Protagonist in 'Band Of Wild', senior thesis film for the Rhode Island School of Design.
Steel wire and brass tube armature, sculpted clay head, foam core, and felted exterior.
Costume process & pattern making:
With Cat, I was immediately drawn to sailor uniforms as inspiration, but I wasn’t totally sure why. I liked the clean cut white button up shirt with the exaggerated collar and the flared striped pants. For some reason, it kind of just worked. But I kept asking myself, why sailors? It was only after I made the first mock-up of the striped trousers that I realized, it makes perfect sense for this character. They go out on this grand adventure, escaping their normal lives. Maybe they’re curious as to what’s out there, or maybe they’re just bored of home, who’s to say. The Sea calls to someone who's never left their hometown just as The Outside calls to a cat who's only known the indoors for all his time. But the thing is, a sailor -just like cat here- eventually longs to be home. For what is a grand voyage with no home to return to?
I also had an image in my head of his tightrope scene and a closeup with some bright red leather oxford style shoes. I thought that the vibrant shoes with his otherwise neutral outfit would scream "I don't belong here!" in the way we learned that red animals in the rainforest signal toxicity as kids in science class.
FINAL COSTUME
