant. Living in the apartment opposite, she was Claudia’s only link to the outside world. Although they are friends there is suspicion that Mrs L’, has designs on Quentin. In fact she has designs on Claudia.