Costume Sourcing, Adaptations and Breaking Down

This evening I went sourcing again to find the 2 remaining accessories to my costumes. I managed to find a necklace and make a necktie from a scrap of brown fabric.

I also adapted the chemise for Belle and I am really happy with the result.

I broke down Dan's trousers and they are now perfect for his character as Belle's client.

I am very happy with how well everything has gone, despite the few jobs I had left today tonight. I am very much looking forward to working on set to see how my costumes look on film and how well they work with the set design and lighting etc.

Fitting and Costume Sourcing

Today I had a fitting for both of the actresses, Annabelle and Caroline, and the actor, Dan. I am thrilled with how good everything looked. I have an adaptation to make to Belle's costume but it should be fairly simple. I also need to break down the trousers for Dan to make them look more worn and source a necktie for Dan and a necklace for Annabelle. I had a look in the uni costume store collection of jewellery but the only thing I could find that may have worked is an earring that I would need to attach to a chain but i am not 100% happy with that so I will try to source a necklace later.

Caroline (Adelita)

I feel I have really successfully done my job as a costume designer so far and due to my organisation skills I have managed to keep on top of everything.

Costume Sourcing

Today I continued with the costume sourcing and found some black shoes for Belle after finding out the red shoes would not fit her. I went to the uni costume store again and found a nice pair but they are not as good as the red pair. However, they are going to have to do as the shooting starts in 2 days I have arranged a fitting for tomorrow.

I am pleased with how all of the costumes look and am excited for the fitting tomorrow. I think they are going to look even better on the actresses/ actor.

Costume Sourcing

I carried on with the costume sourcing again today and found tights and underwear. I now don't have much left to get which is really good as I can focus on carrying on with Part 1 of the project and assisting the other film. I feel very in control and pleased with the progress I have made.

Costume Sourcing

Today I carried on with the costume sourcing. I went to pick up cowboy boots and a poncho that the Set Designer, Dec, offered to lend me. I am thrilled with both of them. I remembered a leather hat my Dad has and he has leant it to me. It goes perfectly with the cowboy boots. I also went charity shopping and found two chemise options for Belle that I am going to bring to a fitting I will arrange before the shoot.

I am very pleased with my progress so far with the costume sourcing and feel I am doing a really good job with keeping the Producer, Director and Set Designer up to date with everything I am doing.

Costume Sourcing

I met with Bunny to discuss the costumes I still had left to source, and after sending an email round to my course I managed to already source a corset. I am very pleased with it and it is exactly what I was looking for. It is the perfect colour. Being organised is really paying off as I am very in control of the situation and have sourced a lot of the costume components already.

Costume Sourcing

I went to the uni costume store to see if they had any relevant and appropriate costumes. I am really pleased with the costumes I managed to source as after I had gathered all of the costumes I had a production meeting to show them to the producer, director and set designer and they were really happy with what I found. They assured me that they would post the actors measurements on Dropbox in order for me to ensure the costumes I have already sourced will actually fit, and that what I have left to source will fit.
I am very happy with my progress so far with this project and feel very in control and not too overwhelmed.

Colour Scheme

I looked on the Dropbox folder to see if any new documents had been added and found the images for colour scheme inspiration, a colour scheme pallet and the set design had been added. This is absolutely fantastic as it is really helpful for me in designing and sourcing the costumes for the characters. The colour scheme is really nice; warm, Mexican tones, which contrast with cool tones. I will easily be able to work with this colour scheme. I need to know a little more about the characters and the actors measurments etc before I start to source costumes.

Production Meeting

Today I had a production meeting with the Producer, Director and Set Designer for the film I am designing for. I showed them research I had done over the past few days and they showed me some ideas they had. They loved the research I had done which was really promising. I am very happy with how the production meeting went, they respected me and valued my ideas and thoughts. I did not feel at all taken for granted and they were very apologetic for the changes they had made as they realised this was going to effect my job. I took notes from the meeting and after I have gathered a bit more information I will start sourcing again. I am confident that I will be able tot get all of the costumes and accessories together in time.

