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Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
or
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained professionals, holding B.F.A. or M.F.A. degrees in theatre arts. Scenic designers create
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
s and scenery that aim to support the overall artistic goals of the production. There has been some consideration that scenic design is also production design; however, it is generally considered to be a part of the visual production of a film or television.


Scenic designer

The scenic designer works with the director and other designers to establish an overall visual concept for the production and design the stage environment. They are responsible for developing a complete set of design drawings that include the following: *''basic ground plan'' showing all stationary and scenic elements; *''composite ground plan'' showing all moving scenic elements, indicating both their onstage and storage positions; *section of the stage space incorporating all elements; *''front elevations'' of every ''scenic element'', and additional elevations or sections of units as required. All of these required drawing elements can be easily created from one accurate 3-D CAD model of the set design." In the process of planning, scenic designers often make models, ranging from very basic to extremely complex models. Models are often made before the final drawings that are delivered to the scene shop for construction. The starting point for a scenic designer is often the question: "How do we generate creative ideas?" A designer will search for evidence through research to produce conceptual ideas that best support the content and values of the design with visual elements. It has been argued that the most consuming part of expanding our horizons towards scenic concepts is much more than witnessing creativity and creative people - it begins with us opening our mind to various possibilities. It has been argued that to have an attitude toward learning, seeking, and engaging in creativity, and by willing to be adventurous, inquisitive and curious, the process of scenic design will be greatly benefitted. The 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 setting, environment, atmosphere, ambience, & world that is being created.


Responsibility

The scenic designer is responsible for collaborating with the theatre director and other members of the creative team to create an environment for the production. Scenic designers are responsible for creating
scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...
s of the scenery, renderings, paint elevations and scale construction drawings as part of their communication with other production staff. Communicating the details of the scenic environment to the technical director,
production manager In the cinema of the United States, a unit production manager (UPM) is the Directors Guild of America–approved title for the top below-the-line staff position, responsible for the administration of a feature film or television production. Non ...
, charge scenic artist and prop master are among the most important duties of a scenic designer.


Training

In Europe and Australia, scenic designers take a more holistic approach to theatrical design and will often be responsible not only for scenic design but costume, lighting and sound and are referred to as theatre designers or scenographers or production designers.


