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Home , Art director, Dean Tavoularis, Production designer, Richard Sylbert

The VISUAL LANGUAGE of FILM © A.M.P.A.S.®

Teacher’s Resource Guide ART DIRECTION: ART Youth Media International Ltd.

Dear Educator, by the to teach executives, film editors, make-up outh Media International, in valuable lessons in critical thinking artists, composers, songwriters, sound Ycooperation with the Academy and to develop visual literacy skills. and experts, and . of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, The Academy, organized in 1927, is Please share this material with is proud to present the most recent a professional honorary organization other teachers in your school. edition of annual study guides that composed of more than 6,000 Although the material is focus on the different branches of motion picture craftsmen and copyrighted, you may make as many the Academy. women. Its purposes include photocopies as necessary to meet This guide focuses on art advancing the art and science of your students’ needs. direction, one of the many craft areas motion pictures; fostering To ensure that you receive future involved in the collaborative cooperation among creative leaders mailings, please fill out and return the endeavor of creating a motion for cultural, educational and enclosed reply card. Also, feel free to picture. Students will learn about art technological progress; recognizing e-mail us at [email protected] direction (or production design, as it outstanding achievements; and to comment about the program at is also known) as they complete the fostering educational activities any time.We welcome your thoughts activities in this kit, which is intended between the professional community and suggestions. for students in secondary school and the public at large. Academy English, language arts and members are the people who create Sincerely, communications courses.The movies—the cream of the industry’s activities are designed to capitalize on , , art directors, students’ natural interest in current , costume designers, films and the excitement generated directors, documentarians, studio Roberta Nusim, Publisher

Program Components when awards shows seem as common as nightly news 1.This instructional guide programs, the Academy Awards are unique because the 2. Four student activity masters judges—Academy members—are the top filmmakers 3. A four-color wall poster for classroom display from around the world.The question,“Who gets the 4. A response card for teacher comments Oscar?” is decided by a true jury of peers. The awards process provides a wonderful Target Audience opportunity to teach your students about the many This program has been designed for students in craft areas—and the many communications secondary school English, language arts and techniques—that play a part in creating a motion communications courses. picture. is by nature a collaborative process, with each creative area supporting and being supported Program Objectives by the others. Because our space is limited, this kit 1.To enhance student interest in and knowledge about focuses on just one of those areas—art direction. the motion picture development and production process. 2.To encourage students to use critical thinking as they Selecting Films for learn how production designers contribute to the Student Viewing process of creating a motion picture. Students may select the films they wish to view during 3.To engage students in an exploration of film as a the following activities. medium of communication. The following films have won Academy Awards for 4.To help students become more visually literate. art direction and may be appropriate for your students: Moulin Rouge (2001), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Introduction (2000), Titanic (1997), Star Wars (1977), To Kill a The first Academy Awards were handed out on May 16, Mockingbird (1962) and Citizen Kane (1941). 1929, just after the advent of “talkies.” By 1930, The following films were nominated for Academy enthusiasm was so great that a Los Angeles radio Awards for art direction and may be appropriate for station did a live, one-hour broadcast, and the Awards your students: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone have enjoyed broadcast coverage ever since. (2001), The Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Rings The number and types of awards have grown and (2001), Pleasantville (1998), William Shakespeare’s Romeo changed over the years to keep up with the + Juliet (1996), Apollo 13 (1995), A Little Princess (1995) development of the motion picture industry. Awards of and Forrest Gump (1994). Merit—Oscars—are presented in each (or in sub- divisions) of the following categories: acting, animated Activity 1 feature, art direction, cinematography, , directing, documentary film, , foreign- CREATING the LOOK language film, make-up, music, best picture, short film, rt direction is a broad concept encompassing many sound, sound editing, visual effects and writing. In an age Avisual elements of film production—set design and construction, locations, décor, props and costumes. point out examples of the defined architectural terms. Over the decades, the nature of art direction has Then have them focus on one scene in a selected film changed considerably.The first film sets were devised and discuss how camera movement and lighting work by pioneer French filmmaker Georges Méliès at the with the basic set design. turn of the 20th century.With their painted backdrops, Méliès’ sets resembled traditional theater scenery— Supplementary Activity: Have immovable and two-dimensional. In 1916, D.W. Griffith’s students videotape a short scene in various locations silent epic Intolerance made cinema history, in part around school, including at least one outdoor setting. because of its full-scale sets. Unlike his predecessors, Screen the tapes and discuss how the architectural set builder Frank Wortman considered Griffith’s moving elements in each setting affected the scene. camera when designing for Intolerance, devising a Alternatively, have students photograph or draw completely integrated, three-dimensional space. various locations around school and discuss how a ART , designer on such classics scene could be set in each setting. as Gone with the Wind (1939), is considered the father of Activity 2 modern production design. Menzies’ sweeping cinematic vision and distinctive personal style helped elevate the DIRECTION: ’s position in the Hollywood hierarchy. In SETTING the the 1950s, as film production became more costly and nce the architectural elements are in place, complex, the scope of art direction expanded. Studios Oproduction designers must decide how to decorate recognized the need for full-blown production their sets and locations. Set decoration includes all designers—artists who would be responsible for the props and furnishings, including foliage and food, used in overall look of a film—not just the sets. a given scene. Sometimes individual props and Production designers collaborate closely with the furnishings can be crucial to the story: the witch’s director and to visualize the hourglass in The Wizard of Oz (1939), or the sled in screenplay.Together they determine how visual Citizen Kane, for example. More often, however, the

