Major Project: Work with Costume Designer
Role of a Costume Designer
A costume designer's focus is entirely on the outfits each character is wearing within the film. They work closely with the Director to decide the correct attire the actors wear when playing the characters.
Due to our student budget out wardrobe will consist of items of clothing that we as a production crew source from our own belongings and anything extra can be bought. We allowed a budget for this of £100, of which we could get items of clothing that were to be ruined or things we as a group did not already have.
Keeping an eye on the outfits during scenes whilst keeping in mind continuity and condition of clothing is key within the role. The outfits are not only a simple item of clothing but also a personal reflection of the character and their taste, meaning that costume is a further layer of storytelling for the characters, which is why a role is dedicated to just this area. As a short student film this attention to detail is a necessity as it allows us to take the most of the time we have within the film allowing the outfits to provide the audience with further information about the characters.
Meeting Michaela
On Double Exposure our Costume Designer is Michaela. Together we have and will continue to work closely on the outfits for each of our characters. Since our initial meeting we both broke down the characters to their tastes and styles and together worked on what I had initially thought they should wear, then developing this to our final costume list. This way we were able to see what we could source, what we needed to buy, if the overall outfits worked with the characters that I had created.
I made it clear that the importance of costume was key to the film. Dealing with a short film we are limited to how long we have to establish characters. Costume being a huge tool for this had to be just right. Each character is completely different from the next so it was important that characters where easily distinguished between and that the outfits were reflective of them. For this reason we allowed weeks in preparation to get the outfits right to ensure this aspect of the film was correct.
Costume list
For our Full Production meeting, Kayla arrived with a mood-board for each character. These mood-boards helped up visually pin down exactly what each character would be wearing. It allowed us to see if things matched, they reflected the character and also allowed for collaboration. This collaboration meant that my vision and her own were able to work together to create outfits that fit, looked good and served their purpose within the script. Also Michaela provided us with options within the mood-boards to discuss and decide.
Steph
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
Dan
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
Dan's outfit mood-board had little change as I was very happy with the ideas she put together. Michaela's ideas fit very well with my own vision and what i was looking for within the script. The only real fine change was the choosing of a white collared shirt over others for Day 2 and the choice of a grey t-shirt over others for Day 1. We also decided on practical worn brown boots for footwear as this further represented Dan's rugged apparel.
It was key to make sure that Dan's outfit in Day 1 and 2 were reflective of him as a character and person. He is a causal, relaxed and rugged man so certain items of clothing abolustely wouldn't have worked with his character. However, with Michaela's ideas along with my vision we were able to create an outfit that truly reflected his character.
Something that Michaela and I discussed was the importance of clothing being a tool for character development, character understanding and narrative progression. For this reason Dan's Day 2 outfit stylistically, and through colour, is very similar to Emily's outfit in Day 1 when she kills him. This layer of storytelling allowed us to subtly nod to the narrative progression and also reflect that Dan, at this point is not real, he is a figment of her imagination thus why he is dressed in a way that would fit her style. She pictures him in her own way, the way she chooses to see him.
Emily
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
Differences between the original outfits mood-board and the updated one was mainly down to eliminating options. The Day 1 outfit consisted was cut down to the sand mac coat and, white shirt, black jeans and heeled Chelsea boots. This was to match with Dan's Day 2 outfit and also to fulfil her appearance of a coordinated, fashionable yet practical woman. I feel that Day 1's outfit finely detailed her character. The colours and style of clothing really fit with my vision of way in which Emily would dress.
Day 2's outfit was styled on a similar taste. We trimmed down the options to a light grey turtle neck jumper, black trousers, black shoes and the same sand mac coat from Day 1. We wanted to continue her coordinated, smart style but with a separate outfit. In doing this Michaela's mood-board made it very easy to pick and choose and experiment with outfits to get the right look.
Also added to the updated mood-board was the pajamas and dressing gown. The dressing gown playing a key part in the script and the pajamas for when she wakes up in Day 2.
Collaboration
Michaela and myself collaborated very well with the costume within this project. Deciding on the style, reasoning for outfits, colour and practicality of the clothes was something that adds more to the story. Each item of clothing was thought out and discussed, something that not only made working together easier but more productive too. Not just during Pre-Production but also on set filming.
A costume designer's focus is entirely on the outfits each character is wearing within the film. They work closely with the Director to decide the correct attire the actors wear when playing the characters.
Due to our student budget out wardrobe will consist of items of clothing that we as a production crew source from our own belongings and anything extra can be bought. We allowed a budget for this of £100, of which we could get items of clothing that were to be ruined or things we as a group did not already have.
