“Six Ways To Die In A Bath”

2 years ago

A good few years ago I used to shoot the fashion editorials for some friends of mine who were publishing a monthly listings magazine in Manchester and there was one shoot in particular that stood out, “Six Ways To Die In A Bath”. About six months after the shoot I made notes on the whole process as a behind-the-scenes article and diary but at the time I wasn’t blogging so I didn’t have the opportunity to publish, until now….

So here it is, my diary of “Six Ways To Die In A Bath”.

I go to the cinema on my own, to soak up visuals, as often as I can. Every now and again I have a ‘freeze frame’ moment when a certain framing of a shot will jump off the screen at me and trigger some thought process or another. The initial inspiration for ‘Six Ways’ came from such a scene, the overhead shot of Uma Thurman laid in a coma in her hospital bed, from Kill Bill. I liked the camera angle from directly above the bed, a rare vantage point in the real world and this mixed with the subject being unaware of the camera gave the shot a kind of surrealism and I started to wonder how much I could push this concept.

A couple of months later I came across a very stylised photo of a dead girl in a bath, I thought the concept was great and loved the heavy styling of the image but felt there were some major fundamental flaws in the ‘execution’ (sorry!) of the picture, things just didn’t add up.

So now my head was full of unusual camera angles, of unknowing subjects and dead girls in baths, a strange combination I’ll admit! From that point it was simply a matter of allowing the combination of ideas to gestate whilst trying to work out how to shoe horn a fashion story into it all. The strangest thing though is that when the epiphany came, it was in the shower! A eureka moment if ever there was one, the title of “Six Ways To Die In A Bath” simply popped into my head. Though in hindsight this makes a little more sense as I was actually stood in a bath at time and probably mulling over different scenarios for a shoot.

The overall concept of the shoot was, in reality, the easy part, the difficult part was trying to flesh out the fundamentals of the shoot as a whole. In the end it was a period of around eight months between ‘story title’ and actual shooting with the time spent in between on research and development.

Granted the title was to be ‘Six Ways To Die In A Bath’ but which ways would actually make up the six and would they be accidental, murder or suicide? I developed a long list of ways to meet your end in the bath and tried to maintain a fair cross section of the three categories. The final six to be chosen were slashed wrists, electrocution, overdose, gunshot, drowning and stabbed.

I purposefully wanted to over stylise the whole shoot, this is a common theme in my work and pushing the stylization seems to desensitize a violent or graphic subject matter, making it somehow slightly less real. I wanted the look of the shoot to be predominantly white with the secondary colour being red to really play on the contrast. The clothing was to be quite high fashion to fit with the heavily stylised image and that where at all possible I wanted to try and ruin some clothes. I mean let’s face it if you’re about to meet your maker I’m presuming that the last thing on your mind isn’t “Hope I don’t get blood on that nice white dress!” The problem was that this wasn’t going to endear me to the majority of shops, fashion houses or PR companies who don’t really want their items returning with additional knife holes and blood stains (even if it is edible fake blood!)

It was imperative to put the right team together for the shoot. I needed people who could help me realise the vision yet the hardest part of putting a crew together is finding people that see what’s in your head and this was going to be so important in making this shoot work. Team members have to believe in the shoot, trust other people’s judgements and bring the necessary elements to the shoot to make it work. During the r&d stage I was also introduced to an artist living very close to me proficient in horror special effects make-up and with experience in film set making, having spoken to Nathan a couple of times it was obvious that he grasped immediately what I was trying to achieve and was to prove invaluable over the process of the shoot.

Gradually the shoot, team and idea were all coming together and I’d also started shooting some fashion for a small independent listings magazine in Manchester. They were very cutting edge and were very happy to let me run with a lot of my ideas. I remember standing there pitching the idea to the two directors, Dave and Jamie and their eyes lit up and they both, simultaneously got the look of two naughty schoolboys as they looked at each other, then at me and said “Do it!”

So it was all falling into place, idea, team and magazine prepared to print!

What follows is the timeline of the shoot from inspiration moments to publication.

Late 2003
I go to the cinema to see Kill Bill and am inspired by the shot and aerial camera angle of the scene that features Uma Thurman in coma in a hospital bed.

Early 2004
Stumble across some glossy yet macabre images of a dead girl in a bath. There are very high production values concerning the girl and I really like the concept but am really not impressed with the way splattered the blood. I think the end result is far too contrived which completely detracts from the image.

