Neeta Lulla on the difference between a good director, and one average.

#RakeshAnandBakshi - For a film-costume designer, what would be the general differences between a good director and an average one?

#NeetaLulla - The ones who inspire us usually have an attention for detail, they know exactly what they want for their film, their characters. The good ones are never groping in the dark, or clueless about their script or what they are seeing in their mind’s eye. Moreover, they do their own research on what they are visualizing for their film. It then becomes a healthy exchange of ideas between the director and the costume designer and that only betters the output of our work!

This is a very good quality in them, and another thing, we costume designers must arrive with an open mind when we work with such directors. We must be open to understanding, and appreciating, their thought process. When we give our design inputs, even though it comes solely from us, because of our collaboration with them, it is a shade better, and often it gets a whole new dimension. Sometimes it goes far beyond what we would conceived had we not been inspired by the ‘what’ and ‘why’ behind the director’s research and opinions. My flame will only burn brighter when its also fanned by inspirational ideas from a director even if he or she knows absolutely nothing about style or fashion designing.

With others, directors who do not have a grasp on their story or their film, they do not know what they want, there will often be retrials, and errors, and more retrials, sometimes even while the shooting schedule is on, or then we are hunting for dresses while the shoot is on! On such projects, there will crop up last minute requirements and changes. All of this has a direct impact on time and the film’s budget! Such a scenario makes the work process cumbersome, and often painful.

However, an experienced designer will somehow still manage to deliver what is needed, but it shoots up the producer’s budget, and that’s a one way street which is a dead end! Money spent, and time lost is never regained.

#DirectorsDiaries