Production Design

A production designer is absolutely vital to achieving and maintaining the visual quality of a film. Most European set designers are recruited from the ranks of architecture graduates.

However, a production designer is more than just a set designer. The role is a mix of artist, producer, set designer, and chiefly that of a visionary. Production design is about creating visions based on education and talent. That production designers are often recruited from the ranks of architects, artists, costume designers, or anyone who has an artistic worldview. However, is simply recruiting these individuals enough?

In today’s approach, it’s the answer is unfortunately yes. Production design is a vision born from theory that is not based on the mathematic, physical, or chemical sciences. It’s based on intellect and a broad education. However, in today’s world any one can claim to have these “theories,”

allowing any individual to claim to be an artist, production designer, or even a politician. In order to move forward, it’s necessary to leave this theorizing to those with the proper training.

A production designer in one of the three key creative professions (the key creative triumvirate in making a film are the scriptwriter, director, and production designer) and it would thus deserve its own university curriculum and not just simple recruitment. Other professions such as cinematography, editing, costume design, and music also have their own very important positions, but they are not part of creating the film from the beginning of the process. Their work is based on the vision created beforehand, and then they add their own considerable talent, but they are not part of the main creative process.

This is the situation, and furthermore many local and European bodies that decide about financing are of the same mind. This unfortunately reflects a lack of knowledge about the creative process. It would be a mistake to condemn these people because their ignorance is not their fault.

As was said, European film is based on historical context. In the past, the main artist and visionary was the director. If we compare the use of individual professions in the UK and US with Europe, we can see massive differences. The Anglo-American studio industry includes a myriad of professions that are not represented in the European context where a small team is headed by the director and then the cinematographer. The results of current film production unfortunately reflect these conditions.

Film is chiefly a visual art form, but today it’s lost in a forest of dialogue that lacks high-quality visuals. A film is the sum total of many images and each of these must be able to represent the message; it’s a gallery of scenes complemented by sound that emphasises specific emotions.

Most high-quality films thoroughly consider every image and scene, and it’s rare to see coincidences or needlessly repeated cliches. A film based on these shows the absence of art and it’s merely a chaotic way of ripping off other work, much as if advertising or architecture were based on Pinterest. That is mostly true in European filmmaking, which now recycles instead of its traditional role of presenting visionary artistic works.

As this is the sad state of play, the role of a production designer and the entire art department are absolutely necessary in European filmmaking to maintain the visual quality, as well as its content.

Experience has proven that any sort of film, even those that appear to be simple, require a coordinator of the film’s visual appearance. Simplicity is often more complicated than just a pastiche. A scene taking place in today’s world cannot be simply transposed to the screen. Every individual sees reality a bit differently, and so each story is understood differently. The same bus stop or sidewalk can create different emotional reactions in different people: A scene of happiness and contentment at the bus stop will look differently than a dramatic moment taking place during or even before a tense moment at the stop. If film is to remain a visual art, the art department and everything associated with it cannot be separated from the creation of the film.

The art department is one of the most important parts of the film.