Bambi Deidre Breakstone

Explorations in the design of 'experimental' garments using the basic elements of mass, volume, form and motion. Rather than concerning themselves with current design trends or regular fashion problems, students emphasize bodies as forms in motion or as moving sculpture.

Explorations in the design of 'experimental' garments using the basic elements of mass, volume, form and motion. Rather than concerning themselves with current design trends or regular fashion problems, students emphasize bodies as forms in motion or as moving sculpture.

In this workshop students develop a practical understanding of the procedures used by costume designers and their assistants and crew in film and television production. Weekly lectures and hands-on demonstrations focus on projects including breaking down a script based on character and scene, doing research towards developing characters through costume choices, and techniques used to present those choices to the director and producer. Students break down a script from a show in current production. Final critiques include presentation of the breakdown with clip file photos and drawings of their costume choices for the entire script.

In this workshop students develop a practical understanding of the procedures used by costume designers and their assistants and crew in film and television production. Weekly lectures and hands-on demonstrations focus on projects including breaking down a script based on character and scene, doing research towards developing characters through costume choices, and techniques used to present those choices to the director and producer. Students break down a script from a show in current production. Final critiques include presentation of the breakdown with clip file photos and drawings of their costume choices for the entire script.

What are the concerns that drive one's creative practice? How does one set the terms for its future development? Sophomore Seminar offers strategies for students to explore, reflect upon, and connect common themes and interests in the development of an emerging creative practice that will serve as the basis of their ongoing studies at SAIC and beyond. Students will examine historical and contemporary influences and contextualize their work in relation to the diverse art-worlds of the 21st Century. Readings, screenings, and field trips will vary each semester. Presentations by visiting artists and guest speakers will provide the opportunity for students to hear unique perspectives on sustaining a creative practice. One-on-one meetings with faculty will provide students with individualized mentorship throughout the semester. During interdisciplinary critiques, students will explore a variety of formats and tools to analyze work and provide peer feedback. The class mid-term project asks students to imagine a plan for their creative life and devise a self-directed course of study for their time at school. The course concludes with an assignment asking students to develop and document a project or body of work demonstrating how the interplay of ideas, technical skills, and formal concerns evolve through iteration, experimentation and revision.

Prerequisite: Must be a sophomore to enroll.

Costume design is a complex art form that requires in-depth understanding of the cultural implications of dress. The purpose of this class is to further develop the artistic and practical aspects of designing costumes, building on previous skills learned in Costume Design for Film and TV. This advanced class is for serious costume design students and will help them gain the necessary skills to find work in a professional costume department. This advanced class would give students the opportunity to delve more deeply into creating characters through script analysis and both primary and secondary research about each character to establish personality though costume. Additionally, this class would teach students practical methods of manipulating fabric to create futuristic as well as historically accurate fabric for their costume designs.

Readings and screenings will vary but will include readings from the following texts; Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Filmcraft: Costume Design, Focal Press, 2012, Rosemary Ingham, Costume Designer's Handbook: A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional Costume Designers, Prentice-Hall Books, 1983, Tan Huaixiang, Character Costume Figure Drawing, Routledge, 2018, Deborah Dryden, Fabric Painting and Dyeing for the Theatre, Heinemann Drama, 1993.
*Readings chosen from The Costume Designer magazine and the Costume Designers Guild website articles

And screenings of scenes from historic and futuristic films including but not limited to: Metropolis (1927), Blade Runner (1982), Dr. Strange (2016), A Boy and His Dog (1975), The Favorite (2018), Chariots of Fire (1981), and The Clockwork Orange (1971).