Script and Character Changes

Due to the changes in the script, I am going to have to start all over again with the costume souring. This is quite frustrating, but I feel the new location for the script is much more interesting for me to work with. I will start again with the costume sourcing by researching the era and location again. I will analyse the script again and look at any information the film crew has posted in Dropbox. My motivation for this project is still strong; despite this setback I feel I am more than capable of sourcing everything in time for the film shooting.

Film Meeting

Straight after the film pitches were assigned to each of us, I immediately went to find the producer for The Combing of the Hair; the film I will be designing for. We briefly discussed their basic idea for the film. My brief was:
*red, oranges, terricottas- Spanish colour scheme
*1940's
*Set in Spain- look into historical elements of the time

The first thing I did was to have a look on the internet to get an idea of what the fashion was like during the 1940s in Spain. I then went to have a rummage in the costume store to see what costumes were available. I found several costumes that fitted the brief I had been given and put them on a rail and immediately called up the producer to see if he could have a look at them to see what he thought. He was really pleased I was so on the ball and was happy with my selections. When I get back after my easter holiday, I will continue to source costumes etc.

I feel that I have already started to gain a relationship with the producer for the film. I feel I conducted myself well and have shown that I am hardworking and willing. So far, my organisation has been really good. I will have to ensure I conduct myself correctly and fight my corner if I feel that I am being taken for granted or being used to do jobs other than my own, but so far I feel that this project is going really well!

Fabric

I went to FabricLand today but to add to the annoyance of not having enough fabric by 20cm, they did not have ANY of my fabric left despite there being a HUGE roll of it last time I was there. I asked about ordering it in but they said it could take up to 3 WEEKS. I cant wait that long so I had to buy some fabric which was closest to it but it is quite a lot darker. Hopefully this will not be seen as there will be a huge amount of embroidery over the top of the base fabric. SO annoying though!

Cutting Out Cape

Today I tried to cut out the cloak pattern for fabric I bought at FabricLand. I was SO frustrated when I found out that I was about 20cm short of fabric. I have cut out some pieces so that i can at least start my machine embroidery but I am going to have to return to FabricLand to get the reainder of the fabric ASAP.

Cape Pattern

This is the cape pattern I will be using. I will use design C. I will be cutting this out at Uni tomorrow(/today!), however I won't sew it together until I have done most of the textile techniques on it. I will be able to include embelishments such as hand embroidery and sequins/beads after the pattern pieces have been sewn together.

I think this pattern will work really well. I am not at all worried about cutting out the pattern as this is something I have done a lot and I am more than capable of doing. I may adapt the pattern if I need to make it longer etc but I will find this out when I pin the pattern to the fabric. I think this pattern is perfect and I am really pleased I managed to find it.

Learning Agreement

NAME: Holly London Whitefoord
COURSE: BA (Hons) Costume with Performance Design
UNIT TITLE: Self-Directed Project
REF. NO./LEVEL: CSS518
WEIGHTING: 2.0
DURATION: 9 Weeks
HOURS OF STUDY: 300 Hours
Unit Leader: Adele Keeley


DESCRIPTION:

For my self-directed project I have chosen the Painting for Inspiration route. For Part One I will independently create a representation of a painting I have chosen from the National Gallery which I will interpret in the period portrayed but with a modern twist, producing a photograph supported by sketchbook work. Part Two of the project will be collaborative with the BA (Hons) Film course to costume BA (Hons) Acting students in a film inspired by a painting they have chosen from the National Gallery. This will also be supported by sketchbook work. I have a tight schedule for this project therefore I will aim to complete Part One before I start on Part Two to ensure I can put equal amounts of effort into both areas.

I have chosen this route for my self-directed project as I want to collaborate with the Film department before embarking on work experience in New York this summer on a film set, as it is the ideal way of gaining experience and skills whilst working in a team. My weaknesses currently lie in my lack of Film experience as I have never worked in that environment or made a costume for screen before. I stated in my Action Plan that I wanted to “gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the role costume designers have within the production team they are in” and this project will let me do exactly that. I aspire to work within Film after I have graduated therefore this project is the perfect first experience in working in a film environment. I have strengths in construction, which I have not utilized since choosing the Design pathway and I would like to design and create a costume for this project as opposed to sourcing one. I am very imaginative and creative with textile techniques and fabric manipulation and I would like to explore these in depth in this project. Creating a costume, which incorporates both design and creative making, works to both my strengths. I understand that my chosen route has a very tight schedule so my Work Plan should help me to manage my time appropriately. Ultimately, I hope to build on my textile techniques during this project to make a costume that allows me to use the skills I already have and develop them.

