1.
Syllabus - Collaborations: Video_Fashion
Course Instructors: Florina Titz - ftitz@pratt.edu - meet by appointment
Class meets: Monday 5:30 - 8:20 PM in G12
Class description > This class is a module for understanding videomaking through
texture, fashion design, cloth, and how these factors can be articulated cinematically
in relation to human bodies. We will create meaningful lms that use fashion as a
primary element of creating meaning.
Attendance and participation> Every unexcused absence counts as -3 points towards
your nal grade. If you miss more than three unexcused classes, you will fail this class.
Participation points gained for the degree of your presence in class: discussions,
feedback, respect and consideration for your peers
Point breakdown> Research Assignment 15 / Texture/Light Exercise 10 /
Create-a-character 25 pts / Final Videos 20 pts / Participation 10 / Readings 10/ Gallery
Survey (outside of class activities): 10
NOTES:
> all video work is due by upload on VIMEO [www.vimeo.com]. If you nd sharing your work online
problematic, please notify me by email. >
>Various weekly readings will be assigned. A one paragraph write up of your reaction to the particular
reading is due by Friday the same week. All readings are provided to you by email in pdf form.
> On the last day of class (December 10) all work is due in Apple ProRes HQ 422 format Quicktime for
the Final Class Screening.
SCHEDULE [subject to change according to the needs of the class] >
WEEK 1 > August 27
Introductions. Syllabus Overview. Intro Lecture: Fashion as meaning-making tool.
Assign: Research Exercise. Due September 10. Assign Reading #1.
WEEK 2 > September 3 [Labor Day]
WEEK 3 > September 10
Research exercise due by email.
DSLR Bootcamp. In-class shooting exercise.
Editing workshop & color.
Assign Texture/Light Study. Assign Reading #2.

2. WEEK 4 > September 17
Wong Kar Wai / William Chang
Rough cuts of Texture/Light Assignment. Discussion.
Assign Reading #3.
WEEK 5 > September 24
Lecture at Pratt Manhattan.
WEEK 6 > October 1
Peter Greenaway/Jean Paul Gaultier
Final Cuts of Texture/Light Assignment Due [Vimeo].
Assign Create-a-character Presentation Pitches. Assign Reading #4.
WEEK 7 > October 8
Create-a-character Pitches. Discussion.
Visiting Actress. Assign Reading #5.
WEEK 8 > October 15
Advertisement culture. Screenings & discussion based on readings.
Rough cuts due of Create-a-character
WEEK 9 > October 22
Visit Design Center. Final Project Discussion
Rough Cuts of Create-a-Character
Assign Gallery Survey Assignment.
WEEK 10 > October 29
DUE Final Cuts of Create-a-Character.
Gallery Survey Due.
Assign Exhibit-Concept .
WEEK 11 > November 5
DUE Exhibit-concept Pitch. Vote in class.
Assign Final Project Pitches.
Discussion. Assign Reading #6
WEEK 12 > November 12
DUE Final Project Pitches
Fashion & Sound Design workshop

3. Assign in-class presentations.
WEEK 13 > November 19
Fashion & sound design lecture at Pratt Manhattan 6:00 - 8:00 PM
WEEK 13 > November 26
DUE In-class presentations.
Final Project Rough Cuts. Discuss.
WEEK 14 > December 3
Final Projects Due.
More in-class editing as needed.
WEEK 15 > December 10 / installation
Exhibit installation
All video projects due as Apple ProRes HQ 422 (.mov).
Plan screening/event
ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Research Assignment 15 pts.
- Find a costume designer / Fashion Designer that seems interesting to you.
- Research at least 3 lms in which the designer work is featured. These lms could be feature
length narratives, documentaries, shorts, experimental, music videos
(example: Alexander McQueen doing Bjork’s costumes) or could be biographical lms about
the particular designer (example Coco Chanel). Basically - nd a video connection to the
designer of choice.
- Find an appropriate bibliography (at least 3 sources)
- Write a minimum of 5 page Research Text in which you detail the designer’s approach to
fashion and the tools s/he uses in order to create meaning. Talk about your particular interest
in the images created, and in-detail analysis of the fashion in the lms. Please clip images and
videos (clips).
This assignment’s goal is to foster a deeper understanding of a certain costume designer
within the realm of lmmaking. By paying attention to the development of motifs, visual
signi ers and patterns in lm, you will become familiar with the aesthetics of a particular
costume designer. What are the characters wearing, what are the similarities between lms
and what is the meaning derived from the “costumes.”
examples: Jean Paul Gaultier ( The Cook the Wife The Thief and Her Lover, The Fifth Element,
La Cite des Enfants Perdus), Coleen Atwood ( Chicago, Big Fish, Alice in Wonderland, Edward
Scissorhands), Ann Roth (English Patient, Midnight Cowboy, The Hours etc.), Coco Chanel (her

