(43) Final Costume and Makeup

Final Costumes
Nothing has really changed since the initial planning of my costumes. To read an in depth analysis of each costume I use, click here.

Costumes in General
As my film is set among tribes, the audience will need visual identifiers of the tribe members. To do this, I have chosen to dress them in different colours. Not only does it represent a visual marker, but the colours apply meaning to the film, too.

White Cloaks

This is the kind of outfit 

The white cloaks will, obviously, wear the colour white. The reason for this is because it is to create a false sense of purity and allude to Western culture's superiority complex. To read more about this and the colour white, click here, as there's an extremely in depth explanation as to why I have opted for the colour white.

The clothes the White Cloaks will wear may vary. Some will wear dresses, others will wear a white t-shirt and trousers and so on. As they are minor characters they don't need extensive costumes. Furthermore, as it's not set in a specific culture/era/universe, the appearance of the clothes does not matter. This being said, I will not allow my cast to wear logos or obviously-branded clothing, as this will detract from the ambiguity and place a clear time period/culture on the film, something I'm desperately trying to avoid.

The Riverfolk
The Riverfolk will wear green. The reason for this is because of its connection with nature and Islam,To read an in depth analysis of this, click the link already provided previously, this link provides the reason as to why I have opted for this colour.
something that is extremely important to the message of my film.

Once again, the style of the clothes won't necassarily matter, so long as the colour is appropriate. The kind of green I am asking my cast to wear is a muted/darker green, rather than bright greens. This will look better on camera and suit my muted colour pallette. I will allow my cast to wear t-shirts, dresses, jumpers with trousers, however, logos, brands and slogans are forbidden as they will ruin the sense of ambiguity regarding the culture and time period in which the film is set.

Specific Character Costumes
The costumes for the main characters is the most important aspect of the costumes for me, as their clothes reflect something about their character, the themes or the story itself.

Egon

• Beige/Tan Shirt - The reason I have selected a beige shirt for Egon is that beige is a very neutral colour, playing on the fact that Egon doesn't fit into any category. He is neither a Riverfolk Member or a White Cloak, he is neither good or bad and so on. I have chosen to dress him in a shirt because shirts are quite conservative and an old style. This heightens the romanticism but also makes the setting more ambiguous, which helps me disassociate the film from a particular culture/time period to make a more effective social comment and universalise my message. Moreover, the shirt is slightly too big for him. This makes him look younger and more clueless, reinforcing his role as a youth. 
• Suspenders - The suspenders create a quaint look, heightening the romanticism. Furthermore, their appearance is similar to that of British countryside fashion, particularly period outfits. This reference to Great Britain is important because it is what I am making a social comment about.
• Dark Jeans - In contrast to the period style clothing used before, the jeans add a modern touch
  to the outfit. This helps disassociate the film with any particular time period, which is important in order to universalise the message so it doesn't stick to one particular culture/time period. The darker colour is used so they don't stand out as too vibrant colours won't match the rest of the outfit. 
• Dark Overcoat - The overcoat is one of the most important aspects of Egon's costume. This is
  
  because it represents ignorance/narrow-mindedness/intolerance. For example, Egon is wearing his coat at the beginning when he is ignorant of everything. He's still wearing it when he is coaxed into believing the Riverfolk are savages. However, when he meets the Riverfolk, the audience witnesses the tribe removing the coat as a sign of hospitality. This reflects how he has been opened and has realised the true nature of the Riverfolk. However, after Bleedingheart's death, Egon becomes overwhelmed with emotion and is consumed by anger. This prompts him to replace his coat and then kill the Preacher. By putting his coat on at this moment, it shows how he is consumed by his own hate and intolerance and has become what he was before and what he was fighting against. 
• Brown Walking Boots - The boots finish the look off and coordinate it. Furthermore, the neutral colouring reinforces the notion that Egon does not conform to the binary opposition that is used throughout the film - he is an individual: a neutral character. 

This is the final outfit Egon wears. 

Bleedingheart

• White Dress - Bleedingheart's white dress is key in the exploration of themes, one of them
  
  being leadership. As the Preacher's counterpart, she is dressed in white, just like any other White Cloak. This contrasts the Preacher's outfit, who isn't wearing white, despite being a White Cloak himself. I chose this to intentionally portray Bleedingheart as one-with-the-people, no different to anyone else, making her a better leader figure than anyone else in the story. Furthermore, the use of white is used to create sacrificial imagery during her death scene, which has highly religious connotations. This is because Bleedingheart, in all of her simplicity, is some form of saviour of the people. She sacrifices herself for them. The simplicity of her outfit represents her simple values, too. Moreover, the white dress alludes to Greek mythology, in which gods and goddesses were often depicted in white. This relates to Bleedingheart's link with the goddess of wisdom, Athena. Bleedingheart is portrayed as some ethereal being and the white dress reinforces this idea. 
• Barefeet - Bleedingheart is the only character to not wear shoes. This reinforces her simple values. Furthermore, Greek gods and goddesses are depicted barefoot, which further links the character to the goddess Athena. Similarly, in many cultures, bare feet symbolise humility and often has religious connotations. This heightens Bleedingheart as a saviour-type character. 

The Preacher

• Black Trench Coat - Dark colours have long been associated with antagonism, so it is only
  
  reasonable to place the main antagonist in dark colours. As stated before, coats represent narrow-mindedness and intolerance, given their closed-off style, so I will dress the Preacher in a coat to reflect his overall intolerant nature as a person. Furthermore, the reason he isn't wearing white, despite being a White Cloak, is to distance himself and, therefore, elevate him above the rest of the White Cloaks. This shows how out-of-touch he is with his own people and plays on the idea that he doesn't have them as his main priority but instead prioritises himself. 
• Dark Trousers - The trousers won't stand out and therefore won't distract the viewers. Furthermore, dark colours are associated with antagonism and he is an evil character, the colours are fitting. 

Makeup
In my film, makeup will be minimalistic and very neutral. This is because flamboyant makeup will, firstly, distract the viewer. Furthermore, it will also make it seem modern which counteracts the setting I have created in which it is not pinpointed to a particular moment in time.