Late Spring 2004
One day whilst having a shower, and strangely thinking about baths and dead girls, I have a bit of Eureka moment when the title “Six Ways To Die In A Bath” pops into my head.

Summer 2004
The next few months is simply spent mulling over the concept, drawing up a rough list of ways to die in a bath, the style and look of the shoot and weighing up the options for the team needed to realise the story.

August 2004
I’m introduced to Nathan, a fine artist and horror special fx artist and we have a couple of lengthy discussions about the idea and practicalities. The process of talking things through with someone else means the concept is beginning to make much more sense to me.
With a more rounded story in my head, I run the idea past 8020 Magazine to see if they like the idea. They love it and I’ve got a green light to start putting it all together.
Because I want it to look a bit different I want there to be quite a bit of blood and water around. It’s going to be impossible to shoot the story and make it look realistic if I am unable to damage at least some of the clothes. So I speak to a couple of Manchester fashion designers about the idea to see if they like it and if they would be prepared to make something for the shoot.
Start looking around for a make-up artist to really grab the idea and has the right style for the make-up that I want. Find one and organise a trip to London to meet up to pitch the idea and go through some ideas.

September 2004
Start location hunting in Manchester. Visit quite a few major hotels and also high-end bathroom shops with a view to using them as locations. Find a couple of really good leads.
Organise a rough test in my bathroom at home with the make-up artist and the special fx artist and a model. This helps to visualise whether the idea will actually work, how the make-up works (special fx & normal together), any issues with the fake blood, any issues with model and poses, any issues with locations & setting the shots up.
From the test discover a couple of things; that strangely models seem to find it hard to open their eyes or breath under water and that it will be much easier to build and shoot on a set rather than on location. This is due to the restrictions on possible locations availability but more importantly that trying to get the large crew needed into such a confined space is going to be nearly impossible, although this will now push the costs up considerably.
A week later, on the strength of the test, the make-up artist says she isn’t feeling the shoot, another good reason for having the test.
It appears that decisions are made due to things being ruled out, rather than making positive choices, more of a process of elimination. But it means that I’m getting somewhere now, I now know that I have to find a new make-up artist, a location to build a set (most be spacious, able to get wet, easily accessible, have water access and be cheap!) a bath and clothes designers, to name a few!
Approach Sharon Murray (make-up artist) and pitch her the idea. She loves it! Grasping the idea immediately, make-up artist problem solved.
Confirm with Rebekah Roy, a London stylist that I’ve worked with before, that she is interested in the shoot and discuss ideas and direction for the clothes. Decide to try and feature some high fashion, some vintage, the local designers and quite a bit of jewellery as it should be quite easy to clean!
Emma confirms that she is interested in doing the shoot which I’m really pleased as I’d always had Emma in mind due to her pale skin, masses of red hair and ability to put herself through hell to get the shot.
Can’t find a bath…

October 2004
Find a couple of local jewellery designers and a local fashion designer who love the idea. More importantly the fashion designer is willing to make some clothes especially for the shoot that can be damaged if need be.
My studio landlord mentions that he has more free units in the mill and discover that, with the exception of heating, one of them fits the bill perfectly for what I need.
Manage to talk to the media department of Theo Fennel, a high-end jewellery company. A week of chasing people up and I get permission to use their jewellery, ecstatic as I had my heart set on a £10,000 diamond cross for the beauty head-shot which I can now use!
Confirm the shoot is for January edition of 8020, will shoot in November, ring round and confirm everyone is still interested and their available dates in November then have to tally up all team’s dates with available studio space, clothing and bed spaces at home! No mean feat… Pick weekend of 22nd November for the shoot, confirm availability of studio space, but still can’t find a bath!

November 2004
The directors tell me that I can only have five pages in the magazine for the story but for some reason “Five Ways To Die In A Bath” just doesn’t have the same ring! So work on the final choices of ways to die and the different variations of shot and page layouts as to which will work best. Want to get a good cross section of close up’s and full length, still life, beauty and fashion. The final outcome is to decide to put two landscape still-life shots one above the other on a page so the shoot can still be “Six Ways…”
Confirm everyone and everything that I can for the weekend of the shoot. Two stylists, one make-up artist, one special fx/set build, one assistant, one model, book industrial unit.

Still can’t find a bath, which is beginning to nag a little at the back of my mind!

