Costume Design for Film & Television BA(Hons)

During the first year of this costume design degree, you'll be introduced to fundamental skills such as research, drawing, pattern cutting, garment alteration, fitting techniques, script analysis and costume plotting. You'll also learn how to become a costume designer that can analyse characters and scripts through the lens of anthropological, socio-political, psychological and cultural concepts. Practical work will be supported by lectures and written work exploring the history and theory of film and visual culture. 

Modules

Making

You'll learn foundation skills in cutting and sewing as well as skills specific to the live fitting of garments on the body. You will explore shape and volume and fabric manipulation. Through practical workshops, you’ll learn how to use industrial sewing machines and operate efficiently and safely in a busy environment that mirrors professional practice.

Seeing

You'll develop enhanced observational skills and learn how to record, reference and communicate detailed information on the clothes worn by real people and the costumes worn by fictional characters. You’ll understand the cultural, social and environmental factors that support character development through costume.

Histories

You’ll learn how social and fashion histories impact today’s costume designs by examining real garments and fabrics from the Textiles & Dress Collection. You’ll explore the relationship between fashion, textiles, costumes and wider visual cultures.

Communicating

In this module you’ll develop your traditional drawing and painting skills of clothes and clothed models through abstraction and deconstruction techniques, to present costume designs effectively. You’ll also explore digital drawing, all the while contributing to your growing professional portfolio.

Belonging

A truly collaborative module, you’ll work in groups of mixed disciplines to explore ideas of identity in relation to costume choices, in an accepting and inclusive environment where we look to change established narratives. Ideas of marginalisation around ethnicity, ability, body size, religion and sexuality are discussed and applied to screen costumes, resulting in a game-changing showcase of work.

Emerging

Collaborating with students from Film, Television or Digital Games specialisms, throughout this module you’ll work in an environment that mirrors industry practice. You’ll work from concept art, scripts or game narratives to create moodboards, wardrobes and costume design options. This module culminates in the construction of a piece of costume fit for purpose, ready for peer review and feedback.

In year two you'll continue to develop your design profile through an exploration of screen theory, costume breakdown and industry applications, such as styling for music promos and commercials. Alongside your creative practice, you'll also gain vital skills for successful freelance practice, including budget organisation, self-management and collaboration.

Modules

Wearing

With industry practices at its centre, this module will teach you about costume buying, hiring and commissioning. You will also explore processes such as costume breakdown and the importance of detail when developing character 'realness'.

Classifying 

In this module you will make use of film and media theory to explore how genre and costume bring characters to life. You will evaluate the work of established costume designers, exploring their role in the production design on screen. Taking into consideration historical, cultural and national contexts of screen fictions, you will examine how the intersection of themes, stories and characters is explored, how stereotypes are developed and exposed and how costume can contribute to positive change.

Appearing

This module provides an opportunity to bring fully-fledged costumes to life. Collaborating on a live project with industry partners or other Falmouth University schools, you'll be provided with a script and assigned a suitable costume design team role.

Performing 

In this module you will explore how fantastical costume is made to perform on screen; how costume adapts to the demands of highly physical performances and how it has contributed to the spectacular in film and TV. You will explore the properties and potentials of materials and the means to articulate unreal characteristics and behaviours convincingly through costume design. Collaborating with colleagues in your class and in other schools within the university, you will contribute to the completion of a costume for embodied performance. 

Theories 

Delve deeper into the historical, social, cultural and global contexts, introducing theoretical perspectives to develop your own and others’ creative practice in an academic framework. 

Branding

In this module you will consider the role and impact of visual content and context in styled images of celebrities, influencers and performers in a series of lectures and seminars.  Working on the basis that the transformative effects of costume design can be applied to the creation of a star persona off stage, you will respond to briefs that simulate the wardrobe and image management requirements of performers in publicity and promotion. 

You can choose to take an optional professional placement after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your professional placement

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

In your final year on the costume design degree, you'll prepare for entry into industry by refining your skills through ideas pitching, a major collaborative screen production project, and portfolio creation.

