Oklahoma Christian University alumna Jamie Reed worked as the costume supervisor for “The Vast of Night,” a movie which recently premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah.
“The Vast of Night” is a retro sci-fi film directed by Andrew Patterson and shot in Texas in 2016. The film received the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Slamdance.
“Set at the dawn of the space-race over the course of one night in 1950s New Mexico, a young switchboard operator and a radio DJ uncover a strange frequency that could change their lives, their small town and all of Earth—forever,” IMDb said.
According to Reed, overseeing wardrobe for the film combined two of her favorite things: fashion and research. She said she spent a lot of time going through old pictures and movies, trying to nail down their vision.
“Because ‘The Vast of Night’ is a period piece, it involved a bigger process as far as figuring out exactly what we wanted for our leads,” Reed said. “Some of the stuff I did have to make, like piecing together cheerleading costumes myself. There are a lot of things I learned on this project that I hadn’t had to do before—a white shirt is sometimes too bright for a camera, and it’s hard for them to adjust occasionally, so I had to dye a lot of things to make them not so white.”
Reed’s work for the movie started a couple of months before shooting started. and she said she moved to Texas for a month during filming.
“By day, I organized clothes,” Reed said. “Because we had such a large crew of extras, there was a lot of preparation. I was ordering clothes for months and going by Goodwill, trying to find clothes that would work for a 50s time period. And then there was being on set. I had an assistant once the shooting started, and we took turns being there and checking the characters’ clothes every time they would take a break from a scene, adjusting hems and making sure stuff was tucked in.”
Among the reviews being published about “The Vast of Night,” Reed has received a few mentions. The Hollywood Reporter commends the period wardrobe selections for reinforcing a clear mid-1950s vibe, and another review specifically mentions Reed, saying “the costuming was impeccable to the era.”
Reed graduated from Oklahoma Christian in 2005 with a degree in government and legal studies. She said she contemplated going to law or design school after graduation, but instead started a personal shopping and styling business. Because she knew director Andrew Patterson, she started wardrobing commercials and corporate videos for him.
Both of Reed’s parents went to Oklahoma Christian, and Reed said she grew up going to campus for events like homecoming. Although she said applied to other colleges, she never really considered going anywhere else, and choosing Oklahoma Christian has greatly influenced her life.
“Having the experience of being surrounded by a lot of driven but good-hearted people [at Oklahoma Christian] has really shaped my framework of how I want to work and how I want to do business with people,” Reed said. “Even on this movie I worked on, there were several OC grads involved. It was not just that we had the common college together, but it’s also knowing you’re with Christian people who have high standards for living and work.”
According to Reed, she had an internship during college with a senator, and when she told people in her office or other state government officials she went to Oklahoma Christian, they were always very impressed and mentioned the school’s good reputation.
“People knew if they hired an OC grad, they were getting a great person to bring into their company,” Reed said. “That always stuck out to me—I was glad to be associated with the college.”
Currently, Reed runs a women’s lifestyle magazine, Splendry, from home. With the amount of attention “The Vast of Night” is getting, Reed said she is considering whether she will head back to fashion or take on a few side projects.
The trailer for “The Vast of Night” is available online.
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