Costume
The facilities required for costume or wardrobe purposes can vary considerably, according to the types of production being handled. In a small studio complex a large room is desirable in which to carry out the work of costume design, construction, fitting, correction and maintenance. It should be a room with natural daylight and preferably fitted with tungsten lighting. Fluorescent lighting if used, should be of high colour rendition (>90) to avoid distortion of colour values. Also included should be hot/cold water supplies plus drainage and an ample supply of power sockets.
Typical facilities
The illustration shows the use of the working space in a room allocated for costume in a studio complex handling the full range of programmes but on a limited scale. A floor-standing steamer for suits, hats and large costumes can also be used in the studio for steaming creases out of drapes. A good variety of haberdashery is essential, as are basic cleaning materials; pure soap, methylated spirits and trichlorethane, in can and aerosol form, will save most accidents. Male and female tailor’ s dress stands are extremely useful; if on a tight budget use the small average sizes–they can always be padded-out to a larger size when needed. The overlocker or serger is invaluable, it can save so much time on otherwise labour-intensive tasks.
A Polaroid camera is a useful tool for making swift records for costume continuity purposes.
Costume suitability
Clothing may prove unsuitable on camera for technical or artistic reasons, e.g. too dark, appearing translucent, or with close regular patterns that produce distracting strobing effects. When the camera exposure is adjusted for good facial tones, costumes (e.g. shirts, blouses) which are too light or shiny will appear over-bright, or even reproduce as white areas with little detail.
The remedy is either to use off-white costumes or lightly dye the offending costume to overcome the problem. It is a good practice to encourage regular presenters to test all costumes ‘on camera’ before committing them to a programme.
Where chroma key is used in a production (see page 80) no costumes should be of a similar hue to the switching colour (e.g. blue) otherwise spurious effects will arise.
Monitoring and communication
Similar facilities to the make-up area should be included in the costume area, i.e. monitor with studio output plus sound, intercom and telephone.
A typical layout is shown (top). A washing machine and tumble dryer are also needed, but these should be located in a separate area because they produce too much noise and heat. The overlocker (bottom) cuts and sews material in one operation, either single or multi-layer.