Thursday, February 27, 2020
"Send the Actors to Set with Everything They Need For Their Bodies": Costume Designer Keri Langerman Dresses The Photograph
Filmmaker Magazine: The elements that set our old and new lovers apart — space, time, and climate — manifest naturally as distinctions in garb. Well-to-do urbanites in cashmere lay into plush sofas to mingle. In Pointe à la Hache, the clothes lay less but as quaint. The film always looks delicate. Mae is always made to look stunning. The threat to romance is situational and barely encroaches on their comfort or ours. The stakes are low. This is a major studio allowing successful black characters to buoy as mildly as the genre’s white staples have.
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3 comments:
There were a ton of sentences in this article that stood out to me, but overall, I love the freedom that Keri Langerman gave to the actors in this film. It is so true that there are moments when costumes should stand out to the audience, and there are times when the audience should not bat an eye to what the characters are wearing. That is a decision that the designer has to make though, meaning that a costume should not distract the audience from the scene when it is supposed to go unnoticed by the character. I also like the sentence that Keri says when talking about the early design process: “I do the yeoman’s work of walking through the script with the director to see what part the costumes play in the scenes in their mind.” I always stress (for lack of a better word) about having to please other members of the design team while also having designs of my own. This mentality is a great way to sift through the director’s vision in order to include it in your own.
I loved reading this article because it gives you a realistic look at what it is like to be a costume designer for a film. I always love hearing about people’s processes. It is always interesting to hear whether or not the designer involves the actors in their process or not. Some designers have very strong feelings about that subject, but I think it is a case by case sort of thing. I like to involve the actors if I can because I feel like they will perform better if they like the way they look, but some designers disagree and would say that the actors should not have any opinions about their costumes. Also, I like her style and the way she talks about how the costumes should be noticed when they need to be but otherwise overlooked if they are done right. I think when she describes how she was still hand sewing a pair of gloves for Natalie Portman while in the hospital about to deliver a baby really illustrates the level of commitment she has for her job.
It is so important for me, personally as a costume designer, for my actors to feel empowered into their role by my clothes, and I think a lot of other costumers would agree. We all have our individual and unique creative processes, but a common goal. I personally, like to involve my actors in my costume process to an extent, because I have learned if my actor doesn’t feel their character in their costume, it reflects on the stage. An actor who can step into their costume and really feel like they are in their character’s shoes, helps them become said character. Although like the author said, a costumer will know they have done their job right when the costumes are seen, but to sometimes an extent, looked over because they blend in to the environment and scenes so well. I really enjoyed reading this article and hearing what she had to say about her experience
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