OUGD601 - Research: Production Design & Art Direction: Screencraft

In this book Peter Ettedgui interviews various production designers who have had an impact on contemporary cinema. In his introduction he discusses the role of the production designer and a little on the history of its role in film. He discusses the title of production designer being uncertain which is a popular opinion amongst readings I have already read. Ettedgui explains that the role of production designer is just as important as every other aspect of film to bring the emotion and mood to the film. However it is not often recognised as much as the role of the director, or the cinematographer. 

'The role played by design is less tangible, as Richard Sylbert, perhaps the most influential of contemporary American designers, acknowledges: "If someone says 'cinematographer,' you think, oh yeah, that's the guy who does the camerawork. 'Costume designer' - that's also easy to define. But what is a 'production designer'? It's a title searching for a definition."' Ettedgui, 1999, 7

Early examples of cinema would use painted scenery with the camera in one position, however in 1908 the camera was placed in the action which became a trend in cinema making the production of realistic settings in more demand. After World War II, Italian Neorealism saw filmmakers filming in real life locations. This opened up even more opportunity for production design and is the transition where art directors started to become known as production designers. Many production designers consider the themes of the films when considering the setting and construction of a film. 

‘[Patrizia] von Brandenstein’s design process is concerned with distilling a visual concept from the screenplay's thematic, emotional and psychological concerns.' Ettedgui, 1999, 9

One of the production designers Ettedgui interviews is Dean Tavoularis who worked on Appocalypse Now (1979) and the Godfather trilogy (1972-1990). His process when planning the setting of a film involves the consideration of how he can combine the use of space and colour.

'I studied fine architecture and fine art. The former taught me how to think in terms of the volume of space; the latter taught me how to use colour. Volume and colour are my key raw materials when i'm thinking about how to create a sense of atmosphere in a film.' Tavoularis, 1999, 63

Ben Van Os, another interviewed production designer, also considers the use of colour to symbolically represent the story of the film. When working on The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989) he talks about working with director Peter Greenaway.

'Peter applies colour symbolically (he cannot work without symbols!), but it can also be used to structure a film visually.' Os, 1999, 159 

This reading has helped to further solidify the evidence that production designers consider the use of colour dramatically when designing for the screen, however it will be a good chance now to consider more of how production design has an impact on other areas of graphic design.