In Phase 8 you will learn how to build a set that you can easily work in.

In addition to set building you are also going to learn the simplest way to fit all your actors for costumes to make sure you love them!

Phase 8 contains 4 tasks:

1. Design your sets and buy the supplies
2. Purchase costumes
   
3. Learn how to build a set
4. Do costume fittings

This is where the real manual labor comes into moviemaking. So...you might want to invite a few teenage boys to help with set building. Just make sure that they are reliable enough to still make it look good!

You already budgeted and dreamed about the costumes you would like to use for your film.

Now it's time to see what you can afford with the budget you are working with.

Much like you did with sets, negotiate with your budget to get something that is great, but not too expensive to squeeze into your budget. 

You are really going to want to be sure that your main cast have costumes that don't look tacky.

Since you've already casted, you can now go ahead and purchase your costumes. Once again, just be sure to stay within the bounds of your costume budget. 

If you are working with a smaller budget, remember that making costumes is usually an option (considering your time constraints, of course).

This is perhaps the easiest and yet the hardest set to make.

The reason it is the easiest (as well as the cheapest) is because there is not any construction that needs to happen.

It's the hardest to use because, in most cases, you can't leave it up if you intend to use it for multiple scenes over the course of a few days.

There is a lot of setting up and tearing down.

As you can see in this picture of the Earl's room from Outlaws of Ravenhurst, we completely rearranged the furniture and even brought a bed into our living room for this set. Although we did leave it up a few times, usually we were setting it up, shooting, and tearing it down all in the same day.

All that aside, let's talk about actually learning how to build a set of this nature. First of all, consider what you want your end set to look like.

There are going to be several truths about a room you just can't change such as size, chandeliers, wall texture, and window placement.

For the Earl's room, we already had book cases which would have been very difficult to move. 

To compromise with this reality, we left the book cases and cleared out any books that didn't look period-appropriate. We also wrapped certain sections of books with "vintage book" wallpaper.

This wallpaper set piece came in handy many times and was an easy fix for out-of-place items on the book case. In fact, if you look closely at the picture, you can see three spots of this wallpaper around Godfrey's head.

Another thing to consider when working in a modern room for a set is light switches and power outlets. It is best to get these covered when you put the set together as opposed to trying to block them with an actor's head during shooting.

Speaking of wallpaper, stone wallpaper can get you out of a pinch in many cases when you are making a medieval film. Just throw a piece up and your set already feels more like a castle. 

In this example, the bars of the prison and the other actor are being used as set texture.

Bring in any pieces of furniture you have bought or gathered to give your set the right feel.

Don't forget to also add any props that will give the room depth and added texture. 

Of course, this last tip will apply to all set kinds.

Most Hollywood films have an object in front of the actor every few shots.

Provide yourself with this kind of "texture" now while you are building the set to avoid scrambling for something on shoot day.

For medieval films this could be hanging herbs, a bouquet on the table or a candelabra. More ancient time films benefit from beads or veils hanging from the ceiling.

Even beams of light or extras can be used for set texture. These objects make your shots interesting and help viewers feel like they are in the room with the characters.

Free-standing sets allow you to have complete control over the set.

On the other side of the coin, building a set of this kind has challenges of its own. 

Let's start by talking about how to build a set using a free-standing method.  

In the image on the right, you can see that this set, which we built in our garage, is a series of green screen stands with textured backdrops hanging from it. 

Here's a cheater picture of how it's built and a little bit of a promise on how flexible you will be with your shots:

Scouting out good locations makes your shoot day go very smoothly. 

There isn't anything out of place such as light switches or modern decorations.

In the picture on the right, a pair of actors look out of the window at Kasteel Noz. 

This set was definitely one of our favorites and it needed minimal set decorations and was a huge budget saver when it came to sets. 

Outdoor sets are another set kind that you are going to have to scout for. Public land usually can be used as long as you make sure that you make way for other people enjoying the land. Which can be a challenge.

Another thing that you need to be really careful about with outdoor sets is modern structures. If your film is set before there was such thing as power poles or modern houses, their appearance in your film really takes away from the overall affect. You want people to feel transported to the era of your film and modern things take viewers out of the narrative.

To build...wait! There's no building necessary besides throwing a few of your props onto the set to make it have just the right look! Once again be sure to have something that will add texture to your shots.

So that brings us to the Task 3 Checklist:

Just the same, plan to have your fittings two weeks before your first shoot. This allows you time to hem or take seams in if necessary.

Have refreshments planned (if this overwhelms you, just skip it) and plan to have a good time. 

Have all your costumes prepared along with any accessories such as belts, head wear, armor pieces and jewelry. 

Don't be too fussy when it comes to how well the costumes fit. As long as they aren't dragging on the floor or bursting at the seams, they will be fine. 

The main focus of your fitting should be making sure all the pieces for a specific character are together. 

Hosting a fitting also helps your actors take ownership over their costumes. It's easier for an actor to see his costume separate from a shoot day and think, "Okay, this is my costume," and be sure to find it and get it on when the shoot day arrives. 

Once an actor is fitted, take a quick picture and get everything back on a hanger with the actor's name and character on it.

Do this for every character.

If you need specific actors to get things on their own to bring to shoot days such as black dress shoes or a white button-up, now is the time to make sure they know that they need to bring those things every time.