Introduction
Introduction to Production Design
Search this guide as a starting point for your research into Production Design.
All books
Production Design: Architects of the Screen by Call Number: 791.43025/31Publication Date: 2004Barnwell explores the role of the production designer through a historical overview that maps out landmark film and television designs. From the familiar to the elaborate, from the disorientating to the hyper-real, this book investigates props, colours and materials. The design codes of period drama are examined and contrasted with the more playful productions of the past, and distinctive contemporary looks are discussed, with key examples ranging from musicals of the 1930s to cult films of the 1990s. The book also includes interviews with leading production designers.
The Visual Story: Creating Visual Structure in Film, Television, and New Media by Call Number: 778.5/8 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2008Now in full color for the first time, The Visual Story offers a clear view of the relationship between script structure and visual structure in film, video, animation and video games. Learn visual vocabulary from an expert, allowing cinematographers, directors, designers and editors to communicate moods and emotions more effectively, strengthening the overall story. This guide divides screen visuals into tangible sections: contrast and affinity; space, line and shape; movement and rhythm; and tone and colour.
Art Direction and Production Design by Call Number: 791.43025/48Publication Date: 2015Six scholars survey the careers of notable art directors, the influence of specific design styles, the key roles played by particular studios and films in shaping the field, the effect of technological changes on production design, and the shifts in industrial modes of organisation. A great historical review that provides insight into how the look of a film is achieved.
Filmcraft: Production Design by Call Number: 791.43025/44Publication Date: 2012Production designers are artistic masters in their own right. They are responsible for the look? of a movie; joining productions at an early stage, they coordinate costume design, special effects, set design, make-up, and location scouting to ensure a unified visual appearance. In Production Design, 16 production designers share their insights, anecdotes, and technical achievements, through a series of exclusive interviews. Fascinating for both film fans and practitioners, this book is the perfect companion for anyone who wants to learn about the craft of some of the greatest film artists of our time.
Movie Worlds: Production Design in Film by Call Number: 791.43025/42Publication Date: 2000This book takes up the cause for art in film. It provides a concise overview of the past and future of production design for cinema. The book compares and contrasts case studies from television, commercials and film, explaining how effects were achieved.
What an Art Director Does: An Introduction to Motion Picture Production Design by Call Number: 791.43025/16Publication Date: 1994An oldie but a goodie, this book contains a wealth of information from Preston's experiences in the film industry. Starting with a brief history of art direction and production design, the book walks through the responsibilities that fall on the art director's shoulders. It includes information on preparing script breakdowns; research; design and presentation; scouting and working on locations; and set design and construction.
The Art Direction Handbook for Film & Television by Call Number: 791.43025/32 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2014In the second edition of his essential handbook, author Michael Rizzo has included art direction for television, in addition to updated coverage of film design. This comprehensive, professional manual details the set-up of the art department and the day-to-day duties: scouting for locations, research, executing the design concept, supervising scenery construction, and surviving production. Rounding out the text is an extensive collection of forms and checklists, as well as interviews with prominent art directors.
Designing for Screen: Production Design and Art Direction Explained by Call Number: 791.43025/46Publication Date: 2012This book explains how to approach design, whether for film, television or commercials, and introduces the techniques needed to make ideas happen. Shorter runs through the roles of the design team, talks about extracting design information from a script, and shows how to support a story by identifying and designing to its key themes. The book also discusses how and where to research and illustrate ideas; the importance of images, colour, texture and space; and preparing drawings and models.
Designer Drafting and Visualizing for the Entertainment World by Call Number: 792.025/36 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2012Drawing on designs from real Hollywood and Broadway blockbusters, this book provides the basic tools and principles of scenic drafting and rendering, beginning with pencil drafting and culminating with information on CAD drafting, digital 3D modelling, digital and hand/digital rendering, and digital graphics for sets.
