Final design meeting - Tender

Preparation for the meeting

For the meeting I had prepared a screen based Pdf presentation. Though in the meeting with the director from Mary Barton and La Ronde meetings I had shown screen based mood boards in support of the designs, both other directors had viewed the development designs in a printed format. In addition the designs shown at this meeting were not in progress but the intended final designs. That is not to say that the designs were not flexible with the pending deadline looming I wanted to present designs as near to finish as possible. Also I prepared thumbnails of the designs which showed all the designs on one page. This sheet I had printed in hard copy to give to the director at the end of the meeting.


The meeting

The meeting started as usual of a discussion about the set first. This put the production in context and aided the director to visualise the set with the costume. Following the discussion on set I presented the costume designs to the director on a screen presentation. The meeting was held in the MA Acting production room which is a busy room with other directors, acting tutors and administration staff were busily getting on with there daily duties. Unfortunately the discussion about costume was constantly interrupted by other people in the room as the director lost concentration and started conversation with passers by. This observation made me consider the how highly the directors value the costume design and I will use this to inform one of the questions which I intend to ask the directors in a post production interview importance that directors put on costume. But also I should also consider whether the mode of presentation could have influence his reaction and perhaps he found it hard to engage with the on screen images. The director, when focused, took his time to considerer each design which highlighted a problem with on screen presentations. The computer screen kept turning off. This had not happened in other presentation felt slightly unprofessional. I should have preset the power schemes in the power option on the computer to longer than the current setting of 5 minutes. It is, however a key indicator for the length that some of the discussions took over one design. I had sent the director a comprehensive costume plot via email, this costume plot was heavily used in the discussion to understand which costume would be worn when. I did consider during the meeting whether the director had almost too much information which made him ponder unnecessarily small things at times. However reflecting on my previous observation about reading the directors personality, I think the director for Tender is a control freak therefore the more information you give him the more he wants to dissect it and question. I do feel this approach had its advantages as hopefully it will eradicate any misunderstandings later in the production process.

The reaction to the designs was positive, with only a few minor changes. The clear representation of the costumes left little to the imagination. I was please to see that the designs worked in the way I had intended. At the end of the meeting I presented the director with thumbnails which he was able to take away. I had intended the thumbnails to generate a discussion about the entire look of the costumes and the production as a whole; however the director at this point seemed happy with the decision and just filled the thumbnail images with the rest of his work and the meeting finished. As this is the last meeting with the director before the presentation of the designs to the actors, I wanted to identify key areas to look forward to as the production develops and the costumes designs translate in to 3D costume. For the production of Tender my key interest is 1. To look at whether all the in depth pre production work and attention to detail will produce less issues later in the build process. 2. It will be interesting to observe whether the wardrobe supervisor will find the designs as clear and easy to use or almost too restrictive as the design decisions are so clear cut and most of the costumes will be brought from high street shops. Will the wardrobe supervisor be able to get the same garments which I chose from magazines and clothing catalogues? 3. What reactions will the actors have to the designs? Will they find them helpful to understand there character?

Tender a week in the studio

With 2 director/ designer meeting out of the way it has been an intense week getting the designs for Tender ready for a meeting with the Director on Friday 25th. The intended style for this production was ‘photorealistic’. Developing on from the concept boards which were created for the first meeting I continued to use collage as a main type for rendering technique. In my personal experience Photoshop is a really good tool for creating digital collaged pieces. Editing, rescaling and forming the image are key functions of the programme. My intention however was not to just to create a collage which looked like a photo but to add an artistic, stylistic quality to the designs. I also looked at designers work such as Paul Brown and Claire Lyth for inspiration. They use detailed face which add realism to the image but do not pull focus. Reading the directors personality traits, I observed in the first meeting that he required his designers to put in ‘the work’ for his production. Though a modern piece he made it quite clear that it would still require just as much work as a period piece. Though this may be the case during the design process the gathering of the actual costumes should be much less labour intensive. My feeling is that this attitude stems from the arrangements that one costume designer (myself) is working on 3 shows for the same company. He wants reassurance that he is getting his fair share of me. From this observation I formed the opinion that I would need to demonstrate artistically that I had put the ‘work’ in. One of my early observations I encountered from talking to an experienced costume maker is that if a designer has slaved over a design that there is a sense that the design has more passion emotion and work gone into the design development process. I have been aware of this and keen not to let the computer to be seen as the easy option.

With all this in mind I wanted to create a collage look which looked stylistic, creative and ‘worked’ and not as collage can often look like a real photo. For this I looked at designers work such as Paul Brown and Claire Lyth for inspiration. They use detailed face which adds realism to the image without pulling focus always from the costume but almost highlighting the costume more. To create the images I used magazines and clothing catalogues. Being a contemporary production my research into the characters and their clothing evolved around modern fashion. Looking at magazines and clothing catalogues became a key source of inspiration and using collage allowed me to dress the characters as if I were shopping. I chose to put a effect on the face which involves a number of steps using filter and channels in Photoshop.

