Outlander Online   Your #1 Source For All Things Outlander

Outlander artistry.

One of the benefits of being an Outlander fan is the interaction with the people behind the scenes.  We have been afforded a rare look at film making and access to creative process through their generosity.  The cast, the crew, the designers, the writers, the producers have all gone out of their way to include us, inform us and educate us.  The biggest take away for me has been understanding why these folks do what they do. I now understand why they write design, film, produce, apply makeup, fix hair, dress the sets, and edit as they do.

The are trying to tell us a story.

Read the rest of the article after the jump!

–

Everyone is thinking about how their particular area of expertise will benefit the characters and narrative.  Nothing and I repeat nothing is done without purpose and thought. These aren’t just pretty clothes, pretty sets, pretty shots, and pretty words. This is a collaborative effort of many with a creative and artistic bent.  If you think about the sheer enormity of their task it boggles.  The fact that it all works and appears so effortlessly real and natural? Miraculous.  How can so many minds come to an accord?

Because they are trying to tell us a story.

This isn’t about individual effort only.  Each of these behind the scenes people is talented, but talent alone isn’t enough to get a job like this done and I’m starting to gain a fuller appreciation for what it does take.

The last two days have seen some interesting developments in Outlander world.  The Paley Center event “The Artistry of Outlander” that featured the work of costume designer Terry Dresbach and production designer Jon Gary Steele opened to an invite only red carpet press line.  Their work is being discussed and displayed in a gallery/ museum like setting.  I couldn’t help but think of how appropriate that was for their “art”.

The gang was there to show their support and love.  And, there were some video clips that helped us see how important each role plays in the performances and story they are trying to tell.

Costume Design

Terry Dresbach has been one of the more open BTS folks.  She quickly realized there was a genuine interest in what she does for the production and will answer fans questions on her @OutlanderCostum twitter page and maintains a beautiful and educational blog at TerryDresbach.com.  Terry helped open my eyes to what actually happens when making a film and especially about costume design.  I have laughingly said she is the Wizard of Oz and has let us see behind the curtain.  She let us into her world of swatches, sketches, research, and interpretation. I’ve listened to her explain her creative choices and how she has blended historical accuracy with the needs and the realities of making a film.

But mostly, she helped me see the why of costume design.  Nothing is random or just because she likes something or made to show off her design skills.  She is trying to design a person. Her part in this puzzle of telling a story is to tell us something about the character and his/her place in the story through the clothes he/she wears.  Color, texture, silhouette are all tools to help us understand the story.

If you have the chance, take a look at her blog articles that so eloquently describe her creative process.  They are a true gift to those fans who care.  Her thought processes for creating Claire’s Paris wardrobe is a Master’s class on costume design and she’s given it to the fans for free.

Production Design

Jon Gary Steele, production designer is also trying to tell us a story.  His place in the story puzzle is about transporting us to another place and time.  I’ve jokingly called him a world builder, but in truth, that is what he does.  An audience has to be able to suspend their disbelief.  Gary helps us with that process by creating a world for these characters to move around in that looks and feels real.  But, I’ve come to understand that his design is more than just making it look real.  He too is helping tell the story by creating spaces that expand our understanding of a scene or character.  We know more about who Master Raymond is because of that Apothecary shop.  We felt the mystery and danger of the Star Chamber, and the bawdy elegance of Madame’s Elises.

Production designers are part architect, artist, McGyver, super collaborator, mathematician, expert on visual psychology and have the ability to see both the forest and the trees! These are the people who control the visual feel of a film.  Gary is one of those rare people who can and does use both sides of his brain and what a beautiful brain it is. Genius.  He helped create the alien world of 1740’s Scotland and Paris with hammer and nails and plaster and…vision.

Jon Gary has been more active on Twitter and is sharing BTS information with the fans (ask him about getting put in Twitter jail, I’m still laughing over that one) and he also maintains an Instagram account with some beautiful photos of his work and process.  I can’t wait for the DVD of the show to come out so that I can luxuriate in the spaces he created.  I know it isn’t meant to be picked apart when we see it on screen, but to create a whole. However, I’ve seen the story and I now intend to wind and rewind to appreciate every detail.

Filming and Editing

I’ll admit to knowing very little about this part of the story telling puzzle, but I plan to find out more.  I think because the others opened my eyes to what they do, I’ve begun to start paying attention to other aspects of film making.  Steve McNutt, Neville Kidd, Mike O’Holloran and their teams have a huge impact on how we see and understand the story.  I’m starting to learn words like panning and close up and martini shots and pickups.  And, after the last release of cut scenes, I’ve come to realize more isn’t necessarily better and film on the cutting room floor might be a good thing. Heresy, I know.

Writing and Producing

Last night, the Writer’s Guild held an event featuring the writer’s and producers of Outlander. Diane Gordon a freelance event reporter for Variety tweeted from the event @thesurfreport.  I want to make sure these writers and producers know that I believe them when they say they want to tell the best version of the story that they can.  We all say we understand the difficulty in adaptation, but I’ve come to the conclusion that until we’ve tried it ourselves, under the restrictions of a visual medium,  we’ll never really know.

One theme that kept getting repeated was the creative leadership of Ron D Moore.

It is hard for fans to trust because we each have our own idea of how this story should be told. But, someone has to make the decisions and it sounds like these folks have done other projects and appreciate who they have have in Ron D Moore.

I’ve said it often, but this truly is a quality show lovingly created by a serendipitous group of people. We are lucky fans.

A Look Ahead

Your guess is as good as mine as to what we will see.  The Battle of Prestonpans to be sure, but how that scene will be presented and adapted is too big for me to wrap my mind around. I know that Sam Heughan said it was his favorite.  He said it was a great ensemble piece. Which given the events this week fits. In fact, I thought his interview kind of encapsulated the artists and people of Outlander.  Here is a link to that video.

https://www.accesshollywood.com/videos/sam-heughan-on-the-outlander-season-2-episode-hes-most-proud-of/