These costumes
are made of non-conventional materials such as rubber,
plastics and metals etc. Particular attention must
be made to the
health and safety of the artists having to wear such
costumes, especially where the ‘fabric’ may
still be venting or leeching gasses from the chemical
processes used to create the costumes.
The costumes
must be made to work with the artist and free and easy
movement must be allowed without them tearing. Because
of the nature of the materials used there may be a high
degree of insulation and it is necessary that the costume
or parts of it are able to be removed and replaced quickly
and easily for cooling down between takes.
13th
Warrior. Touchstone. Hero Bear Heads to be worn by stunt
artists. These had to be as lightweight and durable as
possible as they
were in the thick of the action and had to sustain a lot of
stress. Every part is soft including the interior mouthparts
and the main frame is of woven zotefoam to allow it to compress
then immediately spring back into shape.
Breastplate made of ‘bones’.
Each of the bones were cast and tied together with sinew.
Dudley
Do-Right. Universal Pictures. The wings and eagle head
had to be lightweight, strong, and extremely pliable
to allow the dancers to move freely and easily. The eagle
headpiece had to allow the dancer to see out.
Sometimes an ‘exploded’ costume
is needed. Although looking as if it is about to fall
apart any second, this costume is actually capable of
going into the washing machine to be cleaned for next
days filming.
French & Saunders. BBC
TV. Comedy. The muscle suit for Dawn
French. Made onto a tailored leotard and sealed in
latex. This costume zipped
invisibly up the back and allowed Ms. French a fair degree
of movement.
G I Joe. American TV. These
were for real life action inserts for the cartoon series.
The costumes
had to look ‘plastic’ and clean. They were
made from a rubber coated zotefoam. Some of the costume
components were sculpted and cast in various lightweight
materials. The mask of the cloaked figure had electronic
devices embedded within it.
The
Green Man. BBC TV. Drama. Girdle made
of prosthetic foam to be worn in a dream sequence where
a man had to turn into
a tree.
G- Saviour. TV Series.
Super-hero shoulders and breastplates constructed in
a way to allow
the actor’s
arms to have full mobility. The underlying leather suits
were made by the costume department .
Poltergeist
- The Legacy. MGM This Jackal headpiece was modelled over
a helmet so that it can be worn by anyone and
fixed securely. The finished piece was cast with the helmet
inside.
Voyage of the Unicorn. Hallmark
Entertainment The
King Troll had to look like he was wearing a costume
made up of large pieces of insects which made into a
suit of armour. The rustic style trolls are wearing kilts
and breastplates of what looks like wood but of course
is not wood. The small half barrels they are wearing
on their heads are of course not made of wood either.
The metal-clad trolls are not in fact wearing anything
made of metal. All these trolls had to fall into the
sea from a ship during fight sequences so the costumes
had to not inhibit the actors in any way. They also had
to assist the actors in floating. A lot of fight sequences
on land took place and the costumes acted as an armour
and were durable enough to survive for the length of
the shoot.
13th
Warrior. Touchstone. Hero Bear Heads to be worn by stunt
artists. These had to be as lightweight and durable as
possible as they
were in the thick of the action and had to sustain a lot of
stress. Every part is soft including the interior mouthparts
and the main frame is of woven zotefoam to allow it to compress
then immediately spring back into shape. 
