Introduction to Claudia and Quentin

We were introduced to the new brief. This involves designing looks for two out of three characters, Claudia, Quentin and Miss Laderman. I am looking forward to getting to use a lot of my own ideas in this project, as it is a lot more flexible than the work we did on Great Expectations. We have been given some brief character profiles which we have to work around, and a list of contemporary Gothic Horror programmes which we can choose to fit our characters in to.

Character Profiles:

Claudia

Claudia is a girl in her twenties. As a child she was left alone to develop with little parental guidance and through her relationship with T.V. movies developed an unhealthy relationship with Horror films, believing this to be the way life really is. All the scenes take place in various parts of Claudia’s apartment, which is European in style with a great deal of kitsch décor. She is agoraphobic and is kept in touch with the outside world by her neighbours who provide her with her every day requirements.  She models herself on a variety of girls often twisting her look to suit whichever film she is watching at the time and there is often a nod to the main character in the current film within her appearance. The script portrays her as psychotic and there is always the feeling that although her character is scripted/can be seen as humorous, danger is just around the corner.   However all this is normal to Claudia and she is of a cheerful disposition in this mad world of hers.

 Quentin

Claudia has an imaginary boyfriend, Quentin, who is long suffering and a constant disappointment to her. They don’t live together but he visits regularly and they talk on the telephone if he can’t get in to see her. As he is part of her imagination his appearance changes to suit her mood. Sometimes he will be a David Beckham looking guy, whilst in another scene he will appear as a Pete Docherty type, Daniel Craig type or a Hollyoaks Babe. If she is having a bad day he will morph into an uncouth couch potato chav with all that brings with it. He is as into the horror film genre as she and into role-playing to suit her whims and moods. Claudia has a paranoid suspicion that he is constantly having affairs behind her back and keeps him firmly under her thumb, sometimes restraining him or keeping him prisoner in one of the rooms.

 Mrs Laderman

Claudia’s neighbour in her 40’s. She alternately changes into a variety alter egos and is Claudia’s friend and confidant. Living in the apartment opposite, she was Claudia’s only link to the outside world. Although they are friends there is suspicion that Mrs L’, has designs on Quentin. In fact she has designs on Claudia.

Out of the three, I feel I am leaning towards picking Claudia and Quentin. I feel that they will be more challenging to create and I will have more opportunity to experiment with special effects as Quentin is an imaginary character. I love the idea that his look changes to meet her requirements and that she has the power in the relationship. 

Some of the TV programmes I am deciding between are: 

True Blood - I love the dark glamour and gore of True Blood, I feel that a Gothic, Vampy, Sexy look would suit the horror film loving Claudia. A lot of special effects are used on the show so this could be a fun one to do to practice the skills we are learning in class. 

The Vampire Diaries - The Vampire Diaries takes a very realistic looking approach to the whole Gothic/Vampire TV genre, I feel the make up and special effects they create are more refined and subtle than in True Blood. This would be a real challenge as the make up on the show is extremely realistic and suitable for HDTV, so I would have to be very careful with the techniques I chose to use. 

American Horror Story - Stepping away from the Vampire theme, I think that American Horror Story (asylum) would be a great show to fit Claudia and Quentin into. I think Claudia's paranoia and ability to create a imaginary boyfriend would fit perfectly into this series of the show as it is set in a mental asylum.