Phantom of the Opera

For our final night we went to Her Majesty's Theatre to see Phantom of the Opera.  The musical first opened in 1986 and is the highest grossing musical of all time.  

http://www.reallyusefultheatres.co.uk/performances/about/phantom-of-the-opera/17

http://www.reallyusefultheatres.co.uk/performances/about/phantom-of-the-opera/17

I found that the  costumes were stunning and the detail in them was spectacular.  I thought that this costume on the right was really clever because it started as a simple dress and then when Christine, the character, begins to play her new part, a skirt in added on stage and the new costumes echoes that of the original actresses dress.  

http://www.reallyusefultheatres.co.uk/performances/about/phantom-of-the-opera/17

Around London

We spent one of our evenings walking around touring the sights of London and I noticed that there were a lot of shapes, colours and lines that could be used within designs and as inspiration.

Harry Potter Studios

On the Wednesday we all travelled to the Warner Brothers Studios to see the tour of Harry Potter.  What I liked about the tour was the fact that the costumes were on display in the different locations that they were seen in the films allowing us to see how they reacted to the desired settings and lighting.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Dance scene

 These costumes were seen during the dance held in the forth film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  These costumes show the characteristics of each of the different characters.  The pink  dress that was used for Hermione looks girly and sweet; which showed a different side of the character that was previously unseen.  However, Cho Chang's costume shows her asian heritage in the style of the neckline and sleeves.    For Harry's black suit at the front it looks to be too big for him showing that he had to borrow the suit.  

http://es.harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Fleur_Delacour

I found that this image I took to be quite interesting because it shows that mould that was used to create Fleur Delacour's iconic blue pointed hat.

I found it really interesting to see how the invisibility cloak had been created by lining it with green material to act as a green screen to edit in post-production.

Another thing that was fascinating was the costumes worn by Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge. The light pink colours and the soft woollen materials used would suggest that she was a kind and friendly character but her actual character was cruel and mean towards everybody.   

Wicked at Apollo, Victoria

http://www.apollovictoriatheatre.org/wicked/

Wicked was adapted from the 1995 book by Gregory Maguire and tells the stories of Glinda the Good and The Wicked Witch of the West and how they earned their names.  

http://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/wicked

This is a good image showing the ensemble cast of Wicked wearing their Emerald City outfits.  Nearly all of these costumes appear to have been made asymmetrically and all using various shades of greens and yellows.  I think that this choice of asymmetrical design was done to show the quirkiness of The Land of Oz and how different they are to us.  

http://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/wicked

In this image both Glinda and The Wicked Witch, Elphaba's costumes can be seen clearly.  Glinda's costume resemble a princess' dress with the sequins and sparkles and the use of pure, pale colours are used to show the goodness in her character.  On the other hand, Elphaba's costume is much darker to represent her wickedness.  When looking up closely at the detail the design look like leaves and bark to show her seperation to the people of Oz.  

http://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/events/wicked

Theatre in the Victoria and Albert Musuem

The V&A museum holds an entire section full of theatre designs and costumes from films and theatre productions.

This costume is made using only 2 colours; black and silver.  The back of the costume is the most striking because the detail of the embellishment stands out and catches the light.  

It can be clearly seen where the design for this skirts has come from; he 1850s.  The use of hoops and the rounded silhouette echoes the original shapes of the crinoline and gives the audience an idea of the history and meaning of the costume.  

 

Around the Victoria and Albert Museum

An Embroidered Jacket

Whilst walking through the V&A museum we saw other garments that were shown in more detail.  This jacket above shows just how much detail went into the decoration of this jacket.  The amount of time and material needed to complete this jacket would mean that only the richest of people would afford to dress like this.

Two 18th Century Dolls

 These dolls dressed in 18th Century clothes show what the people would have worn at the time.  The detail included, even on these dolls, shows that displaying your wealth and status through your clothes and belongings went down even to children's toys.

Visiting the Victoria and Albert Museum

V&A Entrance Hall

For a week at the beginning of December we went on a trip to London with our University.  One of the first places that we went to see was the Victoria and Albert Museum.  Although the museum covers practically everything in design and all periods of history we chose to look more closely at the fashion and theatre sections.


I really found the fashion section interesting because the room goes around in a chronological order making it much easier to see how the fashions changed and developed.

For the Regency section of the room the clothes were placed in front of a painted wall designed to resemble the countryside and show the setting that the clothes would have been seen during the time. 

What I find most useful about the layout of the V&A museums exhibition is the inclusions of the underwear that would have been used to create the fashionable silhouette.  This crinoline caught my attention when looking  around because of the brightness of the red fabric used.  I would have thought that the undergarments would have been a lighter more natural colour.  