components can best be combined to tell the screen effect of set decoration is collective.As in real life, we The story. As award-winning Patrizia make assumptions about film characters based on their von Brandenstein notes,“The most beautiful ballroom environment. How characters decorate their living

on earth means nothing unless it helps the context of room, or what they put into their medicine chests, can VISUAL the story.” When devising sets or considering locations, tell us as much about them as the dialogue or action. production designers must first determine the volume, To get the most out of set decoration, production or overall size and shape of a space. Does the scene designers study the script’s characters.Whether the call for a large, rectangular space, such as the Xanadu story is contemporary, futuristic or period, designers mansion in Citizen Kane (1941), or a claustrophobic strive to create a credible everyday world. For period

enclosed space, such as the submarine in U-571 (2000)? pieces, designers conduct research at libraries and Just like painters, production designers exploit archives to help them achieve authenticity. For LANGUAGE perspective to direct the viewer’s eye toward a futuristic or fantastic stories, they consult with particular spot in a set or to create a sense of depth. scientists and engineers to create sets that are both Scale can be used to evoke feelings about a space.The imaginative and believable. Sometimes, however, stairway in Scarlett O’Hara’s Atlanta mansion in Gone designers choose drama over realism, selecting props with the Wind, for example, is outsized. Its large size or furnishings that may not be absolutely accurate, but suggests Rhett’s excesses and his power over Scarlett. are emotionally true. This sense of power becomes especially obvious when Students can learn about the connection between Rhett forcefully carries Scarlett up the stairs to the set decoration and visual storytelling by creating a bedroom.Although architectural elements apply most detailed environment for a specific character.To test significantly to sets, they can also be used in location whether they have picked appropriate details, have of

