The New York Film and Television Student Alliance held a Q&A via Zoom on March 17 with Oscar-nominated costume designer Linda Muir, most known for her work with film director Robert Eggers. Muir described her journey starting from her time as a stagehand in local theater to creating costumes for film and television with an emphasis on historical accuracy and attention to detail.
Junior Zoe Ennis, a theatre administration major with a marketing minor, is the social media director for NYFTSA and the organizer for the event. She said the main reason she wanted to organize the Q&A is to shine light on a side of entertainment that is seen as a niche aspect of entertainment production. As somebody who is not pursuing a major in filmmaking, Ennis said she was interested in creating a space where people could learn about it even if they were not pursuing film at IC themselves.
“I’m not in [film courses], but I want to get involved with [NYFTSA] because I think it’s so neat how it provides so many opportunities for everyone,” Ennis said. “Hearing from someone who is in the industry is really vital knowledge for everyone to have.”
Muir is a costume designer that has worked for over 50 years. She started her career in 1975, working in theatre with organizations like the Theatre Second Floor, Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille. In 1991, Muir began to work in film and television, where she eventually started work with Eggers in the movie “The Witch” which was released in 2015.
“It’s very difficult to have both a career in theater and film and television,” Muir said during the Q&A. “So I decided to concentrate more completely on film and television, and that’s what I’ve been doing until now.”
When the floor opened up to questions from attendees, Muir was asked to describe her research process for historical costuming.
“Everything starts with me from the script,” Muir said. “I usually read the script several times and get a feel for it, and then I start to wade into breaking it down. … What you’re doing is you’re really gathering together all of the facts of the characters: what they’re doing, who they’re doing it with, what happens, what’s visible on their clothing.”
Muir then broke down her personal research she then accomplishes after the script has been analyzed.
“When I take breaks, I read,” Muir said. “I read about the period. I go online and try to find museum examples. … I do have quite an extensive library, and with every project I build with more books I use for research.”
Muir was then asked how someone with a theatrical background could navigate the film industry, similar to Muir’s career path.
Muir said she started working backstage in local theater shows. She said her passion for the art led her to alternative types of theater, which gave her a unique skill in understanding attention to detail and crafting costumes.
“They weren’t classic plays, … they weren’t conventional productions,” Muir said. “They required me to figure out how to design for something that wasn’t necessarily straightforward. I developed the ability to read material and personalize it and figure out how to make it accessible for an audience.”
Muir then talked about the connections that helped her advance in the television and film industry. She said her experiences working with limited budgets and eccentric ideas in theater gave her extremely valuable and transferable skills when working in television.
“It’s been this really strange life of being super curious,’” Muir said. “People would come to me with crazy ideas, and so when I started working in film it was the same river. Because I came from theater, I was pretty used to working with absolutely nothing, and doing large scale things with very little money. Television has different production needs, so I think I exercised different muscles when I was working in television series or movies.”
Muir ended the Q&A with an anecdote on the current state of the film and television industry as a bit of inspiration for the attendees.
“Because of the number of studios trying to get people to either stay or go back to theatrical viewing, I think directors and the creative side of film and television are trying to look at more options that allow for more creativity,” Muir said.
After the event, Ennis said this Q&A is important for students, whether they are interested in the film and television industry or not.
“Hearing someone who’s established and who’s made success in our industry, which is so competitive and hard to get into right now, is really inspiring,” Ennis said. “I think it’s just good to expand your knowledge in any way, in any portion, of the industry, even in something as niche as costume design. It’s good to know as much as you can, a full well-rounded skill set.”
