ATTN JMS: Question on clothing
Shaz
by the characters on B5. As the characters changed, so did the clothes.
Londo's became more complex and darker, G'Kar's less militaristic, Delenn's
going from androgynous to very feminine to practical to utterly stunning
(SiL), Sheridan's and the rest's change of attire... Anyway, one person said
the costume designer made those decisions. You would have approved it but it
would be that person (Anne Bruice Aling?) who actually decided it. Is that
the case (as in theatre productions) or did you specify what you were
looking for and any changes that were made? If the latter, how detailed were
your explanations?
Thanks!
Shaz
Jms at B5
>the costume designer made those decisions. You would have approved it but it
>would be that person (Anne Bruice Aling?) who actually decided it.
No, the executive producer proposes, the staff disposes.
Each season, I'd sit down with Anne and go over what was coming for the season.
In Londo's case, I'd tell her that we're going to take Londo a little darker,
so we need to give him a more serious, darker look; I'd tell the prosthetics
guys to start streamlining his hair, make him sleeker, more serious.
Anne would come back with designs, I'd approve one or the other, and she'd go
from there. We did this for ALL the characters.
That was how the show ran.
jms
(jms...@aol.com)
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Shaz
"Jms at B5" <jms...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20000704180541...@ng-fz1.aol.com...
> >Anyway, one person said
> >the costume designer made those decisions. You would have approved it but
it
> >would be that person (Anne Bruice Aling?) who actually decided it.
>
> No, the executive producer proposes, the staff disposes.
>
> Each season, I'd sit down with Anne and go over what was coming for the
season.
> In Londo's case, I'd tell her that we're going to take Londo a little
darker,
> so we need to give him a more serious, darker look; I'd tell the
prosthetics
> guys to start streamlining his hair, make him sleeker, more serious.
>
> Anne would come back with designs, I'd approve one or the other, and she'd
go
> from there. We did this for ALL the characters.
>
> That was how the show ran.
>
> jms
Cheers! Much appreciated.
Shaz
Mark Maher
thought I'd chime in with my general impressions. I think that
it would be safe to say that jms had a great deal of input into
the *general* message that he wanted the costumes to convey, and
I'm sure that he had final approval rights for any designs that
Ann Bruice Aling came up with. This excerpt from the "Matters of
Honor" page on The Lurker's Guide:
--------------START EXCERPT---------------
Where Delenn gets all those wardrobe changes is one of those
questions that, in a real world, doesn't warrant close scrutiny.
And yes, her costumes tend to be emblematic of where the
character is, and who she is. Consequently, there will be some
year three additions to underscore her more assertive nature;
there's a green costume in particular that shows up in the first
episode that's just *killer*.
---------------END EXCERPT----------------
As to the exact specifics of the costume design, Mira responded
to a question about her costumes that Ann was very understanding
and sympathetic to the desires of the actors in designing the
costumes. That would indicate that the performers themselves had
a good deal of input into the design of the costumes. At least
Mira felt that she did.
Here's the question and her response from Stellar Occasion 4:
-------------START EXCERPT----------------
She was also asked which of her costumes were her favorites. She
likes the silk dresses best for a very practical reason; they
were lighter and cooler to wear. She was very complimentary of
Ann Bruice (B5's Costume designer), saying that "...she's so
incredibly sensitive and gentle and wants to hear any advice,
and really, really takes good care of us so I'm very satisfied
with how it looks." She did confess to liking the appearance of
the outfits that she typically wore when shooting scenes on the
White Star: "That what you call the 'White Star' dresses are
called the 'active-wear', for some reason. I don't
know...active, passive...A photographer came to the set and he
was taking pictures and he said, 'It's so difficult to take
pictures of Delenn because she's never doing anything.' (lots of
"Aw"s and sad sounds from the audience), and I got *completely*
mad! (crowd laughs enthusiastically) I really, really was angry,
'cause he came like two times in a year and he never watched the
show, but he immediately had his assessment of what my character
is. 'What do mean, she's not doing anything? What do you mean,
to do?' And he said, 'To do, you know, like having a gun and
(lots of laughs as she acts out this action sequence), so that
reminded me...It's all active, I guess. Delenn is very active in
many ways. It doesn't have to be only 'holding the gun' but
that's the formation of the unbelievable amount of action
movies, where people want so-called 'action', whatever that
means, on a very, very superficial level."
------------------------END EXCERPT----------------
Hope that helps!
__!_!__
Gizmo
Shaz wrote in message <8jiake$q9d$1...@lure.pipex.net>...
>We're having a discussion on one of the email groups about the
clothes worn
>by the characters on B5. As the characters changed, so did the
clothes.
>Londo's became more complex and darker, G'Kar's less
militaristic, Delenn's
>going from androgynous to very feminine to practical to utterly
stunning
>(SiL), Sheridan's and the rest's change of attire... Anyway,
one person said
>the costume designer made those decisions. You would have
approved it but it
>would be that person (Anne Bruice Aling?) who actually decided
Tammy Smith
harsher in the early eps. I figured that the change was planned,
because there was no way that earlier look would've worked when G'Kar
had his big "epiphany" & became more sympathetic.
I preferred Londo in the black outfit, by the way. But then, I like
black! :)
Tammy