Angela Trivino’s costume design sets the bar high for “Setting the Bar Low” commercial
Clothing and costumes are key when watching any film. Costume designers are responsible for truly transporting audiences to a different time or place, whether they realize it or not. Angela Trivino does just that. The celebrated Colombian costume designer has worked on several award-winning films, and her work has taken viewers to different eras, or immersed them in horrifying or comedic situations. Costume is one of the most nuanced aspects of filmmaking, but one of the most important, and Trivino knows this well. She is exceptional at what she does.
In addition to working on award-winning films like Tragiometry, The Fog, and Fear, Inc. starring Academy Award nominated actress Abigail Breslin, Trivino’s costume designs recently helped shed light on an important cause while working on the commercial for Environmental Working Group (EWG). The non-profit has just released an entertaining comedic film made by creative shop Wander to launch their brand new EWG Verified program. The new program, which is the first of its kind, seeks to improve the safety of the personal care products available in the marketplace. The film, titled Setting the Bar Low, not only encourages manufacturers to join the program and keep their products free of toxic chemicals, but also informs consumers of the new EWG Verified symbol that they can look for on the personal care products they buy.
“The fact that the commercial was for EWG, it really motivated me to work on the project. I really respect the cause they stand for, and I loved the mission of this commercial: encouraging manufacturers to join the program and keep their products free of toxic chemicals,” said Trivino.
The whole concept for the commercial shows how easy it is to accomplish simple goals. It features altered footage of the 1928 Olympics by switching epic competitions into very simple, almost ridiculous athletic goals. This created a challenging task in terms of costume design, as the footage was being blended with the original Olympic shots, and Trivino had to perfectly match the looks of the athletes from that original footage. However, since the original footage was shot such a long time ago, it was difficult to see a lot of detail on the garments, and therefore, rigorous research on Olympic wear from the period was necessary. Constant communication between Trivino and the producer, Aaron Weber, was a must to ensure success.
“Aaron was great from the beginning to end. He produced this project in such a smart, creative and efficient way. He always made me and my department feel at home, and this great energy that he provided had a lot to do with the excellent work we were able to give from my department,” said Trivino. “It was a wonderful experience to work with Aaron and with the rest of the team. For the time frame that we had to prep and shoot, the schedule felt pretty challenging in the beginning. However, once we started working on it, the teamwork was so good and efficient, that I was surprised how smoothly it went.”
As the head of the costume design department in the commercial, Trivino led her team in the search and build of these specific pieces, as well the screen-printing and design of logos. During filming, it was her responsibility to dress the actors and to make sure they were wearing their costumes to match the footage and the period. The humor of the commercial was dependent on the authenticity of the 1928s feel, and the commercial’s success was dependent on Trivino’s work.
“Angela is very optimistic and charismatic with the crew and with the actors. It’s always nice to be around someone as positive and efficient when things are moving crazy fast on set. It’s also great to know that you can completely trust that your co-workers are going to help you come up with the best result. For Setting the Bar Low we needed to match our material to a 1928’s Olympics footage. On a very limited time frame, Angela managed to match every look making our footage match seamlessly with the one from 1928. Her excellent eye for detail, and her willingness to give you a perfect contribution from her department makes her so good at what she does,” said Aaron Weber.
They shot the commercial on August of last year, and it was launched on YouTube, social networks, and the EWG website, and has over 2 million views. It went on to be the winner of the 2017 Funny for Good DoGooder Award for Environmental Working Group, and it won the Bronze award for Environmental Group at LA Addy Awards.
“The biggest reward is to feel that I contributed in the explanation of such an important message. With other projects, I usually feel proud about my costumes, but with this project the sense of accomplishment was replaced by a huge sense of gratification of having worked for such a great cause,” Trivino concluded.
You can view Trivino’s outstanding costume design by watching the full commercial here.
