Wing Lam Linda Fung

At the start of the Better Lives unit, I imagined myself knowing the technique to make and apply prosthetics and some other basic special effect technique. As a 3D student, I have always been interested in the Hair and Makeup and Prosthetic course, and since our course has some common ground, I really looked forward to the practical session in the unit. 

Until Covid-19 happened. At the start of January, I was worrying for my friends and family in China, I never anticipated that it would soon become a global pandemic and affect countries all over the world including the UK. Because of the epidemic, I went back to China at the beginning of the spring break. Later, the school turned into online classes and closed all the school facilities. 

Of course, my most looked forward practical class has been canceled. In such a severe situation, this is indeed the most correct decision. We, therefore, changed to only making the design and does not need to worry about how to physically make the prosthetic. That change allows us to do a more conceptual design rather than something more practical since it needs to be physically made and applied to the model’s face.

My inspiration for my final design comes from the outbreak of COVID-19. Human beings have always thought that they are the masters of the planet, taking and wasting the planet’s resources recklessly and ungratefully. Neglecting the fact that we are not the only species on this planet and that we are supposed to share the resources with other species together. We are only an insignificant part of the planet and we are powerless in front of nature. However, the pollution and damage we have done to the planet are all irreversible and many of us are still blindly ignoring these facts.

Therefore my design is set in the future world. Due to the excessive destruction and pollution of human beings, the earth has become an extremely dangerous and uninhabitable planet. People who are unable to evacuate have mutated in order to protect themselves. The chronic radiation from nuclear leakage has caused the skin to become a dark red shade and full of blisters. In order to adapt to the new environment, two pairs of compound eyes have grown on the face, and the limbs have become longer to adapt to the complex terrain. All hair on the body surface is gone.

Although it is a more dramatic design, I still want people to be more aware of the current situation and make small changes to their current lifestyle in order to create a more sustainable environment for the future generation. I think I have learned a lot during this project. I am now more comfortable and willing to express my idea in different formats and medium which will definitely be beneficial for me in the future.

During the Better Lives unit, we were introduced to many professionals in different fields and has discussed topics including diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility in different perspectives.

It has definitely broadened my thinking on these areas and as I reflect on my own course, I realize that there are many things we could improve and change in the industry.

As a 3D Effects student, we often expose ourselves to chemicals that can be harmful to the human body. Therefore, basic protective equipment’s like overalls and gloves are essential. Other materials we use a lot like plaster and clay are also disposable and cannot be recycled. In our daily practice, gloves, plastic measuring cups, and other disposable products are widely used. Most of them are plastic products, and all of them are non-degradable. After every practical session, the amount of waste our class alone produce alone can fill several large garbage bags. That is already a considerable amount of waste that can’t be decomposed. Imagine the amount of waste we produce each year, the amount of waste our school produces. What about the whole industry. The answer is unthinkable.

Although in recent years, people have gradually become more and more aware of the environmental problem and the importance of protecting the environment, it is still far from enough to change this situation fundamentally.

The Better Lives sessions have let me start to wonder whether we can find ways to access new materials and learn techniques on the basis of minimizing waste, to change the situation that has existed for many years. Whether it is possible to use the degradable materials as raw material to replace the old ones, whether new materials can be reused on the premise of sufficient quality, and whether new technologies/techniques can reduce waste produced during the manufacturing of the material. These are the problems we should think about and solve.

As young people who are about to enter this industry, we have the responsibility and obligation to make some bold attempts and innovations to try to improve the current situation. We will see a significant difference in society if every one of us makes small changes. Together, we can have a better future.

In today’s society, the concepts of diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility get talked about more and more. We see these words on the internet, read it in articles, discuss them in class, and write them in essays. But do we really understand what these concepts mean in real life? 

During the Better Lives unit, we were introduced to many professionals in different fields about many different areas and has broadened my thinking on concepts like diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility. Personally speaking, all my knowledge of these concepts before is all “superficial”. I know all the theories and impacts, I understand the importance of it and have knowledge that allows me to write essays about these topics, but I have hardly ever put these concepts in real-life situations and apply them in my own context. 

Reflecting back at my own experience, I realized that there is a lot we can do to make everything more sustainable. One of them is to buy less. With the heavy influence of consumerism nowadays, many people, including me, unconsciously have the wrong idea that consumption can bring happiness. Although to equate consumption with happiness can stimulate the economy and make businesses and enterprises profitable, it causes a great burden on the environment. A lot of our consumption is non-necessities, unnecessary products. Take clothes for example. In the era of fast fashion, many clothes have a very short life span and will be thrown away after the fashion trend is over. This is extremely wasteful not to mention the waste and pollution produced during the production process of these clothes. 

In my opinion, fashion is one of the easiest ways to start in order to reduce unnecessary buying. Going through my wardrobe, I see many clothes that I buy and never wear or have only be worn a few times. I have also found items that were trendy at the time but not anymore. I realize that out of all these cloths, the ones I wear often are the same and the rest of them are the result of impulsive buying. I start to think that is it really necessary to buy these clothes? Do I really need them or do I just want them? 

To solve this problem from the source, I think we should try our best to change our consumption concept and raise awareness of that, making it social responsibility, in order to change this phenomenon.

As young adults, we have more responsibility for trying to solve this problem and change our mindset . since we are soon going to be the new blood into every industry and field, it is crucial for us to understand that the concept of buying can bring us happiness is not true. Only when we recognize this and change our behavior can we then affect and encourage others to do the same. 

Together, we can make a difference.