CHARACTER PRESENTATION... (WEEK 5)

Sally Bowles...

I decided to focus on one of the smaller scenes when reading through the screenplay. This particular part has quite a good description of her appearance before performing on stage. 

Close-up Sally:

Now her face is made-up, exotic eyes, improbable lashes. She is wearing a red lias-cut dress with nothing under it. She smiles confidently, and begins to sing. 

SALLY'S NUMBER, (new song to be written for this spot.) 

At the end of Sally's number, we cut to table near front. Brian sits there alone, applauding enthusiastically, delighted with Sally.  

As the screenplay states she;

• face is made-up
• exotic eyes
• improbable lashes
• Confident smile

These four elements are what I focused on when producing my face chart. Her face is more or less always made up as we see her with a full face of make-up on throughout nearly the whole of the film. As we only ever see her glamorous aspiring actress persona rather than the insecure quite lonely girl she tends to hide. I ensured the make-up I applied on my face chart was quite prominent and exaggerated however I don't think it shows as clearly on camera. I wanted to avoid creating a 'clownish' interpretation so some of the features such as the blue eyes and red lips will appear much more prominent on my model.

After test shoot/practice shoots:

• big lashes on bottom/top
• more glitter on cheek bones/under eyes
• dark red or red lip liner
• definition of cheek bones

Make-up inspiration- 

http://uk.pinterest.com/libbycreighton/s-a-l-l-y-b-o-w-l-e-s-m-a-k-e-u-p/

Hair- Bob/finger waves. 1920's/30's styled hair.

She's seen mainly with short up-do's during the film and her on stage performances. 

inspiration;

http://uk.pinterest.com/libbycreighton/s-a-l-l-y-b-o-w-l-e-s-h-a-i-r/

SHOOTING ANITA BERBER...

Shooting Anita Berber...

Painting of Anita

We were asked to show our interpretation of Anita Berber and shoot the look twice on two separate occasions to show continuity. I began by practising my design on Phoebe Jacob Epstein but changed it for my final look. 

Practising my face chart...

Model: Phoebe Jacob-Epstein

Product list:

Purple eyeshadow- personal palette

Silver glitter

Kryolan foundation palette

Mascara wands

Mascara

Supra colour palette

Lip palette

Illamasqua tremble blush

Illamasqua Disobey bronzer

Illamasqua satin primer

Vaseline

Hair:

Curling tongs

Hair oil

grips

pins

Pin tail comb

hairspray

First shoot...

Model: Charlotte Summers 

My final look didn't really differ from my practice but I decided not to include the smudged mascara look with glitter as I don't think it looks like I've purposely done this on camera.  I think the second look works much better with the purple eye-shadow and dark lip colour look good against my models pale skin. However the hair is much shorter than when I did it in Phoebes hair like pictures below. The shorter hair was much harder to include in the rolled up hair at the nape of the neck so a lot of it hung down at its natural straight length. The length of it also stopped me from curling some of the ends that then stood out at the end. The hair was still really effective in the and paired nicely with the make-up and beads but the short hair was definitely challenging. The much shorter, layered areas at the front also made the curls stick up rather than fall down so it took me a little longer to try shape them down the front of the face then grip them so they weren't visible on camera.  

The short bob I did on Phoebe...

As I wasn't allowed to work on Phoebe for any of my shoots any more so  I deliberately chose Charlotte as she was also ginger like Phoebe. I know it was our own interpretation of Anita Berber but I still wanted my version to be ginger like the original just so I still had that historical element. I think Charlotte fair skin also worked really nicely with the make-up as it really made the colouring jump out. I dressed her in beads like the traditional, show girl and brought a corset and silk dressing gown on set but just decided to add the beads as they looked more effective alone. I was considering having her pull her bra straps down to give the illusion she was naked but they were dark blue and has a silk look to them anyway so I thought that tied in with the theme nicely.

On most the images I researched of Berber she was tall slim and very ginger, my twist on the original is that my model is a little curvier but I think it really suits the look and goes against the traditional stereotype of a thin stage girl.

PREP HAIR FOR WIG APPLICATION; SCRATCH WIGS.. (WEEK 3)

Wig application...

• Part the hair down the middle of the head.
• Starts French plaiting the hair from the front of the hair line all the way down the head.
• Do the same on the opposite side of the head.
• Once you've finished braiding both sides wrap the plaits back over the head and pin down in cross over direction.
• Make sure they are secure and apply wig cap.
• Pin the cap down with grips if it doesn't fit tight enough.

Products used:

Pins/Grips

French plait:

Pin around the head after then apply wig cap or tights.

WHO IS ANITA BERBER?

