When first reading The Turn of the Screw, I knew immediately that I wanted to chose the character of Peter Quint. The book gave a range of descriptions, including his personality and his appearance. I knew that I could work with both of these in creating my own character profile of Quint.
Styling, Make-up and Hair
- As the book is set in the late Victorian era the styling and hair would be very specific. In the Victorian era, men were always seen dressed smartly and professionally. They would often wear a shirt, jacket and waistcoat and some were even seen with a tie or cravat. Men took the way they looked very seriously. When thinking about what I would want my model to wear they were many aspects that I had to take into consideration. Quint was not a rich man and worked at the country estate house for the master. He was therefore lower down in society. This made me then think that he would not be seen wearing the most extravagant and expensive pieces of clothing. He still however works at a rich family house and would therefore be expected to dress fairly smartly. Due to these reasons I am thinking of making my model wear a simple white shirt with a collar. This way he would still look smart but he would not look highly superior and wealthy.
- When thinking of the make-up for my character, I am unsure of how dark and ghostly I want him to be. Firstly, I could completely white out the face and make it obvious to the audience that he is a ghost. As well as this I would accentuate his features by apply a grey colour to the contours of the face. However, I could just darken the face slightly by adding black and grey to the face to show his menacing and dark side as he is said to have dark features and arched eyebrows in the book. I think the audience would take longer to realise that he is a ghost if I do not whiten the face of my model. Due to this I am more likely to create a white base, but I am not completely sure yet. In the book, Quint is described as having a pale face with very icy features, so I think a pale face would work well. I feel that the eyes will really help to portray the personality and feel of the character. I want these to be very dark and almost tired looking. I am unsure on the colourings of the eyes at the moment because I do not know whether to make them more red or blue. I know that I want the creases of the eyes to be very defined, therefore I will apply a dark grey/black colour. I will bring the colour under the eyes as well as not just on the eyelid. To show his evil and controlling traits, I want to add a bright red around the eyes and in the water line. I feel this will really make the eyes stand out, especially when the final look is photographed. The lips will be very pale, as he is a ghost. I will focus on using blues and purples to help portray this. The main part of the character profile will be the cut on the forehead. I am going to portray Quint as himself yet coming back as a ghost. The cut will signify how he died. This will be on the right side of his head coming down the side of his eye and partly on the forehead. This will be created with a range of special effects products.
- Victorian hair for men was always very similar. It was often parted at the side or slicked back from the front with no parting. I think a side parting would work better as I will then be able to slick down the hair using a wax or oil. To help portray to the audience that he is a ghost, I am thinking of adding a dry shampoo or talcum powder to the hair. This would work well with a white face. Also, in the book Quint is said to be clean shaven which I think will work well with the face being white as it will accentuate the colour and the dark features.
Character traits
I feel through the use of make-up I will be able to portray the character traits of Quint. He is known throughout the town as being a ladies man, however it is believed that when he died no one seemed to miss him. He thought that he was popular in the town, however I do not think that this was the case. He was also very menacing and manipulative. When working at the house he became very close to Miles and Flora. When he died he wanted to keep this close relationship, as well as having some control. This was a different side to his personality and I began to realise that he may not actually be that nice. I want to portray this side of his personality through the eye make-up. I am looking at featuring a bright red close to the eye and in the water line. I feel in a character the eyes can really tell a story. This is why I want the attention of the audience to be bought here.
Impact of Character Design
I feel the design of my character would increase viewing figures as the design that I am thinking of is very striking. If you were to see his face on an advert, I think people would stop and look to see what the film is. I think the character design will also appeal to a younger audience as well, even though it is quite menacing. Children are often fascinated by dark and scary characters which is everything that Quint portrays. Having thought about the character in a more in-depth way, I am really pleased with how the design process is going.
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