Evaluation the work produced this week I am confident to say the techniques has been effective and productive. The collage technique did not consume a large deal of time however this process benefited from the fact that the ‘design development’ process had taken place and most of the images were pre collected. My studio practice which formed almost a rhythmic pattern followed a process of selecting an image, extracting it and putting th costume together in a collage. A real advantage which I used on several occasions was the process of turning off layers and adding an alternative item of clothing for the next scene while retaining the face, trousers or shoes from the image before. This process almost echo’s my practice on from the rendering style used for La Ronde, where the same image can look different with a few simple changes. I created a temple for the final design layout and chose to put the costume changes for each character on the same page. What I learnt for my studio practice is how much can be achieved by using the same process and almost getting a systematic rhythm to rendering. In 15 hours I was able to produce 20 designs ready for discussion. Perhaps I achieved this just because it had to be done. However at the beginning of the week I had decided I would get done what I could in the time frame but was please I was able to produce all that I did. I think as a negative that using this system you get into a ‘zone’ which almost reflects a factory production line and in that instance a sense of artistry goes from your work.

What does it all mean?

Well I suppose this week I have continued to learn that the computer aids my time managements and I have benefited from this by being able to produce a great deal of work. Time does seem to be a key pro of using a computer but I also see artistic developments which I have made.

The technique and style of the renderings has been artistically successful from my view point. Though collage is essentially the gathering of images from other sources collated together to make a new image I feel I have added a unique and creative look to the final renderings. The use of solid flat images of the clothes next to the stylized pencil effect of the body not only pulls focus on the essential component (the costume) but gives the image a creative quality which I hope give it artistic merit. The most rewarding element of this method of working is the realistic representation of the clothes which you are trying to communicate. A designer who struggles to draw well could use this technique as it requires no drawing. It does however require a high level of knowledge into the computer programme as the technique though simple in results required a variety of applications.

Director/ Designer Meeting La Ronde/ Mary Barton

The design team met the Director for Mary Barton at 12.00 and La Ronde at 1.30. Both meetings started as usual discussing the set design. Obviously some costume queries evolved out of such discussions this often helps put the production in context and makes it easier to visualise how the costumes will look on stage. Have such a short preparation time for the meetings I had to decide what I would show and how realistically manageable the work I would do for each director.

For Mary Bartons I presented a combination of digital printed sketches and some reference material in the form of photos and photocopies, all presented in a sketchbook. I also presented the director 2 on screen mood boards.

For La Ronde I have prepared digital mood boards for each character, and had printed off the digitally manipulated, hand-drawn line drawings which had a suggestion of colour and pattern by hand rendered coloured pencil.

The practical outcome of both meetings are recorded in more detail in my production notes but the focus of my reflections are to support my research question

I observed the following in response to my research question:

The more I work with the three different directors at the same time I am realising that whatever you present to them and whatever the ideas are that you suggest you need to treat them all differently. Reading the directors personality and responding to their reaction accordingly helps when developing a relationship. The director for Mary Barton works very organically. As the script is still developing and probably will continue to do so during the rehearsal period he is open to ideas but also thrives on how creativity and concepts can evolve. In images which I have presented to him I have purposely tried to evoke a strong sense of atmosphere in them. Detail was left to the imagination which allowed for different interpretation and creative dialogue. The only danger in that, which I can foresee is that the actual costumes, may not capture the atmospheric quality of the painterly designs. The director did admire the quality of the drawings and commented on them. I am not sure at this point if he knows whether they are rendered on the computer or even if he cares.

The director for La Ronde could not be more different. Her approach is to map every step of ever scene out. Responding to her personality I knew the designs would need to be precise, very clear and detailed and accurate to the period. In her meeting I presented the line drawings in a sketchbook accompanied by individual ‘on screen’ mood board with historical references for each character. Her response was positive the character boards on screen allowed her to see the design choices and where the ideas had stemmed from. Though this could have been done is a sketchbook. I felt the digital presentation gave an added air of professionalism. I gave the director a copy of the character boards which she can use as she continues to plot out the play. She was very thankful to receive them at the end of the meeting.

The reaction to the computer and on screen presentations has so far been ‘normal’. What I mean by this is none of the directors have reacted negatively towards them. Nor have they been overly positive. I sense that they see it as just an accessory to the meetings.

