Scenic design

Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, set design or production design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained professionals, holding a B.F.A. or M.F.A. degrees in theater arts. Scenic designers design sets and scenery that aim to fully immerse the viewer in the production.

Scenic designer

A designer looks at the details searching for evidence through research to produce conceptual ideas that’s best toward supporting the content and values with visual elements. The subject of, “How do we generate creative ideas?” is a very legitimate question. The most consuming part of expanding our horizons toward scenic concepts is much more than witnessing creativity, and creative people. It starts with us opening our mind to the possibilities. To have an attitude toward learning, seeking, and engaging in creativity and to be willing to be adventurous, inquisitive and curious. Our imagination is highly visual. Whether outside or inside, colorful trees or concerts, star lit skies or the architecture of a great building, scenic design is a process of discovery. Discovering what will best clarify and support the story being told.

Design

Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system (as in architectural blueprints, engineering drawings, business processes, circuit diagrams and sewing patterns). Design has different connotations in different fields (see design disciplines below). In some cases the direct construction of an object (as in pottery, engineering, management, cowboy coding and graphic design) is also considered to be design.

Designing often necessitates considering the aesthetic, functional, economic and sociopolitical dimensions of both the design object and design process. It may involve considerable research, thought, modeling, interactive adjustment, and re-design. Meanwhile, diverse kinds of objects may be designed, including clothing, graphical user interfaces, skyscrapers, corporate identities, business processes and even methods of designing.

Thus "design" may be a substantive referring to a categorical abstraction of a created thing or things (the design of something), or a verb for the process of creation, as is made clear by grammatical context.

Production designer

In film and television, a production designer or P.D is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as a TV program, video game, music video, or advertisement. Production designers have a key creative role in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the director and producer, they must select the settings and style to visually tell the story. The term "production designer" was coined by William Cameron Menzies while he was working on the film Gone with the Wind. Previously (and often subsequently) the people with the same responsibilities were called "art directors".

Societies and trade organizations

In the United States and Europe as well as Mexico, production designers are represented by IATSE local 800; the Art Directors Guild. The production design credit must be requested by the producer, prior to completion of photography, and submitted to the Art Directors Guild Board of Directors for the credit approval. In Canada, production designers are represented by the Director's Guild of Canada, except in British Columbia where they are represented by IATSE.