For Part One of this project I will create a body of sketchbook work which will show my initial and developed primary and secondary research, design development and textile techniques I have explored. I will also produce a photograph of the final representation, which will include a model. For Part Two of the project I will create a body of sketchbook work, which will again show my research, design, and explorative work but also how I have collaborated with the Film students. I will show photographic evidence of work on set on the day of shooting and a film file which will include continuity, character breakdown, budget breakdown and other relevant paperwork generated.

Aims:

A1 To provide opportunities for self-initiated, autonomous learning
and develop the ability to plan time and work independently

A2 To provide opportunity to study the contextual development of costume and performance design

A3 To further develop the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation within a self initiated environment

A4 To propose, develop and evaluate professional aspirations through professional development planning

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this unit you will be able to:

LO1 Identify and define the context for the development of your own work towards professional aspirations

LO2 Demonstrate an understanding of the development of Costume with performance design
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LO3 Have developed the creative, intellectual and practical applications of research and contextualisation

LO4 Consolidate and demonstrate professional aspirations and planning through your Progress File


Assessment Requirements:

I will be handing in a photograph of my completed painting representation for Part One of the project which will be supported by a sketchbook under pinned by personal development planning (in your blog journal) and a final written evaluation (750 words) evidenced in your Progress File 100%

Each assessment requirement must be passed at a minimum grade of 40% to successfully complete the unit

Assessment Criteria (specific criteria related to the learning outcomes and linked to the statement of generic assessment criteria matrix):

1. Evidence of knowledge of contextual and theoretical issues – The level to which you have considered the context of your project and evidenced that to your body of work (LO1, LO2)

2. Evidence of understanding through synthesis and development – The application and extend to which research has informed decision-making and project development together with the appropriate management of time (LO2, LO3, LO4)

3. Evidence of evaluation and reflection – The extent to which you have reflected on the progress of your project and used it to inform personal development planning (LO4)

4. Evidence of realisation through the communication of ideas - The presentation of your work and the level to which specialist knowledge has been applied, communicated and evidenced (LO3, LO4)

Reference Material

This will vary according to the needs of the individual project. You will define Reference Material through personal investigation and consultation with staff and list it in your Learning Agreement.
• Harding, V (2000) Machine Embroidery- Stitched Patterns. Singapore: Kyodo Printing Co Pte Ltd
• Hasty, O (1996) Tsvetaeva’s Orphic Journeys in the Worlds of the Word. USA: Northwestern University Press
• Neely, C (2004) Distracted Subjects- Madness and Gender in Shakespeare and Early Modern Culture. USA: Cornell University Press
• Seaton, B (1995) The Language of Flowers- A History. USA: The University Press of Virginia
• Shakespeare, W and Coleman, W (2004) A Parallel Text- Hamlet. USA: Perfect Learning Corporation

Free Machine Embroidery Technique

I really love using Free Machine Embroidery and have used it and developed my techniques a lot over the years of studying Art and Design and Textiles at school and doing my Art Foundation at Central Saint Martins. I am going to use this technique in my SDP as it is a really fluid, quick and easy way to create really intricate designs which appear to have taken a lot longer than they really have. I really want the cloak to feature a lot of details and layers as I stated in previous posts.

The images below are of a witch costume/ instillation I made for my Final Major Project at Central Saint Martins. It was inspired by Shakespeare's witches in Macbeth and by the history of medicine women and men. I sewed onto a basic cloak all of the witches 'spell' ingredience and collected objects. I was given a big box of my Grandpa's fishing tackle collection when he died, which was a random collection of lots of feathers, (real) furs including squirrel, fox, goat and badger, bird capes, squirrel tails and sheeps wool. I combined these with other feathers I bought and collected and natural materials which I sewed onto using the free machine embroidery technique. In some of these images you can see the use of this technique. For some of the patches I tore hand dyed natural fabrics into strips and sewwed them together in this way which was really effective. I even used it to sew real leaves onto squares of fabric.

