Casting! + Looks Gone Wrong

Casting Announcement:

    My mom, Laura, will be playing Patti! Julie Bruzon, my partner, will be playing Meredith! I, Grace Decker, will be providing voice acting for the patient!

Makeup:

    I spent today trying to do the makeup for Patti and Meredith and it did not go as planned. I watched a few YouTube videos, but do not have the products I need in order to successfully create the look for Meredith.  

Patti:

 

    The makeup look I will be doing on my mother for Patti is very basic but makes her look very put together. Nothing is very bright/crazy, so it would be her everyday look. 

Patti Makeup Look

Meredith:

    For Meredith, I wanted to experiment and I did, but not successfully. I also watched a few YouTube videos to get inspiration and realized I need to purchase a colorful eyeshadow pallet unless I use facepaint. 

Meredith Failed Makeup Look

    I gave up and just walked around in the rain trying to not get mad at myself for being unable to do the makeup well. Maybe it would have looked more realistic if my hair was down soaking wet, along with my clothes being wet. Personally, I think it looks more like "I just got punched in the face and now I am standing outside" makeup. I will continue to work on making it look like drowning and not beating.  Hopefully, I will be able to try it on Julie since we have different skin tones/types and different products will be used. 

Moving Foward:

    I did not get around to looking for props so this will be done tomorrow.  Stay tuned...

Sources:

https://youtu.be/UaTn1MwPuNM YouTube video by Amateur Aries

https://youtu.be/TToY4ZumNXY YouTube video by Teenie

APA References:

A. [Amateur Aries]. (2017, August 13). Drowning victim makeup Halloween [Video].     YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaTn1MwPuNM

Williams, K. [Teenie]. (2016, May 19). Drowning victim makeup tutorial [Video].             YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TToY4ZumNXY 

The Looks...

Today I did some research/planning on costumes, hair, and makeup. Patti the psychologist will be very simple, but her daughter Meredith will need a costume, hair, and makeup that match the drowning she went through.

 Patti: 

Patti the psychologist, is a middle aged woman around her 40s-50s whom during the "real" office scenes will look put together. This will be done using a basic outfit, clean makeup, and pulled back hair.

Office Look:

Costume: 

According to a Chron Contributor "they (psychologists) should avoid loud prints or whimsical looks that undermine their credibility as a serious professional according to Racked" therefore, Patti's office costume would be very easy on the eyes.

• Top - Something long sleeve likely white
• Bottoms - Black dress pants
• Shoes - Plain flats
• Accessories - Jewelry, necklace, bracelet, rings, earrings, etc

Clothing Vision

Makeup:

Her makeup will be a middle aged woman's everyday makeup. Personally, I know a lot about this as I do my mom's makeup usually once a week for fun. 

• Primer
• Foundation
• Concealer
• Powder
• Blush 
• Bronzer
• Eyeshadow (neutrals, brown, white, tan, maybe a light shimmer)
• Black eyeliner
• Lips - thinking a red lip patted down to look neutral

This makeup will make our character look put together, as she had to take time out of her day to apply it. 

Hair:

Her hair will be pulled back out of her face to show her expression and so it does not get in her face while she is trying to take notes. 

Problem:

I am having trouble deciding if she would be looking the same in the imagined office since really it is all in her brain, but then I think well in her brain she views herself as different meaning she would look different? I will get opinions on this issue. For now I will make two plans, one where she looks only slightly different and the other completely different.

Imagined Office Plan One:

She looks exactly the same.

Either Way:

Patti's jewelry will change from her own jewelry to one of Meredith's old necklaces. This necklace symbolizes Meredith still being the main thing on her mind. She does not wear this in real life to appear strong, like she has accepted the death and is through the main coping process. 

Imagined Office Plan Two:

Clothing, Hair, and Makeup:

Her clothing would likely be a plain black top long sleeve top and black pants, or black dress. Her costume would show how she feels blank and would easily allow for Meredith's necklace to be seen as this in the main focus we want the audience to have when they look at Meredith. 

Her hair would be messy looking with lots of tangles and she would have no makeup on.

Meredith:

Meredith will look how she did as she drowned. Her clothing, hair, and makeup is going to need to look soaking wet. 

