ABSTRACT

Great visual storytelling is possible on a minimal budget, but you have to spend a lot of energy thinking and planning. In Understanding Design in Film Production, author Barbara Freedman Doyle demonstrates how to use production design, cinematography, lighting, and locations to create an effective and compelling visual story, even on the tightest of budgets.

Featuring in-depth interviews with production designers, set decorators, construction coordinators, cinematographers, costumers, and location managers talking about the techniques of their craft, it provides you with a feel for what everyone on the visual team does, how they think and plan, and how best to utilize the knowledge and skills they offer.

This book guides you through how to find, secure, and manage the best locations, how to create and dress a set, and how to make old look new and new look old—all on a tight budget. With insights from experts at the top of their field, sharing how they plan for the real-world application of large-scale ideas, you’ll be able to see ways to apply their techniques to your own smaller-scale productions.

Understanding Design in Film Production is a practical, hands-on guide for any aspiring filmmaker who wants to understand the basic principles of visual design in order to create exceptional looking films.

 

chapter |4 pages

Introduction

section 1|27 pages

Understanding Design in Film

chapter 1|5 pages

What Is Your Movie About . . .?

chapter 2|14 pages

Some Components of Visual Design

chapter 3|6 pages

The Vision—and Collaboration

section 2|79 pages

The Collaborators

chapter 4|18 pages

Designing, Building, Painting

chapter 5|8 pages

The Decorator

chapter 6|18 pages

Locations

chapter 7|11 pages

Lighting and Picture

chapter 8|9 pages

Costumes and Props

chapter 9|5 pages

Visual Effects and Animation

chapter 10|8 pages

Why All This Talk about Authenticity?

section 3|132 pages

Your Low Budget Film or TV Project

chapter 11|5 pages

Putting All This Together

chapter 12|18 pages

Planning Your Project

Building It, Finding It, or Both?

chapter 13|4 pages

Shooting Your Film on Distant Location

chapter 14|6 pages

Your Process

chapter 15|9 pages

Practical Matters

Location Agreements, Permits, Insurance

chapter 16|9 pages

How to Be Your Own Location Manager

chapter 17|19 pages

What You Need to Do What You Want

Demystifying the Budget

chapter 18|9 pages

Learning the Craft

Starting Out

chapter 19|39 pages

Doing What You Want with What You Have

Student Films

chapter 20|5 pages

Visual Storytelling in Making the Sale

chapter 21|4 pages

Entering the Profession

chapter 22|3 pages

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