When I Grow Up: Costume Designer | How To Design Costumes

Cool School

15 Oct 201502:56

Summary

TLDRIn this fun and imaginative video, Nikki shares her dream of becoming a costume designer for movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars. She explains how costume designers work closely with directors and writers to ensure costumes fit the story and characters. Nikki discusses the importance of researching time periods and places, giving an example of medieval armor. She also shares her passion for creating costumes for her My Little Pony dolls and sketches. The video ends with Nikki imagining winning an Oscar for her work as a costume designer. She encourages viewers to share their dreams too.

Takeaways

😀 Nikki wants to be a costume designer when she grows up.
🎥 Costume designers create the costumes seen on stage, TV, and movies.
🚀 Nikki is especially interested in designing costumes for sci-fi movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars.
🎭 Costume designers work closely with directors and writers to understand the story, characters, and locations.
🕰️ Research is an important part of costume design, especially when designing for specific time periods and settings.
⚔️ Medieval costumes require learning about armor, including chain mail, chest plates, and helmets.
🎨 Costume designers sketch their ideas after completing their research.
🎬 Nikki imagines designing for a mashup movie like Inside Out and My Little Pony, mixing character styles.
🧵 Being a costume designer requires a love for fashion, research, and creativity.
🏆 Nikki dreams of winning an Oscar for costume design someday.

Q & A

What does a costume designer do?
-A costume designer creates the costumes you see on stage, TV, and in movies. They work closely with directors and writers to ensure the costumes match the story, characters, and setting.
What types of movies does Nikki want to design costumes for?
-Nikki wants to design costumes for sci-fi movies like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Star Wars.'
Why is it important for costume designers to understand the story and setting of a show or movie?
-Understanding the story and setting helps costume designers create outfits that are appropriate and believable for the time period, location, and character roles.
What research does a costume designer do when working on a show set in the Medieval Times?
-They would research the types of armor knights wore, such as linen garments, chain mail, metal chest plates, armor for legs and arms, and helmets with visors.
What is chain mail, and why is it important in historical costumes?
-Chain mail is a type of armor made from tiny loops of metal linked together. It was used during the Medieval Times and is a key element in creating historically accurate knight costumes.
What is the process a costume designer follows after researching?
-After conducting research, the costume designer sketches out their ideas on paper to visualize the costume concepts.
How does Nikki show her passion for costume designing?
-Nikki mentions that she loves making costumes for her My Little Pony dolls, knows a lot of facts, and enjoys doodling cool costume ideas.
What qualities does Nikki think a costume designer should have?
-A costume designer should love fashion, enjoy doing research, and have a great imagination.
What would make Nikki proud as a costume designer?
-Nikki would feel proud to see her costume designs on screen and even win an Oscar for her work as a costume designer.
What does Nikki imagine winning an Oscar for?
-Nikki imagines winning an Oscar for her work in 'The Greatest Mash-Up Movie Part 3.'

Outlines

00:00

🎭 Dreaming of Becoming a Costume Designer

Nikki introduces herself and shares her dream of becoming a costume designer. She explains that a costume designer creates outfits for stage, TV, and movies. Nikki expresses her passion for designing sci-fi movie costumes, like those seen in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Star Wars.' She humorously mentions a mix-up with Chewbacca's uniform, emphasizing the need to understand different types of pilots.

📜 Researching to Create Authentic Costumes

Nikki explains that costume designers work closely with directors and writers to ensure costumes fit the story, characters, and setting. They must research the time period and place of the story. Nikki uses the example of Medieval Times, describing the various armor pieces worn by knights, from linen garments to helmets, to highlight the importance of research in designing costumes.

🎨 Sketching Costume Ideas

After conducting research, Nikki shares that costume designers get to sketch their ideas on paper. She imagines designing costumes for a mashup movie involving 'Inside Out' and 'My Little Pony.' Nikki suggests giving Anger a Rainbow Dash mohawk and swapping their outfits, which she enthusiastically declares as a brilliant idea for the greatest movie ever.

✨ Qualities of a Costume Designer

Nikki lists the qualities needed to become a costume designer, such as a love for fashion, research, and imagination. She shares her love for making costumes for her MLP dolls, her passion for learning new facts, and her hobby of doodling costumes. Nikki envisions the joy of seeing her designs on screen and dreams of winning an Oscar for her work.