I have not yet mentioned my MA research topic as I do not want it to influence the way I am seen. However I am establishing good relationships and presently see no reason why the research should be a problem. The director of La Ronde is a woman in her 50s and who is a self confessed computer novice. She commented at the end of the meeting when discussing sending some designs via email that she doesn’t know much about computers. On commenting that this will help her learn, she said pleasingly that it was a great opportunity to get her head around the technology.

Other than my sketchbooks and the Laptop I haven’t taken any other books or reference materials to the meetings. I have not once felt I did not have an image to discuss nor that what I had already saved on my computer insufficient for the conversations.

As this will be the last meeting with the directors of La Ronde and Mary Barton before the presentation of the designs to the actors, I wanted to identify key areas to look forward to as the production develops and the costumes designs translate in to 3D costume.

For the production of La Ronde my key area of interest is (1) whether the designs will communicate clearly the entire costume to the wardrobe supervisor. The show is very reliant on costume as in the action which takes place is of the actors un dressing and dressing on stage. Will the designs have enough information in them for the supervisor to understand what is required? (2) Considering the budget restricts, I wonder how many things will be made, therefore will the design be supportive when going to hire places to find costumes? (3) What reactions will the actors have to the designs? Will they find them helpful to understand their character?

For the Production of Mary Barton the director wants the design to evolve as the rehearsals progress. So (1) will the designs which are produced before this evolutional process be supportive to the wardrobe supervisor as the design develops. (2) Does the costume designs support the evolving script and add atmosphere to the rehearsal process. (3) How effectively will the doubling work and has this been clearly communicated in my designs? (4)In such an organic process is a design necessary? (5) Has the combination of designs and photographic images worked will together to communicate a whole production look?

Working on La Ronde

The last 6 days (33 hours) have been spent focusing my studio work on the production La Ronde. My aim for the week was to design in principle all the characters ready for the next designer/ director meeting on the 18th May. My personal deadline was planned the 11th May as I would need to spend the rest of the time before the next meeting working on Mary Barton as I would also meet the director for that production on the same day. With a tight schedule I planned to spend 2 days drawing the basic outlines for each character and then designing the costumes over the next 4 days. For this production I am looking at creating a caricature style therefore the emphasis on faces and poses is essential to communicate character. Also an important observation which I have realised working with 3 different directors is that they all visually need different things to help them understand the concepts offered to them by me. The director for La Ronde is particular about detail and her key focus is on getting the correct period look. She has a keen interest in costume and wants to know all aspects of the costume including the underwear. As the focus of the play is about sex and most scenes consist of the characters undressing or at least exposing their underwear I completely understand her concerns and focus. Therefore when working I took into consideration her needs and designed in the style accordingly creating a style which I will know call detail/ caricature. I chose therefore to make the line drawings and final designs clear and very detailed but still retain a characterful drawings style. Using the research on Austrian/ Hungarian Artists I can observe styles of artists such a Mucha and see a relation in the style I want to create for my research and an appropriate style for the influences of the production. His theatrical images and character based art is detailed, refines and bold.

The technique I used for creating the illustrations was not new to me as I had used the technique when designing a dance production in 2006. The processes involved a series of hand-drawn line drawing of the body, face and sometimes the hands, which are drawn on separate sheets. I choose to hand-draw in this way as my drawing ability can sometimes be hindered by drawing in restricted sizes. For example I draw better proportioned and detailed faces at a much more affiant pace if I can draw them large. The proportion of the bodies are drawn on A4 sheets and sometimes when I am struggling with a particular aspect of a pose (e.g the angle of an arm, foot) I take the option of tracing from an existing image. Once I have completed the drawings I scan them into the computer for rescaling and positioning together, finally creating a whole body. Though at this point my focus is not on the costumes, this process is not alien to the actual ‘design’ process as while forming these line drawings I am constantly considering character, looking at reference images and forming an idea of what the final costume may look like.
The next step of the process is to print out the line drawings several times and start to design the clothes which will be worn. The advantage of this is that multiple options can be tried without starting again each time. From time to time when the pose is not appropriate to communicate the garment, I will draw for example a differently posed arm or leg. Once the drawings are formed

Designer/ Director Conference 1 - Observation and reflection

The meetings took place at Arts Educational Schools in Chiswick, London. Spanning the whole day, the meetings were arranged for 11am with the director for Tender, at 2pm with the director for La Ronde and at 4pm with the director for Mary Barton. I had prepared visual references for all the meetings.

For Tender I produced an 8 page PDF presentation. This consisted of 1 concept board which had inspirational images from artists and photographers and 7 character mood boards. The pages consisted of collaged images and scanned hand rendered line drawings collated in Photoshop and saved as a PDF presentation.

For La Ronde I also prepared a PDF presentation. This consisted of 4 pages mainly containing historical reference material and influences from artist. At this early stage I chose not to create mood boards for each character but generate general discussion about the production.

