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Into Costume
Who says you need a big budget to create historical threads? Here's a primer on how to fake, beg, borrow and buy costumes and accessories that will add some flair to your production.
Many low-and no-budget directors shy away from period or fantasy films for a variety of good reasons, including tough locations, tricky acting and expensive costumes and props. Historic clothing has to look just right. A silly, cheap-looking accessory can ruin a scene; I know from experience. In one of my films I put a dorky rubber hat on a character, thinking it would look like cloth. We now roll our eyes and refer to that character only as “Condom Man.”Think about the independent films you’ve seen in recent years. How many of the characters wore anything but off-the-shelf modern clothing? Why not take the leap? Period costumes offer an opportunity to boost production value—especially if you’re shooting on video or with limited locations. Maybe it’s my background in theater, but I love colorful characters and colorful costumes. Film noir be damned!
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| David LaGraffe, Rhonda Carlson and Dale Phillips dress for the Old West in “Liberty TV.” |
For a recent episode of my show, “Liberty News TV” (www.libertynewstv.com), we needed to costume an elaborate cowboy spoof. But Maine is hardly the place to go scavenging for chaps, cowboy hats and sixshooters— or so we thought. As we began the costume scrounge, however, we discovered that all you have to do is ask. In the end, we managed to outfit a dozen cowboys and two 19th-century women for just about $200, complete with guns, spurs, hats, chaps, ponchos and even a sombrero.
The Old West: Piece by Piece
Most period costuming can be accomplished by accessorizing modern clothing—typically by either adding or removing some detail of the costume. Here’s how we rounded up our western wardrobe:
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by free condoms online on 7/11/08 at 3:11 am
Condom man? lol! very interesting though
This story was published in the Summer 2006 MovieMaker Magazine. The headline was:
Guerilla Costuming / Who says you need a big budget to create historical threads? Here's a primer on how to fake, beg, borrow and buy costumes and accessories that will add some flair to your production.
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