COURSE TITLE: THEATRE AND FILM SET DESIGN L 2 T 0 P 0 Cr 2

COURSE CODE: ARC 485

CA CATEGORY CA Category of this Course Code is:A0102 (1 best out of 2)
EXAM CATEGORY: ETT Exam Category: 55:

Stage design process (set design &

concept wrap)
 STAGE DESIGN PROCESS

Three – phase creative stage design process:

• Inception
• Action
• Actualization

Three – phase creative stage design process:

A systematic program of inception, action, and
actualization which is applied to scripts in order to
design and produce live theatre productions
consistent with the intentions of the playwright.
 STAGE DESIGN PROCESS
METHODOLOGY
Inception:
The first step was a read A second reading allowed to
through of the script during note in more detail the:
which the designer sought to • Flow of action
discover the intended • Time
message, ideas and theme in • Locale
the play. • Mood of the script.
During the third reading the designer concentrated on the
characters' movements and necessary scenery changes demanded
by the script.
A combination of thematic set, lighting, costumes, music, makeup, and
dramatic action are also considered. Character attitudes and social status
and financial standing, were carefully examined during the Inception Phase.
 STAGE DESIGN PROCESS
Action:
A budget for the production and The designer then produced
schedule of personnel was finished sketches in the form of
completed. frontal elevations and two-
Next, building, painting, lighting dimensional color perspective
and technical rehearsals are done. drawings for the director.

A set of detailed working drawings of all flats, platforms, drops, furniture,

properties, and lighting to be built or hung, were set to a one-quarter
inch scale.
From the working drawings it was possible for the designer to formulate
and budget for goods to be used.
 STAGE DESIGN PROCESS
Actualization:

Aesthetic, or less functional,

detail was added. Set, lighting,
and technical requirements were
completed consistent with the
prescribed schedule and budget in
a timely manner allowing the
actors adequate time to rehearse
on a completed set.
Running crews for props,
lighting, and fly rail were
selected and worked with the
facilities at least one week
before the opening of the play.

A final dress rehearsal was held the night before the opening of the play
to the public.
 STAGE DESIGN PROCESS
CONCLUSION:
This process allows the designer to organize and simplify the creation
and building of the set. Using this step-by-step procedure gives the
set designer a beginning, middle, and end in the design process.

Phase One forces the designer

to consider details in the Second phase translates the
script which might escape work of the Inception phase
notice under the pressure of into diagrams, schedules, and
deadlines and Meetings. budget plans.

Third phase: The blend of script, set, and character action provides
an effective three-dimensional expression of the playwright's story.
THE STEPS A SET DESIGNER TAKES
 THE STEPS A DESIGNER TAKES
RESEARCHE SKILLS:
• Who was/is the author?
• What else did he/she write?
• When did he/she live?
• When was the play/screenplay written?
• What was going on politically, artistically, in fashion,
in theatre, in the world etc.…
• Have there been other productions? What were
they like?
• What’s been written or said about this work?
 THE STEPS A DESIGNER TAKES (continued…)
ANALYZES THE SCRIPT
• Place and Locale
• Time Period
• Themes
• Mood
• Messages, hidden meanings
• Scenic Style
• Social Status of Characters
• Movement of Actors
• Entrances and Exits
• Set/Scene/Location Changes
SCRIPT ANALYSIS:
What does a designer look for when analyzing a script?
• During the second
• The first reading
reading, look for
should introduce
conceptual images and
the designer to the
the dramatic mood. • During the third
story.
• Look for specific reading he should
• Uncover the plays
moments and incidents develop lists of the
given
that stimulate your specific design
circumstances.
imagination and provide requirements.
• Stage directions
you with strong visual • In addition to the
should be
and textural images and script, many of
considered not as
feelings. these ideas will be
the answer to
• Even though these gathered from the
design, rather one
images are random and design meetings or
way that a show can
incomplete, jot them through discussions
be designed.
down. with the director.
• Use the information
• The more you read, the
to synthesize your
more different ideas will
own design concept.
appear.
SCRIPT ANALYSIS:
Below are a few of the questions that need to be answered after reading
the play...
• What happens in the scene?
• What characters are involved?
• What character dominates the action?
• What is the climax (or crisis)?
• What is the setting or location of the scene?
• What is the period of the action?
• What images (metaphors) are suggested by the script? Sights?
Textures? Feelings?
• What is needed to stage the scene? Entrances and Exits? Set
props? Hand props?
• What time of day does the scene take place?
• What are the sources of light?
When analyzing the text, the designer first approaches the script as a
member of the audience, then as the director and finally as the designer.
 THE STEPS A DESIGNER TAKES (continued…)
CREATIVE COLLABORATION:
•Discusses research, analysis, findings and personal opinions on
the work with the director and the other designers.
•Takes Direction from the Director
•Artistic Vision is solidified
•Study the Performance Space
 SET DESIGNER CONSIDERS…
MOOD AND SPIRIT OF THE PLAY
• Mood refers to the dominant emotional
quality of the production.
• Spirit refers to the production
concept—the way the director and
designers have decided the play should
be presented.
• The designer needs to incorporate
some elements that suggest the
emotional characteristics of the play
An intense
tragedy
A gentle romance should have
hard lines,
should use soft
sharp
curves and angles, and
delicate colors dark colors
 SET DESIGNER CONSIDERS…
HISTORICAL PERIOD OF THE PLAY:
• If the design style being used is based in
realism, then period needs to be a
consideration.
• The scenic designer wants to provide
historically accurate visual clues to help
the audience identify the period of the
play.
• Historical research can be looking at actual
pieces from the play’s period OR
researching pictures of those pieces in the
library
• Understanding the general motifs of the
period is most important. You do not have
to duplicate every variation.
 SET DESIGNER CONSIDERS…

