Costume Practical

Costume Practical

Our main character of the film opening is a young girl on the run.  My first idea was to create a costume that any young girl in reality would wear and then make it look rough as though she has been through some kind of physical struggle.  

I used distressed denim  shorts as they are frayed and casual.  These are quite common with young girls so our victim would not look out of place anywhere, as she is trying to blend in so she is not found.  As we would be filming in winter, our audience would not be convinced on the realism of the opening if she is not appropriately dressed.  I layered black tights underneath the shorts then cut in some holes and ladders.  This gives the effect that she has not been able to change her clothes recently and has been going through some physical hardship.  This is appropriate for our film and the supernatural horror genre in general because victims are often on the run and are not very clean cut.

  For the top half I used a plain navy vest top and an oversized burgundy hoodie.  These pieces of clothing are very casual and appropriate for our character because it enables her to blend into the background.  The vest top is a dark colour which makes her seem more introverted as it does not make her stand out.  The hoodie is layered on top to fit in with the time of year and to give her some protection as the hood can be put up to hid her face so she is not seen.

I also wanted to try a white vest top to fit with the convention of the victim being a young, innocent pure girl.  White symbolises purity and innocence so the audience are more likely to sympathise with her.  To give the top a dirty and distressed look I stamped it into some muddy ground which made it look as though she has not changed in a while and so has been travelling or running away from something.  I also layered  a darker hoodie over the top to again give the chance to blend in and hid from society.

My second idea was for a slightly younger victim.  It is a convenyion of supernatural horror to have the main girl as innocent, young and pure.  To capture this is ideal I used a white dress with pieces of lace which is similar to old style night gowns, which have been used heavily in past horror films.  The angle of the first picture is too see what it would look like from her point of view in one the scenes where she is tied down onto the bed.

I then layered a grey cardigan over the top of the dress.  The cardigan is cute and youthful, it is very appropriate for a young girl and fits in the overall look we are trying to give to her.  I also put some white converse with the outfit as they are quite a common shoe type for a young girl and fit in with the white innocent persona.  The whole outfit at the moment is very clean cut so when it comes to filming we will make it more rough and maybe add some dirt to create the impression she has not been able to change in a while.

In conclusion I think that the ripped tights and denim shorts would be good to use because they make the victim look dirty and hints at physical traumas.  But I feel that the white dress and cardigan will be a better costume as it is more stereotypical and conventional for supernatural horror.