Modules

Investigations 

In this module you complete a dissertation or equivalent, focused on your individual interests. You will reflect on your personal research strengths and experience, and engage in considered debate and detailed discussion of the chosen topic.

Daring

This challenge-based module gives you the opportunity to collaborate with outside agencies or with teams from a variety of Falmouth University schools. You'll develop character profiles and a range of costume options for main and supporting characters in live collaborative projects, both individually and as part of a costume team. You will also experience industry-standard practices of pitching for leadership or participation.

Working

Focusing on the differing roles of the professional costume design team, you will gain an understanding of a variety of working arrangements, including freelance practice. You will get to grips with relevant financial management skills, such as personal and client budget management, as well as team dynamics and ethical interpersonal relationships. 

Being

In this final module you'll showcase the skills that have been acquired throughout the course in a live, challenge-based environment. Your costume design skills will contribute to the completion of a real screen output, be it a short film, TV show, advert, still or other collaborative project. You'll be allocated an appropriate costume role in the production in line with industry practice, and participate in the teamwork that brings it to fruition. Receiving ongoing feedback from your colleagues, you will record and evaluate your performance in the execution of your professional role.

Showing

This module equips you with the skills necessary to present your work in a format that shows it to its best advantage, whether analogue or digital. With workshops developing skills in photography and filming your realised costume designs, presentation of paper and digital rendering of design concepts, curation of social media and making and using showreels, you will create an industry-facing body of work. 

Why study an Integrated Foundation Year route?

If you’re taking on a new subject that you haven’t studied in depth before, have been out of education for a while or have a non-standard educational background then an Integrated Foundation Year degree may be the right choice for you. It is a four-year degree with an Integrated Foundation Year to start, which allows you to explore the primary elements of your subject before progressing on to the remaining three years of the BA(Hons) degree.

What you'll study in your Foundation year

If you choose this pathway, you'll study five core modules in your Foundation year. These are all designed to help you explore the foundational elements of your subject. You'll gain relevant technical skills, learn to experiment and take risks, develop an understanding of professional practice, have opportunities to work across disciplines and collaborate with other students on live project briefs.

Modules

Explore

You'll begin your foundation year by working collaboratively with others to explore themes of the future. You'll take risks, experiment through play and be supported to break through barriers.

Technique

You'll take subject-specific workshops and develop essential technical and practical skills in your area of study. You'll also enhance your analytical and organisational abilities.

Apply

You'll work with your peer group to think beyond discipline by addressing a societal or global issue. You'll then showcase your work to your peers and deliver and accompanying evaluation of your process.

Industry

You'll enhance your creative and practical skills in your subject specialism by responding to typical industry briefs, underpinned by focused research and experiments. You'll also gain industry insights through guest lectures and workshops.

Launch

You'll develop your unique identity in your specialism through the production of a self-initiated body of work. Your final project will be the bridge to your next year, fully supported by evaluative reviews and critical analysis of the work you have created.

After the Foundation year, you progress into Year One of the full three-year degree, equipped with a deeper knowledge of your subject, a clear understanding of your strengths, and develop a practical and technical skillset and the confidence to excel in your chosen subject. 

If you apply for and enrol onto a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year, you’ll have the option to switch onto a five-year version including a placement year. That means you’ll complete the first three years of your course before completing a placement in industry in your fourth year and returning to Falmouth for the fifth year of your programme. 

You'll hone your creative practice and gain invaluable practical and critical skills through a blend of lectures, seminars, masterclasses, workshops, tutorials and guided independent study.

At Falmouth, we use a 'digitally enhanced learning & teaching' approach. Your experience will always be predominantly in-person, including seminars, tutorials and studio teaching, with some, more targeted elements, being online either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous). You can read more here.

100% of your assessment will be coursework. 

Assessment methods

• Foundation year assessments are 100% coursework based
• Assessment can take the form of artefacts (such as pieces of costume you have made), portfolios, projects, reports and dissertation.
• Formative feedback will be ongoing through regular tutorials with academic staff and visiting professionals, and summative feedback will take place following the end of the designated study block assessment periods.