Earlier in the year I was fortunate enough to work with welsh classical vocalist Rhydian in preparation for the release of his album 'one day like this' which I'm pleased to say reached No.1 on the 20th of April 2014. The gallery (above) features the Album cover and promotional photographs shot by David Angel with styling by Carolyn Hrovat. (Please click on thumbnail for full sized image) Also if you scroll down a little you can enjoy the video of Rhydian's fantastic reworking of 'nights in white satin ( shot in a very chilly church in west London!) and directed by the very talented Gary Bolton-Brown
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First of all I want so say a massive apology to Cerberus theatre for not writing this blog post sooner, but in my defence we did this shoot all the way back in May!
The shoot in question is for the play that is currently running at Cerberus to commemorate the centenary of the first world war, it is entitled 'Somer 14 - a dance of death' and you can find more info about it here http://www.cerberustheatre.org.uk/home/sommer-14-a-dance-of-death/ The play was written by a German author; Rolf Hochuth and this will be its world premier in English. It promises to be a dramatic and insightful theatrical experience, However you'd better hurry up and book your tickets because its only showing for one more week! (click link to book tickets) http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2014/sommer-14.php So I dont know if any of you follow the very talented writer/photo Fiona Campbell http://www.fionacampbelllondon.com/blog/ but if you have you'll have noticed Cambodia seems to be a bit of a common theme in her blog posts of late, so I feel the time has come for me to tell my side of the Cambodia story..... So I was travelling through South East Asia when all of a sudden I recieved an email from a friend back in London telling me she knew a lady called Fiona who was being sent out to cambodia on assignment for Harpers Bazaar magazine and she was doing this photoshoot and there was some talk of her needing a make-up artist and would I be interested by any chance??? Yes yes a thousand times yes!! I wasted no time in accepting and then spent the next several days winding up local bar owners as I sat for hours over empty coffee mugs stealing their wifi as Fiona and I wrestled with the logistics of trying to get ourselves plus kit etc into the same place at the same across a 7 hour time difference from the other side of the world! God knows how but we got there in the end! and so on a sweltering hot afternoon I caught up with Fiona and model Natalie at Sihanoukville harbour as they returned from a visit to Song saa private island which sounds AMAZING by the way you can read more about it here
A short while ago I was lucky enough to be invite for a test with uber amazing photographer Tony Mcgee seriously this guy has worked with everyone from Kate moss to Mother Teresa, and now me! -MWA HA HA HA!!!
I just happened to stumble upon this picture and did a complete 'oh shit its one of mine' double take. I thought I would put up here for slight name dropping rights, this is a photograph of former model turned TV presenter Galia Ina it was taken by Marcelo Benfield, with make up by Tora Young, and hair by yours truly. I can remember the shoot so vividly, one of those jobs where you know before you even get there that you are horrendously out of your depth. It was a blistering hot summers day the kind where your hands sweat so much you can barely hold pair of tongs to begin with, plus I was horribly nervous and of course managed to make a right pigs ear of the whole thing, and the worst part was because everyone else had been doing this for 20 odd years not only did they all know, but they were all really NICE about it, to the point where you feel that the only decent thing to do would be a sort of Japanese samurai style honor suicide and fall graciously upon your own tail comb. (Funnily enough they never called me back) As some of you may be aware I’ve decided to trade in the frozen wastes of London for the sunny shores of India, so as with the massive change in temperature, so your beauty routine has to change as well here’s what I’ve discovered.......... 1. It may sound like a no brainer but ALWAYS wear sunscreen, I’m of the opinion that tanning is the way to go, but that doesn’t mean I want to go around looking like a boiled lobster and it’s not good for you either in the long or short term, so I’m covering myself in factor 20 ( I know there are many who will argue that's way too low – Sorry what I can say I’m pale and pasty I want to be brown dammit!!!) For face and neck add an extra layer tinted moisturiser with a an inbuilt spf, I am currently using Clinique surge SPF15 (Elle beauty award winner and very deservedly so in my opinion!) available in 6 different shades and retails for £21.50, however if you want to spend a bit less I would also recommend Boots No.7 triple protection £11.50 or L’oreal BB cream For £9.99 2. The humidity is a