Production Arts: Costumes, Soundtracks, Props, etc

[daxx]

It's mostly to disguise the hook and that his left arm is longer I assume.

[scenicbyway]

It's mostly to disguise the hook and that his left arm is longer I assume.

That's true, every costume Colin has must custom made to accommodate the extra length but at the same time, I've noticed that Ginny and Emilie appear to wear the most expensive clothes on the show.  Even when the outfit looks average, Ginny is wearing Armani or some other expensive designer, perhaps that's in her contract?  I can't imagine it costs that much to outfit Josh, just head over to American Eagle or Eddie Bauer.  My point is, they could spend a little more on Colin to give the character more variety because they certainly spend it on some of the women.

[FierceAfroChick]

I don't care whether it's pirate, black leather, whatever, as long as there's a good in-story reason for a character to be dressed the way he is, and Hook's costumes bug me because they're so very "costume" rather than the clothes he happens to be wearing because they fit his lifestyle, his personal taste, and what's currently available to him.

 

This is why

I’m looking forward to seeing him in the new coat he’s wearing in the upcoming scenes.  It looks like a wool pea coat and I’ve always thought that style coat would suit his personality.

  (Wasn’t sure whether or not that was considered a spoiler, so I tagged just in case.)

[Delphi]

Ginny tends to wear more marc Jacobs and club Monaco. But honestly they could cut that budget and just go buy her some clothes from Calvin Klein or anthropologie that would look much better on her. She used to wear this beautiful gray peacoat ands a less beautiful pink one. Ugh I miss her earlier style #snowinpeacoats2015

Belle wears top shelf Armani and a lot of Red Valentino though.

Eta: Real facts

Edited October 20, 2015 by Delphi

[YaddaYadda]

Ginny's blouse from 5x01 was Philip Lim. The good thing is that the Canadian dollar is $0.77 for 1USD, so they are sort of saving. I'm sure Holt Renfrew appreciates the business!

[Shanna Marie]

Ginny tends to wear more marc Jacobs and club Monaco. But honestly they could cut that budget and just go buy her some clothes from Calvin Klein or anthropologie that would look much better on her.

Considering that Mary Margaret is supposed to be a school teacher, she should probably be wearing stuff from Target (which can be pretty nice, but it's not obviously designer) or JC Penney, maybe Ann Taylor Loft if she caught a sale. Actually, most of the Storybrooke female wardrobe is a bit over-the-top for the situation and not entirely organic to the characters. Regina might be wearing designer labels, and I guess Belle got all her clothes from Rumple, so he might have bought her expensive stuff (and if you think about her weird slutty schoolgirl look with the Peter Pan collars and stiletto heels, it's kind of creepy if he picked out her clothes), but this is a small town in Maine without a lot of outside influence and that's been stuck in a weird time warp, so that most of the locals still use flip phones and their sheriff's office security system uses VHS. Nobody should be looking straight off the runway.

 

It's mostly to disguise the hook and that his left arm is longer I assume.

But couldn't they have done that with a shirt with big cuffs and a medieval-style tunic? That would have been cheaper than a whole new elaborate coat. Then they could have swapped out tunics and trousers with the same shirt to give him multiple looks that were less costumey and that fit in better. They're supposed to be drawing attention away from the fact that Emma is the Dark One, so should he be so obviously a pirate while hanging around with her?

 

And the poor guy never seems to get a casual day. Doesn't he have days when he just doesn't feel like bothering with jewelry and makeup? Goodness knows, I do. Knits have a lot of give, so they could probably cover up the arm difference with a bulky fisherman's sweater that's just a touch too big for him, so it comes down over the hands a bit anyway.

[Camera One]

In one of the behind-the-scenes with the costume designer, he listed specific designers for most of the characters, but for Belle, he basically said she gets to wear a variety. That probably leads to her... eclectic look.   

Edited October 21, 2015 by Camera One

[Rumsy4]

... for Belle, he basically said she gets to wear a variety. That probably leads to her... eclectic look.

That's one way of putting it. ;-)

Belle is dressed like an teenager-wannabe most of the time. That, in combination with her awkward gait in heels makes her look so mismatched with Mr. Gold.

[Delphi]

I don't have a problem with fictional characters in a fictional town on a television show wearing clothes outside of their price range. It doesn't take me out of the narrative. Plus, I know several teachers in my age bracket that shop at places more pricey than target or jc penny.

