entry by victric thng

Films with Style
Styling, Make-Up & Wardrobe for films

The session on last Wednesday, 14th March 2007 - Styling, Make-Up & Wardrobe for films, saw a great turnout of nearly 30 enthusiasts coming for the talk. Among them were aspiring filmmakers, professional cameramen, students and many others who were simply interested in the styling aspect for films.

I have invited Kenny Lohwey, both a professional stylist and a good friend of mine to come in and share with us about the work of stylist. Kenny is currently one of the most sought after Stylist in the local film industry. Working for more than a decade, Kenny has a huge body of work that he flashed out “stylishly” during the talk. We were all baffled by his portfolio.

Kenny gave us insights into the world of a stylist, what a stylist needs from the director and producer in order to be effective. Stylist is often taken for granted and expected to create magic during production. What we do not understand that Stylist needs a decent amount of time to prepare and make sure that all things coordinate well for the film. Kenny also emphasizes that, not only working closely with the director and producer, stylist also must work tightly with the art director, casting director, location manager and director-of-photography. He stresses that 3 things a Stylist must have in the beginning of a project are: Script, Budget and Timeline.

During the session, Kenny also gave us his little secret tips on make-up and how to look
great and cheat for camera.

The session was informal, casual and fun. It was more like a talk-show with me like a inquisitive host, asking plenty of questions ranging from practical ones like “how much does a Stylist charge?” to gossipy ones like “your worst nightmare director you ever worked with…”

It just all comes down to the vital understanding how a stylist work, and when you understand that, you will know what to give them so they can return their best for you and your film, simple as that but often overlooked and taken for granted. The work of a stylist is definitely not glamorous, their job is to make you glamorous while they hide in the shadow of your limelight. They really deserve greater respect.

My BIG thank you to Kenny Lohwey who is so kind and willing to come down and share with us his knowledge and experiences in styling for films.

I hope for those who came for this talk, will be enlightened and thereafter make films with “style”.


vt.
16th march 2007