COMMUNICATING WITH COSTUME AND MAKEUP IN NIGERIAN HOME VIDEO FILM. A STUDY OF "EFUNSET AN ANIWURA".
ABSTRACT
This project focuses on how costume and makeup communicates in Nigerian Home video film using a home video titled EFUNSETAN ANIWURA directed by Tunde Kelani as a case study, how the director uses costume and makeup in communicating the actors characters and the message of the film. This project also focuses on how costume and makeup helped in enhancing visual aesthetics and semiotic of performance. This project also seek to call the attention to effectiveness and importance of costume and makeup in Nigerian home video film, and also for directors, makeup artist, costumier should accord greater important to them.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the study
1.1 Statement of the problem
1.2 Purpose of the study
1.3 Significance of the study
1.4 Objectives of the study
1.5 Scope of the study
1.6 Methodology
1.7 Limitations of the study
1.8 Definition of terms and concept
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Literature review
2.1 The nature and functions of costume and makeup
2.2 Costume and Makeup in communication
2.3 Emergence of home video film in Nigeria
2.4 Costume and makeup in Nigeria home video
2.5 The correlation between Costume and Makeup in the Home Video and
Aesthetic and Semiotics
CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICL BACKGROUND
3 .0 Historical background of the film
3 .1 Synopsis of the film
3.2 The role of costume and makeup in the realization of the visuals
Aesthetics in the home video
3.3 Analysis of the costume and makeup as a semiotic of
Performance in the home video film "EFUNSETAN ANIWURA"
CHAPTER FOUR: CONCLUSION
4.0 Summary of findings
4.1 Recommendation and conclusion
4. 2 References
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
This project is aimed at telling people on how to communicate with costume and
makeup on screen. It is also for showcasing costumes and makeup as being used in
com.muqicating to viewers in Nigerian home video industry using the play EFUNSETAN
ANIWURA.
Therefore, our concern is to see the way costume and makeup have been used by the
producer as a communicative tool to the audience or viewer, in order to bring out the actors
character and also the message of the film, and in doing this, the costurnier and makeup artist
depended on the traditional African costume and makeup. This project also focuses on how
costume and makeup helped in enhancing visual aesthetics and semiotic performance by
bringing out the signs and beauty of the play production.
There are some theatrical elements which can be used to further enhance or bring out
some important but hidden messages in the text. The messages here are implied by
playwright, some of these theatrical elements are dance, music, props, costume and make-up.
But in this work we are looking at costume and makeup as a theatrical element that serves as
a very important means of communication especially in Nigerian home videos. This costume
and makeup are used mostly to communicate hidden meanings to the viewers at home.
Costume and makeup are two elements of drama that can serve as a very potent means of
communication in Nigerian home videos, costume and makeup are used by actor to enhance
effective communications mostly in Nigerian home video, effective communications in such
a way that the viewers are able to understand the actors or actress role through their costume
and makeup. To explain these more better in this work, it is important to understand the word
communication itself.
Communication according to Wikipedia Encyclopaedia; "Communication is gotten from the latin word "communicare" which simply means to share, it's also the meaningful exchange of information between two or more participants". (vol8)
Communication is referred to as a means of conveying information through feelings, attitudes, expectations, exchange of ideas, intensions as by speech, non-verbal gestures,
writing and behaviour. The forms of communication are verbal, written, non-verbal and visual communication. There are several ways at which we communicates, communication is a crucial component of our life, it enables us to relate to one another, communication is more than talking and listening, it also involves understanding and interpreting.
Costume is a very important element of any dramatic production and with makeup to
establish the total pictorial appearance of the actor .Costume is a crucial value of acting which assists characterization whether in film or on stage, the audience can determine age, social status, nationality before the actor utters a word, It also helps to establish the relationship between characters. Costume should be designed for all actors in all plays. In any film the effect of a costume on both the actor and viewers is what counts upon the film, the taste of the artist, not the actor, must govern the choice of material and colour, and the
meaning of the play must dominate all decisions.