If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling for Film by Call Number: 791.43025/34Publication Date: 2005A must-read book for all film students and professionals, this assist filmmakers in making colour selections for their films, discussing emotions evoked by certain colour palates. Guided by 25 years of research on the effects of colour on behaviour, Bellantoni groups more than 60 films under the spheres of influence of six major colors.
Cinema and Landscape by Call Number: 791.4362/4Publication Date: 2010Cinema and Landscape frames contemporary film landscapes across the world, in an exploration of screen aesthetics, national ideology and human environments. Written by cinema scholars, this volume builds on existing fields in film studies and extends into the humanities and social sciences.
Visualizing the City by Call Number: 307.76/5Publication Date: 2008This anthology presents a range of interdisciplinary explorations into urban environments, through film, photography, digital imagery, maps and signage. Contributors examine the history of art and architecture, urban studies, environmental studies, cultural geography and screen studies. These essays explore visual representations of urbanism and modernity around the world.
Landscape Allegory in Cinema: From Wilderness to Wasteland by Call Number: 791.4362/6Publication Date: 2010This study seeks to understand the form of cinematic space referred to as 'the landscape of the mind,' in which natural, outdoor settings serve as outward manifestations of characters' inner subjective states.
The Architecture of Image: Existential Space in Cinema by Call Number: 791.43025/30Publication Date: 2001This book explores the shared ground of cinema, art and architecture, examining how Hitchcock, Kubrick, Antonioni and Tarkovsky used architectural imagery to create emotional states in their movies. Pallasmaa also explores the startling similarities between the landscapes of painting and those of movies.
Learning from Hollywood: Architecture and Film by Call Number: 791.43025/20 (2nd ed.)Publication Date: 2010In cinema, architecture of houses, streets and towns is not just a problem of order, function and economic viability, but also psychology and atmosphere. This book discusses how architecture is designed in movies to create moods, together with the help of the cinematographer.
Translated by Michael Robinson.
The Art of Mad Max Fury Road by
Call Number: 791.4372/MAD/5Publication Date: 2015An eye-popping book rich with behind-the-scenes details, concept art and on-set photography. Gain insight into how the look of this movie was created, from the Namibian desert sets to the concept art of The Citadel. It walks through the journey to the big screen, from drawings to storyboards to photos. Includes a foreword by director George Miller and afterword by screenwriter Brendan McCarthy.
Screencraft: Production Design & Art Direction by Call Number: 791.43025/25Publication Date: 2000Sixteen of the world's greatest production designers discuss their craft, revealing the creative process which led to the look of their memorable films. The book is densely illustrated with drawings, scripts, storyboards, models and film stills, to illuminate what is discussed in the interviews.
The 2001 File: Harry Lange and the Design of the Landmark Science Fiction Film by Call Number: 791.4372/TWO/10Publication Date: 2015Art director Lange's strikingly realistic designs for Kubrick's science fiction classic created an extraordinary vision of the future. Furnished with never before published material, this book is about the process as well as the finished product. It also provides insight into the relationship between the design team and the director.
Ken Adam: The Art of Production Design by Call Number: 791.43025/ADAM/1Publication Date: 2005Production designer Ken Adam (James Bond films, Dr. Strangelove, The Madness Of King George) explains his contribution to the art of cinema. In a career-length interview with Frayling, he discusses his life, and the artistic and cinematic influences on his work.
H. R. Giger's Film Design by Call Number: F791.43025/GIGE/1Publication Date: 1996Explore the twisted settings and biomechanical bodies of Swiss surrealist HR Giger, probably best known for creating the 'look' of Alien. Showcasing the monstrous and macabre, this overview of Giger's film career is packed with concept art, biographical info and reflections on Giger's designs from the artist himself and from his colleagues.
The Art and Soul of Blade Runner 2049 by Call Number: 791.4372/BLAD 1/1Publication Date: 2017Chronicling the entire 2 year production, Lapointe provides unprecedented access to the design process. Features concept art, storyboards, behind-the-scenes photography and production stills, accompanied by insights from the cast and crew. Foreword by director Denis Villeneuve.
