Costume

So these are the three masks we are using for the characters in our short film. We purchased them off Amazon; while we did this, we took into account our budget. Rationing our money appropriately was central to the success of our short film - if we spent too much in the wrong direction, not only could we get ourselves in debt but we could also lack the necessary funds needed to purchase vital props and items, as well as renting any costumes (e.g. suits that our characters wear).

The masks that we have bought were shipped internationally, so we had to take that into account too. If we didn't purchase them in the correct time frame prior to our filming (in other words, if we didn't buy them before our allotted filming time), not only would we lose our filming slot but we would not get any of the filming done - unless we decided to film some of the scenes that didn't require all masks. However, this is not optimal as not only would require more working hours, but there is a large risk of the continuity editing errors unless we were meticulous in making sure our backgrounds, lighting and costumes were the same.

The Pig Mask

The Horse Mask

The Chicken Mask

This is a link to some gameplay for Hotline Miami:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2n_BinoS1Ug

These costumes are an intertextual reference to the cult videogame mentioned in a previous post - Hotline Miami. This is the most distinctive media text that I was inspired by to integrate into our costumes - especially since it upheld narrative enigma, as well as looking "interesting" since the masks aren't just the professional robber standard (a black balaclava or ski mask). So it was something different in that sense, which we felt would be less boring and less stereotypical.

The other half of the costume that we decided to integrate into our film are plain black suits OR smart clothing. E.g. white shirt, black trouser.

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We got the idea of this from Reservoir Dogs. Reservoir Dogs is a popular film directed by Quentin Tarantino during the early 90s. Similar to Hotline Miami, Reservoir Dogs gained notoriety/still holds a reputation due to its violent nature, as well as being associated with Tarantino who is known for filming, producing and screenwriting movies that are popular due to their violent nature, E.g. Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Django, Planet Terror etc.

As you can see, the suits that we are thinking of using are slightly similar in nature to the suits that the characters in the film are wearing (other than Joe and Nice Guy Eddie who are in plain clothing in the back). Because the characters in our short film are distinguished from our masks, there is no reason for there to be any specified names. For example 'Mr Pink' (furthest to the right), can be identified from 'Mr Blonde' (furthest to the left) though they're wearing matching suits. We have masks to identify our characters.

The other similarity between the two is the cult status they both hold, and Reservoir Dogs is still a popular film that is widely watched today and most possibly still will be in the future. Hotline Miami is still widely played though it came out several years ago.