killer especially in the middle of the day, unless your sat in an AC cooled room you will sweat buckets so It is a good Idea to stay away from thick heavy foundation as it has an unfortunate tendency to slide down your face collecting in any creases it may find along the way – Urgh!! The same applies to pretty much any greased based make-up so it’s best to opt for a powder based alternative, I’ve always been a fan of bare minerals products, they have a wonderful range of powder based foundations and I still say their summer bisque concealer is one of the best dark circle removers on the market, but that’s not to say they have the monopoly on all things powder, benefit also have a great range especially ‘hello flawless’ cover up powder which even has an inbuilt spf! 3. Spots and bites Well the first rule for both is exactly what your granny used to tell you - It won’t get better if you pick it! So keep those itchy fingers at bay and let me give you some practical solutions instead. . Spots: This seems to be a fairly common phenomenon amongst us western touristos, being removed from our cold damp natural habit and exposed to direct sunlight causes us all to regress back to adolescence! Oh well the fashions may have changed since your yoof but the methods have not, grab your TCP or teatree oil and apply liberally! .Bites : No matter how careful you think you’ve been with the old mozzy spray (Odomos for preference by the way) the pesky little buggers can still catch you out So what does one do when confronted a zit or a nasty bite? Well if it’s a whopper and it’s in a strategic place why not turn it into a beauty spot for the duration? Or the advantage of being in India you can always grab a packet of stick on bindis and say your going for the hippy traveller look! Failing that grab your concealer try bare minerals SPF 20 concealer, available 5 different shades (£19) 4. Lips and eyes .Waterproof mascara for obvious reasons! While I have always been a die-hard Lacome fan in terms of mascara, currently using their Hypnoise waterproof doll eyes £21, which has a wonderfully tapered brush perfect for getting into the corners! However if you’re on a budget you can’t go wrong with Maybelline I would recommend their illegal length waterproof mascara for just £8.99 . Eyeshadow is a fairly safe bet being powder based it is less likely to slide down your face currently I am using a rather wonderful little Dior Palette I picked up in the airport ‘3 couleurs ready to wear smokey eyes’ for £35 which seems to hold rather nicely. Avoid smudgy kohl pencils for obvious reasons! Although if you’re in a place where you can pick up some of the traditional kohl sticks they are well worth getting hold off as one applied they stay in place come hell or high water, and for eyeliner you can’t go wrong with a bit of good old fashioned MAC ‘blacktrack’ £14 or for a less expensive version try Maybelline’s eye studio gel liner for £7.99. Lips for any strong vibrant shade of lipstick I would say MAC pro long wear gloss coat £12.50 is an absolute essential for holding your colour in place. Although you may prefer to tone it down and use more neutral colours in which why not try YSL rouge volumpte with spf 15 in ultimate beige £24.50 or Boots No.7 stay perfect lipstick in coral rose £9.50? take care when applying, try using a lip brush or cotton bud and rub in well. Hope this comes in handy! Just lately I seem to have had a flurry of emails from aspiring make-up artists wanting advice about getting started in the industry, well I've been in the 'biz' for three years now and I'm still not entirely sure I've cracked it! but from what I have learnt this is my top tips for getting your self
.Be punctual (I admit there have been times where I haven’t managed this and there might be one or two people out there smiling to themselves if their reading this!) But seriously look up where you meant to be the night before work out directions WRITE THEM DOWN (don’t just leave it to whatever app you have on your phone!) then work out how long its likely to take and give yourself an extra 15mins for getting lost. The reason for doing this besides good manners? : Shoots do not just magically happen they can take weeks if not months of careful planning and you are fairly low down in the pecking order, thinking you can rock up 20 minutes late says you don’t care, this is not the message you want to send some stressed out director or designer who’s probably been giving themselves an aneurysm for the past 48 hours trying to get everything assembled. If for some reason you know your going to be late, call whoever it is your supposed to be working with explain and GROVEL .Research As i said before shoots don’t just happen they take careful planning and organisation, if someone sends you a treatment or a moodboard think carefully about what your going to do, talk it through with client first. If it’s something you’re unsure of or haven’t done for a while, rope in a friend to model for you and have a practise run before hand .Be nice As a make-up