filming.The mental institution in One Flew over the them share their descriptions with their classmates. FILM Cuckoo’s Nest was a real place, but its chain-link fences and barbed wire were manipulated to emphasize the Supplementary Activity: In teams, inmates’ feelings of oppression. have students research a recent past decade (1950s to Ultimately, what separates production designers 1980s), then find or make props that represent the from their theater equivalents is the camera. Every set period. Have them create mini-sets and videotape a or location must accommodate the camera’s changing scene using their set. three-dimensional view.Whether the camera itself is moving, or the framing is changing, the set should Activity 3 facilitate the movement.A good designer will consider how the set or location will look from various angles COLOR and TEXTURE and distances, and in different lighting conditions, as n addition to architectural elements and set decoration, demanded by the script. Iproduction designers rely on color, tone and texture to Encourage your students to “see” the architectural help realize their vision. Often the main characters in a components of production design by studying photos script are assigned color and fabric palettes.When or paintings by artists like Vermeer and Giotto and choosing a palette, designers consider the characters’ emotional journey as well as their social and cultural separate . In the past, special effects, such background.The chosen colors may show up in the as miniatures and matte paintings, were also in the characters’ costumes, in the props they use, or in the décor of production designer’s domain.As effects became more their habitat. Colors can have culturally specific symbolic complicated, with computerized images and other meaning. In Western cultures, for example, red usually denotes technical innovations, independent special effects danger; white denotes purity. In the Chinese culture, white is departments evolved. the color of death, and red signifies happiness and health. For most production designers, the collaborative Colors can hint at the emotions or states of mind of a process begins with , sketches and models. character.As used in the story sequences in A Little Princess Storyboards are drawn on panels and depict in continuity (1995), for example, the bright oranges and purples, when the main action of a film scene or sequence. Have your contrasted with the grays and browns of the rest of the students study set sketches from Pleasantville and compare movie, suggest the happiness in Sara’s past. Certain colors them to the final film.Then have them create their own can even suggest physical states.To bring out the theme of or set sketches for a story that they have read drought in the script of Chinatown (1974), production in class. Finally, ask them to view one of the films designer chose white buildings for many of nominated this year for art direction and analyze it in his locations, because “white makes you feel hotter.” terms of how its architectural elements, set decoration Color tones and shading are also important in art and color contributed to the story. direction. Saturated, deep colors convey a sense of Each year, the produces an array of seriousness and intensity, while bright colors suggest outstanding new releases. Some are appropriate for lightness and delicacy. Black-and-white photography families, some are appealing to teens, and some are geared reproduces the world exclusively in tones of black, gray toward adult audiences. If you or the parents of your and white.Therefore, a production designer working on a students feel that some, or even all, of this year’s nominees black-and-white film must be aware of how the colors of might be inappropriate for viewing by young people, you his or her set are going to translate into those tones. can modify this activity in several ways.They can view The texture of a wall, prop, furniture piece or costume Academy Award nominees and Academy Award-winning is another tool of the production designer.Along with films from past years to complete the exercises.A list of color, the choice of materials can add to the overall design some past nominees and winners appears at the beginning concept. For William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet,for of this teacher’s guide. example, production and costume designer Catherine Martin separated the Capulet and Montegue families Resources through choices of color, pattern and texture. She selected dark reds and blacks and fabrics like leather and denim for For more information about art direction and the the Capulet family, and bright-colored Hawaiian shirt Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, visit patterns for the rival Montegues. these Web sites: To illustrate how colors affect how we view a film, have • http://www.artdirectors.org your students observe and describe places in their • http://www.oscars.org everyday world in terms of color.Ask them how the • http://www.oscars.com colors of their classroom, bedroom, doctor’s office, etc., Additional Resources make them feel.Then have them write a scene set in their school or neighborhood and describe what colors and Art Direction for Film & Video, by Robert L. Olson. textures they might use to heighten the drama. Woburn, MA: Focal Press, 1998. By Design: Interviews with Film Production Designers, Supplementary Activity: Have students by Vincent Lobrutto.Westport, CT: Praeger Pub pick a favorite novel and devise palettes for the main Text,1992. characters. Palettes may be done as a collage or a chart, but How Movies Work, by Bruce F. Kawin. Berkeley, CA: should include color chips and fabric swatches from local University of California Press, 1992. paint or fabric stores.Ask students to explain how their Production Design & Art Direction, by Peter Ettedgui. palettes connect to the story’s characters and development. Woburn, MA: Focal Press, 1999. Setting the Scene:The Great Hollywood Art Directors,by Activity 4 Robert S. Sennett. New York: Harry N.Abrams, Inc., 1994. LEARNING from the BEST What an Art Director Does:An Introduction to Motion ow production designers operate depends in large Picture Design, by Ward Preston. Hollywood, CA: Hpart on the director, the budget and other practical Silman-James Press, 1994. constraints. Budgets, for example, can determine how many scenes will be shot on location. Art departments have two main divisions.The first ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES focuses on the drawing board, where sets are designed and Youth Media International Ltd. blueprints produced.The second division deals with P.O. Box 305 Easton, CT 06612 (203) 459-1562 furnishings, costumes and props.The production designer www.youthmedia.com oversees both divisions, although most films employ a ©2003 YMI Ltd. CREATING Activity1 Reproducible Master the LOOK

