#220 - Bringing Costumes To Life with Harriet Dyson

#220 - Bringing Costumes To Life with Harriet Dyson

Today is the season finale for Life, Camera, Action season 2. To wrap us up, my guest Harriet and I will be talking about how she takes designs and brings costumes to life for both theater and film. 

Harriet is a professional costume, prop, and puppet maker based in the UK. When she’s not working on set or backstage she co-runs The Wardrobe Chronicles, an online space to educate and encourage creatives aspiring or currently working within the costuming industry. In her almost decade-long career, she has worked on everything from regional theatre to Disney's Aladdin (2019) and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, currently streaming on Netflix.

• Remember: Costumes are the final element that make a character real. They are the symbol that people literally buy into and wear to emulate their heroes. Therefore, it’s incredibly important to choose the right team to work with to make your designs a reality. Only choose people who truly get and appreciate your vision. 
• Research: To bring your costuming to the next level for your storytelling projects, compare your designs and explore their functionality. If they will be used on stage, is there a practical place for a mic pack? If you have a design for screen, are there features that will potentially set you up for continuity errors? The more thorough your design, the more efficient the construction process will be.
• Challenge: It’s important to know your worth as a creative and stand by it. This honors you, the people you collaborate with, and the projects you take on. So take some time and calculate your typical cost for a project including base materials, time, extra resources, equipment rentals, etc. Then add on an additional amount that you would like to receive for your services. If that total comes out as a number that feels great to you, stick to it! If not, recalculate and adjust as needed.

http://www.victoriaruke.com

To learn more about Harriet, her projects, and The Wardrobe Chronicles: https://www.thewardrobechronicles.com/

Follow her on social media: @chronicleswardrobe @endlessworkshop

#220 - Bringing Costumes To Life with Harriet Dyson

Today is the season finale for Life, Camera, Action season 2. To wrap us up, my guest Harriet and I will be talking about how she takes designs and brings costumes to life for both theater and film. 

Harriet is a professional costume, prop, and puppet maker based in the UK. When she’s not working on set or backstage she co-runs The Wardrobe Chronicles, an online space to educate and encourage creatives aspiring or currently working within the costuming industry. In her almost decade-long career, she has worked on everything from regional theatre to Disney's Aladdin (2019) and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, currently streaming on Netflix.

• Remember: Costumes are the final element that make a character real. They are the symbol that people literally buy into and wear to emulate their heroes. Therefore, it’s incredibly important to choose the right team to work with to make your designs a reality. Only choose people who truly get and appreciate your vision. 
• Research: To bring your costuming to the next level for your storytelling projects, compare your designs and explore their functionality. If they will be used on stage, is there a practical place for a mic pack? If you have a design for screen, are there features that will potentially set you up for continuity errors? The more thorough your design, the more efficient the construction process will be.
• Challenge: It’s important to know your worth as a creative and stand by it. This honors you, the people you collaborate with, and the projects you take on. So take some time and calculate your typical cost for a project including base materials, time, extra resources, equipment rentals, etc. Then add on an additional amount that you would like to receive for your services. If that total comes out as a number that feels great to you, stick to it! If not, recalculate and adjust as needed.

http://www.victoriaruke.com

To learn more about Harriet, her projects, and The Wardrobe Chronicles: https://www.thewardrobechronicles.com/

Follow her on social media: @chronicleswardrobe @endlessworkshop

#219 - Produce Stories That Sell with Leanna Billings

Today my guest Leanna and I will be discussing how she and her team produce meaningful stories and take filmmakers’ scripts to the next level. This includes how to research your characters, bring them to life and edit fluff from your script.

Leanna is the founder and CEO of Billings Productions. Starting out as an actress, she became familiar with the business side of filmmaking. After earning her doctorate in clinical psychology, she understands the parallels of her academics and the film industry. The main missions for Billings Productions are to tell stories highlighting mental health and social injustices while moving away from how filmmakers present stories from a white narrative and to include diverse characters and topics.

• Remember: When selecting cast and crew, it's important to not overemphasize a resume to the point of overlooking attitude and ability to collaborate. In order to create a fun, close-knit and effective set, interview everyone for character traits to make sure they’re a great fit.
• Research: What scenes, details, plot lines, or conversations, within your script truly add to the story? What ones don’t? Continually ask yourself what each element contributes to the story arc as you write and edit, then take out or adjust anything that could be seen as filler content.
• Challenge: Starting with your main characters, document all of your characters’ personalities. This can be done through personality tests like the Myers-Briggs tests. Then keep track of their storyline and for each major decision or reaction, compare it for accuracy against the test. This will help you stay true to the character or intentionally make an out-of-character choice.

http://www.victoriaruke.com

To learn more about Leanna and her work: https://www.billingsproductionsinc.com/

Follow her on social media: @BillingsProductionsinc

#219 - Produce Stories That Sell with Leanna Billings

Today my guest Leanna and I will be discussing how she and her team produce meaningful stories and take filmmakers’ scripts to the next level. This includes how to research your characters, bring them to life and edit fluff from your script.

Leanna is the founder and CEO of Billings Productions. Starting out as an actress, she became familiar with the business side of filmmaking. After earning her doctorate in clinical psychology, she understands the parallels of her academics and the film industry. The main missions for Billings Productions are to tell stories highlighting mental health and social injustices while moving away from how filmmakers present stories from a white narrative and to include diverse characters and topics.

• Remember: When selecting cast and crew, it's important to not overemphasize a resume to the point of overlooking attitude and ability to collaborate. In order to create a fun, close-knit and effective set, interview everyone for character traits to make sure they’re a great fit.
• Research: What scenes, details, plot lines, or conversations, within your script truly add to the story? What ones don’t? Continually ask yourself what each element contributes to the story arc as you write and edit, then take out or adjust anything that could be seen as filler content.
• Challenge: Starting with your main characters, document all of your characters’ personalities. This can be done through personality tests like the Myers-Briggs tests. Then keep track of their storyline and for each major decision or reaction, compare it for accuracy against the test. This will help you stay true to the character or intentionally make an out-of-character choice.

http://www.victoriaruke.com

To learn more about Leanna and her work: https://www.billingsproductionsinc.com/

Follow her on social media: @BillingsProductionsinc

#218 - How To Achieve Cinematic Sound with Vickie Sampson

Today my guest Vickie Sampson and I will be talking about how to set your sound up for success during production in order to make the sound editing process a seamless experience with a great end result.  

Vickie Sampson is a Writer, Director, Film and Sound Editor who has worked on over 200 films as a Supervising Sound Editor for feature films since 1973. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also known as the Oscars and Alliance of Women Directors. She has directed over 7 short films, 15 commercials and is attached to direct the upcoming feature film titled Revolutionist in Fall 2021 starring Virginia Madsen. You can explore more about her career in the award-winning feature documentary called Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound.

• Remember: Overlooking sound on set, will only make the sound editing process that much more difficult. So don’t take shortcuts to save time and daylight, but rather plan ahead and be flexible enough to prioritize the quality of the project as a whole.
• Research: When vetting your locations for your shoot, make multiple trips to the site at various times of day before making the final decision. This way you can get a feel for the naturally occurring sounds that may enhance or interfere with your project and can make a plan moving forward.
• Challenge: Go through your current script and take note of what sound would make up the ambiance of your scene. Schedule a few hours dedicated to capturing those sounds to use throughout your film.

http://www.victoriaruke.com

To learn more about Vickie and her projects: https://www.echocreekfilms.com/

Follow her on social media: @vickiesampson @directorgal