I researched on the internet and found
a one-week course at CSM called Set Design for Film and Television
that sounded interesting. I gathered more information, and decided to
go for it. The course was run by Clara Zita, who has a lot of
experience in designing for both film and television productions.
The days were split in mornings and
afternoons, three hours each. The first day Clara gave us a general
introduction of set design and the hierarchical structure of a film
art department. This was really helpful as I was always confused
about who did what, when it comes to designing in a film. She also
told us how the course was scheduled: the first part would focus on
production design for television, and during the second part we would
concentrate on set design for film. We were told we would do model
making and drawing, as well as looking at the technical side of the
design.
On the second lesson, she told us more
about designing for television shows, her experience in this sector,
an introduction about the health and safety side and the technical
side. Then we were given the brief: designing a new stage for the
Jonathan Ross show, inspired by a nightclub. We had to produce a
model and explain our choices. In the afternoon we started
researching and thinking of ideas to show her the day after. I did
some research and as many of Jonathan Ross' guests are from the film
industry, I decided of having a curtain-like wall at the back of the
stage. I made a few sketches to show Clara.
On the third day she explained us a
few things about how a stage should be structured and what we had to
focus on when designing it. Then she looked at each of our designs
and gave us suggestions on what we should change. When I arrived in
the morning and we were told to design the plan, I had no idea what I
was doing, but it was reassuring to find out that most of my
classmates did not either. In the afternoon she gave us an
introduction on model making. This was not necessarily helpful to me
as I have already some experience in model making. At the end of the
lesson we were given the script of a TV series to read to prepare for
the second part of the course.
The beginning...
Unfortunately on the fourth day Clara
did not feel well, so we only had the morning session. In the morning
she explained us how to read a script from a set design point of view
and what we should be looking at when designing. We did not have
lesson in the afternoon so I worked some more on the model as I
wanted to have it done for the day after. This model gave me the
chance to experiment with materials I had never used before, like
clay. As I mentioned in some of my previous posts, I have been
interested in ceramics for the past few months, so even though I did
not get to use real clay (I used DAS), this was still a good
experience.
First version of the model
I made a first version of the model,
but I was not happy with it. I had to rush since I wanted to present
something on the last day, but I was already planning on changing it
completely. I picked it up a couple of days later and changed the
colour of the back wall to a dark magenta/red. Then I decided to add
something to create a contrast with the curtain wall on the back, so
I covered the left wall with layers of wooden tiles. I have not
finished the model yet as I want to keep it to experiment different
things whenever I come up with new ideas. On the last day we all
presented our models, but there was another teacher replacing Clara,
so we missed out quite a bit.
These is the latest version of the model. I am still working on it, the plan is to add lighting from the bottom of the curtain wall and the wood dices wall.
At first I was a bit skeptical knowing
that the course would have been about television design as well,
because that was not an area I was necessarily interested in. But at
the end of the course, I liked that part the most. Although probably
one of the reasons is that we did not go very much in depth when it
came to the set design for film part. After the course I do have
clearer ideas on what set design is, but I have not yet made a
decision on whether that is what I want to do. Clara suggested us
some courses and some books to read. She also gave us her email and
told us to email her if we have any questions.
It was also really interesting to see
the new CSM location, I do think it is really beautiful and lively.
There is a very good food market nearby and one day I got to see a
dance performance right in front of the entrance. King's Cross seems
like a great location for an art university as it is constantly
growing.
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