Film School The Production Designer

One of the most important roles in virtually any film school education is that of the production designer. It may seem it's an easy task, but it's a lot more than precisely what it says. In a few ways it's more of a supervisory position where you have several people working under you. However, all of them contribute to the overall look of whatever film is being made.

The production designer's responsibility is that of maintaining the appearance of a film. By working closely with the director and the director of photography, they could keep the visual design of the film in balance over the course of the production.

The production designer works together with other key members of a production such as the costume designer, to make sure that the style sense meshes with the feel of the film. Say you're making a film occur the 1950s and for some reason someone is wearing clothing for the 1970s; this can clearly be considered a problem as you intend to keep track of these kind of issues. The same also applies to props and furniture, particularly if it is a period piece that's being made; you always want everything to be from the same time frame. You wouldn't want a film occur the 1940s to have characters using mobile phones, would you?

These types of things revolve round the photography, the costumes and many times, in science fiction for instance, the special effects. Consider the film Blade Runner for example and its resemblance to the classic film noir style fused with a post-apocalyptic ambiance. Imagine how the overall look of the film would be drastically altered if sunny exteriors were suddenly incorporated in to the film? It would type of throw the whole vibe of the film off kilter, which explains why the production designer is such a crucial element to any film production.

In film school, you may not realize how important this position actually is. Production designers work in close contact with the director to ensure that every visual detail is in play. Sometimes it's not an easy task. In a few of the films I've worked after and during film school, I've seen production designers work themselves to the ground making sure that everything comes together in the end. On one such occasion, I was helping the production designer search for authentic costumes for a comedy occur the 1970s, which meant scouring many thrift stores and friends attics for polyester clothing. Sometimes it was nearly impossible to find anything, but with a lot of research and finding some off the beaten path stores, almost all of the required clothes were found.

Such painstaking realism is often sought by filmmakers who shoot for every iota of authenticity. Most notable is Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, that is occur the 18th century; each and every aspect of this particular film is founded on the look and style of that era from the costumes, some of which were authentic 18th century clothes, to the usage of lighting where specific scenes were filmed entirely in candle light even to the establishing shots which resembles paintings of the era. While a lot of the appearance was primarily Kubrick's vision, a lot of it fell onto the production designer who supervised a crew to make sure that all the minor details fell into invest the grand scheme of things.

In virtually any film school education, it is critical to keep an eye on these details, simply by watching films. It's also important to have a larger understanding on how crucial the production designer is in film, and television and theater.