WORK LOG- MASK MAKING

MASK MAKING

A substantial part of our coursework is of course the use of mise en scene, which includes costume and makeup. For our final character profiling we have decided to adhere to the codes and conventions of slasher horror villains and are giving our silent killer a mask which will hide their identity.
We have decided that our mask will be designed in a way which resembles patches of skin taken from different victims, sewn together to make the mask's base. However, instead of having a mask which will cover the entirety of the killers' faces, we have decided to make it so that it only covers approximately half of the face, as it will be the killer's work in progress- they are still 'harvesting' skin from victims, thus it will not yet be complete. This is also good for mise en scene as we are able to show parts of the killers' emotions- they will of course be pleased when they catch the victim in the film opening, therefore we will leave the mouth free of any form of cover so that a smirk etc is visible.

When thinking of how to make the mask, I brainstormed ways in which I could make it realistic looking. I came across several online tutorials regarding special effects skin making, however they all involved use of expensive equipment and products which was not ideal for us as we didn't want to have to limit ourselves to a budget.
I then did further research into young film making companies made up of mostly university students whom had little to no funds when making their films- by doing this, I found out that simple household items could be used to make faux skin...



The items I used to make the mask are as follows:

• A pre-made plain paper mache mask
• plain flour
• vaseline
• skin foundation
• flexible wire
• watercolour paints

Firstly, I mixed together the flour and vaseline to make a scar-wax like consistency- after experimenting with different amounts, I discovered that using one-part vaseline to two-parts flour gave the ideal consistency for the mask.

After this, I added some simple foundation makeup to give the mixture a skin tone- as it was very pigmented, I only needed to add about 1/4 of a teaspoon to give the wax the correct colour. As the mask is supposed to be made up of multiple victims' skin, each new batch of faux skin would be mixed with a different foundation colour, or another household item such as coffee, so the entire mask wasn't made up of the same skin tone.

Once all of the fake skin was made, I began to flatten it out into random shapes with untidy edges, seeing as they would be brutally removed by the killers. Then, I dampened the pre-made paper mache mask, and pressed the faux skin into the mask so it stuck to the surface. I gradually built the side of the face and nose up to make the shape of mask which we wanted for the killers, and once it was done I used watercolour paints on top to create a dirty, bloodied surface on the skin, as before, it looked too clean.

Once the main skin base of the mask was complete, I used flexible wire to make stitches between each patch of skin, so that it would resemble separate sewn patches, by cutting it into small pieces, bending it slightly, and pressing it into the edges of each skin section.

Finally, we cut around where the 'skin' was glued onto the mask, so it created the illusion of only covering a selected part of the face.

UPDATE: This is how our mask appeared on camera. It looked even better when filmed in the dark, as it was not completely clear thus creating a sense of the fear of the unknowing, yet the focus group we asked to watch our piece said still easy enough to tell that the mask was made out of victims' skin.