Clothing:

• Tops - Plain colored t-shirt
• Bottoms - Plain non-ripped jeans
• Shoes - Plain sneakers

Clothing Vision

Makeup:

Makeup is going to be crucial. Meredith was a teen when she drowned. Her makeup is minimal: mascara, eyeliner, and any other type of easily smeared product. My partner, Julie is currently researching drowning and typically drowning victims have discoloration so through the usage of blue and purple eye shadows along with pale foundation discoloration will show.

Hair:

Meredith's hair will be a wet, tangled mess.

Moving forward:

Julie and I must find costume examples and hair and makeup examples so that will be tomorrow's posting. Tomorrow I will be applying the makeup of Patti to my mom and the makeup of Meredith to myself. First off I want to make sure I have an example picture for when I do the actress playing Patti's makeup. Secondly, I believe the makeup for Meredith needs to be experimented with to make it look realistic.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6474513/#:~:text=The%20usual%20postmortem%20changes%20of,in%20cold%20water%20(4).

https://work.chron.com/clothing-appropriate-jobs-psychology-19988.html

APA References: 

Caruso, J. L. (2016, March). Decomposition changes in bodies recovered from water. Academic forensic pathology. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6474513/#:~:text=The%20usual%20postmortem%20changes%20of,in%20cold%20water%20(4).

Contributor, C. (2021, March 23). Clothing appropriate for jobs in psychology. Work. Retrieved February 27, 2022, from https://work.chron.com/clothing-appropriate-jobs-psychology-19988.html

Introducing...

Today progress was made on our psychological film "Can You Help Me?"

Mood Boards:

"Real Room"

"Imagined Room"

    The location will remain the same throughout the opening until the character goes to the restroom. We will show the differences through props. 

    Today I focused on character development. Our characters now have names!! Patti is the psychologist and Meredith the ghost-like figure who is Patti's daughter that committed suicide through drowning.  Our patient character is unnamed. 

character	type	purpose	occupation
Patti	Main character	Driving character	Psychologist
Meredith	Main character	Plot advancement	Psychologist's daughter
Unnamed	Supporting character	To establish psychology setting	Patient

Character Breakdown:

Ghost-like: Meredith – Meredith is Patti’s teen daughter who committed suicide and is now a ghost stuck at the age she died. She will have wet clothing since she drowned, something you could wear any day and she will have a little bit of makeup to add to the dark discoloration of her face and wet hair. 
Psychologist: Patti – Patti is a middle-aged female psychologist whose goal is to prevent suicides; this has been her goal since she lost her daughter Meredith. She will have two different outfits, one for the “real room” and one for the “imagined room”. Her real room outfit will be some sort of long maybe red colored top and basic pants. Her imagined room clothing will probably be a short sleeve black top and basic pants.  
Patient: Unnamed – Our patient is unnamed and has a voice that’s words cannot exactly be made out. We have chosen to keep our patient's identity private, as not all people are open about going to psychologists for help. We also think that this gives off the tone that Patti is not really listening to the patient. 

Side Note on Music!:

    I gained the idea of using music at the end of our opening as a transition. How will our audience know Meredith died by drowning? I believe the scenes after the films opening would be a montage or some sort of flashback as to when Meredith was alive and right after she died, which will allow the audience to connect with Patti, understanding why she feels a struggle in her job. I thought of the song "Fourth of July" by Sufjan Stevens. It is a beautiful, yet heartbreaking song about a moment between a mother with cancer who is near death as she talks to her child. Now yes, our story is very different, but around the first thirty two seconds of this song gives off an eire yet calm feeling I believe fits the film. I reached out to Asthmatic Kitty Records the music company that owns the rights to "Fourth of July" in hopes of gaining access to use the song to for our opening. If I do not receive an email back by next Wednesday, I will try and see another way of contact. If they happen to say no (please do not say no) I will look for other options that will not require rights.

Message I sent through the companies website:

"Hello, my name is Grace Decker, I am a high school student currently creating a two-minute film opening in my AICE Media AS class. My piece is a psychological thriller. I want to use sound from the first thirty-two seconds of Sufjan Stevens song "Fourth of July" This is solely for educational purposes and will make no profit. Please let me know if I could have the right to use this song, the piece will complete by May. 
Thanks!!"

