Costume Research
According to author Deborah Nadoolman Landis, costuming in film serves two equal purposes: firstly, to support the narrative by creating authentic characters, and, secondly, to create balance in the frame by using colour, texture and silhouette.
Aggie Guerard Rodgers said "I want the clothes to not get in the way of the writers words." From this, I understood that costuming is supposed to aid the narrative and not take anything away from it; its a necessity to enhance the story only and must not hinder it. Landis stresses that films are not runways for models. Models are "human hangers for a fashion designers imagination," however, costumes must evolve with the context of the story as they must embody their character. Therefore, Landis emphasizes how costuming is a powerful tool which can bring about emotion in a scene as quickly as a musical score.
Furthermore, Landis claims that colour provides harmony and can add to the films distinct 'style.' It is thought that the different colours in the costuming can result in different emotions and cinematic tones being brought about and created. For example, a 2011 study proved when a person wears the colour blue they are more likely to be trusted than if they wear the colour red. This can be applicable to characters in the sense that different colours can cause certain characters to be trusted by the audience and cause a sense of security to be formed.
In the film Maleficent, the young girl portrayed to be innocent and pure throughout the context of the film is seen to be wearing a blue dress. This dress is synchronous with the portrayal of the character and therefore increases audience empathy for her when the plot takes a dark twist as, with the help of costuming, she has been illustrated as a honest young girl.
As a result of this research, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to aim to create a costume for the lead character that fits seamlessly into the opening scene plot - I will aim for it to be subtle and not draw attention towards it however still have thought behind it, perhaps some symbolism in addition. As for the demon, I will try to create a costume that it very dark so that it almost melts into the background allowing the SFX to stand out even more, perhaps through the use of dark, block colours.
Aggie Guerard Rodgers said "I want the clothes to not get in the way of the writers words." From this, I understood that costuming is supposed to aid the narrative and not take anything away from it; its a necessity to enhance the story only and must not hinder it. Landis stresses that films are not runways for models. Models are "human hangers for a fashion designers imagination," however, costumes must evolve with the context of the story as they must embody their character. Therefore, Landis emphasizes how costuming is a powerful tool which can bring about emotion in a scene as quickly as a musical score.
Furthermore, Landis claims that colour provides harmony and can add to the films distinct 'style.' It is thought that the different colours in the costuming can result in different emotions and cinematic tones being brought about and created. For example, a 2011 study proved when a person wears the colour blue they are more likely to be trusted than if they wear the colour red. This can be applicable to characters in the sense that different colours can cause certain characters to be trusted by the audience and cause a sense of security to be formed.In the film Maleficent, the young girl portrayed to be innocent and pure throughout the context of the film is seen to be wearing a blue dress. This dress is synchronous with the portrayal of the character and therefore increases audience empathy for her when the plot takes a dark twist as, with the help of costuming, she has been illustrated as a honest young girl.
As a result of this research, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to aim to create a costume for the lead character that fits seamlessly into the opening scene plot - I will aim for it to be subtle and not draw attention towards it however still have thought behind it, perhaps some symbolism in addition. As for the demon, I will try to create a costume that it very dark so that it almost melts into the background allowing the SFX to stand out even more, perhaps through the use of dark, block colours.
Comments
Post a Comment