artist you job is to put make up on people, PEOPLE is the operative word here whoever is in your chair and whatever it is your doing to them don’t treat them like a sausage on a production line, be polite, chat to them, they might be stressed or nervous make them relax, tell some shitty jokes, ask them what films they’ve seen lately etc. (of course if they don’t want to chat thats fine too but at least you made the effort.) The same goes for the rest of the crew, be friendly be helpful at all times, and especially when your starting out make friends with runners and assistants as 9 times out f 10 they have their own aspirations to be a photographer/producer/stylist whatever and collaborating together on your own small projects will be a great way to expand your portfolio. .Network Network, network, network and then network some more, get cards printed the instant you feel comfortable applying foundation, and hand them out to EVERYONE, and ask for one of theirs while your at it. Get a website the instant you have some decent work to put on it, use social media sites facebook/twitter etc, to shout about whatever shoot it is you’ve just done with links to your site and the people you were working with sites, be un-ashmedly self promoting. And remember there is nothing wrong with contacting photographers, production companies, studios etc on spec the worst they can say is No. .Don’t be a bitch Ok ok so your starting to get somewhere, you’ve climbed the first few inches of that greasy pole, you’ve got a few contacts, you’ve done a few jobs, infact You’ve been working away quite happily at a certain level for a while and then suddenly you get landed with a job that’s a bit unprofessional, the crew are barely out of film school, you can probably direct a model better than the photographer etc etc. There’s nothing wrong with offering a bit of friendly advice but for god’s sake don’t walk around rolling your eyes acting like the big I am, it will endear you to NOBODY. And you don’t know today’s Wally who can’t aim a reflector could be tomorrows Tim Walker. .Don’t slag of your colleagues, you may think that actress you just worked with was the diva from hell, you may have wanted to slap that designer, the photographer might have made you cry, ok it’s not nice it happens, but don’t going telling anyone (besides maybe your partner, best mate or mum about it.) Once you’ve been in the game for while you will start to see that is an alarmingly small pond and same faces do tend to pop up, also you don’t know who knows who some you don’t want word getting round that you called so and so a miserable twat. .Oh and finally your getting invited to the right parties woop de do! Obviously you want to be friends with the more important people that’s a no brainer but for gods sake don’t do that eyes round the room looking for someone higher up the pecking order as soon as you find out the person you’ve just been introduced to is an estate agent, firstly how do you like it when people do the same thing to you? Secondly how do you know mr estate agent isn’t the director your to trying to impress’s best friend who could well walk over to him and say ‘god that girl was so rude’. If you really can’t be bothered with someone’s conversation, tell them you have to go to the toliet and leave POLITELY .And finally have fun and be creative dammit – thats what we’re here for after all!! Ok folks that concludes aunties shu-shu’s pearls of wisdom for now, hope you found it helpful, any other queries please feel free to drop be a line at siwanrhill@hotmail.com A couple of months ago I was fortunate to be invited to Amaury Blow's recreation of the 1815 Brussels ball at Berkeley castle in Gloucestershire, the dress code of course was strictly regency so with this in mind I got in contact with the queen of historical inspired fashion; Brighton based designer Joanne Flemming to find out if she might possibly have a suitably Jane Austinesq frock she would be willing to lend me for the evening. But being the superstar she is she went one better and agreed to run me up something for the occasion, so I thought what better way to repay her for her kindness than to do a shoot with said dress afterwards. With this in mind I managed to assemble an amazing crew comprising of photographer Scott Rylander artist/producer/general creative genius Laura Clarke as art director and Strange fruit front woman Jenny Maxwell stepping into the role of model. We were a little unsure of how to display the dress to its best advantage until Laura suggested the use of a pomegranates as a prop, which conjured up images of the Greek myth of the goddess Persephone. (Persephone the goddess of the harvest who was stolen away by Hades the god of the underworld, Persephone is so distraught by this she refuses to eat, eventually Hades brings her her favorite fruit a pomegranate and she eats 6 seeds of it. Meanwhile on earth all the plants and crops are dying and so Zeus the king of the gods went to Hades to ask for her return, he initially refuses but