roduction designers are responsible for the overall look of also consider how the cam- Pa film, including decisions about overall style, set design and era is going to be used in a construction, location selection, and set decoration. Many pro- given set or location. Is the duction designers begin their careers studying or camera going to be moving theater design. Understanding fundamental design concepts, all through the space at eye such as an architect might learn, is vital to effective art direc- level, for instance, or looking tion.Along with the basic shape, designers must decide on the down at a single, fixed angle? volume, or size, of their space, as well as its depth.The design- How will the set or location be lit? Natural light from the er must also decide if the space is going to be realistic or styl- west? Artificial overhead light? ized. In the movie Babe, for example, hyper-realistic spaces From a magazine, book or the Internet, select a photograph were used to enhance the fairytale quality of the story.As with or painting that contains a room that is visually striking. a painting, a set’s depth can be enhanced through perspective. Consider the following questions:What is the first thing you Adding windows and doors, for instance, can increase the notice about the room? What is its overall shape and size? Are sense of depth. Scale (or the relative size of objects) can be the elements within the space in proportion to one another? manipulated for emotional effect. In The Secret Garden, Stuart Is the space shallow or deep? If there are windows and doors, Craig made the mansion sets huge in proportion to the girl to how do they function in the set? Basically, how does the space emphasize her feeling of powerlessness. Production designers help the filmmaker tell the story?

Name or general description of painting or photograph: Where is the camera in the scene? ______

Artist:______Is it moving or fixed?______

Describe the architectural elements of the room—shape, Do you think that the scene was set in a real location or a volume, scale, depth—and suggest how they work together to space constructed for the film? Why? create a feeling about the space: ______Now imagine the scene in a different setting. Describe the new architectural elements:

Pick an indoor scene from a film that was recognized for ______achievement in art direction.As you watch the scene, try to ______focus on the architectural elements of the art direction and ______their relation to the camera. How do your changes affect the way the camera moves in Title of film: ______the scene? The scene I will observe is: ______

Describe the set’s architectural elements: Architectural Elements of Set Design Perspective: ______The way things look from a given point according to their size, shape, distance, etc. ______Scale: The apparent size of a represented object in ______proportion to the actual size of that object Volume: The amount of space inside something ______

© 2003 YMI Ltd. SETTING Activity2 Reproducible Master the STAGE et decorations—the props and furnishings that fill out a set or loca- Stion—are key elements of production design.They include not only fur- niture and its accessories, but paint color, wall hangings, greenery and food items as well.The décor of a room is its overall style and is suggested pri- marily by the furniture. Common décors include modern, traditional, rustic and European, but the décor of a specific set may be more haphazard or mixed. Set decoration conveys valuable information about a script’s charac- ters and helps tell the story visually. Consider, for example, a scene set in a lawyer’s office.The décor of the office is ultra-modern and hints at success. We wouldn’t be surprised to find a wall of hardbound law books there, but if we noticed dust on all the books, we might assume they weren’t getting much use, or cleaning. Chinese takeout cartons and an electric shaver on the lawyer’s desk, a toothbrush and toothpaste on his filing cabinet and a blanket on the couch tell us the office doubles as a living space.A desk cal- escribe four props in the room related to endar with a lot of blank space suggests business is slow. Dyour character and explain how those items suggest your character’s occupation, hob- bies and tastes:

1. ______2. ______3. ______4. ______

Taken together, these set details describe not a successful lawyer, but one Share your room details with a classmate. who has no clients and has to live in his office to make ends meet. Based only on these details, have your class- Sometimes details like these are mentioned in the script, but often they are mate guess the sex, personality, occupation and added by the production designer.As production designer social background of your character. ( trilogy, The Outsiders) notes,“Whether it’s a period or a contemporary story, one should always think about what possessions char- Now, using your props, create some action for acters might have in their environment.” your character in that room. Describe what your character is doing and imagine how your set enhances the story: Invent a character or pick one from a favorite novel. Imagine a room (bedroom, living room, office, etc.) that your charac- ______ter might spend time in.What type of room is it? ______Describe the décor, or style, of the room. Is it funky? Conservative? Is it cluttered or sparsely furnished? Neat or Elements of Set Decoration: messy? Are the walls bare or covered? Décor: Style or mode of decoration, as of a room, building, or the like ______Prop or property: Object used by an ______actor or displayed as part of a set ______

