Research 4 - Vampires

After changing my concept for my fiction adaptation project, I thought I would do some research into vampires that are on TV. I mainly looked at TV shows that included vampires as characters to see how the makeup was done.

The two TV shows I chose are, 'The Vampire Diaries' and 'Being Human'.

The Vampire Diaries

'The Vampire Diaries' is a popular US TV show that is about a girl who falls for a vampire.

In this show there are two main male characters that are vampires, they are 'Damon' and 'Stefan'.

These vampires look normal until they turn into their 'feeding' form. Their feeding form consists of red eyes, fangs and veins that pop up under the eye area.

This vampire makeup really interested me as it is quite simple, but effective at the same time.

Here is an image of 'Damon' in his vampire form.

I was able to find a video on youtube that shows how the actor Ian Somerhalder transforms into his on screen character 'Damon'. This video shows the materials that were used in the show to create the vampire look, including the contact lenses how they insert the fangs.

Being Human

Another show that has vampires is 'Being Human.' This show I am looking into is the UK version, as this show has been released in the US recently.

This show isn't just based around vampires, it also includes other supernatural beings, such as ghosts and werewolves.

One of the main characters is called 'Hal' and he is a vampire. Like 'The Vampire Diaries' he looks normal until he turns into his 'feeding' form.

Hal's feeding form is slightly different to Damon's, he just has fangs and black eyes.

Here is an image of 'Hal' in his 'feeding' form.

With both shows I've noticed that the most focused part of the vampire look is the eyes. Its the one area that changes in shows/movies that have vampires.

What I noticed with both shows was that the makeup was very simple, but at the same time was able to be quite scary.

By researching into these vampire looks, I now have a much better idea on how I want my vampire to look in my film.