Costume Maker

The costume maker would work closely with the costume designers, supervisors and the assistants to make, fit or alter any of the required costumes that they are unable to buy or hire.

• The costume maker should have a creative talent and understand colour, design and composition.  
• Some good skills that they would require is the ability to age and distress garments where needed to any degree. 
• A good understanding of period costumes and the history behind them will help greatly as well as an understanding about the properties of different fabrics.  
• For this job a person would expect to work long and/ or irregular hours and so they would need to have the durability to cope with this 

Most of the work for the costume maker happens during pre-production when they are given specifications and designs from the costume designer.  When they begin making the costumes they need to agree and cost and time scale in which to complete them with the designer.  A maker could be required to take an actors measurements although they are usually given them.  Research into correct cutting styles and designs may be necessary and you will find that they are usually supplied with the fabric needed.  Once a design is complete it is the costume makers job to ensure that it is packed correctly and safely ready for transport.  When the costumes are worn for the first time by the actors the costume designer may be asked to be there to explain how the costume is worn and to make any needed alterations.  

Getty Images - Costume maker Phoebe Allies works on a jacket for Mozart's Don Giovanni, one of six operas appearing in the 2014 Glyndebourne Festival
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2631768/Behind-scenes-look-Glyndebourne-Festival-celebrates-80th-anniversary.html

soucrce: www.creativeskillset.org

Castle Howard

To accompany our journal work I took a trip to the North Yorkshire home of Castle Howard on the 21st of November.  The House was built by Sir John Vanbrugh, starting in 1699 and taking over 100 years to finish it has been the home of ten generations of the Howard family; the same Howard's as Henry VIII's 5th wife Catherine Howard and his 2nd wife Anne Boleyn.  The House, which spans 145 rooms has a wonderful collection of art and ancient  sculptures by many celebrated artists including Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Gainsborough.  

Castle Howard

Seen from the outside the baroque detailing is evident in the even amount of windows, the pillars on the roof and the symmetrical layout of the building.  The detail in the columns in the middle section shows the decorative style of the period.

The Entrance Hall ceiling

The entrance hall for Castle Howard feels very busy with decoration and embellishments coving all available spaces.  This makes for a busy room that would show of the families wealth and status when guests first arrived.

A symmetrical table of the period

Even the detail on the furniture is very grand and elaborate.  During the baroque period people wanted symmetry and by painting the designs in gold it was another way to show wealth.

The Wall paintings in one of the rooms 

This room is particularly interesting.  All the walls in the room have paintings showing death and despair.  The interesting thing about this room is that the walls weren't painted; instead they were digitally printed and stuck onto the walls when the Castle was used as a film set for Brideshead Revisited.  The 'paintings' on the walls is so detailed that most people who walk through believe that they are real.

Celebrating Christmas in the ruins of a wing

During the weekend that I visited Castle Howard they had decorated every room with Christmas decorations and were playing Christmas music.  What was so interesting about the image above is that these decorations were placed in a section of the house that had previously been burnt in a fire in the 1940s.  

Costume Assistant

A large part of the costume assistants role is to aid in the designing of and the research into costumes as well as helping to make and adapt them.  They have a range of tasks from ordering accessories, overseeing fittings and helping to keep the continuity throughout often taking instructions from the Costume Designers and Assistants and Costume and Wardrobe Supervisors.  

A Costume Assistant needs to be:

• very organised and efficient 
• have a good memory and keen eye for detail
• be able to work as part of a team and under pressure
• understand the research process and sourcing information
• be able to understand the call sheets and schedules 
• be able to put actors at ease when in the dressing process 
• know how to care foe and maintain the costumes 
• have  knowledge of period costumes and contemporary fashion 
• have good communication skills
• have IT skills

1. The Costume Assistant can be known by other names such as: Wardrobe Assistants, Standby Wardrobes and Standby Costumes and they are usually employed during the pre-production.  
2. They can be asked to break down the scripts to create costume plots and list the requirements and changes in the continuity book. 
3. For the Costume Designer they can research into the styles, designs and construction methods of the era.
4. They assist in organising the costume department, ordering supplies and assisting in setting up workrooms.  
5. They can be involved in sourcing and buying costumes and accessories 
6. They could be given the job of packing costumes to be shipped overseas.
7. During shoots, they make sure that the correct outfits are ready for when the actors need them.   In this job they would be required to explain the costumes, checking that they match the continuity requirements.
8.  Costume Assistants are in charge to monitor costumes for damages and do any last-minute alterations or repairs.
9. Between the shoots they would have to clean and iron the costumes as well as look after the accessories, hats and gloves etc. of the actors and keep a record of what is used.  

source: www.creativeskillset.org

Pocket Merchant

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/arts-culture-news/review-pocket-merchant-belgrade-theatre-10295955tion

The Pocket Merchant is an hour-long performance of Propeller Theatre Company's full-length 2009 production of The Merchant of Venice.  This production features an all-male cast and was shown at the Town Hall Theatre in Hartlepool on the 21st October 2015.  

