WHO IS THE ART DEPARTMENT? (In the Entertainment industry.)

Art Department / Photo Credit: Robyn Coburn Resume Review

WHO IS THE ART DEPARTMENT? (In the Entertainment industry.)

Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.

WHO IS THE ART DEPARTMENT?

As you will see from the following roles the Art Department can be the largest below the line department in production. A films budget will dictate how many of these positions are available on any given project, but on a film with a large budget you can expect to find the following positions in Art Department, which includes set design and construction:

Art Department:

Production designer: In charge of the department and one of the first members of the crew to be appointed in pre-production by the director.

Supervising art director: If working on a big budget production a supervisor will be needed to handle the budget, schedule, liaise between Art Departments (set construction) and production office, they are involved in all aspects of logistical operations.

Art director(s): Depending on the scale of the production you can find the positions of senior art director, art director(s) and assistant art director. If working with on a big budget production, the art directors will be responsible for individual sets, within the three structures of seniority. On more modest productions art directors assimilate the role of supervisors and become project managers, taking on the managerial and project management of the individual sets. Art directors are also present on set when the production enters principal photography, acting as the liaison between the department and the production designer. 

Concept artists: Work within pre-production to aid the pre-visualization process. They bridge the gap between the VFX team and the Art Department, creating wireframe computer generated images that represent the virtual world within the film. 

Storyboard artist: Work in close collaboration with the director sketching out each scene of the movie that is used as reference material for the rest of the departments. Even though shots can change at the last minute, visually understand what the director requires is essential during production.

Draftsmen (set designer US): Depending on the scale of the production there will be senior draftsmen, draftsmen and junior draftsmen employed to work on the technical drawings that enable the construction crew to do their job.

Art Department coordinator: The coordinator role is found in large scale productions, and they are responsible for ordering materials, passing on documentation, monitoring expenditure, and consumables, liaising with the production office, call times and communications throughout the department.

Art Department assistant: On a low to medium budget production the role of assistant will also be the trainee position of the department, carrying out all the responsibilities outlined here. One big budget films assistants can model making, drafting, surveying and using Photoshop and Illustrator software.

Set Design:

Set decorator(s): The set decorator (set designer US) is the production designers key ally when approaching a project, just as the art department construct the world the characters inhabit the set decorators fill the world with the everyday items we find all around us. They work with the production designer on the overall look of the film and pay particular attention to color, texture and light when dressing the sets. They are responsible for the dressing of each set, (whether location or studio) with the set decorator taking responsibility for the department. On large scale productions, there are usually assistant set decorators also.

Property master (Props): Responsible for renting, making or buying in props for the production.

Production buyer: Working with the property master, production buyers will do the footwork and source the props needed from rental houses, shops, flea markets etc.

Set decoration coordinator: Found on higher end productions the coordinator for set decoration will be ordering materials, passing on documentation, monitoring expenditure, and consumables, liaising with the production office, call times and communications throughout the department.

Graphic designer: Working with the props master and maker, graphic artists work on any prop that requires text, such as documentation, newspapers, maps, books, menus, shop signage etc. They will also be responsible for any of the hero props used in the film if graphics are involved. Graphic artists will make sure there is one prop for close ups but a few identical props for everyday use, reserving the best one for its close up.  

Prop makers: On a big budget certain props that are hard to come by can be made by skilled craftsmen and women. If the film is set during a specific period the budget will contain enough money to craft these items in-house.

Construction manager: Working closely with the production designer, draftsmen and the art directors, the construction manager is responsible for set building and the large workforce needed to make sets for feature films.

Construction coordinator: Liaising with the other departments the coordinator takes on the responsibilities such as ordering materials, passing on documentation, monitoring expenditure, consumables, liaising with the production office, call times and communications throughout the department.

Carpenters: Carpenters on film productions are key members of the construction team, and they must be very skilled at their craft.  Reporting to the Chargehand Carpenter, they build, install and remove wooden structures on film sets and locations, and also make wooden props, furniture and scenic equipment.  The role requires extensive carpentry experience and creative skills, as well as the ability to work to deadlines, and under pressure.

Scenic painters: Scenic painters work under the direction of the set designer and scenic charge artist to paint sets, backdrops, and some props for stage productions. If the design calls for it, the painters also are responsible for the application of certain finishing materials. While the carpenters are constructing sets, the crew of scenic painters meets with the charge artist to discuss the designs and determine assignments for which artists will work on certain pieces.

Scenic artist: Scenic Artists are usually briefed by the production designer and/or the charge hand painter to produce one or several scenic works for films, such as cloud backdrops, or the backdrop of a city such as New York or London, which is to be viewed out of a set window.

Plasterers: If working on period films they can recreate a specific molding within a set, as well as giving the sets their authenticity.

Sculptures: Create sculptural reproductions and models for television and film.

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, How Stuff Works, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Bright Hub, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety, Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite, Realty 101, Liberty Me, Careers Hub, Sokanu, Raindance, Film Connection, My Job Search, Prospects,

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Art Department / Photo Credit: Robyn Coburn Resume Review