How To Make A Feature Film With No Money - Part 7: Collating Costumes
Art Design is one of the things I love the most about film making...
Art Design is one of the things I love the most about film making (second to paperwork of course) and whilst I'm not particularly good at it (several of our actors told me quite straight faced that I have the worst dress sense they've ever come across) I love diving into the world of costumes. It's one of the few times in my overly paperwork driven position that I get to be really creative. We had a main character who was a being from another world and that meant that we had free-reign to do something big, something exotic, something memorable. However my grand ideas for an alien costume, were quickly reigned in by a level-headed David, who pointed out that we didn't exactly have what you would call 'money'. The little cash we had scraped together needed to be rationed wisely. Quickly the costume budget was relegated to lowest priority and as such we had to invest time and creativity in order to stretch our production dollars. Knowing this from the outset we decided on two things; firstly the narrative would be contained to a 12-hour period. This would ensure a limited number of costumes per character (by limited, I mean one). In the budgeted movie making industry they plan for mistakes and mishaps by having multiple versions of the costumes. If one gets dirty or damaged they just swap in a replacement. But we couldn't afford to do that, and we knew that our shoot was going to last for at least 4 months. So we just had to take a big risk; one set of costume per character and keep our fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong. In this area at least nothing did. Phew! 
Secondly, we set the narrative in the 'here and now'. This may seem like an obvious thing to say but setting your film in current times drastically reduces your production costs and expands your sourcing options. 'Savers' (a second-hand clothing chain in Melbourne) became our saviour, and the entire cast was dressed for a mega AU$88.90! Not bad for a cast of 48. Sure the costumes may not be up for an Oscar anytime soon, however they successfully reflect each of the characters and do their part in creating our fictitious world. We also relied heavily on the input of our actors. Typically we'd write a detailed brief on who the character was and how they were likely to dress. This was then sent to the actor a week prior to shooting so that they could raid their own wardrobe (or the wardrobes of family and friends). Once we'd scrounged together the basics, we'd often accessorise with bits-and-bobs from various places. To say this was a piecemeal art department would be putting it kindly. And of course our budget approach didn't end there. We simply didn't have the funds to pay for fancy trailers (or even the back seat of a junk filled car). It was therefore not uncommon to have our actors strip down to their underwear on the street as they quickly prepared for rehearsals (in fact it was probably far more common than is legal. Secretly I think there may have been a competition going to see who could 'get the most out' in the most public place. It really is amazing that none of us were arrested). 
Instead of a supportive team of talented 'dressers' (used to make sure no little costume detail is overlooked or forgotten), we had plastic bags; carefully labelled plastic bags to be precise, one for each character. At the end of every shoot day, cast were required to strip off and leave everything in their plastic bag (including all props). This was a simple yet effective way to cut down on costs and maximise logistics. But for all our planning I'd have to be honest and say that this is not the way I'd run a costume department again. Sure 'Savers' is a true winner and the plastic bag system really does work if you don't have the manpower to oversee the minor details. However I can not emphasise enough the importance of investing time in your costume design. Too often we were throwing outfits together at the eleventh hour (predominately for our support cast who were not afforded the same luxury of costume planning like our four key cast). This led to a frazzled director and producer, and put unnecessary strain on our cast. Take the time to think about your costumes and you'll be amazed what you can acquire for virtually no money. Check back in next Tuesday as David attempts to explain how to hold rehearsals for a film with no script, in our next too-honest update of The Un-Movie Experience (also known as - It's Like Dancing Without Music... Or Legs). Before you go! With one quick click you can find out all of the latest info on Bound By Blue on our Facebook page! Come on over and 'like' us, if you dare!