The critically acclaimed drama Fruitvale Station, playing in movie theatres nationwide, presents a riveting, tragic story offering thoughts and lessons for society. It also provided valuable learning experiences for graduate student Charmaine R. Davis and alumna Amanda Ramirez.
Fruitvale Station, winner of the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, follows the last day of 22-year-old Oscar Grant on December 31, 2008, before he was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer. The incident caused many protests in the Bay Area and beyond.
Davis and Ramirez worked in the costumes department, under Academy Award-nominated designer Aggie Guerard Rodgers. Davis, a Master of Fine Arts candidate in Cinema, says the work opened her eyes to the filmmaking process for independents.
“Stretching resources became a daily thing, but often an adventurous thing for a young filmmaker like myself,” she says. “In a full day I could be at a range of shops interacting with folks from many walks of life....This film was all about authenticity; (director Ryan Coogler) wanted the viewers to feel like they were experiencing Oakland in 2008. That meant long white Ts, black hoodies and baggy jeans, which is what all the guys at my high school wore. We also dressed many extras in New Year’s Eve clothes for the BART scene.”
Ramirez (B.A., Cinema, ’10) was on set at the critical BART scene, filmed on location at the Fruitvale station in Oakland between 1:15am and 4:15am over three nights.
“We really didn't mess with the actors and their wardrobe at all that night, which is unusual: As a set costumer your main job is to make sure after each take the wardrobe is exactly how it was when they arrived on set and before they played the scene—in other words: perfect,” Ramirez says. “Another part of your job is interacting with the actor and making sure he or she is OK, needs any water or a coat or different shoes to switch out of, etc. We didn’t do that at all that night, unless we were taking a really long break between a take. The scene was just super intense that night and Deirdre Scully, my wardrobe supervisor, advised we should really not involve ourselves with the actors because they are in such intense state of mind.”
Davis also makes her acting debut in Fruitvale Station, playing a registration nurse. “In a fluke case, a receptionist didn’t show up, so I was asked to act as the part,” Davis says. “The location during my scene, Highland Hospital, was still operating for the most part. Even the main doctor in Oscar’s death scene was a real doctor! The smallest details were tailored to re-create this heavy moment again.”
Ramirez’s work on Fruitvale Station has led to more costuming work in film and television. She has been hired for Tim Burton’s next film, Blue Eyes, and a new HBO series taking place in San Francisco.