Careers: Acting, Performing, Directing/Question about costume design

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Expert: - 5/15/2005


Question
How do you become a costume designer for movies?  What type of schooling is needed and what schools have some of your costume designers gone to? Do you know any costume designers who would be willing to talk to me about the industry and how I could get in to it?  I am attending the Art Institute of California-San Francisco for fashion design, but their courses for costuming are very limited.
I would appreciate any information you can give me. Thank you.

Answer
Joy,

Thanks for writing. You can become a costume designer for films by going to college and studying costume design. Then, when you graduate, start looking for a job on a costume crew as a costumer. After putting in time and energy, you'll move up the ladder and eventually be offered work as a costume designer.

I'll be that if you contacted the Costume Designers Guild, there would be someone there who would talk to you about getting started in the costume world. You can find their website at http://www.costumedesignersguild.com Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Phil

Careers: Acting, Performing, Directing

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Phil Nemy

Expertise

I am a motion picture and television producer with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry. I am also the author of the book GET A REEL JOB: Finding Your First Job In The Motion Picture Industry In Los Angeles. I can answers questions on a variety of subjects about careers in film from acting to directing to crew work, getting into the unions, successful strategies for networking, etc.

Experience

Former VP, Production for The Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group Supervised production on such films as ARMAGEDDON, THE PRINCESS DIARIES, REMEMBER THE TITANS, PEARL HARBOR, CON AIR, ENEMY OF THE STATE, THE ROCK, CRIMSON TIDE, COYOTE UGLY, A CIVIL ACTION, ROMY & MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION, NOTHING TO LOSE, EDDIE and others. Worked as an actor, stage manager, director on broadway and regional theater as well as L.A.' Equity-waiver scene. Former Associate Artistic Director of Los Angeles Equity-Waiver theater.

Organizations
Director's Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, Actor's Equity Association

Education/Credentials
BFA in Acting/Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

Past/Present Clients
I've worked with such filmmakers as Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott, Steve Zaillian, Scott Rudin, Garry Marshall, Frank Marshall, Michael Bay, etc.

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