Mary Barton’s preparation was very different. Only receiving the script a few days before the meeting I had already informed the director that I would not have many images for the meeting. Because of time restrictions I was unable to present the images I had researched in a PDF presentation format and used hand held images spread on the table. Though I had planned to have a similar style of presentation for all the director/ designer meetings I decided this different approach would be interesting to record and monitor.

I chose not to digitally record the meetings as I felt it inappropriate at this early stage in the research and wanted to develop as relationship with the directors as a designer apposed to a researcher. Also with each meeting lasting 2 hours I felt it more feasible to record the meetings in note form

Responding to my research question I observed the following:

Tender: The first part of the meeting consisted of a discussion about the set design. The director’s interest and enthusiasm to keep the concept hyper contemporary was made clear. When presenting the costume mood boards I asked the designer whether he minded seeing the images on screen. I had prepared printed images in case the location or response from the director did not enabled me to show my ideas on screen. With a positive response to this suggestion I started the presentation. Moving through each page I felt nervous and initially I was unable to read his reactions. The computer images did support my verbal presentation and I felt more confident as I moved through each page. The director did not say much throughout the presentation taking the time, I think, to consider my ideas. Once the discussion started to unfold I was able to flip back through the pages to discuss the individual character in more detail. His comments varied from ‘I like that image’ and ‘that goes will together’ to ‘that’s exactly what she should wear’. I was please with these comments as it has always been my hope that by using this photo/realistic technique the director would easily be able to visualise the costume on the actor. I felt a success in the functionality of the PDF presentation. I felt it added a professionalism to the meeting as the director seemed impressed with what I had prepared and an air of confidence seemed to develop between us. At the end of the meeting I was able to give the director print-outs of our discussion. This again, I think, added to a professional relationship that has started to be formed.

La Ronde

The meeting unfolded in a similar way and the set was discussed before the costumes. Again I asked the director if she minded seeing the visual images I had prepared on screen. She was elated with this thought and I felt instant respect from her. This filled me with confidence and helped me adopt a confident tone when presenting my ideas. Though I only resented 4 pages she responded well to the mood boards and was able to quickly understand my thoughts. The last page showed an image of a corset which I had overlaid with a Klimt design to suggest fabric decoration which may be developed. She did not want to further develop this idea which I fully respected as that is the role of a director, to direct the overall vision of the production. As I knew the idea was rather radical I was pleased that it took little effort to create the image. I was able to visually demonstrate an idea which, is as in this case was dismissed, I did not feel a great deal of time had been wasted but an ideas was aired.

During the meeting the conversation moved away from the presentation and focused on individual characters in the production. I had not taken any hard copy references with me but was able to quickly find an image to support the conversation in my research files stored on my computer. Throughout this presentation I felt confident and very prepared. I gave the printed image pages to the director to take away for her further consideration however after the discussion about the Klimt influenced fabric I chose to remove the ideas page supporting this.

I felt the simple layout of the pages and the Art Nouveau boarder gave a suggestion of style without to much visual clutter. I felt that this suited the director well.

Mary Barton

As I had not prepared a screen presentation for the meeting I relied on photocopies and images from books. The director was very open to creative input by both myself and the set designer. My personal response to this meeting was not as positive to the last two. Though the meeting went well and the outcome was constructive I felt my personal participation was less dynamic. Not preparing a presentation meant that I did not feel as confident or as focused on what I wanted to talk about as I had done in the last 2 presentations. I did observe that the costumes were discussed alongside the set rather than reserved for the second part of the meeting. It is unclear if this was the nature of the design concept which relies heavily of textiles and draped clothes or the fact that the costume reference material was spread out on the table but the combined discussion in this instance was a more holistic approach. As I had not prepared a presentation I was unable to leave the director with any images to go away with. Though this seem perfectly expectable I felt, some how that the director would not be able to reflect on the discussion and have visual references outside of the meeting. He did seem however pleased with the developments and quiet assured that the ideas generated by both myself and the set designer was going in the right direction.

In conclusion: Observing my personal response to the 3 meetings I have noted that for me the screen presentations help me feel more prepared and present a more professional persona. I did not feel the results of the discussions were skewed by whether a presentation was presented on screen but my personal confidence and sense of preparation was affected. As a competent computer user the photocopies felt messy laid out of the table, not very clear and I was a little unsure what they showed, when. As teacher I often use screen presentation to formulise my thinking and communicate a coherent thought process. As a costume designer the mood boards collated ideas and vision in an accessible way. The first 2 directors were able to take away the presentation for them to further reflect on my thoughts and ideas. I hope this will support the design development process and will in time reduce any surprises later in the production process.