Rhiannon Millard A2 Media Studies: Costume and Make-Up Research

Costume and Make-Up Research:

Female Protagonist:

The following mood board is a visual representation of the ideas we formulated for our female protagonists costume. We wanted her to be particularly striking in comparison to the bleak mise-en-scene and decided yellow was the perfect eye-catching stand alone colour. This also coherently works with the colour scheme of our ancillary products, which are centralised around yellow. Our mood board was created on 'Polyvore', a platform that is used by fashion designers to coordinate outfits.

We chose a yellow dress as the colour juxtaposes the dark, night mise-en-scene, as yellow has connotations of light and happiness. This links to the concept of 'religion' as the light is often referred to within religion, with the light representing a divine and higher power that possesses a sheer importance over someones life; within the music video the girl is like a light in the male protagonist's life. The fact that she is wearing a 'flowy' dress, despite the fact that the extra's are wearing conventional skinny jeans and black clothing seen in indie music videos, makes her appear free and carless and proves that she is something 'new'. The dress must have the ability to flow in the wind, as our protagonist has to twirl.
The dark eyeshadow connotes mystery, and the dark colours surrounding her eyes makes them blend into the night which implies to the audience a sense of deviousness, as she is a strong female influence who is allowing a man to subdue to her. The glitter eyeshadow pigmentation will hopefully glisten when caught in the high-key artificial lights or streetlights, thus enhancing the dreamlike quality of the music video.
The rugged black or blue boots are archetypal of the indie genre, as the boots are designed for practicality and adventuring, which represent the aspect of exploration and rebellion in indie music.

Female Protagonist - Costume and Make-Up:

What was included in the outfit?:

Victoria Beckham Yellow Dress
Gianvito Rossi Boots
Glossier Make-Up
Long Wear Lipstick

Costume and Make-Up Adaptations:

However, when looking into the practicalities of using a yellow dress, we then decided that this wouldn't be the most lucrative option, as we couldn't find a suitable dress. Instead we decided to use a yellow off the shoulder top and jeans. We then asked our main actress to try on the top and practise spinning in it, as this is a key feature of the music video. The off the shoulder cut of the top made it appear 'flowy', particularly when spinning, and the colour successfully juxtaposed the black and white monochrome costumes worn by the rest of the cast. We also decided to adapt the makeup to create a more natural look for the female protagonist, as after trialling the dark glitter eyeshadow we realised that it didn't conform to our genre and appeared more of the pop genre. Instead we used a minimal amount of mascara and highlighter, that glowed in the dusk lighting.

Male Protagonist:

The costume of our male protagonist is directly influenced by the costumes that I have evidenced within a variety of other indie music videos, including 'Soundcheck' - Catfish and the Bottlemen, which I deconstructed earlier on in my research.

The costume will consist of black skinny jeans, white (plain) top and a leather jacket, with worn out boots. The black and white clothing, in conjunction with the black and white colour grading, will allow him to blend into the dark surroundings in the first scene of the music video in the street; which allows the viewer to focus more on the music for the first half of the song - as the ethos of indie music centralises on the importance of the music, rather than the artist.
Leather jackets could be seen as a motif of the genre (the indie genre encroaches into the rock genre.) as they are typically are seen to connote danger, rebellion and juvenile behaviour which come with the perception of an indie band on tour; similarly indie music often includes lyrics that rebel against social norms, and include crude references to sexual innuendos or drug/alcohol use, for example the lyric "Dealers and Buyers' is a reference to drugs.
These clothes also resonate with the adolescent fanbase that would stereotypically consume their media, as ripped skinny jeans are highly popular in today's fashion culture, with the leather jacket deemed 'vintage'.