Unit 14 Production Design

UNIT 14 PRODUCTION DESIGN Structure 14.0 Introduction 14.1 Learning Outcomes 14.2 What is Production Design? 14.3 Research 14.3.1 Photographs 14.3.2 Paintings 14.3.3 Magazines 14.3.4 Literature 14.3.5 Video 14.3.6 Oral History 14.4 Production Design: The Process 14.4.1 Concept Drawing 14.4.2 Storyboard 14.4.3 Set Model 14.4.4 Drafting 14.4.5 Staging Plan 14.4.6 Location Scouting 14.4.7 Organizing Props 14.4.8 Final Checks 14.5 Budgeting and Schedule 14.6 Production Design: The People 14.6.1 Art Director 14.6.2 Set Designer 14.6.3 Set Decorator 14.6.4 Property Master 14.6.5 Location Scout 14.6.6 Costume Designer 14.6.7 Hair and Makeup 14.6.8 Construction Crew 14.7 Let Us Sum Up 14.8 Further Readings 14.9 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers 14.0 INTRODUCTION Cinema and television often take precedence over their textual and aural counterparts because they allow their audience to immerse into a world of moving images. When audience watch these moving images, they are MJM-027_NEW SETTING_5th Proof.indd 227 05-05-2021 12:30:54 Audiovisual Production - II fascinated by the craft of a make-believe world that is created in front of their eyes. The production design team is responsible for creating this look in a film or television production. Sometimes the production design paints an opulent, larger-than life canvas on the screen and at other times it is grounded in offering realism. In both cases, however, the task of production design is to provide a visual context to a narrative and its characters. Working in close association with the film director and the director of photography, the production designer gives wings to the director’s imagination. To be precise, the production design team creates the mise-en-scène or the environment within which the characters dwell and the narrative is taken forward. In this unit, you will learn about the role and responsibilities of production design in enhancing the visual appeal of a film or television production. 14.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES After going through this unit, you will be able to: ● define production design; ● understand the research involved in production design; ● explain the process and function of production design in film/TV production; and ● describe the role and functions of various personnel involved in production design. 14.2 WHAT IS PRODUCTION DESIGN? As an audience, you may have watched numerous films or TV programmes which are set in grand palaces, middle-class households, claustrophobic slums or luxurious penthouses but actually shot in studios. In fact, not just indoor studios but even outdoor locations are transformed into remote villages, local paan shops, amusement parks or shopping complexes. Since we are so immersed in the film narrative and characters while watching a film, we do not realize the importance of these locations that bring authenticity to it. Have you ever wondered what goes into making the four walls of a studio into a film set or a street in suburban Mumbai to look like a lane in Banaras? The film location that we see for a few minutes on the screen is constructed by putting in many hours of research, creativity and work force. Besides the location, the costumes that the characters wear, their hair and make-up is also well-researched and finalized at the pre-production stage, much prior to the shoot. All these elements constitute the production design of a film and help the audiences to relate with the narrative and its characters. In other words, production design enhances the visual look of a production and creates a relationship between the story, its characters and their environment. At times, a film or television show may be set in the past, for example, a film about the Mughal era, a television show on religious texts like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata or a film about the freedom struggle. Such productions that are set in a specific time-frame of the past are called period dramas. In period dramas, production design finds even more significance as it brings alive a bygone era and acts as a visual vehicle that transports the audiences back in time. A production designer working on period dramas has a tough task to replicate that era visually on screen. Thus, minute details 228 MJM-027_NEW SETTING_5th Proof.indd 228 05-05-2021 12:30:54 like the clothes the characters wear, the houses they live in, the cutlery Production Design they use, the vehicles they drive in and the technology they use have to be researched in-depth. The production designer looks at each of these details and includes them in the film. Hence, production design may be defined as the visual craft that translates a script into physical and geographical environments in which the characters reside and the story is developed. The task of production design is to create a color palette and a pictorial scheme that provides a visual aid to the storyline. A production designer interprets and visualizes a world penned down by the writer into images that depict the architecture, décor, tone and texture of the space along with hair, make-up and costumes of the characters. Production designers use models, sketches, illustrations, photographs and detailed storyboards as blueprints for mounting the sets. A team of other personnel like the art director, set decorator, location scout, property master, carpenter, painter, costume designer etc. is headed by the production designer. You will get to know more about their responsibilities in the following paragraphs. A production designer works in tandem with the film director and the director of photography. When the screenwriter writes the script, s/he puts in every specific detail in order to bring to life the environment where the story takes place. The production designer’s task is to read and breakdown the screenplay. While doing so, some of the key questions he should enquire about are: ● Where does the narrative take place- interior or exterior location? ● What time of the year/day the story is set in? ● Where do the characters live? ● What is their socio-economic background? ● What is their emotional and psychological makeup? ● Are there any visual metaphors that can be used in the narrative? A detailed list of each location with required props, décor, costumes etc. is prepared by the production designer for the approval of the film director. The production designer’s notes will include minute details like the number of rooms in the location, how will these rooms look like, the paintings hanging on the walls, the furniture placed in each of these rooms, rugs or carpets on the floor, positioning of other décor items like flower vases, wall clocks, plants, family photographs, props used by characters and their placement, clothes that the characters will wear, which side will the sun rays be falling from to correlate with the time of the day mentioned in the script etc. A film director narrates the film cinematically through his point-of-view and is the final decision-maker in most creative aspects. The director of photography is responsible for camera movements, composition and light. The production designer along with the director and the director of photography discusses the script in detail and decides on the visual appeal of the film. Anything should not be a part of the pictorial scheme only for the sake of beautification unless it also complements the script. It should have a logic and serve the story and its characters. However, the creative decisions are not limited only to the creative team but are also made keeping in mind the budgetary constraints. Research plays an important role in production design. In the following section, you will learn about the role of research involved in production design. 229 MJM-027_NEW SETTING_5th Proof.indd 229 05-05-2021 12:30:54 Audiovisual Production - II Check Your Progress 1 Note: Use the space given below for your answers. Compare you answers with those given at the end of the unit. 1. What is the role of production design in a film or television production? .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. .............................................................................................................. 14.3 RESEARCH In the previous section, you have learnt that the production design team has a significant contribution in deciding the visual presentation of a film or television programme. The triumvirate of director, director of photography and production designer work in close association on the look of the film. This includes set construction, set décor, props, costume, make-up, hair etc. The process of production design begins with extensive research. Hence, the production designer’s task begins in the early stages of film or television programme production. Let us now look at the research which the production designer conducts and the material and references

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