I don't think Belle dresses like a teenager, considering I don't know many teenage girls with so many button up, collared shirts but do think it's a rather eclectic mashed up look that's considered unusual, much like her Disney counterpart.

Was that BTS on a dvd ot is it available online? I'd really like to watch it.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Delphi

[Writing Wrongs]

Here's one Touring The Costume Dept video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frKEEGFJrfg&index=7&list=FLS5dGnAPqQqM_maToJtuVUg

[YaddaYadda]

Elsa's costume is pretty impressive with the printing and all.

[orza]

I don't have a problem with fictional characters in a fictional town on a television show wearing clothes outside of their price range. It doesn't take me out of the narrative.

 

That's true for pretty much all TV shows. There are practical and business reasons for it. Cheap clothes look even cheaper when filmed and they won't hold up to the daily laundering /dry cleaning that TV wardrobes are subject to. Good quality clothing looks better on film and lasts longer. While some designer labels are also cheap crap, the brands Eduardo Castro has mentioned in the past are high quality fabrics and workmanship. High-quality clothing can and is reused for other shows.

 

Costume departments may also get upscale brands for free in return for an onscreen credit or interview mention. Some fans will go to great lengths to discover what labels their favorite characters are wearing so they can buy those pieces for themselves. There are even web sites devoted to tracking character wardrobes with info about where to shop.

 

It is an accepted industry practice going back as far as Bonanza and I Love Lucy to define a "uniform" or signature style for the regular characters and then always dress them in that style. This show is no different. One conspicuous example that comes to mind is the character of Kalinda Sharma on The Good Wife. She always wore the same signature outfit of boots, short leather skirt and tight leather jacket. The color and cut varied but it was always the same uniform.

 

As far as Belle's wardrobe is concerned, we have seen her making inappropriate and impractical wardrobe choices before she met Rumple. This is an integral part of her character as someone who knows her way around a library but is otherwise something of a dumb bunny with no real-world common sense. The first time we saw Belle In Skin Deep the castle was under siege by the ogres, but instead of wearing practical clothing suitable for travel in case they had to flee, Belle was wearing a fancy ball gown in anticipation of meeting the man who would rescue them all, just like in her romance novels. There are really no words for the awful hot pants and and high-heel boots Belle wore while stumbling around in the snow with Neal. I think the mix of naughty Catholic school girl outfits and hooker heels is all her own doing. We only saw Rumple pick an outfit for her once in 2.1 and it was a fairly conservative dress.

[Shanna Marie]

The problem with Belle's heels is that they're out of proportion to her body and to her clothes. As much as a shorter woman might want to make up the difference in heel height, she won't look as good in super-high heels as a taller woman because the heels are larger in proportion to her legs, and if she has smaller feet, the shoe has to have a sharper angle to reach that height, with the result being that awkward overbalanced and teetering on her toes look.

 

The super-high stilettos also don't work with her clothes. Regina wears equally high heels a lot of the time, but they work with her wardrobe because she generally has a long, lean silhouette -- the slim-fitting one-piece dresses are in proportion with the high stiletto heels, and her skirt length is around the knees rather than mid-thigh. Similarly, Emma's pink date dress had a longer, fuller skirt that worked with the stilettos (though I do think those heels were unnecessarily high).

 

But Belle's clothes are rather fussy -- the short, full skirts with separate blouses that have puffy sleeves, big collars, ruffles, bows, and the like -- and that needs to be balanced by more "grounded" shoes. Ballet flats or 20s-silhouette Mary Janes or t-straps with a Louis heel would look ideal with her clothes. It would also probably help if they lowered her hemlines by about two inches. There were some behind-the-scenes shots of a scene rehearsal where she was wearing her costume clothes with flats, and the outfit worked, but in the actual scene from the show where she was in the sky-high heels, the outfit looked awkward.

 

Someone involved with the show must have a major heel fetish because most of the shoes on the show are ridiculous and unnecessary. It's not as though all the men are such giants that the women need really high heels to fit in the frame with them. Emilie may be short, but Robert Carlyle is also rather short -- do they need to make her the same height as him? I think the tallest person Belle has a lot of scenes with is Hook, and he's not a giant. Even with her in flats, he wouldn't be a foot taller. She could wear two-inch heels and be okay. I remember watching "The Apprentice" with my mom, and she commented "Wow, he's short!" in the scene when Hook picked Emma up for the date because with her super-high heels, the poof of her hair came above his head. I told her to wait until they showed her shoes. I'm not sure they got a good shot of them up close, which means it was rather pointless to put her in such high shoes. Did they want to make her as tall as Hook? Is there a problem with a woman being a couple of inches shorter than a man? At least Elizabeth Mitchell refused to wear the four-inch heels they wanted to put her in and went barefoot.