Moving Forward:

    Over the weekend I will be researching specific costumes, hair styles, and makeup that will suit our characters. I will also be looking through my room and other rooms in my house to see if I have any props that I think give off either the real or imagined room. I will also be creating a list of anything needed to be purchased. Julie will be researching suicide and drownings, the drowning in specific will relate to Meredith's costume design so we will need to be sharing our findings! Storyboard still in progress, as it took the back row behind our deeper development of character and look.

Plot + Psychology Research

The Reveal: 

Julie and I have a plot for our psychological thriller "Can You Help Me?"!!! 
Overall:
"Can You Help Me" is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a psychologist who is haunted by her past which causes self doubt about her ability to help others.  

Characters:
The film has three characters so far unnamed. A patient, a ghost like character, and a psychologist. For now, I will call the patient Penny, the ghost-like character Geri, and the psychologist Patti.  
Geri is Patti's daughter who committed suicide leading to Patti becoming a psychologist. Geri is seen in old family pictures in both the real and imagined room.  
 
Setting:
The setting is an office in two forms. One form the real form, a very bright, colorful office, and the other form the office as the psychologist sees it a very dark, colorless office. 

Set Inspiration

Time Period:

"Can You Help Me" takes place in the present, the characters hair, makeup, and the overall miss-en-scene will reflect this.

 
Current Plot:

The film opening starts in the real office with Patti as the focus surrounded by happy looking items such as self-care books, bright colored pictures, and signs that have words such as love and hope. Patti is sitting down talking to Penny, whose voice is muffled, and she cannot be seen. The opening credits would be displayed during close shots of the items surrounding Patti. There would be a quick jump cut to the same room but as the way Patti in her mind views it. Geri is in the room, but Patti is in the same exact position as in her real life. The scene goes back to the real room as the patient leaves and the door closes, taking the scene back to the imagined room. Close ups are shown as they were prior, but this time with the dark, emotional items. As different shots are shown the ghost person is seen. The noise of a door opening back up is played as Penny enters the room due to forgetting something, jump cut to the real room. The psychologist is seen trying to calm down but still in panic so fast paced edits from real to imagined room are shown as the patient asks if Patti is okay. Patti tells Penny not to worry and hopes that the therapy session helped her. The title "Can You Help Me" is shown. As Penny leaves and the door shuts and the scene cuts to the imagined office's dark bathroom, Patti is seen trying to calm down. The film's opening ends as Geri appears behind Patti in the bathroom mirror.  

Psychology Research:

Since our film is about psychology, I researched the common struggles psychologists deal with. A psychologist is someone who studies the mind and behavior. They find out why people think the way they do. 

According to Degree Query "Psychologists often say that feelings of helplessness, the stress of dealing with clients' problems, the demanding educational requirements and the tedious nature of billing for payment are among the hardest parts about working as a psychologist." 
 
Psychologists work for years to become licensed, you either need a Ph.D. or Psy.D to find a suitable job, and even once you have a job you are constantly learning and testing your knowledge. This could take eight years for schooling plus four or more for graduate studies, all these years rack up student loans. Once you are a working psychologist, billing may be a challenge as you must deal with insurance companies who may not always cooperate.  

Helplessness and Stress:

Helplessness is not usually caused by not knowing how to treat a patient, but by knowing, and the treatment not going as planned due to the patients' struggles. Psychologists surround themselves with other people's issues that may sometimes bring up memories for psychologists. The constant knowing of other people's negativity can bring psychologists' mood down. Stress causes most psychologists to burn out. 

Research Impact:

This research let Julie and I know that our idea is very accurate and that we must make sure our

psychologist character seems very helpless and stressed out. It also gave me the idea to include some sort of diploma from the psychologist's degrees.

Moving Forward:

Our storyboard is in the works, as we also continue to dive deeper into character creation along with the creation of props and costumes. Cast wise, so far we plan for the characters to all be in our family, and us so a filming schedule will be created soon. As we do this, I want to research suicide so we make sure our film deals with it respectfully.

Source:

https://www.degreequery.com/psychology-degrees/what-is-the-hardest-thing-about-working-as-a-psychologist/

Citation:

Dodge, K. (2020, May 3). What is the hardest thing about working as a psychologist? DegreeQuery.com. Retrieved February 25, 2022, from https://www.degreequery.com/psychology-degrees/what-is-the-hardest-thing-about-working-as-a-psychologist/