As this production is a much shorter version of the original this production puts all of the focus on Shylock's story, removing the comedy and romance elements of the full play.  This means that the play becomes a drama focusing on the court case highlighting the main themes of racism and anti-semitism.  

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/arts-culture-news/
review-pocket-merchant-belgrade-theatre-10295955tion

http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/whats-on/arts-culture-news/
review-pocket-merchant-belgrade-theatre-10295955tion

Jon Trenchard plays both the female characters; Jessica and Portia.  When asked when portraying Jessica did he not wear any shoes he replied "It gives me a feeling of submission - the feeling that people can step on your toes."  The costumes for each different character were representative of each person with the prisoners all wearing a plain blue shirt with their names on the backs in order to be identified.  One key point about the costumes that stood out for me was the suit that Portia wears in order to blend in during the court scene.  This was of a different colour to that of everyone else, instantly standing out, but it was also too large for the actor and was meant to signify that she was a woman wearing a mans suit and so it highlighted her smaller figure.  

Suffragette

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3914132224/tt3077214?ref_=ttmi_mi_all_pos_37

On Tuesday 20th October a group of us went to see the film Suffragette; a filming following the story of a fictional women in 1912 who falls in with the women of WSPU, The Women's Social and Political Union.  

Baker/ Dean/ Paul - FameFlynet.uk.com

I found that the film was well executed with the costumes and sets appearing very realistic and helping to capture the general mood of the film with dark, dull colours that represents the women's suppression.  Costume Designer Jane Petrie worked on this film and she tried to source and use as many original items as possible meaning that some of the costumes are over 100 years old.  The central character Maud Watts, portrayed by Carey Mulligan, starts of as a laundress working in a factory.  Petrie explained of her costume that "everything has a sort of sag to it, but there's no weakness" with her clothes being made of heavy material and being unstructured.  However, once Maud has joined the Suffragettes her clothes become brighter and she is seen wearing more hats.  

I found that this film wasn't what I expected it to be in the fact that the storyline was very focused on a single woman and didn't show the bigger fight that the women had.  I felt that the film could have included more of the elements that people are familiar with; for instance the attacks on Buckingham Palace and the 'Cat and Mouse Act'.  

Costume Daily

The costume daily is generally hired on a day-to-day basis and their main role in the costume department would be helping in crowd fittings for large groups of extras and standbys.  They are usually responsible to the costume designer or the costume supervisor.  To be a costume daily you will need to have many of the same skills that are required to be a production runner but also include:

• being able to work long hours and have stamina
• be able to read and understand call sheets and schedules 
• understand the research process and how to source things
• be able to reassure actors as you dress them
• have the skills needed to care and maintain costumes 
• know about different fabric qualities and know about period costumes 
• be adept at ironing, steaming and adapting garments as well as hand and machine sewing

Costume daily's tend to work with the extras to ensure that their costumes match their physiques and they may need to take photos of the costumes for continuity.  They would work closely with the supervisor to ensure that the costumes are ready for the next day of filming.


source: www.creativeskillset.org

Pickering War Weekend

On the 17th of October a few students and I went to the Pickering War Weekend.  I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people not involved with the preparations also dressed in period costumes with a large degree of accuracy.  Walking through the streets of Pickering there were several vintage stalls selling all manner of things from shoes, coats and hats to old books and gas masks.  

Production Runner

Many peoples starts in the industry come through the route of the Production Runner; this job involves working in the office, on set or on location dealing with any jobs that the production may require from answering the telephones and getting lunches to keeping the sets clean and the props organised.

To be successful in the job you will need to have quite a few skills ranging from:

• being well-organised to know where props/ people are when needed,
• being able to think quickly and come up with solutions to any problems that arise,
• be able to communicate with different people,
• be able to carry out any tasks that you have been given whilst also being tactful and diplomatic,
• being punctual is key to this role as productions are often fast paced,
• enthusiasm is needed for this role as many tasks could become repetitive,
• working under the pressure of a deadline is very important in this role as mistakes could affect the process,
• having good IT skills is helpful when working in the admin departments,
• this role requires you to be able to work without supervision and be able to solves problems yourself,
• being versatile and willing to learn is a key point in this role as there are many jobs that fall under the title of Production Runner.  

source: www.creativeskillset.org