[Serena]

Sorry to change the subject (love discussion of fashion!), but here are some pictures of the flowers we "saw" (I'm guessing they were fake/lookalikes?) in 504, the Middlemist. I honestly thought they had made them up, since "Middlemist" sounds so much like "Misthaven"! It's supposed to be the rarest flower in the world.

[Rumsy4]

 

The problem with Belle's heels is that they're out of proportion to her body and to her clothes.

 

Agree. Plus, the awkward way Belle walks, and in particular--runs, emphasize the effect of "ditzy adolescent". I'm not sure if Emile de Ravin does that on purpose, or she genuinely is not comfortable in those high heels. 

Edited October 21, 2015 by Rumsy4

[Delphi]

The shoes that they pick out for Belle are lovely but impracticable. It is Canada, there is nothing wrong with wearing boots. For example, the boots she wore in the Outsider were perfectly fine, and they matched her wardrobe. It wouldn't be hard to find similar styles for her.

http://insidebellescloset.tumblr.com/post/40550007727/s2-e11-the-outsider-boots-see-by-chloe-hand

Eta: I've also noticed that they used to, in seasons two and three put Belle in colors that paralleled the colors of her dresses in the movie, she used to wear yellow, blue and green a lot and to a lesser extent soft purples and reds, much like how they dress Snow in whites or soft muted colors. But now Belle is constantly wearing white and I'm not sure why.

That was an interesting article about the flower by the way Serena, thanks for sharing.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Delphi

[YaddaYadda]

I honestly thought they had made them up, since "Middlemist" sounds so much like "Misthaven"!

 

What happens when an egotistical white dude gives his name to something he exported from another country!

 

I was reading that the flower doesn't exist in China anymore.

 

It is Canada, there is nothing wrong with wearing boots.

We have gorgeous boots in Canada. I hope they reduce the heels now that Emilie is pregnant. I honestly worry about her when I see her run those very short distances in her heels and then put on the breaks.

 

I face planted in heels once because my heel broke. It's not just embarrassing, it also hurts like hell.

[Mari]

Agree. Plus, the awkward way Belle walks, and in particular--runs, emphasize the effect of "ditzy adolescent". I'm not sure if Emile de Ravin does that on purpose, or she genuinely is not comfortable in those high heels.

I believe she has classical ballet training--her Wikipedia entry mentions some performances with the Australian Ballet. As a result, I've always assumed it was on purpose. If you'be been through training to dance en pointe, heels shouldn't usually be much of a challenge.

[Amerilla]

Emilie may be short, but Robert Carlyle is also rather short -- do they need to make her the same height as him?

 

She's only 5'2". Robert and Sean and Bex all have about six or seven inches on her, Colin and Josh close to a foot. She's four or five inches shorter than Jen, Lana and Ginny. So, yes, in terms of keeping her in frame in a scene, particularly if they need to do anything with a close-up, she either going to be standing on a box or in heels - and given that she often needs to move in a scene, heels are probably the more practical choice from a filming standpoint.

 

 

 

As a result, I've always assumed it was on purpose. If you'be been through training to dance en pointe, heels shouldn't usually be much of a challenge.

 

From what I've seen of her in other shows, movies, and cons/events, yes, it's a choice to make Belle a little unsteady on her pins.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Amerilla

[Shanna Marie]

The dance training should provide the balance, grace, and the right muscles, but heels are still a little different from pointe because with heels you're still on the ball of your foot and having to deal with putting some weight on the heel. The balance is a bit different and the center of gravity is different.

 

But I think a lot of what makes her look gawky is the bad proportions -- they're adding 4-5 inches to her legs, which are made to look even longer by the really short skirts that don't really have the silhouette of a short skirt, and then her upper body is cut in two with the two-piece outfits and all the fluff. That gives her the approximate body shape of a baby giraffe. She could walk with a graceful catwalk slink and she's still going to look like her knees are in the wrong place and like she has the wrong legs for her body. Two or three-inch heels would look so much better and would still make her taller and make her look like she's wearing heels.

