The Art Department

1
The Art Department

• Designing the Look of a Motion Picture

2
Meet the Art Department

• Production Designer Head of the art department
  the conceptualizer.
• Art Director The first officer and the
  Production Designers hands the actualizer.
• Art Department Coordinator Works with production
  office to keep the art department on schedule and
  on budget.
• Property Master Purchases and maintains all
  props and oversees prop continuity.
• Set Decorator Purchases and maintains all set
  dressing, actually decorates the set, and
  oversees decorative continuity.

3
Experience and Background?

• Architecture
• Theatre
• Interior Design
• Graphic Design
• Carpentry
• Visual Arts

4
Designing a Film

• Production Designer is brought on early in the
  process, sometimes in development or at least
  very early in pre-production.
• Sometimes hand-picked by director, but sometimes
  a group of designers pitch for the project.
• Designer will read the script, do a breakdown,
  and conceive a design concept to pitch to the
  director.

5
The Design Breakdown

• A design breakdown is similar to a location
  breakdown.
• Assess Primary Facts
• Facts about the design indicated in the slugline,
  in character dialogue, or character interaction
  with the environment.
• Assess Secondary Facts
• Descriptions in the scene text that do not
  directly affect dialogue or character
  interaction.
• Image Ideas
• Here the Designer gets to brainstorm a design
  concept. The script may not describe a teenage
  girls room in detail, but the designer will have
  to conceptualize a detailed room. What would this
  room have? Whats not in the script?

6
Research

• The Designer must carefully research every aspect
  of his/her design.
• Character Research how does each characters
  psychology, socio-economic status, and physiology
  shape his or her environment/props?
• Region/Period Research how does the films
  setting shape the environment/props?
• Functional Research what functional purposes
  shape the environment/props?
• Style Research what stylistic ideas will serve
  the directors story best?

7
Details, Details, Details

• No design decision is arbitrary in a professional
  production.
• Every object that appears before the camera is a
  decision.
• Example Jessie washes her hands.
• What kind of soap does Jessie use in her
  bathroom, and what does that suggest of her
  character? Is it soft soap, bar soap, those
  little fancy soaps? What color is the soap? If a
  bar, does she keep it in a soap dish? What does
  that look like?
• What other elements shape this experience? What
  kind of faucet knobs does the sink have? Does
  Jessie dry her hands on a towel?
• What design elements surround the experience?
  Does Jessie have her toothbrush on the counter?
  Does she keep it in a toothbrush holder or just
  in a cup? Is the counter cluttered or neat? When
  was the last time Jessie cleaned her sink?

8
Presenting the Design Concept

• Production Designers will usually maintain a
  complete design book for the film with images,
  ideas, color schemes, sketches, etc.
• The Designer presents these ideas to the Director
  using concept drawings, collages, schematics, etc.

9
Art Department Budget

• While the UPM creates the initial Art Department
  Budget, the Production Designer and Art
  Department Coordinator will create and oversee
  the final budget.
• The Budget is typically divided into several
  accounts Research, Props, Set Dressing, etc.
• Each account has numerous sub-accounts and
  finally every expense is line-itemed.

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11
Lab 3 Assignment

• You will create an art department breakdown of
  either Pastor Daves Office or Jamies Bedroom.
• The breakdown will not be turned in.
• You will create a researched budget for the
  design.
• Must be delivered in XLS, DOC, or PDF format
  through Webcourses.
• You will present your design concept as an 11x17
  collage.
• Turned in next week in class.

12
Lab 3 Budget Requirements

• Two Accounts Props Set Dressing.
• Must line-item every Primary Secondary Fact.
• May create general Misc. accounts for some image
  ideas but should still line-item large, specific
  purchases or rentals.
• Must subtotal both accounts and total them
  together.
• Must provide the source for every dollar amount
  (weblink or store name).

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Lab 3 Collage Requirements

• Must present images of every single Primary
  Secondary Fact and at least three original Image
  Ideas.
• Must present a color scheme.
• May use photos, magazine cut-outs, drawings,
  movie stills, color swatches, textures, etc.