LOCALE OF THE PLAY:

When establishing
• If the design style being used is locale in the interior of
based in realism, then locale a building, a designer
needs to be a consideration should take into
• Geography and climate have a consideration the time
significant impact on the design period as well as the
of buildings and their socioeconomic
furnishings background

Decorative properties and floor treatments can

help create a believable environment
 SET DESIGNER CONSIDERS…
SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL AND
PERSONALITY OF THE CHARACTERS:
• Most realistic sets give some
indication of what sort of characters
will inhabit the environment of the
play A living room decorated with
inexpensive yet tasteful
• The designer normally uses set and furnishings suggests one
decorative props as tools to achieve type of occupant.
this effect
One with expensive yet
gaudy furnishings suggests
another
 SET DESIGNER CONSIDERS…
SEASON OF THE YEAR:
• It is difficult for a scenic
designer to provide more than
a cursory indication of season.
• If the play takes place in the
summer, the designer can have
the doors open or use screens
in the doors and windows
The selection of colors and
fabrics can also help create
a feeling of season;
however, the projection of
season is usually left up to
the lighting and costume
designers
Decorative properties and
floor treatments can help
create a believable
environment
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER

ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION: Line

• Scenic designers must be able Form

to draw freely and easily
Mass
• Manipulation of the
compositional elements is the Value
root of any design

LINE, COLOR, SHAPE AND FORM Color

 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION:
Line • Line defines form
• Dimension, quality, and character define the
Objects drawn with characteristics of any line
strong, bold, angular
• Cartooning is almost always based on the
lines indicate
principle of line simplification
power, dominance,
and purpose • Simplifying or altering the line within a scenic
design creates character definition

Objects drawn with soft, curvilinear,

and lightweight lines can indicate
weakness
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION:
• Form refers to the space
Form
enclosed by a line
• The evocative characteristics of
the line defining the form will
dictate the emotional qualities
of the form
• The character of the line will
create a perceptual key that
helps explain the psychological
nature of the object depicted
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION:

Mass

• Mass is the three-dimensional

manifestation of an enclosed form
• The exaggeration of either form or
mass can be used to stylize a
design
• By exaggerating height, width, or
depth, we can change the
character of the object
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION:
Value
• Value refers to the relative
lightness or darkness of a line,
form, or mass
Purity, truth,
and honor • The emotional reaction to the
value of an object has become
Evil, dishonesty, ingrained in the core of Western
dishonor thought

Purity, truth,
and honor
Evil, dishonesty,
dishonor
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
ELEMENTS OF COMPOSITION:

Color

• Although scenic objects are

normally painted to appear as The countryside
they are in life… for Brigadoon
• substituting an unexpected hue could be painted
can achieve interesting results in PLAID!
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
PRACTICALITY OF THE SETTING:
• Any scenic design must fulfill utilitarian functions before it can be considered anything
more than a pretty picture
• The designer must take into consideration the needs of the director, the needs of the
actors, the demands of construction, and budgets of time and money.

