Interview with Victoria Krawchuk of One Hit Die
Victoria Krawchuk is a Canadian designer for film and theater. She has experience in costume, set and lighting design. She has worked on theater shows such as The Never Ending Story, Machinal and The Canadian Badlands Passion Play. These have given her a great range of experience in working with different eras. She has worked on web series and tv dramas that include “Down in the Valley”,
“One Hit Die” and a biopic, “Carl’s Way” for the Eastern Irrigation District in Alberta, Canada.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to instead of bring to life some one else’s character, and instead create your own for the silver screen? Or how your favorite movie costumes are crafted? I managed to steal some time with the wonderful designer
Victoria Krawchuk who worked on
“One Hit Die”, directed by Spencer Estabrooks, to ask her a few questions about the web series and designing in general. Hopefully this will give you, the creative GeekxGirls, an insight into “the other side of the fence” of the film industry if you haven’t had a chance all ready.
C – I am unsure of how many of the GeekxGirls readers have seen One Hit Die, how would you describe it?
V – Well, it was described to me as...Lord of the Rings meets the Office meets Community. It’s pretty funny.
C - How did you get involved in the “One Hit Die” web series?
V – Spencer contacted me about the production, about two weeks before filming. He was introduced to me through an associate that I worked with on a different production.
C - What was the design process like for this?
V – Spencer and I met and talked about the web series over coffee. He talked about the importance of creating a realistic world for the characters, while still keeping it rooted in the D&D atmosphere. So a lot of my original research was fan art. Because there wasn’t a lot of prep-time before filming began, Spencer and I were in constant communication back and forth about specific armor and corsets we could purchase in time.
Spencer spent time guiding me through the importance of the different characters in the D&D world, which before then, was completely foreign to me. Because of such a short time line, there was a lot of impromptu emails back and forth about the costume pieces, and how we could buy, source or build them in the time given. This meant that Spencer and I were on the same page with regards to the little details as the overall picture, and it was out of the costume pieces available to us in two weeks, that they costume renderings were formed. This isn’t a normal process, but under the time crunch, it actually helped us solidify the design for both of us.
C - How long did it take and what was asked of you?
V- The design process was a developing process, unlike other shows where you hand in designs after the first few chats with the director, it developed over the resources we could get within the time. Some of the characters, such as the goblin and wizard, weren’t fully conceieved until we actually saw the actor’s in costume. With the actors, we were able to better gauge what worked for them physically and how it achieved the character we wanted.
C - What do you feel was most difficult part of the entire process?
V- Time. Time was the enemy.
C - As a cosplayer myself I know I tend to get my inspiration from the universes I am involved in, whether that is comics, video games, anime, or movies. What gave you the inspiration to design your costumes the way you did?
V - I’d love to say my knowledge of costume history, but in our initial discussions between myself and Spencer were along the lines of “make it look like Lord of the Rings”. This is my favorite fantasy film, so I was really excited about this. I started to research the history behind the characters, like the barbarian, and learning about their Germanic decent, but it strayed me farther from the D&D universe and the vision Spencer had. So my inspiration ended up being a lot of fan art.
C - I must ask. What was it like being on a film set? Very few get the privilege and I think the readers as well as I are curious to the work environment and how the interactions between cast and crew played out!
V – It was a really positive experience, because it was a very laid back cast and crew. Everyone was there working to make it the best it could be. For myself it was a great learning opportunity as well as for others just starting out in film. I loved the comradery between everyone who was just there to do their very best for the project.
C - Do you have any tips, suggestions or tricks for the novice (or even well-seasoned) cosplayer out there in designing their costumes?
V – There’s never a shortage of answers or solutions on the internet today, but it seems like the really amazing cosplayers I’ve seen have this knack to problem solve in a way that’s entirely original. The more I learn about cosplaying, the more I am fascinated with this, the problem solving aspect, being what makes it it’s very own art form, and makes people incredibly talented and gifted to create these things with their hands. I’ve grown up in a background of theatre, where all we do everyday, in so many areas, is learn how to problem solve on the spot. My advice to the cosplayers out there, would be to never underestimate the power of your own mind and imagination. It’s not just about finding the answers to create your perfect costume on the internet, it’s about carving your own path, creating your own answers, that’s where our creative, child-like imaginative energy is.
Anything else you would like to add?
Thank you for the opportunity to share!
So there you have it, a brief insight in the world of a costume designer. If you want to check out Victoria’s costumes in action head on over to One Hit Die’s youtube page in the link below.
One Hit Die's Website | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube
Victoria Krawchuk's Website Portfolio
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October 20 2013