Actor and Actresses are seen before they are heard this is a common phrase used in the theatre to reflect the significance of costume on the set during production, this is the main reason why Martin Bantian (247) asserts that "actors often find costumes more important than scenery".
Costume is particularly associated with the moving actor and therefore, the most dynamic and
living of all visual designs .Besides, it can tell about a people or culture and even the times in
which they lived. Costuming becomes the extension of the image of the human body, the
position.however, is that costume basically reflect characters in relation to the indigenous or
traditional cultural dictates of a people which has implications for development.
Finally, costume serves as an important mere covering for an actor on stage or screen,
because the actor wears it on.
Makeup, especially the one done in film, is the key component to a successful play. It
opens up a field of study that conveys the excitement, fun, and challenge of theatre illusion
and communication, unlike the stage makeup, that the larger the auditorium or the more lights
to be used the more makeup is needed, sometime stage light can wash the colour from the
actors face until it has a plasterboard effect.
Costume and makeup in home videos gives the audience key information about a
character at first sight for example if a character is depressive, the costuming and makeup
may reflect in the form of unkept, dirty and wrinkled clothing, he or she appears in an untidy hair. Costume and makeup serve as important purpose for actors, they both play an important role in visibility and aesthetic which means the beauty of the role they were playing. Makeup is necessary for ensuring that the features of an actor's face are easy to be seen before the
lines are rendered, less time will be wasted and more would be achieved in terms of play
productions content and aesthetics.
The forms of communication are known to be verbal, written, non-verbal and visual communication has explained earlier, but the form to be used in these works is Non verbal
means of communication, because costume and makeup are non verbal modes of communicating.
Costume and makeup as non verbal modes of communication, the actors are dressed in
clothes that reflect their unique personality. There are lots of other non verbal ways of
communicating which can be; body posture, physical contact, which also tries to convey a lot
of information to people. Body postures matters when communicating verbally to someone, folded legs arms and crossed legs are some of the signals conveyed by a body posture, but we
researching on how costume and makeup are means of communicating directly to the viewers non verbally even before being heard.
Costume and makeup are the theatrical element that should be well utilized by costumier and makeup artist, just like the director and other crew member of the production
must agree with the message of the play, so as to communicate well through the medium of costume and makeup to the audience.
Generally, in costuming for a production, stage plays or screen plays, the most important and first thing to do is to read and re-read the script thoroughly, understanding the script and watch the initial rehearsal in order to understand the concept that director intends
to use and it should be well understood in terms of costume and makeup just like the other technical aspects of the play production which include lighting, sound and sets, in order to send a clear and proper message to the audience.
Costume and makeup serve as purpose for the actors through the primary work that actor's do in creating their characters during the weeks of rehearsals and individual practise
leading up to a show, seeing themselves transformed visually into a character which is often a powerful source of inspiration. Both costume and makeup are paramount among the elements used in relating human experiences to the viewers.
This study looks at the communicative value of costume and makeup in video film
production and how they can be used as a mode of communication, therefore costume and
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makeup should never be neglected if the concept of the script writer and the overall motives are to be accomplished.
Costume and makeup convey information's about wearers' legal condition or prestige and also indicate the environment of the play, the emotion of the wearer, and his socio economic status, psychology and occupation .costume in video films is the language through which visual statements are made. Through film, costume can be used to affect the society; this is based on the ability of the costume designer's creativity to reflect the socio cultural life of the environment in which the story revolves.
Costume and makeup should be able to communicate an actor" s mood, for instance,
costume of bright colours or bold design may indicate happiness and such costume might even brighten up the mood of the viewer seeing the movie. Actors have to be able to move freely in a costume ifthere is a combat scene, they need to have clothing that will help them stay safe. This work will highlight the important of costume and makeup in Nigerian home video.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The decision to write on costume and makeup in igeria Home Video is born out of the conviction that costume and makeup deserve a close study as the two arts been exiled,
therefor~ this project is concerned with the aspect of costume and makeup as a vital means realizing the home video titled "Efunsetan Aniwura".
