Media Studies: Props/Costumes Planning + Research

Costumes are often used in films to connote certain ideas about characters within film. For example, if one was to wear a tracksuit you would associate them with living a healthy/athletic lifestyle. This can also refer to the fact that they may be of lower class. This can be applied to higher class with the example being in smart clothing or a suit. In our film 'Potluck', we thought long and hard about the aesthetics we wanted to portray in our characters and decided we wanted to portray both characters to be as normal as possible, while still retaining some difference between them so they can be established as their own character.

Steve 

Since the audience has to be able to relate to his character, we dressed them in every day apparel, in this case, jeans and a t shirt that could be found at any local primark. The reason he's wearing jeans is because this is the most common form of legwear for the average male, which reflects his standing in society. The clothing is neat, representing his lifestyle of living in a modern middle class society and this in combination with the setting and style of the film confirms this. Wearing a shirt that says California on the front may be symbolic of him wanting to leave his home and move abroad in search of a better life. Therefore, when he finds out that the lottery ticket may be a winner his dreams and aspirations get the better of him. 

Luke

This is the outfit for out character luke, we wanted to establish him as being laidback. To do this we decided to dress him in casual clothing, a baggy jumper and loose jeans. The red jumper is used to symbolise the imminent threat that Luke will be facing. By wearing this he is foreshadowing to the audience that a tragic event may soon be occurring. This will build tension and suspense within the audience and add to the overall feeling of uncertainness.

Props are the items that are held or used by an actor in a scene to make it more realistic. In Pot Luck, various props are used in order to develop the story as well as add a sense of realism to the film. 

- Laptop with Webpage (custom with own headline)
- Milk bottle 1 (empty)
- £5 note
- Cutlery and crockery

- Cereal

- Milk bottle 2 (full)

- Mobile phone

- Car

- TV Remote

- Webpage (another custom one)

- Custom lottery ticket

- Frying pan
- Tea