Keeping an eye on the outfits during scenes whilst keeping in mind continuity and condition of clothing is key within the role. The outfits are not only a simple item of clothing but also a personal reflection of the character and their taste, meaning that costume is a further layer of storytelling for the characters, which is why a role is dedicated to just this area. As a short student film this attention to detail is a necessity as it allows us to take the most of the time we have within the film allowing the outfits to provide the audience with further information about the characters.
Meeting Michaela
On Double Exposure our Costume Designer is Michaela. Together we have and will continue to work closely on the outfits for each of our characters. Since our initial meeting we both broke down the characters to their tastes and styles and together worked on what I had initially thought they should wear, then developing this to our final costume list. This way we were able to see what we could source, what we needed to buy, if the overall outfits worked with the characters that I had created.
I made it clear that the importance of costume was key to the film. Dealing with a short film we are limited to how long we have to establish characters. Costume being a huge tool for this had to be just right. Each character is completely different from the next so it was important that characters where easily distinguished between and that the outfits were reflective of them. For this reason we allowed weeks in preparation to get the outfits right to ensure this aspect of the film was correct.
Costume list
For our Full Production meeting, Kayla arrived with a mood-board for each character. These mood-boards helped up visually pin down exactly what each character would be wearing. It allowed us to see if things matched, they reflected the character and also allowed for collaboration. This collaboration meant that my vision and her own were able to work together to create outfits that fit, looked good and served their purpose within the script. Also Michaela provided us with options within the mood-boards to discuss and decide.
Steph
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
The main changes to Steph's outfit came with updates to the script. For the Day 1 outfit we opted against the original black dress to a very light pink / white coloured light dress. We felt that the symbolism of her dress portrayed her more as an innocent, clean, beautiful woman. The original black colour had more negative connotations within her dress and I personally felt that it did not fit the character of Steph.
We altered the Day 2 outfit also for a more practical and comfortable look. We both felt that Steph's character is much more relaxed and comfortable as a person. This needed to reflect in her outfit as she arrives the second day to check up on Dan, she is in a warm fur lined coat, a plain white tee, practical jeans and comfortable white trainers. We both felt that this outfit reflected Steph's character much better.
Dan
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
Dan's outfit mood-board had little change as I was very happy with the ideas she put together. Michaela's ideas fit very well with my own vision and what i was looking for within the script. The only real fine change was the choosing of a white collared shirt over others for Day 2 and the choice of a grey t-shirt over others for Day 1. We also decided on practical worn brown boots for footwear as this further represented Dan's rugged apparel.
It was key to make sure that Dan's outfit in Day 1 and 2 were reflective of him as a character and person. He is a causal, relaxed and rugged man so certain items of clothing abolustely wouldn't have worked with his character. However, with Michaela's ideas along with my vision we were able to create an outfit that truly reflected his character.
Something that Michaela and I discussed was the importance of clothing being a tool for character development, character understanding and narrative progression. For this reason Dan's Day 2 outfit stylistically, and through colour, is very similar to Emily's outfit in Day 1 when she kills him. This layer of storytelling allowed us to subtly nod to the narrative progression and also reflect that Dan, at this point is not real, he is a figment of her imagination thus why he is dressed in a way that would fit her style. She pictures him in her own way, the way she chooses to see him.
Emily
Pre Meeting:
Post Meeting:
Differences between the original outfits mood-board and the updated one was mainly down to eliminating options. The Day 1 outfit consisted was cut down to the sand mac coat and, white shirt, black jeans and heeled Chelsea boots. This was to match with Dan's Day 2 outfit and also to fulfil her appearance of a coordinated, fashionable yet practical woman. I feel that Day 1's outfit finely detailed her character. The colours and style of clothing really fit with my vision of way in which Emily would dress.
Day 2's outfit was styled on a similar taste. We trimmed down the options to a light grey turtle neck jumper, black trousers, black shoes and the same sand mac coat from Day 1. We wanted to continue her coordinated, smart style but with a separate outfit. In doing this Michaela's mood-board made it very easy to pick and choose and experiment with outfits to get the right look.
Also added to the updated mood-board was the pajamas and dressing gown. The dressing gown playing a key part in the script and the pajamas for when she wakes up in Day 2.
Collaboration
Michaela and myself collaborated very well with the costume within this project. Deciding on the style, reasoning for outfits, colour and practicality of the clothes was something that adds more to the story. Each item of clothing was thought out and discussed, something that not only made working together easier but more productive too. Not just during Pre-Production but also on set filming.
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