The image below is a detail of a small area of a skirt I made for A Level Art and Design project called 'Transitions' and is made entirelly from collected and recycled pacaking and old fabrics and items of clothing. This also shows the type of embroidery I am intending to use on the cloak I will be creating for my current project. For this I used a combination of purple and gold threads given to me by friends, family and other donators.

Other Free Machine Embroidery inspiration I have found is a blog by a nice Welsh lady named Karen: http://artistsgardenstudio.wordpress.com/2007/10/

I absolutely LOVE the different colours and materials she has used and the intricate designs she has created using the Free Machine Embroidery technique; like I did for my A Level Art and Design 'Transitions' project, she has used a gold thread on a few of her samples. I will attempt to create some samples like these to test out the different effects I could acheive.

Ophelia's Character

I have been researching into Ophelia's character in Hamlet and have found a nice summery on the internet on http://www.shakespeare-online.com :

Ophelia

Of all the pivotal characters in Hamlet, Ophelia is the most static and one-dimensional. She has the potential to become a tragic heroine -- to overcome the adversities inflicted upon her -- but she instead crumbles into insanity, becoming merely tragic. This is because Ophelia herself is not as important as her representation of the dual nature of women in the play. Ophelia's distinct purpose is to show at once Hamlet's warped view of women as callous sexual predators, and the innocence and virtue of women.
The extent to which Hamlet feels betrayed by Gertrude is far more apparent with the addition of Ophelia to the play. Hamlet's feelings of rage against his mother can be directed toward Ophelia, who is, in his estimation, hiding her base nature behind a guise of impeccability.
Through Ophelia we witness Hamlet's evolution, or de-evolution into a man convinced that all women are whores; that the women who seem most pure are inside black with corruption and sexual desire. And if women are harlots, then they must have their procurers. Gertrude has been made a whore by Claudius, and Ophelia has been made a whore by her father. In Act II, Polonius makes arrangements to use the alluring Ophelia to discover why Hamlet is behaving so curiously. Hamlet is not in the room but it seems obvious from the following lines that he has overheard Polonius trying to use his daughter's charms to suit his underhanded purposes. In Hamlet's distraught mind, there is no gray area: Polonius prostitutes his daughter. And Hamlet tells Polonius so to his face, labeling him a "fishmonger" (despite the fact that Polonius cannot decipher the meaning behind Hamlet's words). As Kay Stanton argues in her essay Hamlet's Whores:

Perhaps it may be granted...that what makes a woman a whore in the Hamlets' estimation is her sexual use by not one man but by more than one man.... what seems to enrage [Hamlet] in the 'nunnery' interlude is that Ophelia has put her sense of love and duty for another man above her sense of love and duty for him, just as Gertrude put her sense of love and duty for her new husband above her sense of love and duty for her old. Gertrude chose a brother over a dead Hamlet; Ophelia chooses a father over a living Hamlet: both choices can be read as additionally sexually perverse in being, to Hamlet, 'incestuous'. (Stanton,New Essays on Hamlet 168-9)

But, to the rest of us, Ophelia represents something very different. To those who are not blinded by hurt and rage, Ophelia is the epitome of goodness. Very much like Gertrude, young Ophelia is childlike and naive. Unlike Queen Gertrude, Ophelia has good reason to be unaware of the harsh realities of life. She is very young, and has lost her mother, possibly at birth. Her father, Polonius, and brother, Laertes, love Ophelia tremendously, and have taken great pains to shelter her. She is not involved with matters of state; she spends her days no doubt engaged in needlepoint and flower gathering. She returns the love shown to her by Polonius and Laertes tenfold, and couples it with complete and unwavering loyalty. "Her whole character is that of simple unselfish affection" (Bradley 130). Even though her love for Hamlet is strong, she obeys her father when he tells her not to see Hamlet again or accept any letters that Hamlet writes. Her heart is pure, and when she does do something dishonest, such as tell Hamlet that her father has gone home when he is really behind the curtain, it is out of genuine fear. Ophelia clings to the memory of Hamlet treating her with respect and tenderness, and she defends him and loves him to the very end despite his brutality. She is incapable of defending herself, but through her timid responses we see clearly her intense suffering:

Hamlet: ...I did love you once.
Ophelia: Indeed, my, lord, you made me believe so.
Hamlet: You should not have believed me...I loved you not.
Ophelia: I was the more deceived.