© 2003 YMI Ltd. COLOR Activity3 Reproducible Master and TEXTURE n addition to architectural elements and set decoration, pro- on him. Designers also think in terms of tone—how light or Iduction designers rely on color and texture to realize their dark, bright or dull each color will be.Although more subtle vision. Often designers devise color and fabric palettes for the than color, textures, such as you might find in fabrics, can also main characters in a script. Palettes include fabric swatches and enhance storytelling. Coarse fabrics, such as burlap or canvas, color chips and are usually displayed might correspond to a rough character.A room filled with on a board. Colors can reflect smooth, shiny objects, like mir- the social and cultural back- rors and stainless steel appli- ground of a character, as well as ances, might suggest a reflective, his or her personality.A charac- bright personality. ter who always dresses in grays The fantasy picture and browns, for instance, is Pleasantville (1998), in which two most likely serious and conserv- 1990s teenagers are transported ative. Colors can also be used inside a black-and-white 1950s to emphasize themes and , demonstrates moods in a story.A set decorat- the complexity of color in art ed all in red might heighten the direction.As the modern-day violence of a story, while a teenagers alter the dull, pre- white set might underscore a dictable 1950s television world, theme of purity and innocence. the black-and-white environment Sometimes colors work by gradually takes on color. directing the viewer’s eye towards a particular spot in the Production designer Jeannine Claudia Oppewall had to decide frame. In early Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies, Fred which objects or actors in each scene should be “colored.” The Astaire used to be dressed in a brighter white shirt than the first object to take on color was a single red rose. In the chorus dancers so that the audience would immediately focus scene, red represented physical passion.

magine your classroom entirely in black and white. List which What were the outstanding colors of each location? Iobjects you would color and how you would color them, to 1 . ______show the following: 2 . ______Anger:______3 . ______Joy: ______

Sadness:______Based on the colors you listed above, Strength:______describe what types of scenes (love scene, fight, chase, etc.) might be played in these What textures do you see in your classroom? locations and why: ______1 . ______2 . ______Scout your school or neighborhood and select three spots for location shooting, giving special attention to color. 3 . ______The locations I chose were: 1.______2. ______Elements of Color and Texture: 3. ______Palette: A range of colors used for a particular purpose Texture: The visual and tactile quality of a surface Tone: A tint or shade; hue

© 2003 YMI Ltd. Activity LEARNING from 4 Reproducible Master the BEST toryboards are a chronological layout of sketches or photographs that outline the main Saction of a film scene or sequence.They provide information about the physical require- ments of a particular set or location as well as an outline for the action in the shot. A sto- n the previous activities, we ryboard sketch indicates not only which characters are in a shot and their general locale, Ilearned about the many ways but camera angles, movement and framing as well. In addition to storyboards, production in which art direction, as envi- designers use detailed sketches in creating their sets.The sketches are turned into blue- sioned by production designers, prints and given to construction crews to realize. Models of sets, built to scale, help the can help tell a visually stimulat- filmmakers visualize the three-dimensional space in which they will be working. ing story. Now it’s time to look Below are storyboard sketches from Pleasantville, designed by Jeannine Claudia Oppewall. at the films that were nominat- As a class, compare the sketches to stills of the set from the finished film: ed for art direction this year.

List the nominees for best art direction in the space below: 1. ______2. ______3. ______4. ______5. ______

Pick one film that you would like to see from the list of nomi- nees.As you watch, think about how the film uses architectural elements, set decoration and color to enhance the story. After viewing the film, describe why you think the Academy chose to recognize the art direction in that film nomination and whether it was or was not appropriate. ______Now using the scene you wrote in Activity 2, draw your own storyboard on the back of ______this sheet, indicating what the viewer will see in the first eight shots. In addition to your ______character, be sure to include as many details of your set as possible. ______

© 2003 YMI Ltd.