Costume Designers - Case Study Example

The Role of the Costume Designer in Theatre, Film and Television Costume designers have a bigger role in theatre, film and television than you mightthink. They are responsible for more than the costumes and in most cases their jobs involved the people, the sets and more. One might think that a designers role was only to build the costumes and get them to the appropriate actor when it is time. However, they have far more to do and much of it is done before the costume is ever made. DESIGNER RESPONSIBILITIES THEATRE The major problems that designers reported in theatre included the amount of time they had to get costumes ready and how they were treated within the auspices of the theatre. Some of the actors want costumes to be a certain way and this is not always possible because of the needs of the director. Patton Campbell also said that people sometimes change his costumes without consulting him. Also, many see that working in theatre can be "feast or famine" and this means that you really have to love what you do (Campbell, as quoted in Pectal, 1993, p. 54). All designers said that theatre was very fast and the timing was different than in film or television. They had to quickly get costumes ready sometimes and it was difficult to keep moving at times. Some of the things they have to do are work directly with the actors, understand the script and identify a first impression of the characters, the setting, the mood and the environment of the play. This is important because costumes need to match the personality of the actor and it must be authentic. If the play is during a certain period of history, the designer will need to research the period, understand what clothes were worn during that time (from head to toe including jewellery, undergarments, hats, gloves, and so forth) and what fabrics were available. In order to make sure that the costumes are authentic, they must be made with fabrics that are as close to the real ones as possible. Designers who are new have to understand how theatre works and how costumes fit into this picture. Jane Greenwood suggests that a designer for theatre has to really understand the way that people look. They should spend their time looking at other people all the time, they should have a good sense of plays and stores and they need an imagine that they love to use. She said it was very important for a new person to learn to see clothes for what they are and to file how different types of clothes look on different people. This will serve them well in creating what she called "a mental filing cabinet" that will tell them quickly where and how clothes look on people (Pectal, p. 82). Some designers, say that in addition to a degree, all costume designers "need a high level of design skill and creative vision, as well as practical sewing skills" Many designers have a BTEC HND degree or postgraduate qualifications in costume design, fashion, theatre design or performing arts (production)" (Costume Design, n.d.). A theatre designer may also want to study lighting so that he or she can understand better how light affects costumes and how they are seen. Theoni Aldredge suggested that young students needed to go to drama school so they could learn as they went to school. In other words, practical experience is very important because much of what is learned is learned in the field instead of in a textbook (Pecktal, p. 19). DESIGNER RESPONSIBILITIES FILM The problems that some designers saw in film had more to do with the timing schedules and how the camera saw what was to be filmed. Also, according to Aldredge, the film costume designer cannot get to know the actors as easily as in the theatre (Pectal, p. 12) and you cannot change things at the last minute. Everything you do has to go in front of the camera and you have to see that this camera is actually the human eye. Colt suggests that another problem for film designers is that they must understand timing and scheduling in film because it is different than theatre (Pectal, p. 69) and they may have to develop many costumes if the director is unable to decide which actor to use in a film until the last minute (Pectal, p. 71). The point of the camera in film is to see how things will be filmed. Aldredge also said that little details must be looked at when you first deal with the camera. As an example, if you know the camera is going to look at buttons on a dress, you have to make sure that all the buttons within the cameras sight match. This is very important to what the designer will do (Pectal, p. 19). According to Vanessa Mulholland, a costume designer for film, "The costumes should make the direction, acting and writing come forward. Our job is to be not noticed, really – and it’s very hard work!" (Suchandrika, 2008). Colt points out that a designer for film will need to understand colour and how they relate to film because a camera can play tricks with colour and will make certain patterns difficult (Pectal, p. 69). A good designer will also need to understand what "camera-okayed" means because this will have to happen for all the costumes (Pectal, p. 71). Sometimes for film the designer will have to research the topic of the movie. As an example, film designer Betsy Heimann said that when she did the movie, "Jerry Maguire" she had to research the world of sports. (Betsy Heimann as quoted in Calhoun, 2008). A designer for film also needs passion for film and must be creative and innovative in their thinking. They will need to work in cramped quarters sometimes and they will need "flexibility, stamina and the ability to multi-task" (Costume Design, n.d.). DESIGNER RESPONSIBILITIES TELEVISION Television is probably the most gruelling aspect of costume design because the designer must be able to pull together costumes quickly over a very short amount of time. Often the costume designer for television must work directly with actors, directors and others over a period of several weeks because they will need to work on a whole series of programs. Often they will not know what type of costume to do until the very last minute. Television has the smallest budget of all of the pieces discussed in this paper so designers will really have to be creative. When designing period costumes in this genre it is very difficult because of the budget. This is one of the reasons why the series seem to be much shorter than in film (Farrell, n.d.). The costumes must be more clearly acceptable in period pieces because people in the television viewing audience will complain quickly if something is out of synch with the rest of the movie. Some of the more recent reality shows like "Dancing With the Stars" gives a larger challenge for television designers. They must not only outfit the dancers, but they must outfit the judges and the Master of Ceremonies. According to Claire Palmer, one of the designers for this show, she must outfit everyone and then she has to dress everyone, do final checks on all the costumes before the dancers go out to dance (as quoted in Interview with Claire Palmer). For this show she also has to create a costume that makes the dancers feel "like a million dollars" and they have to prepare costumes two weeks in advance. This is very difficult and the designer must really understand how to multi-task and delegate work. References Calhoun, J. (1 March 2000). Modern Mode: Film Costume Design in the Here and Now. Live Design. Retrieved August 26, 2008 from http://livedesignonline.com/ mag/show_business_modern_mode_film/. Costume Design - Light Ent. (n.d.). Start in TV.com. Retrieved August 26, 2008 from http://www.startintv.com/jobs/costume-design-light-ent.php. Costume Designer. (n.d.). Learn Direct Careers Advice. Retrieved August 26, 2008 from http://www.learndirect-advice.co.uk/helpwithyourcareer/ jobprofiles/ profiles/profile915/. Costume designer Claire Palmer. Dancing With The Stars. (n.s.) Retrieved August 25, 2008 from http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/497100/1581123 Farrell, E.M. (n.d.) Tube Tops: Costume Design for Television. Celluloid Wrapper. Retrieved August 25, 2008 from http://www.fortunecity.com/ lavender/heat/218/tubetops.html. Pectal, L. (1993). Costume design techniques of modern masters. NY: Back Stage books. Suchandrika (12 August 2008). Interview with costume designer Vanessa Mulholland. Film and Festivals Magazine. Retrieved August 26, 2008 from http://suchandrika.wordpress.com/2008/08/12/interview-with-costume-designer- vanessa-mulholland/. Read More