For my first shoot, I decided to create a model for the horror world/game level of my project. I built an ocean bed by buildings various rocks made out of plaster and used fake foliage to create seaweed and algae. I painted the rocks a dark brown and then coated them in a fine sand and some smaller stones to add texture and make it look more like a sea bed.
At first, I built it into a box , but I then decided to take it out.
I also built my own mask to wear along with my outfit. I made the mask of out cotton fabric, and I built my own mannequin head that is exactly the same size as my own head, so the mask should only fit over my head. This makes the project more personal.
I then stitched the fabric together using wax coated string which made it look more haunting.
To start the shoot off, I took pictures of myself in the costumes. I used a green screen as the background and a stool to jump/step off to make it appear I was under water.
I started off by taking pictures of the 'main character' and then moved onto 4 other characters to have in the background of the image and to help bring the narrative to life. Below is a rough setup of the lights and green screen.
I then filled up a large tub with water and placed the model base inside. I also used a torch to illuminate the sea bed and make it look like the sun was shining through.
Below is a rough set up of the lights and backdrop.
As the characters weren't underwater for the shoot, I had to try and photoshop them into the tank of water. Here is the process.
First, I edited the underwater image to get the colours and tones I wanted and cropped it to the size I wanted. I then added some more foliage to the sides by cutting around existing pieces and duplicating them.
Next, I cut out all of the characters and changed the contrast, colours and tones to match the underwater shot I edited before. I then placed them where I wanted them to be and blurred each one slightly - the further back they were, the more I blurred them. This was to add some depth to the image.
I also added some chains around the legs of the four other subjects and blurred them the same amount as the subjects.
I found that the subjects didn't fully look as though they were underwater as there were no shimmers/light reflections on them. To do this I created a new layer of the subjects and turned them black. I then went to Filter>Noise> Add Noise. I then chose Gaussian Blur and set it to monochromatic at about 35%. Next I went to Filter>Pixelate>Crystallise and made the cell size 160. Then I went to Filter>Stylise>Find Edges. Then I inverted the layer and chose Filter>Distort>Ripple and changed it to 300. Finally Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur so the edges weren't as sharp and I changed the opacity.
Finally, I went around the edges of all the subjects to tidy them up and cropped the image a little more so the focus is more on the character in the middle.
The final image is the first one designed for the Horror map/world/level. This world simulates fears, in this case, drowning. This project is being made to represent mental health and phobias that may be caused by mental health, or even trigger mental health issues such as anxiety and paranoia.
This image is called Thalassa. Thalassa is the Greek word for Ocean, and Thalassophobia is the fear of being in deep bodies of water, the vast emptiness of the sea, what inhabits the sea and what is unknown.
Thalassa.
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