[HoodlumSheep]

Sorry to change the subject (love discussion of fashion!), but here are some pictures of the flowers we "saw" (I'm guessing they were fake/lookalikes?) in 504, the Middlemist. I honestly thought they had made them up, since "Middlemist" sounds so much like "Misthaven"! It's supposed to be the rarest flower in the world.

Thanks for posting that! I had seen this on tumblr. Makes the CS love story even more epic that they got to kiss in a field of some of the rarest flowers in the world.

Belle's outfits have always been hit and miss for me.

[Geeni]

I happen to love most of Belle's wardrobe, and I think she's usually one of the best-dressed on the show. That blue dress with red heels from The Crocodile? Probably the prettiest outfit ever worn by any of the characters barring Ruby, and Emilie really worked it. Running in heels is certainly not comfortable, and I hope they don't make her do it now that she's pregnant, so the "awkwardness" is really not her fault. Especially since at events and stuff, she does fine in heels. It baffles me why Belle is the only woman to run around in heels though, at least (I think) Regina and Snow wear some kind of boot, but I blame the costume department for that. And honestly, I don't doubt that anyone would look funny doing it.

 

 

(and if you think about her weird slutty schoolgirl look with the Peter Pan collars and stiletto heels, it's kind of creepy if he picked out her clothes),

 

Ok, we could have done it without the slut-shaming, but I do see your point on this otherwise.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Geeni

[Amerilla]

Emilie was asked at a con how Belle gets her expansive wardrobe, and Emilie said she assumes Gold makes sure she can have whatever she likes. So there's no canon evidence one way or another. Since Gold and Belle are rarely in the same realm for more than a few weeks (or days) at a time, and there's always something going on that's more important than couture, it's unlikely he has a tremendous amount of input in her daily dressing choices.

Edited October 21, 2015 by Amerilla

[YaddaYadda]

I always assumed she dressed the way she dressed because of her station in Storybrooke. Gold is a rich guy, they can afford to dress her in Valentino if they wanted to.

[Rumsy4]

Since Gold and Belle are rarely in the same realm for more than a few weeks (or days) at a time, and there's always something going noon that's more important than couture, it's unlikely he has a tremendous amount of input in her daily dressing choices.

 

Yeah--I can't see Gold going dress-shopping with Belle. I would be interested to know why the production team came up with Belle's typical ensemble. Did de Ravin have any input? What about A&E? Or was it all just the production team?

 

ETA: Looking at the bigger picture, I wonder how much showrunners influence wardrobe choices for their characters in general. It seems to matter more in shows like ONCE, especially with multiple realms and timelines and whatnot. I know JMo has collaborated in choosing some of her costumes, but how involved are people like Ginny, Lana, etc.?

Edited October 21, 2015 by Rumsy4

[Delphi]

I always assumed she dressed the way she dressed because of her station in Storybrooke. Gold is a rich guy, they can afford to dress her in Valentino if they wanted to.

That makes perfect sense considering Gold has never not been dressed head to toe in gorgeous Armani suits.

[Camera One]

Maybe the Curse keeps thinking she's Lacey so that's all she has to work with?  

[Curio]

I have to give a shout out to the cinematography in the last episode. Some of the visuals they were able to come up with on an ABC Sunday night budget was pretty impressive. That flower meadow shot looks like a work of art. (Even though I can still see where the CGI grass and flowers begin and end...)

 

[YaddaYadda]

I thought the opening scene of season 5, with the knights on horses, and the mountain backdrop was just ridiculously gorgeous. That image alone got me very excited for the season.

[PixiePaws1]

you know...it occurred to me that Emma's white cloak in Camelot is covered in almost stylized dreamcatchers

and Merlin has smaller black versions down the front of his cloak...opposites!

Edited October 28, 2015 by PixiePaws1

[HoodlumSheep]

Merlin's cloak is very pretty. Love the details and the color scheme.

[Writing Wrongs]

I hate how they made Elsa and Anna and now Merida wear the same clothes all the time. I know they're considered "iconic", but come on.

 

On a shallow note, I don't see Merida when I look at Amy Manson. The hair is too flat. I need the wild, poofy red hair.

[HoodlumSheep]

Emilie/Belle looks great in red. So is she wearing a wig at this point in the episodes? Her hair looks great, so if it's a wig, kudos to the arts department.