🏆 Future Dreams and Audience Engagement

Nikki imagines winning an Oscar for her work in 'The Greatest Mash-Up Movie Part 3' and thanks everyone involved. She ends by asking the viewers about their future career dreams, encouraging them to leave comments, like the video, and subscribe to the channel. Nikki signs off with a friendly goodbye.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Costume Designer

A costume designer is the professional responsible for creating and designing the clothing and outfits seen in films, TV shows, or stage productions. In the video, Nikki expresses her desire to become a costume designer, explaining that they work closely with directors and writers to ensure costumes reflect the characters and settings. Examples in the script include designing costumes for sci-fi movies like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' or historical settings like the Medieval Times.

💡Sci-fi Movies

Sci-fi (science fiction) movies are films that often explore futuristic concepts, advanced technology, space exploration, and alien worlds. Nikki mentions her dream of designing costumes for sci-fi films such as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Star Wars,' which require imaginative and innovative costume designs that fit the unique universe and characters.

💡Research

Research is the process of studying and gathering information to understand a subject better. In the context of costume design, Nikki explains that costume designers need to research the time period, setting, and culture to ensure the costumes are historically or contextually accurate. For example, for a show set in the Medieval Times, designers need to research knights' armor and clothing.

💡Sketch

Sketching is the act of drawing rough or detailed designs on paper, often as a first step in creating something. Nikki talks about how costume designers sketch out their ideas before finalizing the costumes. This process helps visualize how the costumes will look, allowing designers to refine their ideas based on the characters and setting of the movie.

💡Medieval Times

The Medieval Times refers to the historical period from the 5th to the 15th century, often associated with knights, castles, and armor. In the video, Nikki mentions that if a costume designer is working on a show set in this time period, they would need to research what knights wore, including layers of armor, chain mail, and helmets, to accurately reflect the era.

💡Anger

Anger is a character from the animated movie 'Inside Out,' known for his fiery temper and bold design. In the script, Nikki imagines redesigning the character Anger by giving him a 'Rainbow Dash mohawk and tail,' blending his look with a character from 'My Little Pony.' This shows how costume designers can experiment with character design, mixing elements from different worlds.

💡Rainbow Dash

Rainbow Dash is a character from 'My Little Pony,' known for her colorful mane and energetic personality. In the video, Nikki imagines a mashup between 'Inside Out' and 'My Little Pony,' where Rainbow Dash wears Anger’s shirt and tie. This demonstrates Nikki's creative thinking and her ability to blend costumes and styles across different genres.

💡Oscar

The Oscar is a prestigious award given in the film industry, recognizing excellence in various categories such as acting, directing, and costume design. Nikki imagines winning an Oscar for her costume design work in a future movie, highlighting how a career as a costume designer can lead to significant recognition and achievement.

💡Mashup Movie

A mashup movie is a creative combination of characters, elements, or storylines from different films or universes. Nikki envisions a 'mashup movie' blending 'Inside Out' and 'My Little Pony,' allowing her to think outside the box in terms of costume design. This reflects her imaginative approach and how costume designers can innovate by merging different concepts.

💡Imagination

Imagination refers to the ability to think creatively and invent new ideas, especially in artistic or design fields. Nikki emphasizes that a great imagination is essential for costume designers, as they need to come up with unique and fitting costumes for different characters and worlds. Her own passion for doodling costumes and creating outfits for her dolls illustrates how imagination drives her love for this career.

Highlights

Nikki expresses her dream of becoming a costume designer.

A costume designer creates costumes for stage, TV, and movies.

Nikki is interested in designing costumes for sci-fi movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Star Wars.

Costume designers work closely with directors and writers to ensure the costumes fit the story and characters.

They need to thoroughly understand the time period, characters, and locations in the story to create appropriate costumes.

For historical settings like Medieval Times, costume designers research materials like chain mail, armor, and other period-specific garments.

Nikki imagines creating a mash-up movie, blending Inside Out with My Little Pony, and designs costumes for Anger and Rainbow Dash.

Costume designers need to have a love for fashion, research, and creativity.

Nikki mentions her love for making costumes for her My Little Pony dolls and her knowledge of facts through 'Nikki’s Wikis.'

One of Nikki's favorite hobbies is doodling costumes, reflecting her creative passion.

Nikki dreams of seeing her costume designs on both the small and big screen.

She imagines winning an Oscar for best costume designer, for her work in 'The Greatest Mash-Up Movie Part 3.'

Nikki expresses pride at the thought of winning an Oscar and acknowledges Cool School in her acceptance speech.

Nikki encourages viewers to think about what they want to be when they grow up.

She ends by inviting viewers to like, subscribe, and comment on her video.