Notable set designers

Notable scenic designers, past and present, include: Adolphe Appia,
Boris Aronson Boris Aronson (October 15, 1898 – November 16, 1980) was an American scenic designer for Broadway and Yiddish theatre. He won the Tony Award for Scenic Design six times in his career. Biography The son of a Rabbi, Aronson was born in Ki ...
, Alexandre Benois, Alison Chitty, Antony McDonald, Barry Kay, Caspar Neher, Cyro Del Nero, Aleksandra Ekster, David Gallo, Edward Gordon Craig,
Es Devlin Esmeralda "Es" Devlin (; born 24 September 1971) is an English artist and stage designer who works in a range of media, often mapping light and projected film onto kinetic sculptural forms. Early life Devlin was born in Kingston upon Thames, ...
, Ezio Frigerio,
Christopher Gibbs Christopher Henry Gibbs (29 July 1938 – 28 July 2018) was a British antiques dealer and collector who was also an influential figure in men's fashion and interior design in 1960s London. He has been credited with inventing Swinging London, an ...
,
Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...
,
George Tsypin George Tsypin is an American stage designer, sculptor and architect. He was an artistic director, production designer and coauthor of the script for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. Early life and education Tsypin was b ...
, Howard Bay,
Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (; 15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was the first significant architect in England and Wales in the early modern period, and the first to employ Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmetry in his buildings. As the most notable archit ...
, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Jo Mielziner, John Lee Beatty,
Josef Svoboda Josef Svoboda (10 May 1920 – 8 April 2002) was a Czech artist and scenic designer. He was a production designer and director, known for Amadey (1984), Laterna Magika: Puzzles (1996) and Laterna Magika: Trap (1999). Education Svoboda was ...
,
Ken Adam Sir Kenneth Adam (born Klaus Hugo George Fritz Adam; 5 February 1921 – 10 March 2016) was a German-British movie production designer, best known for his set designs for the James Bond films of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as for '' Dr. Stra ...
,
Léon Bakst Léon Bakst (russian: Леон (Лев) Николаевич Бакст, Leon (Lev) Nikolaevich Bakst) – born as Leyb-Khaim Izrailevich (later Samoylovich) Rosenberg, Лейб-Хаим Израилевич (Самойлович) Розенбе ...
, Luciano Damiani, Maria Björnson,
Ming Cho Lee Ming Cho Lee (; October 3, 1930 – October 23, 2020) was a Chinese-American theatrical set designer and professor at the Yale School of Drama. Personal life Lee was born on Oct. 3, 1930, in Shanghai, China to Lee Tsu Fa and Tang Ing. Lee, whose ...
, Natalia Goncharova,
Nathan Altman Nathan Isaiovych Altman (Ukrainian: , transliterated: ''Natan Isaiovych Altman''; – December 12, 1970) was a Russian, Soviet and Ukrainian artist, Cubist painter, stage designer and book illustrator. Early life He was born in Vinnytsia, i ...
, Nicholas Georgiadis, Oliver Smith, Ralph Koltai,
Emanuele Luzzati Emanuele Luzzati (3 June 1921 – 26 January 2007) was an Italian painter, production designer, illustrator, film director and animator. He was nominated for Academy Awards for two of his short films, ''La gazza ladra'' (''The Thieving Magpi ...
, Neil Patel, Robert Wilson, Russell Patterson,
Brian Sidney Bembridge Brian Sidney Bembridge (born 1973) is an American scenic, lighting, and costume designer for theater and film. His work has been seen on stages and screens throughout the country and Internationally in Australia, Germany, Prague, Ireland, and G ...
, Santo Loquasto, Sean Kenny,
Todd Rosenthal Todd Rosenthal is an American scenic designer. He won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's '' August: Osage County''. A native of Longmeadow, Massachu ...
, Robin Wagner, Tony Walton, Louis Daguerre, Ralph Funicello, and Roger Kirk.


See also

*
Film sculptor A film sculptor is employed within the art department of a feature film. Their skills are and can be used to create any number of different things from giant rocks in a landscape or oversized stone blocks cladding the facade of a castle to statuar ...
*
Scenic painting Scenic may refer to: * Scenic design * Scenic painting * Scenic overlook * Scenic railroad (disambiguation) * Scenic route * Scenic, South Dakota, United States * Scenic (horse), a Thoroughbred racehorse Aviation *Airwave Scenic, an Austrian ...
*
Scenographer A scenographer or production designer, develops the appearance of a stage design, a TV or movie set, a gaming environment, a trade fair exhibition design or a museum experience exhibition design. The term originated in theater. A scenographer work ...
* Scenography * Set construction * Stage machinery * Theatrical scenery


References


Further reading

* ''Making the Scene: A History of Stage Design and Technology in Europe and the United States'' by Oscar G. Brockett, Margaret Mitchell, and Linda Hardberger (Tobin Theatre Arts Fund, distributed by University of Texas Press; 2010) 365 pages; traces the history of scene design since the ancient Greeks. * ''Designing and Painting for the Theater'' by Lynn Pecktal. (McGraw-Hill, 1995 - Performing Arts - 601 pages) Detailing production design for theater, opera, and ballet, Designing and Drawing for the Theater is a foundational text that provides a professional picture and encyclopedic reference of the design process. Well illustrated with detailed lined drawings and photographs, the book conveys the beauty and craft of scenic and production design.


External links

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Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space
- the largest scenography event in the world - presenting contemporary work in a variety of performance design disciplines and genres - costume, stage, light, sound design, and theatre architecture for dance, opera, drama, site specific, multi-media performances, and performance art, etc., Prague, CZ

Article illustrating the differences between US and European theatre design practices. {{DEFAULTSORT:Scenic Design Design Theatrical occupations Stagecraft Film production