Assessment Item 3: Telling a story in pictures
Posted by: ohhemgee on: October 27, 2008
Costumes may also be an effective tool in a film’s ongoing narrative, as any portion of a costume may become a prop. This is evident in Victor Fleming’s 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, where the ruby slippers are a significant part of costume that spurs the film’s narrative.
Additionally, costume can aid storytelling as it, as director Tim Burton puts it, “helps [actors] find who the character is” (ThreadBanger, 2007). It thus enhances the character’s performance as “actors…put on a costume and become the character” (Burton, in ThreadBanger, 2007), and in effect, elevates the narrative of the film.
However, although costume is a very effective tool in filmic storytelling, the meaning and story can be furthered through the collaboration and cooperation with the production and design teams of the film. It has been recognised that “costume is often coordinated with setting” (Bordwell & Thompson, 1997, pp. 177). Colleen Atwood agrees, stating “sometimes, all that is needed is a little push to help the story and make it more beautiful. It’s a huge collaboration between lighting and design” (cited in Bush, 2004).
Reference List:
Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. 1997, “The Shot: Mise-en-Scene” in D. Bordwell & K. Thompson (ed.), Film Art, McGraw Hill, Boston, pp. 169-209
Bush, K. 2004, Dressed to Kill, viewed 23 October 2008, http://www.keithbush.com/article_atwood.htm
Motte, R.L, 2001, Costume Design 101: the art and business of costume design for film and television, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City
Threadbangers 2007, Sweeney Todd, Interview with Colleen Atwood, Threadbanger, viewed 23 October 2008 <http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=OcEXl1OfyzU>
Additionally, the colour of the “costume [can] help pick out the characters” (Bordwell & Thompson, 1997, pp. 176), as the colour of a costume can be used as a highlighter to demonstrate who the main character is, or where the most important event in the frame is taking place. This is evident through films such as Cameron Crowe’s 2005 film Elizabethtown and Marc Forster’s 2006 film Stranger than Fiction, both of which use the colour red to ensure their main characters stand out in the background of people.
A costume’s silhouette can tell story by informing the audience of where and when the story is taking place. For example, a story of an unworldly world would have its characters in unworldly costumes, with unique silhouettes, made of uncommon materials. 
This is evident in George Lucas’ 1999 film Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace where Queen Padme Amidala wears very elaborate and unique costumes that create peculiar silhouettes, emphasizing that the story being told is of an imagined world.
Likewise, stories of the past would utilise period costumes, which have distinct silhouettes. The distinct silhouette of this dress, where the corset ensures that the shape of the waist is fitted, perhaps even exaggerated, which in effect enhances the bust, and the circular floor length skirt, which conceals the shape of the legs, is recognisably a dress from the Victorian era, demonstrating that hte character is from the Victorian era (or is perhaps fond of Victorian attire).
The particular style of a costume can tell the audience what is happening. Style is created through fabric choice and design.
For example, the unique mechanical appearance of Edward Scissorhands’ costume in Tim Burton’s 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, contrasts directly with the recognisable clothing style of the local townspeople, demonstrating that a foreign character has entered an established community.
A chiffon formal dressAdditionally, certain events call for certain styles of clothing. A full-length dress made of luxury fabric such as chiffon, velvet, satin or silk, such as the one in the right, would signify that a formal event was taking place during the narrative. Likewise, the loose-fitting sport uniforms used in Gurinder Chada’s 2002 film Bend it Like Beckham demonstrate that a football game is part of the narrative. “A costume’s colour is…important” (Motte, 2001, pp. 52) in telling a story. It can evoke particular moods and effects and illustrate the character’s personality. This is evident in many films including the 2002 film Chicago in which director Rob Marshall aimed at creating an imagined world through the musical acts which were performed in Roxie’s imagination. In order to do this, Academy Award winning costume designer Colleen Atwood "tried to keep a contrast between the real world Roxie lived in and the imagined world of the stage" (Atwood cited in Bush, 2004) and thus dressed the real world Roxie in neutral colours such as beige and pink, which reflected her real-life naivety, and the imagined Roxie is bold colours such as black and silver, which reflected the different, assertive and confident personality she imagined she would have on stage. The colour of a character’s costume can tell much about the character and set a certain mood and tone. It is evident that “if you want someone to feel warm, you dress them in a warm colour” (Motte, 2001, pp. 52). However, colours can have multiple meanings. A character in a black costume, for example, can be interpreted as distant (due to the bleakness), seductive (due to its boldness) or evil (due to its darkness). The intended meanings are created through the costume’s silhouette and style in addition to the costume’s colour. Left: A seductive black dress Right: A distant black ensemble
The choice of colour in costume is often based on the film’s cultural influences and its expectations. For example, in contemporary Western society, the colour red can be associated with anger, passion, love and sexuality, depending on the context.
This is evident in Cher’s costume in the 1995 film Clueless, directed by Amy Heckerling, where Cher wears a seductive red dress with the intentions of seducing Christian. However, in non-Western societies, such as the Indian culture, the colour red is associated with wealth, beauty and fertility in marriage, which is why it is the traditional colour of bridal dresses. An example can be seen in Gurinder Chadha’s 2002 film Bend it Like Beckham where Pinky and Teetu wed.
