BBBS Production Design

In our Monday Film Class, we spent the last two sessions discussing production design, examining the importance of sets and set dressing (everything on a set) in helping to tell a story. In all films, production design is a key element. The various films Harmony recently filmed in conjunction with the Big Brothers Big Sisters are not an exception to this.

Whereas Hollywood films often design everything from scratch, we had to simply redress the two rooms we ha available at Harmony using items we already had or could purchase quite cheaply. I have to admit I enjoy this process, and am proud of the sets we came up with.

I took some photos on set for continuity purposes (so that I could make sure the set looked the same when we returned to it a week later). I'll post them here.

For Rocket Science, the back room had to become a science laboratory:

Black posterboard simulates chalkboard, complete with fake formulas and equations.

This character's workspace was supposed to emphasize that she is very analytical, neat and organized:

This the Chemist's workspace:

A Chemistry Set I was given as a child. I'm ashamed to say this is really the first time I've used it for anything.

Up close, it becomes apparent that this is mostly old pharmacy bottles and film canisters (remember those?), but from a distance will hopefully look like a shelf full of chemical supplies.

This is the workspace of the Theoretical Physicist. He is not as neat as his colleagues:

In A Night at the Theatre, the same room functioned as a restaurant kitchen:

And a backstage dressing room at a vaudeville theater:

For The Princess and the Dragon, we shot much of the film outside or in front of a greenscreen. I am working on backgrounds in Photoshop to insert into the greenscreen area. Here is one I've completed, of a castle:

I combined a photo of a real castle with a 19th century painting of Fort Snelling, so that the tower in the lower left corner matches the scenes we shot outside the real Fort Snelling:

Monday Film Class 11/4: Production Design

One of the subjects we talked about yesterday was Production Design. The Production Designer/ Art Director is responsible for the look of the sets, props and (working with costume designer) costumes. I tried to emphasize that sets and set dressing (all of the stuff on a set) can tell a story, all on their own. Sets often add a layer of depth to the story that is on the page, hinting at more of the world and characters that exist in the movie.

We did an activity inspired by the Syfy show Hot Set, in which set designers compete. I will probably show an excerpt from the show next week. On that show, the contestants are given $15,000 to build a set. Not having those kind if resources, we built our sets out of Legos.

We broke into two teams. The challenge was simple: working together as a group, using the legos provided, build a set that tells a story in fifteen minutes. I then asked one person from each group to present their set to the class and describe each element.

I hoped that this would get everyone thinking at least a bit about how design can help tell a story. However, the most important aspect of this activity in my opinion is that it require working together as a team. Film is often called the most collaborative of arts, and practicing working creatively with others is the most important skill anyone interested in film can develop.

I was quite impressed with what everybody came up with. Both teams did a fantastic job. Here are photos of each team's sets, labeled as best as I could:

Team 1 (Alice, Ari, Jayneishia, John, Lily): "Spaceship Launch Pad"

Here is the launchpad for a brand-new spacecraft.

This is the hallway that the astronauts walk down on their way to entering the spacecraft.

The top of the spacecraft.

The spacecraft's landing gear.

The spacecraft is built by the Brains Corporation (note their "B' logo). The heads on the ground represent a crowd watching the launch.

Team 2 (Daniel G., Daniel L., Lucas, Oscar):  "Orc Attack"

This set represents a boat dock that has become overrun by orcs, who have been frozen by freeze rays from a ship. 

The boat dock, with a ship, and the crowd of swarming Orcs frozen in place. A flag proudly waves overhead

An escape pod to escape from the ship.

The person must not only flee from the Orcs but sharks as well.

The freeze ray gun that froze the Orcs, allowing the person to escape in the pod.

The crowd of Orcs.