A Guide to Costume Design
Making a film involves more people than just the director and the actor. One has to consider the lighting, the camera work, the production design, the sound, the locations, the costumes, etc. Every little detail can mean something big to your film. Costume design is one of the major visual aspects of filmmaking. The clothing for a character can tell a story just as the kinds of t-shirts a biker wears or the kind of elegant dress a princess wears can tell their story in real life. Like any visual element in film, the costumes play a part by deciding what the character or situation calls for. Visual decisions like the types of fabric, the time period the costumes will reflect, the color of the items, the amount of costumes and the make of the costume can determine what type of film you have and what kind of character you have. From the metaphor of the character to showing the job title, costumes provide a way for the viewer to make decisions upon meeting the character for the first time, which in real life may be stereotyping but in filmmaking, it is necessary and is often used deliberately filmmakers. Period pieces are films that are set in a different time period than the present day one. Mostly period pieces are called such because they are in an era of outdated clothing like 19th century England. Clothing from the American 1960's you can find or make easily but with typical before-20th Century period pieces, you must look up the styles from a book or research paintings during the time period. Even period pieces from the last century may have to be constructed. You can always put a new spin on the outfits of yesteryear and sometimes this can be easier than making the outfits of today. Unfortunately, you costume designer will most likely be hand-making these kinds of costumes as they will be unique to your film. In Dream Girls, all of the costumes that spanned from the 1950's to the 1980's were originals from the production designer although they seemed to fit in perfectly with the eras depicted in the film. The types of fabrics used can be all important to the comfort of your actor and to your character. It can also give an impression on how uptight the character is. For instance, Tom Hanks running in Forrest Gump gives us a different feel than Tom Hanks running after a criminal in Catch Me If You Can. It's in the actor, the setting, the character but also in the clothing. The difference in a polyester suit and thin jogging shorts make all the difference. The make of the costume plays a similar role to that of the type of fabrics. You could have conservative costumes, costumes that show lots of skin, ones that are outlandish, ones that are not typical of the person. Also the make of the costume can be done extremely well like a princess gown or very expensive suit. You can show the tax bracket of any character by showing what they wear. Could they be carrying a Gucci bag? Or is that Walmart purse? Costumers can spend time making a costume fit for Helen Miren in The Queen or they can throw something on the characters in Bill and Ted's Excellet Adventure which is probably what Bill and Ted would do. The color of fabrics can definitely determine what kind of character you have. If a film has people wearing all white, it says something about the film besides the dialogue and the locations. Superstore clerks could be wearing bright blue outfits or dull gray t-shirts. Each one tells a story. And individual character that always wears black o always wears red will say something about that person without literally saying a word. The amount of costume changes can also make a statement about the character. A character that wears the same outfit throughout a film and then has a change in the end can be a metaphor for the change inside him. A character that is constantly changing into different bright clothes throughout a film could say something about their character not knowing who thy are. Dull clothes can tell you that the person is dull and bright clothes can say the opposite. They can also be used ironically if that's what the scene calls for. Costumes say as much about the film as any other aspect of it and should be treated with as much respect. Links:
www.oscar.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.costumes.org
www.fashion-era.com
| 
Benefits