NEEDS OF THE DIRECTOR: If the director wants the

heroine to make a grand
• The set design must follow the
entrance down a flight of
production concept of the director.
stairs, the designer must
• The design must also accommodate place the stairs in a
the blocking and other stage business prominent position
that the director has in mind.

• The director and scenic designer

discuss these directorial needs during
early production conferences.
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
PRACTICALITY OF THE SETTING:
NEEDS OF THE ACTORS:
• The set must function properly, efficiently, and as planned
• It must provide a safe environment
• Actors must be able to concentrate in order to perform properly
• The last thing they need is anything that would break their concentration

CONSTRUCTION DEMANDS: Elements such as a

spinning staircase may
• A set’s complexity is directly related to the create construction
intricacy of the design. challenges that cannot be
• The designer must be aware of construction solved by ordinary scenic-
challenges and determine how thesis pieces construction techniques
can be constructed and rigged.
• Before construction starts, the scenic designer
reviews the plans with the lighting designer to
make sure the set can be lit effectively
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
PRACTICALITY OF THE SETTING:
TIME AND FISCAL BUDGETS:
• The scenic designer is ultimately responsible for the timely construction of
scenery and properties within the budget allowed

• In commercial theatre, the producer approves the plans and then solicits bids
for the construction

• In regional, educational, and community theatres, where they build their own
sets, it is up to the scenic designer and technical director to make sure they
stay within the approved budget
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
SKETCHES:
Thumbnail sketches are rough
drawings, usually in pencil, that show
the general composition of the set
but very little detail.
Renderings
• Are finished color sketches
of the set.
• Drawn to scale.
• Complete in terms of type,
style, location of furniture,
trim, and decorative
touches.
• Quality renderings also give
indications of lighting.
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
MODELS:
Functional models are the three-dimensional
equivalents of a thumbnail sketch.
Their purpose is to help the design team
visualize the basic composition of the scene
design.
The functional model is built to scale, quickly
constructed, and rarely painted
Production models provide a complete
visualization of the scenic designer’s
concept.
Production models are built to scale, fully
painted, and completely decorated with
all of the furniture, props, and set
dressing used in the production
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:

COMPUTER PRESENTATIONS:
Every traditional medium used to create scene
design sketches can now be produced with a
computer. Most drafting programs have a
three-dimensional component, and animation
programs an provide time-based visualizations
of scene shifts
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:

DESIGNER’S PLANS:
Ground Plan
• Sketches and models may give a clear
indication of the scenic designer’s
Front Elevations
intention

• However, they do not give the technical Detail Drawings

director or carpenters the information
they need to build the set Full-scale Drawings

• That information comes in a series of

mechanical drawings (designer’s plans) Sight-line Drawings
that depict every detail of the set with
exact measurements of its components
Painter’s Elevations
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
DESIGNER’S PLANS:
Ground Plan

• It is a scale mechanical
drawing showing the top
view of a setting in its proper
position on the stage.

• The location and

measurement are given for
all architectural features of
the set, onstage and off.
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
DESIGNER’S PLANS:
Front elevations
• These show a front view of the set as if it were flattened into a single plane
• The main purpose of these scale drawings is to indicate all of the vertical
measurements that cannot be shown on the ground plan
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
DESIGNER’S PLANS:
Detailed Drawings
Detailed pieces, such as
an elaborate fireplace or
an intricately designed
stained-glass panel, need
to be drawn in a larger
scale
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
DESIGNER’S PLANS:
If the design is unusually intricate or the object
Full scale Drawings rather small, such as a wallpaper pattern, it is
easier and faster to draw in full scale
A few of the smallest features
of a set should be drawn in full
scale, or actual size

Sight – line Drawings

A scale drawing of sightings
that extend from the extreme
seats to any position on the
stage
Sight-line drawings are used to
determine how much of the
stage and backstage will be
visible from specific auditorium
seats
 DESIGNER SHOULD CONSIDER
VISUAL PRESENTATION OF SCENIC DESIGNS:
DESIGNER’S PLANS:
Painter’s Elevations

• Painter’s elevations are

front elevations of the
set, drawn on watercolor
board and painted to
show not only the colors
but also the painting
techniques that will be
used in finishing the set
• These are renderings that
the scenic artist and paint
crew use when painting
the set