[Amerilla]

Yes, she's gone back to her natural blonde in real life, so it's got to be a wig on the show. It does look great, although I've always liked her as a blonde, so I was half-hoping they'd magick up a reason for her hair to change color.

[YaddaYadda]

Clearly with the super nice wig Emilie has on, they can do good work with that. So why is Snow's wig so awful looking?

[Camera One]

Now, Hook knows another guy who enjoys buttoning his shirt halfway and exposing half his chest.  Even light magic men like this type of clothing.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Camera One

[Camera One]

Did they build a false-front of Granny's in the forest, or was that CGI'd into a forest background?

[YaddaYadda]

They built the fake front. The Camelot walls, and that sort of courtyard where tree!Merlin was was also built.

Edited December 22, 2015 by YaddaYadda

[pezgirl7]

It was a false-front they built in a real forest. There were set photos posted in the spoilers thread, and from it, people correctly guessed that Zelena conjured up a tornado to bring them to Camelot.

[RadioGirl27]

Eduardo Castro has been nominated for the 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards. I doubt he would win, but it's nice to see the show recognized (and for something that actually deserves the recognition)

 

Outstanding Fantasy Television Series
Game of Thrones – Michele Clapton
Once Upon a Time – Eduardo Castro
Sleepy Hollow, Season 2 – Kristin M. Burke, Mairi Chisholm
Sleepy Hollow, Season 3 – Mairi Chisholm
The Wiz Live! – Paul Tazewell

[HoodlumSheep]

Eduardo Castro has been nominated for the 18th Costume Designers Guild Awards. I doubt he would win, but it's nice to see the show recognized (and for something that actually deserves the recognition)

No Galavant? *grumbles*

Congrats to Eduardo, though. I enjoyed the camelot costumes.

[KingOfHearts]

http://isham.com/

 

Mark Isham has some of OUAT's soundtrack available exclusively (and free!) on his website. There is a Heroes Suite, Villains Suite, and Once: Wonderland suite. It includes some unreleased themes, like Pan's and Zelena's. If you click "Listen More" it will take you to his soundcloud page, where you can find tons more soundtrack stuff for free. (All the way through 4B.) He even has Cruella's jazz number! I also love how there's a track called "Almost Married a Monkey".

 

I'm sure others have already discovered this, but I love the soundtrack so much I got excited to find it myself. 

Edited January 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[KAOS Agent]

My all time favorite piece from Once is the one he's got titled "Wedding in the Woods" (although I'm sure there's more than a few fans who remember it for something other than the wedding). I love the somewhat haunting cellos. It's such a beautiful piece of music.

[Rumsy4]

I love that piece!

[KingOfHearts]

The costuming, acting and music is really for a much higher quality show. It's got the visuals and sounds of an amazing epic, now if only the writers put as much effort into it...

[Curio]

The costuming, acting and music is really for a much higher quality show. It's got the visuals and sounds of an amazing epic, now if only the writers put as much effort into it...

 

Ehhh, the visuals aren't the best in the world. But sometimes the cinematography really stands out when they have the budget for it.

 

But yes, the soundtrack, casting directors, the acting (for the most part...), and the costuming are so much better than the final product appears to be. I just wish they could invest more in the CGI. How can a show like The Magicians on Syfy have beautiful CGI, but this show looks like it's still stuck in the early 2000s?

[KingOfHearts]

 

Ehhh, the visuals aren't the best in the world. But sometimes the cinematography really stands out when they have the budget for it.

I meant visuals as more of the real set designs and costuming. There is a lot of attention to detail in Storybrooke, the EF villages, etc. I agree the CGI can be meh most of the time. (Camelot is a prime example of ew.) I guess they feel they can get away with it because of the cartoony subject matter? 

Edited January 26, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[daxx]

Other shows have amazing cgi. Have you seen the shipboard scenes in Black Sails? Incredible. If you don't have Starz look it up on you tube. Although a cable original might have a better budget, I'm not sure.

[Camera One]

I don't usually watch from an HD TV, but I did last night for "Swan Song"... the makeup with the lashes is a bit too much.  It doesn't look natural, nor realistic, especially in the Storybrooke scenes on closeups.

[Curio]

For those interested in Mark Isham's musical process of recording for the show, he's doing a live (Never mind, it's over now. But you can still listen to it within the next 24 hours.) Periscope of it right now.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Curio