In their function as a medium of play interpretation and communication, costume and makeup re-inforces the dramatic situation thereby making the decision of costume and makeup most appropriate especially as the producer and his message are often been isolated from the total environment of the performance. Consequently upon this, the director and the;
actors have often been given a pride of place sometimes to the total neglect of the other key
element in the production ensemble such as the costume and makeup, scenery and lighting.
The study of costume and makeup is valuable both on aesthetic ground and as a mirror of the time and society in which it is used.
1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of study is to attempt to the costume and makeup artists of our Nigerian home video films to be more focused and thorough in their use of costume and makeup.
The study also helps to know how effective is the costume and makeup as communicative value of the characters in the film.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study is an attempt to emphasize the fact that costume and makeup can be used as part of the elements of communication in a given play text and this naturally will assist a producer or director in the realization of a given production.
This study will therefore benefit the directors, producers, script writers in knowing that there are others elements of drama such as dance, scenery, music, and props that can be used to enrich communication on the screen plays.
This study will contribute to existing literature eon costume and makeup in Nigerian home videos.
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This research study is concerned with .First, discovering the extent to which costume and makeup has been used as communicative value in the Nigeria Home Video film and also how attention is given to aesthetics in film production in 1.gena.
Secondly, This study also aim at critically appraising the costumes in the video film
"Efunsetan Aniwura" with a view of how communicative it is to the audience and also
indentifying common mistakes and production errors in the Nigeria Video Film production
and proffer solutions for better filmmaking.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research study will deal with the important of costume and makeup and how it
helped in the realization of the home video film"Efunsetan Aniwura". It will show the aesthetic and semiotic of performance in the video film, "Efunsetan Aniwura".
1.6 METHODOLOGY
This is purely a content analysis which requires a combination of several methodologies, we latter consulted library materials such as books, journals, magazines and newspaper to enable us assess theoretical information on costume and makeup. We also
watched the film which is being used as example for this study, in order to be able to offer adequate critical analysis of the costume and makeup used. Additional in formations were gathered through interviews with some costumier and makeup artist and also the use of online materials.
1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The analysis has shown that in a study of nature there are always one kind of obstacle or
the other ones, often frustrate the student researcher in carrying out an effective research work. These will arise mainly due to constraints of time, finance and lack of materials resources in the school library being a neco institution, there travelling to several other
schools and which cannot be neglected also, therefore this study will be limited to the aspects of costume and makeup used in the film and only few major characters are been analysed.
But in spite of these limitations, effort will be made to do a thorough coverage of most
important aspect of the research, so that the work will be relevant to subsequent researchers.
1.8 DEFINATIONOF TERMS
To appreciate and understand a appropriate meaning of words and expression as used in these work, it is relevant to define some words and terminologies used within the context of this work.
COSTUME
They are clothes worn by the performers, costume are the most personal aspect of the visual elements in the theatre, style of clothing is general, including ornament, hair style that are worn at one time.
According to Hodge (1971 :257), costume may be defined in several ways, one the best is
to see costume as live scenery by an actor in a particular role in a particular play, acting is impersonation not reality so is it costume for it is the exterior reflection of actors impersonation, which assumes that the person portrayed is someone order than the actor himself.
TYPES OF COSTUME
In theatre they are classified as thus costumes
DAY-DAY COSTUME: Day to day costume as the name implies, are normal costumes for daily activities
SPECIAL COSTUME: Special costumes are special clothing worn for special occasion. They are different from everyday costume. for example, they are worn during ceremonies and so on.
ABSTRACT COSTUME: Are costumes worn by supernatural beings. They can also be
abstract in nature for example death, money.
OCCUPATIONAL COSTUME -Are costume worn by actors in order to depict their job for
example lawyer, doctors costume.
MAKEUP
This is the major means of returning vitality and expressiveness
