Costume Designer

What is costume? Costume is clothing which is worn by actors on stage, film and television to portray their character and blend into their scene. What is a costume designer? A costume designer is a person who designs costume for actors on stage/film or T.V, he/she may do this by making the costumes from raw materials or simply just buying the costumes or maybe even borrowing from other companies to get the job done. Their responsibilities include designing the costume to satisfactory condition in order for the costumes to fit the actors and also having them completed by deadlines. Who do the work with? They work with a number of people and they are directors, actors, financial teams, wardrobe and lighting. They would work with directors as they need to know what costumes they need and need to get the description from them. They work with actors as they need to get their body measurements and make sure each actor has their costume fitted to their standard. They work with the financial team as they provide the budget for all the materials and costs without the financial team costumes wouldn’t be made. They work with the wardrobe as they give them the roles and tasks to make sure everything is done on time and finally they work with the lighting to work out which lights would look good with which costume. What does the job entail? The costume designers would sit in rehearsals so they can have a feel about what the play is like as this boosts their memory and helps them know where to start and how to get on with the costumes. They also speak and report to the directors and tell them how they are progressing throughout the whole process, they also have to stick to their budget as if they don’t they may cause financial problems and exceed their budgets. They have to approach actors to get their measurements and make sure the costumes fit them comfortably. They also have to draw a draft of the costumes and show the directors how they would look if they were designed and then amendments could be made and overall they work with everyone and meet deadlines as everything has a time. The entire process The costume designer would go and see the director who will then give him the details of how he wants the costumes, which will give the costume designer a rough idea of what to do. The costume designer will then make sketches and drawings of the costumes. He will then go and approach the actors and take their measurements. He will then go out and buy all the materials, costumes or any other items with the budget, after purchasing all the necessary materials, the costume designer will then make paper mock ups of the costume to make sure his measurements were correct so no material is wasted. After designing the costume he will ask the actor to wear it and show the director if it’s satisfactory after this is done he will then carry on making the rest costumes making sure he and the director are happy with the whole process. True Facts about Costume Designing!!!!! * Costumes play a big and important part in performances because they are one of the first thing’s an audience sees in the actor and also it makes it eye-catching. * Costume designers need to have many skills like art and communication skills as they need to talk to a lot of people in the performance and people who are part of the chain. * They are very important to the productions because if they weren’t there, there would be no costumes. * Costumes designers also earn a salary of £18,000 - £40,000 and maybe more depending on the job given * They also keep in contact with a lot of people backstage such as directors, financial people, lighting, set and actors.