May 12 - 22

Costume Design Part 1

This week, you will be learning the basics of costume design research and figure drawing, and practicing those skills by creating a research collage and designing a costume for a main character in a new interpretation of a popular film.  (If you have questions about this unit, please email Mrs. Wagstaffe at wagstaffee@issaquah.wednet.edu)
 
TUESDAY, 12th (Learning about costume design and research)
Today you will be learning about the basics of costume design research. Read the article titled “Costume Design” (in the downloads section) to learn about the basic design process, especially how costume designers perform research on character, setting, and time period before creating their designs. 
 
Watch this short video on Tony-award-winning designer William Ivey Long and his process making costumes for a Broadway production of Cinderella. Notice how he collages reference images, colors, and fabrics to bring him inspiration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkZHM929Vk
 
WEDNESDAY, 13th (Selecting your production - you do not need to watch the film yet.)
Today marks the beginning of your costume design career! You are now a costume designer working on a new production that is reinterpreting a popular movie into a new time period and setting. 
 
First, select ONE of the following movies that you have access to, as you will be watching it for research. If you do not have access to any of these movies/streaming subscriptions, please email Mrs. Fry/Mrs. Wagstaffe and we will find a solution.

• West Side Story­ – 1961 (Amazon Prime, Hulu)
• Pride and Prejudice – 2005 (Amazon Prime, Hulu)
• The Devil Wears Prada – 2006 (Amazon Prime)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – 2016 (Amazon Prime)
• Black Panther – 2018 (Amazon Prime, Disney+)

 
Next, pick ONE time period/setting from the provided list. The time/place you select must be different than when/where the original movie was set!

• Roaring 20s in New York City (1920s)
• Victorian-Era England (1836-1901)
• French Revolution (1789-1799)
• Wild West/American Frontier (1850s-1900s)
• Edo Period Japan (1600s-1850s)

 
Finally, you need to select ONE main character from the movie that you are interested in designing a costume for. You will be watching the original film and taking notes about your selected character to help you create your original design later on. 
 
With the time remaining today, spend a few minutes Googling about the time and place you selected. You can also read about the movie you picked if you don’t know anything about it (try to avoid spoilers!) What did this place look like? What did people wear? What colors or patterns were popular? What historical events were happening? This information will help you later when you create a research collage of images to use as inspiration on your costume design. 
 
THURSDAY, 14th - FRIDAY, 22nd (Watching your film and completing the worksheet)
Reminder: Your Production Critique for the musical you viewed is due to www.turnitin.com by midnight on Friday.

Now that you know what movie you are working on, and the time and place the new production is set in, you need to watch the original movie to learn about who your character is, how they change over the course of their story, and what kind of world they live in.

As you watch, you need to fill out the costume worksheet provided (in the downloads section) and turn it in on www.turnitin.com. The due date for the worksheet is midnight on Friday, May 22nd.