The week before the shoot

Monday
First priority is to find a bath. Someone told me about a prop hire company in Manchester so I give them a call and they have a choice of freestanding mock Victorian baths complete with taps, perfect! Finally after nearly a year of planning how to die in a bath, just six days before the shoot is when I actually get a bath to shoot in!
Discussions with Nathan help me sketch a shot plan for the weekend.
Ring to find out about van hire to transport bath from Manchester to studio
Organise train tickets for Sharon and confirm arrival and departure times with Rebekah.

Tuesday
Spend most of day on the phone confirming collection times for clothing, jewellery items and industrial unit keys. Buy general provisions for shoot and some of the food for the weekend.

Wednesday
Collect the keys for the industrial unit, collect the rented transit van and drive to Manchester for a meeting to discuss clothing requirements with Bill the designer, collect the bath and have an editorial meeting at the magazine.

Thursday
Meet Nathan in the transit van and go to collect a borrowed scaffolding tower, go on mad mission to find suitable lino that looks like tiles, manage to borrow a industrial gas burning heater for the weekend and go to the timber merchants to buy large amounts of wood to build the set and a 20 ft gantry up in the ceiling beams for aerial shots. Return the rental van and move half my equipment from my studio into the new studio / industrial unit. Put everything together and use Nathan as a stand in to test the lighting set-up.
Whilst we are putting the finishing touched to some things in the evening it starts to snow! I hope for Emma’s sake it’s not like this at weekend!

Friday
Drive to Manchester and buy a cheap hair dryer for the electrocution shot, collect bespoke clothes from Bill, the designer. Collect the £10,000 diamond cross and hurriedly call my insurance company to cover the specific item under “Goods in Trust”. Meet Rebekah and Rose, the two stylists, who are busy dashing round town collecting thing, then it’s another meeting at magazine and off to collect some more jewellery. Later in the afternoon I meet Sharon from the train station and meet up with Rebekah and Rose again. We transfer everything, all the clothes, jewellery and people into a very squashed car for journey home.

Weekend of the shoot.

Saturday

Call time: 8 a.m.
Three shots;
1: Hairdryer, “electrocution” still life
2: Aerial, “drowning” full length shot.
3: Pills, “overdose” still life.

The full team consists of Myself, Adam (photography assistant) Nathan (Special FX & Set) Sharon (Make-up & Hair) Rebekah & Rose (Stylists) Emma (Model) who comes complete with a stinking cold to a shoot in poorly heated industrial unit on a freezing weekend in November to lie in a bath full of water for two days!

Whilst two of us set up the “hairdryer” shot, Emma’s make-up for the second shot is being done, clothes are being prepared and planned, tomorrow’s fake blood is being made and the bath is being filled with hot water via a hose pipe run from the outside toilets! Once Emma’s hair and make-up is ready for the second shot, she carefully sits in the bath as just her feet and lower legs appear in the first shot. Although it has taken a long time to get everything ready for the first shot, actual shooting time is quite short. Whilst Rebekah and Rose finish dressing Emma for the second shot, the hot water is topped up, the industrial heater is given another good long blast and the “drowning shot”, is taken in maybe thirty minutes.

For the third shot we remove the label from a big bottle that contained small vitamins which are then replaced with huge soluble aspirin to be more visible. Neat Vimto is used to look like red wine (no point wasting good alcohol) and I spend a long time messing about with the set up off the shot but I just can’t arrange it so that I am happy it all just looks too contrived. Turning to walk away for a brew and a rethink I clumsily kick over the expensive wine glass we’re using, my heart is in my mouth as I think I’ve broken the glass but there’s relief when I realise I haven’t, then joy as I realise that the spilt glass & Vimto is just what was missing from shot. The glass doesn’t move again but the bath, which is full of water, now has to be turned through 180 degrees to put the taps on the side that I want them on. The next thirty minutes are spent moving the rest of the clothes and jewellery into place until I’m finally happy and then Emma has to get into the bath of water again just for her knee!

It’s the end of shooting on Saturday… A day without blood and whilst Emma and Adam go to their respective homes, Rose, Rebekah, Sharon, Nathan and myself all go back to mine for a big pot of home made chile, some alcohol & a film.

Sunday

Call time: 9 a.m.
Three shots;
1. “Slit wrists”, close – up
2. The “head-shot” head shot
3. “Blood Bath”, full length

There’s no Adam assisting today and it’s blood day!

