Recently, I got to have my first taste of costuming while working on Joshua Wacker's senior film project called "We Need To Talk." It's the story of a deaf man and his overbearing girlfriend who visit a computer dating agency in 1963 to see if they will be matched, but it's more about the experience of the people in the waiting room.
I had less than three weeks and a very small budget to gather the costumes for four women and two men. Being born in 1989, I was obviously not alive in the early 60s. I did a lot of research to try to understand what people wore back then, but then I went through the script and broke down the characters, tried to figure out their personalities, what they were likely to wear and look like. Here are some of the images that ended up saved on my computer. Note: I do not own any of these images.
Once I had a character breakdown and some inspiration images, I headed to some thrift and vintage stores with my friends, as well as raided my own closet at my parent's house. I swear there are still 15 pairs of my own shoes in the media production studio!
This was also my first film in which I actually appeared on camera. I played Betty the receptionist, a single twenty-something whose head is totally in the clouds. It was fun to play somebody so quirky, even in a supporting role.
After several modifications, several costume fittings, and so much hair spray, we were set. Kierstin Wunder was our awesome hairstylist and makeup artist.
Here's the final product! The cast of "We Need To Talk":
I am so in love with film production.
