Design is at the essence of storytelling, but how does a production find its style and identity? This book explains how to approach design, whether for film, television, video promo or commercial making, and introduces the techniques needed to make ideas happen. Through theory and practical exercises, it looks at design in a different way and shows how the simplest decisions can become powerful ideas on screen. Explains the roles of the design team, including the production designer and art director; Explains how to extract design information from a script and how to identify key themes that can be used to support the telling of the story; Looks at how and where to research ideas, and suggests ways to illustrate them; Explores the importance of images, colour, texture and space to captivate an audience; Shows how to prepare drawings and models using various media; Refers to film and television productions, and shows how design decisions contribute to the story.

Production Design: Architects of the Screen explores the role of the production designer through a historical overview that maps out landmark film and television designs. From the familiar environs of television soap operas to the elaborate and disorientating Velvet Goldmine. Jane Barnwell considers how themes. motifs and colours offer clues to unravel plot. character and underlying concepts. In addressing the importance of physical space in film and TV, the book investigates questions of authenticity in detail. props. colours and materials. The design codes of period drama. more playful representations of the past and distinctive contemporary looks are discussed through the use of key examples ranging from musicals of the 1930s to cult films of the 1990s. The book also includes interviews with leading production designers and studies of Trainspotting, The English Patient and Caravaggio.

"Packed with full-color film stills, exclusive pre-production artwork and behind-the-scenes production images, this book reveals how the designer is crucial in the creation of place, character and narrative through the use of distinct design elements. Using examples from real-world projects, this book provides practical guidance on the complete design process, from breaking down the script and developing ideas through research, to creating drawings, model-making, constructing sets and choosing locations. Five key design elements are explored in detail, namely light, color, space, character positioning and set dressing, providing readers with a rich source of inspiration and the tools needed to take a project from script to a set ready to shoot on. The book includes seven case studies, developed from exclusive interviews with world-renowned designers, revealing the concepts behind some of the most engaging imagery on screen and the strands of visual metaphor that conveyed them. Taking into account a range of production budgets, Production Design for Film and TV provides filmmakers with an inspiring, yet practical look at the process of designing for screen."--

Production Design: Visual Design for Film and Television is a hands-on guide to the craft of Production Design and Art Direction. Author Peg McClellan gives an insider’s view of the experiences and challenges of working as a Production Designer in film and television. The book covers three major areas, starting with an overview and the basics of job responsibilities, the artistic approach and the background which every Production Designer needs to be familiar with, and progressing to the mechanics of the role with a day-to-day breakdown of the job itself. McClellan takes you through script analysis, team collaborations, the hierarchy of a production, hiring a team, the business elements, locations, studio facilities, handling change, and everything in between. With case studies, insights from successful Production Designers, and inspiration in the form of over 200 colour photos and illustrations from storyboards to sets, this is the ideal book for students seeking a career in production design, and professionals looking to further their design knowledge.

How is the look of a film achieved? In Art Direction and Production Design, six outstanding scholars survey the careers of notable art directors, the influence of specific design styles, the key roles played by particular studios and films in shaping the field, the effect of technological changes on production design, and the shifts in industrial modes of organization. The craft’s purpose is to produce an overall pictorial “vision” for films, and in 1924 a group of designers formed the Cinemagundi Club—their skills encompassed set design, painting, decoration, construction, and budgeting. A few years later, in recognition of their contributions to filmmaking, the first Academy Awards for art direction were given, a clear indication of just how essential the oversight of production design had become to the so-called majors. The original essays presented in Art Direction and Production Design trace the trajectory from Thomas Edison’s primitive studio, the Black Maria, to the growth of the Hollywood “studio system,” to the influence of sound, to a discussion of the “auteur theory,” and to contemporary Hollywood in which computer-generated imagery has become common. By 2000, the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors became the Art Directors Guild, emphasizing the significance of the contributions of art direction and production design to filmmaking. Art Direction and Production Design is a volume in the Behind the Silver Screen series—other titles in the series include Acting, Animation, Cinematography, Directing, Editing and Special/Visual Effects, Producers, Screenwriting, and Sound.

Film production is a highly creative and collaborative industry, full of multi-skilled artists and craftsmen. The fast-moving pace of technology makes it hard to keep abreast of current practices in production design. However, the ethos and skills behind filmmaking remain the same. In The Art of Illusion, renowned Art Director Terry Ackland-Snow shares his passion and knowledge of traditional film design from over fifty years of industry experience, using real-life case studies from some of the UK's most iconic films, including Batman, Labyrinth, the James Bond franchise and The Deep. Featuring over 100 original sketches, as well as rare behind-the-scenes photographs, storyboards and artwork, this book is exquisitely illustrated throughout, demonstrating the skills and techniques of film design with stunning intricacy. This is an essential guide for anyone aspiring to a career in production design, and will be of great value to all movie enthusiasts who are interested in the art of creating a film set. Superbly illustrated with 238 illustrations featuring over 100 original sketches, as well as rare behind-the scenes photographs.

Learn to turn a simple screenplay into a visual masterpiece! Top production designers share their real-life experiences to explain the aesthetic, narrative, and technical aspects of the craft. Step by step, aspiring filmmakers will discover sound instruction on the tools of the trade, and established filmmakers will enjoy a new outlook on production design. They will learn, for example, the craft behind movie magic–such as how to create a design metaphor, choose a color scheme, use space, and work within all genres of film, from well-funded studio projects to "guerilla filmmaking." This indispensable resource also contains a history of movie making and guidelines for digital production design. For the experienced filmmaker seeking new design ideas to the struggling newcomer stretching low-budget dollars, this book makes the processes and concepts of production design accessible. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

A wealth of information from Preston's experiences in the film industry.

While the viewer's eyes are trained on the actors, the production design sets the mood for the film. The design also subtly comments on the action and the characters, moves the plot forward and adds to its symbolic content. The production design of 23 films of the 1980s and 1990s is analyzed here. The films are divided into five areas: realistic films set in the present day, stylized films (including horror) set in the present day, period films, period films that move through several decades, and science fiction and fantasy films. Among the movies analyzed are The Silence of the Lambs, She's Gotta Have It, The Fisher King, Ragtime, Barton Fink, Goodfellas, and Alien. The quality of the designs is assessed by a careful reading of the mise-en-scene. Often the designers' own words are used to describe the effects and the process involved in achieving them.