Goodwin, Jeff - Blue Velvet: A Polaroid Diary

Go behind the scenes of David Lynch’s 1986 cult classic with on-set Polaroids taken by makeup artist Jeff Goodwin. The film’s makeup artist, Jeff Goodwin, shares hundreds of never-before-published Polaroids documenting the movie’s genesis and production. Goodwin was already taking dozens of pictures to test and document different actors’ looks across multiple scenes. It was only natural that he would turn his camera outward, toward other areas of the set, to unknowingly create a visual anthology of the making of Blue Velvet. Goodwin was also responsible for the film’s gory prostheses—brain injuries, gunshot wounds and, most famously, severed ears. Bound in blue velvet, this Polaroid Diary arrives just in time for the 40th anniversary of the inimitable film. Goodwin’s snapshots, spanning from pre- to post-production, invite us behind the scenes of life on set: from field tests of “Mr. Ear” to goof-offs between takes. Annotated with technical notes and anecdotes, these Polaroids serve as record of both a commitment to craft and the admiration held by the cast and crew for David Lynch, a director whose singular vision will never be seen again.