Styling choices

Hair

After much consideration I decided not to include dread locked hair. I started to make dreadlocks using old hair extensions of mine which luckily matched the colour of Tyler (my dancer's) hair. I did this quickly and easily through back combing, twisting, and the use of dread wax (which I nicked from my step sister). After forming the rough dreads and applying to the head still in the strip formation, I found that with a lot of head movement they were a real strain on the hair and when I asked to see them on someone else whilst throwing their head around (like I predicted would happen in the film) the dreads looked kind of unnatural and often the extension became visible. I had looked at pre-made dreads online which were singular and easily attached to the head via a loop at the top before then plaiting the hair through. Unfortunately little time was left to order these and guarantee their arrival. 

During this minor dilemma I came across and article which really caught my attention describing the potential boost in extra-sensory perception caused by naturally long hair that was worn loose. The article (which can be seen by clicking here) focused on native Indian groups that were recruited as trackers during the war. As part of recruitment they had to cut their hair, when then sent to perform the task they were hired for, the native Indians who had undergone the hair cut lost all tracking abilities. When more were recruited and allowed to keep their hair, tracking abilities appeared to work as usual. This article also points out how long hair "has long been a common element of many spiritual prophets such as Jesus, Moses, Buddha, Shiva, or the story of Samson and Delilah from the Bible, when Samson lost his strength with the loss of his hair."

Despite weather or not you choose to believe this theory, I really liked the idea of loose flowing hair being the tentacles of awareness that felt out into our environment providing us with intuition and knowledge, without us even realising to what scale. Apart from making me never want to cut my hair again, this made me want to move away from the more grungy, hippy style dread look and choose something freer with more movement and favour something much more simplistic and not over worked. 

Tyler's hair is long but needed a few extra small extensions to increase the length. I tested these in the hair and as the weight of a singular clump of hair wasn't there, the hair wasn't pulled enough to reveal the extensions so a solution was found!

Makeup

With regards to makeup, I was initially torn between three different kinds of style that I had pictured in mind. These were: 1) the use of symbols arranged in pattern or included into design. 2) more straight-forward tribal line approach, still using thin lines as previously explained, a more refined take on simple tribe markings. 3) fluid line design mimicking contours of face and reflecting natural occurring pattern (i.e. tree bark) 

Below is an example of each three of these possibilities in the order I have described: 

When trying to decide what style of makeup to go for I had finalised on another aspect of the styling, the jewellery. To the right is an image of a necklace that has been handed down through the women of my family for generations. It has huge personal meaning to me as it represents the history of women in my family but I also love it's unique design and use of material "Moss Agate". I have always been told that this stone is supposed to have earthy healing properties so it seemed rather appropriate, then I read the following description: "Throughout history and all cultures, Moss Agate has been known as the crystal of gardeners and agriculture. It was considered a miraculous healing stone for tribal priests of the past, giving them power to interact with our human organic system, and was used as a talisman to make warriors strong and victorious. [Mella, 69] Metaphysically, Agate has a lower intensity and vibrates to a slower frequency than other stones, but is highly regarded as a stabilizing and strengthening influence. [Simmons, 6] Agate is excellent for balancing emotional, physical and intellectual energy, and in harmonizing Yin and Yang, the positive and negative forces of the universe. [Hall, 39]". I also like how the shape is relevant to this, a diagonal cross representing the four different elements of the earth. It really couldn't be more appropriate for the message of my film - a reconnection with our true inner self who hasn't been heavily influenced by technologies and modern living. My dancer is also a fighter for his truth, a representative of another possible way of life. I felt like the necklace was a representative of my character, and I chose make up to reflect this: 

 I have chosen this style of contouring to alter the way we view his face. As I have mentioned, I want him to appear slightly other-worldly, maybe ethereal. This contour is designed to push forward his main features and enhance his already strong bone structure. Lips will be left natural but hydrated, pale foundation will be applied all over face neck and chest which will also be on display. The inner corner of the eyes will be heavily contoured using the same colour as on the face, again to increase his angular features and draw attention to the eyes. Minimal mascara will be applied for definition. Brows will be brushed upwards and colour put through where necessary. It is important the makeup doesn't look to over done. I am anxious for the film to be a product as a whole, I want everything to work together and have no one element that stands out above the rest. It has to be a complete product.