eventually makes a bargin with Zeus that for the 6 seeds Persephone ate she will remain in the underworld for 6 months of the year and return to earth for the earth 6 to make the crops grow - and so the ideas of seasons comes about.) Anyway when I told mentioned this shoot to Brussels ball organiser Amaury Blow, he very kindly agreed to lend us not only one of his beautiful vignettes made specially for the ball ( this one featured a very gothic stuffed raven) but also a truly amazing one off Philip Treacy Mask, which came with its own escort - the wonderful Bernard Coughlan who asked if we could please be careful with it as it was worth more than his car! So despite tiptoeing around it as if it was nuclear bomb I think we managed to use the mask to great dramatic effect for the hell sequence of the Persephone tale. Over all it was a fantastic if slightly nerve wracking shoot and I'm pleased to report that both Joanne and Amaury were please with the results, Amaury in particular is planning to use them to help publicize a very exciting sounding arts based event he is planning for early next year for more info you can visit his website http://www.amauryblow.co.uk/ All the way back in may I was contacted by production manager Inshra Russell, would I be interested in doing a bit of make up on a video for uk hip hop outfit foreign beggars? why certainly! Filming took place over two days, the first was on location at a place called Frogmore paper mill (A 200 year old working paper mill in the town of Apsley near Hemel Hempstead it made an interesting and very atomospheric location, for more info you can visit their website. http://www.thepapertrail.org.uk) If you think the cyborg in the boiler suit looks vaguely familiar, thats because it was played by Ed Skrein (star of Plan B's recent film Ill Manors) Despite Ed's hard man exterior he was as nice a man as you could possibly hope to meet, extremely professional ( he patiently put up with me attacking him with latex, powder and lipstick through out the day) and I think he's definately one to watch for the future. Choreographing and also playing opposite Mr Skrein was martial artist and breakdancer Dan Dewhirst, not being much of sports enthusiast myself I have to say I found it exhausting just watching them, and was very impressed that they managed to keep going throughout the entire days filiming. Inshra, Rik and Eliot going for a take For day two we were based at the wonderful (but well hidden) Camberwell studios in order to make use of their green room facilities. This part of the video was focused specifically on the song with various fx (such as the glowing eyes) to be added in later, and so we were joined by the foreign beggars themselves: Pavan, Ebow, and James who gave an absolutely blinding performance of 'Apex', which I tried (rather unsuccessfully) to capture on my dodgy phone camera (see pic below) the foreign beggars Over all I had a lot of fun making this video, the cast & crew (see below) were not just extremely professional but also a lovely group of people and I hope you enjoyed the finished product CAST AND CREW DIRECTOR: BEN SOPER PRODUCER: RIK GREEN PRODUCTION MANAGER: INSHRA RUSSELL DIRECTOR PHOTOGRAPHY: MAREK BORKOWSKI FOCUS PULLER: EDGAR WITTEK CAMERA ASSIST/DIT: EMILY PAYNE GAFFER: RAY COOK HAIR & MAKEUP: SIWAN WARDROBE STYLING: CHESCA PRODUCTION DESIGN: HELA DONDERTMAN RUNNERS ELLIOTT & JAHAN I'm so excited this video has finally come out, it was another Clake/Oaten production made all the way back in January for the wonderfully named band Knickers and featuring the brilliant acting talent of Matt Kaufman. Once again we get inside the weird and wonderful mind of Laura Clarke (Laura who by the way does have a web page which you can view HERE) The premise for this one as you may have already seen involves singer Sarah Eisenfisz as a slightly crazy lady who lures men down into her flat before killing and stuffing them and then having all kinds of fun and games! The location was absolutely perfect, it was a really peculiar flat in Kensington let out as holiday home by some rather peculiar people, the decor suggested that not a lot had been done to it since about 1971, and when i say that i don't just mean when they last had it wallpapered I mean probably when they last cleaned it as well so it was slightly grotty and you wouldn't have been too surprised to actually find the body of dear old Auntie Hortense lurking in a cupboard, I was very impressed when i discovered that Matthew and Laura had actually spent the night there - I would have been shitting it!! Anyway I'm writing this four months after the event so recollections are now a wee bit dim but I do remember having so much fun on the making of this, particularly hanging out with amazing stylist Charlotte Oaten and going out for thai food afterwards with matt and the folk from knickers who i have to say are as lovely a bunch of people as you could ever hope to meet and i wish them all the best for the future. |
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