I am currently spending many hours at my desk preparing for my first ever three hour seminar on Costuming for Film and TV, which is being presented on April 13th at UNLV. (see link at bottom for more information).
The first hour will be film clips from some of my favorite films from various genres, starting with period (Marie Antoinette), then moving to more recent periods such as the 1940’s (42, the movie about Jackie Robinson) and the 70’s (Argo). We’ll also look at a number of contemporary films such as Silver Linings Playbook, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Then I am turning to Sci Fi and fantasy films, and oh what a revelation for me! Confession alert: I am so not a fan of sci fi and rarely see those films. I love films rooted in reality, so even if a movie starts off looking “real”, the moment weird creatures start flying in, I’m out!
No judgement here. It’s just my taste, my preference. So I have surprised myself in discovering how fascinated and impressed I am with the work of sci fi costume designers. As I research films like Tron, Prometheus, After Earth, and more, I realize how much goes into coming up with the looks. As one costume designer I saw interviewed said: “sci fi is the last place where you completely rely on your imagination. Period films can be largely rented, contemporary films can be largely shopped, but in sci fi you create a costume from scratch.”
I am learning that these costumes more than many others require extensive collaboration with the director, production designer and art department, props, lighting, and special effects, as everyone together tries to create a brand new world. Sci fi designers have to deal far more with technology, and can discover and use materials that you don’t usually think of as materials for a costume.
One designer commented that in over 60 years of Oscar Awards, less than 10% of Best Costume Design nominations have been for futuristic costumes. John Mollo’s designs for Star Wars won one back in 1977, but normally the heavily ornamented period costumes of “corset dramas” usually garner not only the nominations, but also the wins. This year Jacqueline Durran won for Anna Karenina, last year the 1920’s costumes of The Artist, and Elizabeth The Golden Age, The Duchess, and The Young Victoria, all won in the recent past.
So I have a renewed respect for the imaginative and innovative work of the sci fi costume designers. Bravo!
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