4. personality and work represented in biographical lms lately), Ralph Lauren (Annie Hall, The
Wild Party), Michael Kaplan ( Fight Club, Seven, Blade Runner etc),
Resources: articles in “Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture ” found at libraries
and online (http://www.bergpublishers.com/), dressedcinema.blogspot.com ,
http://www.fashionin lm.com/ Books: Fashion Zeitgeist. Barbara Vinken, Hiding. Marc C.
Taylor. Chic Thrills. Edited by Juliet Ash and Elizabeth Wilson, Fashion, Culture, and Identity.
Fred Davis , Fashion in Film by Adrienne Munich etc.etc.etc.
Assign: August 27. Designer, lmography & bibliography due by Monday September 2. Due by
email: September 10. Presentation due: November 26
2. Texture/Light Exercise:
In groups of 3 make a one minute non-narrative video that explores texture, surfaces and
light. Absolutely no music allowed. Think about the sound of the textures. Choose from a hat:
a. three key words that describe the particular texture (examples: silk, velvet, linen, leather,
hemp, cotton duck, etc.)
b. a color palette
c. a particular feeling/mood.
Assign > September 10
Rough cut due > September 17
Final Cuts due > October 1st
3. Create-a-character:
The goal of this assignment is to construct a believable character in a one minute lm, by
using fashion as a primary element of meaning making.
You will work in groups of two (a Film Major with a Fashion Major). You are expected to
collaborate on all aspects of lmmaking (in other words, the Fashion Major is not solely
expected to provide the costumes for the Film Major, but to work together on the lm on all
aspects of pre-production and production: idea, concept, pitch, character, shooting, sound,
editing).
Everyone in the class will be using the same actress - the same material to work with. You will
discuss with her the details of production and character. You are responsible for scheduling.
Keep in mind - you only have one hour to work with the actress (including make up etc.).
The lm cannot be longer than one minute. You can have dialogue if you must but it’s strongly
recommended you don’t. Try to construct the character by clothing and action. The goal is
that at the end we understand who this person is in one minute. No music unless it is strongly
embedded in the diegetic sound.

5.
Assigned > October 1st
Pitches Due > October 8th
Meet with actress > October 8th
Rough cuts due> October 15/22
Final cuts due> October 29
4. Final Project 20 pts.
Gallery Survey > Exhibit-Concept > Pitch > Project Pitch > Final exhibit
DUE December 10
We will curate an exhibit of student work produced in this class that will take place in the
Design Center on Dec 10-12 at the Fashion Design building. You have to propose an exhibit
design idea explaining how to use the space available to provide a immersive experience for
the audience. Think of ways you can introduce video+fashion inside the space. For your nal
videos you can work in groups or individually. You are expected to produce about 5 minutes of
video images (could be a series of short lms). Your nal project can be a video, an
installation, a performance or all three of those combined etc. As long as it uses fashion to
create meaning.
5. In-class presentation : Deliver a 10 minute in-class presentation based on your research
paper. DUE November 26.
READINGS (reading responses due by email every week; readings will be sent to the class via pdf)
#1:Barthes, Roland, and Andy Sta ord. "Blue Is in Fashion This Year." The Language of Fashion. Oxford:
Berg, 2006. N. pag. Print.
Davis, Fred. "Do Clothes Speak? What Makes Them Fashion?" Fashion, Culture, and Identity. Chicago:
University of Chicago, 1992. N. pag. Print.
#2: Khan, Nathalie. "Cutting the Fashion Body: Why the Fashion Image Is No Longer Still."Fashion Theory
16.2 (2012): n. pag. Web.
+ screenings from www.showstudio.com
#3: Barthes, Roland, and Andy Sta ord. "Precursors to Theorizing Fashion : The Labyrinth."The
Language of Fashion. Oxford: Berg, 2006. N. pag. Print.
Carter, Michael. "Stu and Nonsense: The Limits of the Linguistic Model of Clothing."Fashion Theory:
The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture 16.3 (2012): n. pag. Web.
#4: Egri, Lajos. "Character." The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human
Motives. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. N. pag. Print.
#5: Baudrillard, Jean. "The Finest Consumer Object: The Body." The Consumer Society: Myths and
Structures. London: Sage, 1998. N. pag. Print.
#6: Echeverri, Maria. “Sound Theory:” The Exploration of the Sensory Experience of Clothing