The Big Door Prize,an enticing sci-fi dramatic comedy from Apple TV, is littered with enticing surprises. From its eccentric cast of characters, its impeccable comedic timing, and natural sitcom atmosphere, to the mystical sci-fi reality tailored to each character, forThe Big Door Prize,there is little to be bored with.
Game Rant chatted with Colin Wilkes, the costume designer forThe Big Door Prize,who illuminatedsome of the stylistic choicesand challenges of tackling both reality and fantasy within Deerfield. Wilkes discusses how experiences working in theater, television, and film influencedThe Big Door Prize,new adventures while working on the Apple series, and what the future may hold.
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GR: You’ve worked on several different styles and genres, from television to short and feature films. Has any of your previous work helped mold your work onThe Big Door Prize?
Colin:The Big Door Prizedoesn’t really fit in any real genre. I feel the most impactful carryover that really inspired the work I did on this show, was when I was working in theater. That’s how I came up,working in live performanceand really getting into character development in a certain way, and I think that was something aesthetically Dave West Read, our show’s creator, and I really connected on because he also comes from a theatrical background. So that really informed a lot of the developmental process.
I’m drawn to existential, comedic stuff that really gets into “What are these big questions humans ask? How does that inform how we dress ourselves?” Everything always leads up to what the next project is. When you’re an artist, it all kind of informs the other. You just one-up yourself every time.
GR: Was there any common trend in the type of theatrical productions you worked on that you found helpful forThe Big Door Prize?
Colin: No. I went to CalArts.I dabbled in puppetry,site-specific work, and really all things performance. It was a little all over the place and very experimental at that. It gave me a real creative license to explore how I express myself creatively and go forth into the costume design world professionally and take bigger risks and be comfortable with that. That’s what live performance experimental theater gave me.
GR: In blending a few different genres, did working onThe Big Door Prizeteach you anything new?
Colin: You’re dealing with time restraints of TV. It’sthis sprint to the finish line. You’re working toward that goal while also trying to maintain the integrity and meet deadlines, and deliver beautiful work. Each character, each episode, was its own exploration because we were focusing on a different character. In that way, it was a neat, creative challenge to explore and be with the character as they’re learning or trying to reimagine themselves based on their life potential. It was also a fun challenge to give them a beginning because everyone in this show is so different, but they all have a unique character arc. We got to explore that with everything.
GR: WithThe Big Door Prize,you have to account for the traditional, realistic presentation of these characters' lives, while also displaying their potential in these almost fantastical ways. How did you tackle the different sides of those characters?
Colin: Each character had their own development who over the course of the season you’ll seedevelops in their own time, some more quickly than others. With Principal Pat, one thing I really wanted to keep in mind was, we see her right when she’s gotten her Morpho card, and she’s in purples; she’s got this purple lipstick and these purple nails. So, how do we carry that over? She’s got this motorbike, and it’s probably silvers and purples and blacks. How do we develop that into her style and give her a little bit more edge?
It was really exploring each of the characters in their own way. A lot of it I wanted to develop with color. As you see the season go on,every character has a color story and a developmentthat is based off of their potential – some in really nuanced ways, and others, we see their entire color palate change based off of their life potential. That really goes for Cass. Before she gets her life potential, we see her in these light-washed jeans and golden but muted thermal, and she’s hiding behind that. But as we go on, the colors become more royal and rich.
GR: Within the individualized color scheme or even outside it, are there any other motifs that exist among the characterization of these characters?
Colin: I wanted to have an outward expression of what these people were exploring. They’d slowly absorb the color palate of their life potential. Evendown to the background characters, we were dressing them, and they were given potentials. We were making whole color stories for them. It created a really special landscape of textured landscape that really set the stage for Deerfield.
GR: Usually, extras or background characters wear whatever they have, but you’ve mentioned a different process. Was this something you led the charge on or was it a group decision?
Colin: Anu, who was our pilot and second episode director, and Dave West Read, we all talked about just how people in this town arejust as part of the production design. They are as important as the furniture and the signs, and in thinking about that, they created this incredible spreadsheet that had different life potentials, and then we had a core of Deerfield residents that were picture picked, and we developed a story around them.
GR: Did Walsh’s novel play any role in developing the looks of the Deerfield residents?
Colin: We liked the idea of keeping the anonymity geographically and that really sticks with the costumes. You don’t really see a lot of trending things for the kids either. All of those things played into the uniqueness and wanting to do something that was starting the clean slate with our Deerfield.
GR: Without using the canonical brands, was that more exciting or creatively liberating?
Colin: It’s such a formula that we as costume designers know very well. You know the aspirational look of the sitcom world we really wanted to buck against. We wanted to create characters that were relatable and grounded. For me, it was creatively liberating.The research was right in front of me.I was taking pictures of people on the street and digging through Yelp reviews for selfies, and I really wanted to create a slice of life, especially with the teens. They were discovering themselves in a way that the adults weren’t. I find that a fascinating character study. When you’re growing and finding yourself, you can really explore who you are with your style. Sincethese kids weren’t going to the mall, and we don’t get these labels, everything was a mix of thrifted, and create the idea that they had gotten it from their parents or thrifted it from town. They were making something out of what they had.
GR: Finally, what’s next?
Colin: I hope to be able to do a lot more odd, comedic things. I have some other exciting projects that are in the future, and I think it is all over the place in terms of time period and genre, and I’m excited to play in all those worlds. It keeps it fresh. I think that’s what it’s all about, is continuing to challenge myself creatively and explore characters in different ways with new people.
