Why I chose to study Costume Design for Film & Television at Falmouth

This article was written by Costume Design for Film & Television BA(Hons) student Jasmin.

Having known that I wanted to study Costume Design before deciding what universities I wanted to apply to, I wanted to visit Open Days to help gauge how each uni’s campuses felt and also how the courses were going to be. Based on the research I had done looking into the courses on each uni website, I decided to rank each course in order of interest. Then with that, I went to all of my top-ranked unis for an Open Day.

Initially, when looking at the Costume Design course at Falmouth, I had ranked it relatively high (though not my top choice before visiting in-person). Due to the location of the university being very far from where I am from, I knew that it was going to be a large commitment coming so far, for a course I wasn’t yet certain about. So, I knew that it was all the more important to come down to Falmouth for an Open Day and see how much I liked the course and the university’s location, if I was going to apply here.

After visiting the campus for an Open Day, I fell in love with the vibe of the Penryn Campus and I liked seeing the positive & creative atmosphere presented by all the students I had seen that day. I remember meeting my now lecturer (!) at a course talk and I liked how the course had more focus on costume for film and television as opposed to theatre, like many of the other courses I had seen. That being said, there are still numerous opportunities available to those who want to take part in theatre productions, having both Theatre and Dance students on the Penryn Campus, as well as the Hall for Cornwall theatre company in Truro – which I myself worked with in my first year.

Having both Film and Television courses on-campus meant there were greater opportunities to collaborate & gain experience with those in (and going into) the film industry and with those who have similar interests to me. I found this to be increasingly helpful when wanting to get stuck into film projects from the outset. In my first year, I have already had the opportunity to work with Television students as part of one of the course’s modules. And, I myself have worked on several short films with people from a variety of different courses and year groups, due to collaboration being very much encouraged by our lecturers. I have enjoyed this element of the course here at Falmouth, as it has allowed me to meet so many different people whilst improving my knowledge of the industry and providing me with valuable insight into what my career in costume could look like in the future.

Having had a tour of the campus and course facilities at an Open Day, I knew that I wanted to study at Falmouth. I liked the open-plan layout of the FTI (Fashion and Textiles Institute) building, which allowed you to see others in different courses (e.g. Fashion Design, Fashion Photography, Fashion Marketing) working on their projects, making it easier to collaborate and share ideas with other students. I liked how we had access to copious amounts of clothes and costumes, through both the Wardrobe Store and Textiles and Dress Collection, both which I have found to be extremely helpful in my studies. The Wardrobe Store has allowed me to source costumes for low-budget productions and style mannequins as part of my design process. The Textiles and Dress Collection has been immensely useful when researching historical garments and designing for specific time periods.