FAVh048 Costume, make-up and art production design in cinema

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 8:00–11:40 C34, except Mon 13. 3., except Mon 17. 4. ; and Tue 4. 4. 8:00–11:40 C34, Tue 11. 4. 8:00–11:40 C34
Prerequisites
There are none.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
Course objectives
The audiovisual industry does not stand only with celebrated and creative personnel and talent: directors, actors, stars, producers. Even undergraduate film studies students are aware of the fact that making movies includes a variety of professions, labelled as below-the-line: invisible, assistant and requiring craftsmanship rather than free-spirited creation. As researchers and historians we should be able to watch films (and other AV content) from their perspective as well and be aware of their overall conceptual and aesthetic input.
In this course we are going to focus on costume designers, make-up artists and hair stylists and finally set and location designers. Individual lectures will introduce the duties, responsibilities and challenges of each position as well as crucial personalities and works of art and entertainment, which put their input forward. Although relevant research is scant, their conclusions will be presented and new areas for possible future academic inquiry will be identified.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course students will be able to:
- identify crucial aspects, responsibilities and duties of selected professions, as well as their position inside filmmaking community
- understand historical development and name key personalities and works of art, which put their creative input forward
- have a more complex view on the history of cinema and audiovisual industry from the perspective of invisible and sidelined professions (both in the cinematic history narratives as well as within the filmmaking community itself)
- be more attentive towards less frequently analysed aspects of both individual films as well as the audiovisual industrial institution itself
- use tools suitable for such analysis and identify areas for future research
Syllabus
  • Eleven lectures in total will introduce all three professions, their historical dimension and specifics.
  • Lecture 1: Introduction to the course and the main areas of interest
  • Lecture 2: Film costume as a historical marker? Pros and cons film costume as a locus of historical authenticity
  • Lecture 3: Costume as a narrative device
  • Lecture 4: Costume designers
  • Lecture 5: Film costumes outside of films - audiences, promotion, marketing, heritage
  • Lecture 6: Make-up design: main parameters, responsibilities and challenges of the profession; historical overview
  • Lecture 7: Make-up design in the context and hierarchy of film unit and film studio
  • Lecture 8: Make-up designers and their gender dynamic: a British case study
  • Lecture 9: Film Art design: two positions
  • Lecture 10: Film Art design: Historical overview
  • Lecture 11: Film Art design: personalities and challenges
Literature
  • GUNDLE, Stephen. Glamour. A history. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
  • BELL, Melanie. Movie Workers. Women Who Made British Cinema. Chicago and Springfield: Illinois University Press, 2021.
  • McLean, Adrienne L.(ed.) Costume, Makeup and Hair. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2017.
  • GAINES, Jane - HERZOG, Charlotte (eds.) Fabrications. Costume and the Female Body. London and New York: Routledge, 1990.
  • FISHER, Lucy. Art direction and Production Design. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2015.
  • PIDDUCK, Julianne. Contemporary costume film : space, place and the past. 1st pub. London: BFI, 2004, [iv], 188. ISBN 184457024X. info
  • Fashion cultures : theories, explorations, and analysis. Edited by Stella Bruzzi - Pamela Church Gibson. London: Routledge, 2000, xv, 399. ISBN 0415206863. info
  • BRUZZI, Stella. Undressing cinema : clothing and identity in the movies. First published. London: Routledge, 1997, xxi, 226. ISBN 0415139562. info
Teaching methods
Each session consists of a screening, discussion and a lecture.
Each week students will obtain one or two academic papers to read (chapters, case studies and/or academic articles). They have to include these materials in their own written exam (test or essay).
Both presentations and screened films will be available in study materials in IS system.
The sessions are cancelled due to national holidays on April 10th, May 1st and May 8th.
Assessment methods
The final assessment has two stages. In order to obtain final grade students have to pass both stages.
Students will work on a mid-term essay during first two weeks in May. On May 10th students will submit their paper, maximum two pages long. It should contain the description of intended research (film/topic/career), its relevance and up to three research questions. The obtained points will be part of the final grade.
In the second step you will choose whether you are going to carry out the proposed research and submit a regular paper (minimum six pages long) or if you want to take the written test (six questions, testing your knowledge gained from obligatory reading, screened movies and knowledge gained throughout the course).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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