For the first shot, the slit wrist we only have to do the make-up on the arm. The shot is set up and framed in principle, the final choices are made for the jewellery that will be shown and then Nathan & Sharon do the make-up in situ. Once the make-up has been completed the jewellery is added and large amounts of fake blood is applied to wrist and persuaded to flow in the direction I want. Once it has started to pour onto the floor we add a substantial amount more direct to the floor to increase the size of the pool.
I have permission to damage the £1,000 leather dress we are using in the shot but decide that the effect of the wrists will be dramatic enough without having to damage the dress also. So very carefully the dress is slid into place to come up flush to blood. One thing that is noticed is that this recipe of fake blood does seem to stain due to the large amount of food colouring in it!

The next shot is the ‘head-shot’, head shot and the make-up must match the drowning shot of yesterday in which Emma’s eyebrows were whited out. In the previous shot this was relatively easy to do as I was shooting from a distance so a mixture of make-up and photoshop suffices but today’s shot involves a close up therefore making it a little more difficult. The decision is made (with Emma’s permission) to bleach her eyebrows out for the shot and then dye them back later, so the hair is started and the rest of the make-up completed whilst the bath is emptied and refilled with fresh hot water. The hair and the bullet wound are to be done in situ when Emma is in the bath and once Sharon has finished the hair and Nathan has applied the fake bullet hole we have a ‘dry run’ discussing the shot, the pose, the angle of blood flow and Emma’s expression before the fake blood added. Unfortunately the fake blood doesn’t play at all, it just doesn’t flow with the consistency that I had wanted and with me barking orders from 18ft up in the air I only manage to get two shots off before blood goes terribly awry. The staining nature of the blood means that this was the only chance we had otherwise it would be another couple of hours to do all the make-up again. After checking the two shots on the laptop I decide that there’s enough to work with in post-production.

Onto the last shot and it’s the grand finale, which has purposely been left until last due to the huge amount of mess that we’ll make. Time is now ticking on and there are trains to catch and pre-made commitments to honour. The bath is emptied yet again (which involves picking up a bath full of water and carrying it outside to sit over a drain.) Again, as much as possible of this shot is worked out in advance as we’ll only really get one chance with the staining nature of the blood. Not only will Emma be wearing some of the clothes in the bath but also so far, everyone whose bare skin has come into contact with the blood has been left with pink stains!
A lot of issues only really arise once the shoot is under way and we have another dry run to see how the poses look the best. I decide upon the shot looking like Emma has been stabbed elsewhere and carried to the bath and then thrown in. This subsequently determines the general positioning of the body, the orientation of the bath and taps and the positioning of the footprints. With Emma wearing the correct outfit the image is framed again from the gantry deciding on the exact pose. This then determines the positioning and angle of the stab wounds in her chest to make them visible for the camera. The finishing touches are now applied to Emma’s make-up, her hair is finished and the dress has the stab holes put in. Again with me directing from high on the gantry, Nathan makes and places the bloody footprints, the blood splattered knife and the shoe. The shoe has to be returned unscathed so it has to look like it has fallen off rather than go in the blood whilst the other that Emma is wearing will be on her foot dangling over the edge of the bath so that neither will come into contact with the blood. Once Emma is fully ready she gets back into the bath, gets into position and the water and blood mixture is added to the required level. We try and keep the shooting time and therefore the time that Emma has to spend in the bath to a minimum for the sake of Emma’s skin!

Finally the shot and the shoot is finished! All the shots are successfully in the bag, so it’s time to get Emma out of a cold wet blood bath and try and return her back to normal. Unfortunately the half of her body that was led under the blood line does seem a little pink but worse than that, the hair die packaging seems to have lied and instead of the perfect auburn match that was printed on the box Emma now seems to have orange eyebrows…!

After a mad rush to Manchester to return Sharon and Rebekah to their respective trains to London and Oxford and Rose to her house in Manchester, I finally get home late and collapse in front of the TV able to do very little.

The week after the shoot

Monday
I drive to Manchester to return all clothes to whence they came with the first stop being to return the £10,000 cross safe and sound!

Tuesday
Nathan and I take the set apart then hire another van and I return the bath to the hire company.

Wednesday
We return the scaffolding, return the rented industrial unit to it’s original condition and move all the other equipment back to my studio.

Thursday – Sunday
Is spent on the retouching and post-production work.

Sunday Evening
I make another trip to Manchester and an editorial meeting with the magazine to show them the finished images.

Monday

Document all the information for the editorial content, credits, items, stockists, mailing lists and “thanks” list. Upload all information and images onto the magazine servers.