Steel Movie | Out of Place | Backstory | Video

In response to your questions, here’s some of the background information about the concept photoshoot for our movie Steel (working title).  For background about the movie, please click HERE.  And for location scouting information, please click HERE.

Team

Concept & Photography | Tom Libertiny
Model | Fatima Kojima
Costume | AJ Martina
Hair & MUA | Brandie Brancheau

Time

Our team spent six weeks researching, planning, and designing (the look, wardrobe, hair & makeup) for our shoot.  Conceptually, we first narrowed our options to two looks that we felt represented fashion for a character who lives 20 to 50 years from now based on key assumptions for each look.

Look 1–Camouflage | Black & White

Surveillance through realtime video is pervasive in even the smallest towns.  Government has completely embraced the technology and it’s up to individuals to actively understand the limitations of surveillance and actively resist it.

Does our assumption sound a bit paranoid to you?  Wired Magazine and CV Dazzle believe it’s entirely reasonable and have dedicated information on how to wear makeup and clothing that renders video surveillance useless.

Our take on anti-surveillance clothing was based on what is presently used to mask prototype vehicles that are tested on public streets.  There’s an entire industry based in Detroit that creates cutting-edge wraps to make it almost impossible for cameras to focus on a vehicle.

Imagine what that camouflage design could do for you.  We did.  And AJ Martina,

our costume designer, created this Black & White look.

With satellite-based video and photography, what you chose to wear on your head was also critical.  While a baseball hat has been used in most applications, we assumed that 20 to 50 years from now, designers will have moved beyond a simple hat or hoody.

Brandie Brancheau, our Hair & MUA, designed a sculpted look that’s stylish from all angles and also conceals our character’s face from above.

While we’ve quoted articles that give advice on camouflage makeup, we’ve taken creative liberty and not included those particular looks.

Why?  While a normal person 20 to 50 years from now may indeed be relatable in camouflage makeup, our character needed to be relatable today.

Instead, Brandie created a makeup design that complimented AJ’s wardrobe and fit well with the overall feel of this look.

Which brings us to Fatima Kojima, our model.  She had the remarkable ability to make a futuristic look, one that looks avant garde to us today, feel perfectly normal.  It’s not easy pulling off a look that exudes confidence, comfort, and a touch of Out of Place at the same time.  Fatima had the talent to do it.

 

Look 2–Texture | Blue & Gold

Twenty to 50 years from now, the era of video being incorporated into fashion will have become common.  So common, that we’ve assumed

that there will be a renaissance in high quality textured clothing and the use of saturated colors.  Also, the fitted look of well-tailored clothing also will return.

AJ designed this costume to accentuate texture, color, and our character’s athletic figure.  It’s traditional materials and colors in an avant garde look.

We spent a lot of time discussing and coordinating the color of blue that we used.  It needed to feel rich and impart confidence.

That key blue color is also used in Brandie’s makeup design.  For this look we retained Brandie’s original hair design and then accented it in some of the photographs with matching lighting on Fatima’s hair.

Our overall goal was to show cohesiveness between each design element.

Fatima’s poise and confidence really helped sell this look.  She combined innocence and ethereal beauty with her athleticism.  She also used, to great effect, poses that bring back the concept of camouflage to this look.

What’s Next?

Now that we have a good visual understanding about this character, it’s time to put the pieces together and tell her part of the story in our movie script.

Many thanks to Fatima, AJ, and Brandie!

Video

How do we think clothing will seamlessly incorporate video within 20 years?   Check out this BBC video from the 2016 Consumer’s Electronic Show.

And for a tutorial about how to apply makeup to hide from facial recognition software via video cameras, check out this video.