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Founder of 80s Tees, Kevin, was fortunate enough to play a small role in the production of Cobra Kai season one (back when it was on Youtube!) thanks to the costume designer Frank Helmer seeking him out for some assistance. Frank was gracious enough to answer some questions about himself and his job.
Q: How did you get started / Did you know you wanted to go into costume design / Did you have a big break? (basically give your origin story going as far back as you think is relevant)
A: I moved to LA from Seattle shortly after college to follow the dream of working in film and television. I had been designing a small line of clothing when I met a couple of indie film directors and producers while I was volunteering at the Seattle International Film Festival. One of them suggested I do the costumes for their friend’s student film and I jumped at the opportunity. I then spent the next few weeks sleeping on my friend’s couch and doing my first film. I was hooked! Six months after that I moved to Los Angeles and began working every possible job in the industry I could find. There’s an old adage in Hollywood that it takes ten years to have your “overnight” success. Which means there’s generally ten years of hard work and dedication on the way to getting the big break that brings you to the attention of the world. Working in the entertainment industry is a marathon and you have to love what you do and keep at it with a good attitude and a lot of perseverance.
Q: How did you get the Cobra Kai job?
A: Cobra Kai came to me through my favorite producers to work with. When they asked if I had any interest in reading the script for a new Karate Kid series starring the original actors, I mean, how could I say no? Aside from the fan buy in me, they have gathered a really great “film family” and we have done a number of shows together so it was a no-brainer.
Q: What kind of hours do you work?
A: TV production hours can be grueling! A typical day is usually 14 hours long and I usually start at 5 am with a slate of fittings for the day’s work, run over to approve how the background actors are dressed, step onset to establish any new looks that are being filmed for the first time, dash over to the stunt unit to make sure the stunt doubles are matching the actors, read the next script, work on my research and inspiration boards for the next episode and then back into another round of fittings. It’s a lot of work but I love it.
Q: Do you watch the filming to make sure you like the end results of your choices?
A: Always. I am there every time a new outfit goes to camera making the final adjustments. After that my amazing on-set crew maintain the looks for the duration of the shoot.
Q: Were you a Karate Kid movie fan prior to getting the job?
A: I am a big fan of the originals! I grew up with them as a kid and when I got the call to meet on season one I could not have been more excited.
Q: How many times did you watch the original movies in preparation for this job?
A: Each season is loosely inspired by one of the originals so in preparation I will watch each one in its entirety again and then as we are shooting, I’ll dip in and watch specific scenes if there’s a particular easter egg I’m planning or something I want to reference. In Season 4 for example there are a lot of details I pulled and referenced from Karate Kid 3 that will be really fun for fans to discover.
Q: How long do you have to prepare before an episode airs?
A: I have roughly 7 days to prep each new episode while we are shooting. We shoot each episode in 11 days on average and I am prepping and fitting for the next one while we are shooting the current one. Once we are done shooting the whole season, the showrunners go into post-production mode and will spend around 6 months or so editing before the season is released.
Q: How much interaction do you have with the cast?
A: I work very closely with all the cast. I am in every fitting and am on set every time a new outfit is worn for the first time to make sure everything is exactly how it should be. One thing I love about what I do is the collaborative nature of creating and enhancing the characters through their costumes so I always present my character research inspirations and love to discuss any ideas or insights they may have.