ANITA BERBER.

• Who is Anita Berber?
• Why is she an important character in Weimar Berlin?
• How does she link to Goodbye to Berlin/Cabaret?

Anita Berber was a German dancer, actress and writer. (10 June 1899 - 10 November 1928.)  She was the subject of one of Otto Dix's painting.

At the age of 16 she moved to Berlin to become a Cabaret dancer. She started to work in film in 1918 then started to dance nude in 1919. Anita became well known and recognise from her strong androgynous looks and her use of purposely heavy facial make-up such as  big dark eyes and black lips as the films were shot in black and white at the time so the make-up looked even darker and heavier on camera. 

The Dancer, Anita Berber (1925) By Otto Dix.

Her hair was cut into a short bob, a popular style at the time, and bright red like Otto translated in the painting above.

Madame d’Ora, Anita Berber. Tanz Kokain, 1922, (2013), Madame d’Ora, Anita Berber. Tanz Kokain, 1922 [ONLINE]. Available at: http://blueblackdream.tumblr.com/post/68063483544/madame-dora-anita-berber-tanz-kokain-1922 [Accessed 25 October 14].

Unknown, (2013), Anita Berber [ONLINE]. Available at:https://emblah13.wordpress.com/2013/09/06/anita-berber-cabaret-dancer-and-actress/ [Accessed 25 October 14].

Unknown, (2013), Anita Berber [ONLINE]. Available at: http://lapetitemelancolie.com/tag/dance/page/8/[Accessed 25 October 14].

Unknown, (2011), Berber in "Cocaine," Atelier D'Ora, 1922 [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.wornthrough.com/2011/01/11/anarchists-of-style-anita-berber-part-2/ [Accessed 25 October 14].

The 1920's & 1930's...

To try help my understanding of Anita Berber's character I need to research what was socially acceptable in that particular era. The 1920's and 30's was a time in which gays and minorities were accepted. Men were seen be appearing more feminine and women more masculine. However in the late 30's the great depression began, by 1935 the crisis led to religious revival which then led to the persecution of Gays. By the 1940's and 50's Gays had to hide there sexuality to avoid being persecuted. In the late 1960's Gays were eventually allowed to be be and express themselves again. The 1920's and 1930's saw the emergence of the gay and lesbian scene. 

Berber's look will be most interesting to recreate as its not a typical pretty, feminine look but instead can look a bit rough around the edges and include much darker, Gothic toned colours. The combination of her short, masculine bob and androgynous features pairs really well with the feminine pearl beads she's seen wearing in a lot of her photos. The combination clashes as she  is styled/wears feminine, pretty outfits with her boyish look. 

Unknown, (2013), Theatre of the nameless [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.illamasqua.com/explore/collections/theatre-of-the-nameless/ [Accessed 25 October 14].

Unknown, (2013), Theatre of the nameless [ONLINE]. Available at:http://www.illamasqua.com/explore/collections/theatre-of-the-nameless/ [Accessed 25 October 14].

Illamasqua did a modern day interpretation of the 1920's self-expression transformation for some of there new released products. Their models are represented in a classic 1920's androgynous style with  heavy, dark eyes and lips plus reddish, short, big hair. A modern day Anita Berber.  

http://www.illamasqua.com/explore/collections/theatre-of-the-nameless/#totn-products

cavigliascabinet, (2011), Anita Berber [ONLINE]. Available at: http://cavigliascabinet.tumblr.com/page/84?route=%2Fpage%2F%3Apage [Accessed 25 October 14].

Unknown, (2009), Edita Vilkeviciute [ONLINE]. Available at:http://nnm.me/blogs/westnokia/edita_vilkeviciute/ [Accessed 25 October 14]

Karl Lagerfeld / Vogue Germany October 2009.

Anita lived a life that is even considered shocking today. She was seen an unapologetic, known as a drug addict and an alcoholic for some time. A lot knew her as a prostitute, and of someone who took part in a lot of high-profile bisexual affairs still spoke about today. Her nude dancing and androgynous were her treated as a shocking combination. She was also a film star that was seen in several movies such as ' Different from the Others' (1919) the first film to illustrate homosexual relationships sympathetically.  

I included a few image on this blog post that inspired my final Anita design but I also added a few more to my pinterest page. 

http://uk.pinterest.com/libbycreighton/a-n-i-t-a-b-e-r-b-e-r/

A lot of the images found of her are in black and white as that's the only colour they printed at the time, this made it quite difficult when trying to recreate my own version of her as many looked identical. I came across a few such as the Illamasqua modern day interpretation and a few sketches and modern example in colour which helped me develop my own designs.