3 Best Videos to Make: Costume Genre (Guest)

Here's a guest post from a new poster, Julee Russo. If you haven't seen the video of Kimmel tackling a guy dressed up in a panda costume, the link is in there, hehe. 

Dressing up isn't something you can do just for Halloween. You can turn costumes into loads of fun by scaring your friends, filming your adorable kids or pets, or building a portfolio to show off your style. Just do not forget your CAMERA! All you need is some storage room for your ensembles, an eye for items that stand out in stores, thrift shops, online shopping, at yard sales, and a bit of creativity.

Share a Scare

Some people love getting scared. Others hate it. However, most people love watching others get scared. You could dress someone up in a scary costume to give someone else the jitters, especially if they are in a creepy setting. One of my favorites is just standing outside in the front lawn, and don’t move at all. Just stand there in the weird costume. There is just something eerie about seeing someone standing in front of your house with no purpose, the unknown is frightening. A fun thing to keep in mind is that you don't even have to have a scary costume to make someone jump out of their seat. People scare easily at the unexpected. Set up a video camera to record people's reactions to surprises from people in fun costumes. Ellen DeGeneres got a lot of laughs on her show when someone dressed in a panda costume and surprised celebrities, giving them a scare. Try your own version of this at home or at school. You can even make a robot costume and freak people out by "coming to life."

Kids & Pets

If you've ever watched “America's Funniest Home Videos” or checked out some of the titles that go viral on YouTube, you probably already know that people love to see children and pets in costumes. Create or buy some cute outfits to put on them and then pull out your camera. You will be surprised at the variety of costumes available now, if you don’t find what you are looking for then Google it and create your own. Use costumes and creative settings to make your video interesting and appealing to audiences. For example, you can dress up young children in bee costumes, then make a movie of them walking through an aviary, putting a whole new spin on the birds and the bees image.
Work Portfolio

Make an impression by creating a snazzy video showing your costume business acumen. Whether you want to work on costumes in the theater, show your skills in photography, audition for a rave, or market yourself for parties, a video can help you strut your stuff. To make yourself more marketable, show versatility with your choice of costume and surroundings. If interested, show a variety of costumes appropriate for children's parties. If you look like someone famous, costume yourself as a double. Remember to stay in character while in costume, and ask a friend to record you as well as people's reactions to your costumes.

The beauty of costumes is that you can put them together any way you want. Buy one, add extras, make alterations, or use recycled and re-used materials to make one of your own. Use videos to share your talents and make people smile.