Her frailty and innocence work against her as she cannot cope with the unfolding of one traumatic event after another. Ophelia's darling Hamlet causes all her emotional pain throughout the play, and when his hate is responsible for her father's death, she has endured all that she is capable of enduring and goes insane. But even in her insanity she symbolizes, to everyone but Hamlet, incorruption and virtue. "In her wanderings we hear from time to time an undertone of the deepest sorrow, but never the agonized cry of fear or horror which makes madness dreadful or shocking. And the picture of her death, if our eyes grow dim in watching it, is still purely beautiful". (Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy 132-3). The bawdy songs that she sings in front of Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius are somber reminders that the corrupt world has taken its toll on the pure Ophelia. They show us that only in her insanity does she live up to Hamlet's false perception of her as a lascivious woman.

References
Bradley, A.C. Shakespearean Tragedy. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1966.
Burnett, Mark, ed. New Essays on Hamlet. New York: AMS Press, 1994.
Evans Lloyd Gareth. Shakespeare IV. London: Oxford university Press, 1967.
Granville-Barker, Henry. Prefaces to Shakespeare. New York: Hill and Wang, 1970.
Loske, Olaf. Outrageous Fortune. Oslo: Oslo University Press, 1960.
Muir, Kenneth. Shakespeare and the Tragic Pattern.

How to cite this article:

Mabillard, Amanda. Ophelia. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/opheliacharacter.html >.

I've highlighted in red the most relevant aspects of the character anaylsis. I do see Ophelia as the analysis states:  "Ophelia is the most static and one-dimensional (character)", but I do think she adds a lot of depth and a sense of instability and scares the audience with her total lack of mental sanity. The flower picking scene is especailly unsettling. I will further research this scene to gain a greater unsderstanding of the relevance of the flowers she gives to the other characters.

National Gallery Trip

Today I went to the National Gallery and searched through the many rooms to find the painting that I was most inspired to recreate. I found it was quite challenging as most of the paintings are quite traditional and posed which is not a route I wanted to go down. I eventually found a pastel piece called Ophelia Among The Flowers by Odilon Redon which is very etherial and abstract.

Information next to painting: 'This pastel is one of several compositions by Redon of this subject from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' which date from this period. The flowers seem to be of no identifiable species, resembling lilac and strawberries, and with blue leaves interspersed with the green. The garlanded head of Ophelia is turned towards the flowers as though in contemplation of their beauty.'

I am very familiar with Hamlet by Shakespere as I studied it at A Level at school so know the text and characters well. This piece inspired me the most as it immediately made me think of all of the different textile techniques I could include in it. I think I am going to interpret the mass of flowers next to Ophelia as a design on a dark blue cloak or cape she will be wearing. This means I will be able to do lots of experimentation with fabrics and sewing techniques and be very innovative and resourceful as the brief stated we should be. This would work on the skills that I already have and enable me to enhance and experiment with these skills to create new ones appropriate to this project. I am very happy with my choice of painting and looking forward to starting the experimentation with fabrics and textile techniques.

Further Inspiration

I have done some further research on painting recreations and have found a series of recreations including famous actors and actresses faces which seem to have been Photoshopped onto the paintings.

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/galleries/celebrities_and_famous_portraits_collide

I also found an article called Recreating Famous Paintings With Photography which also features famous actors and actresses but this time they are full recreations; just like the brief we have been set. They are not Photoshopped afterwards. These include:

I love these recreations as they are not exactly the same, they are strongly influenced by the original paintings but have not been taken too literally which I like. I especially like the Gustav Klimt recreation but I would have put a lot more detail into the dress and perhaps embroidered onto it to create the effect Klimt achieved in his painting. I would really like to create something like this for Part 1 of the project as it will enable me to enhance and use skills that I already have. These reconstructions have really inspired me; I feel I could create something really successful.