Write your World 3

Once I’ve gotten my informative writing out of the way for the time being, I promise to return to Marglish style musings.  I have a few good ones brewing, so stay tuned!

Write your World Part II

I would tell you how many more parts there are to go, if I myself knew.  I guess we’ll find out together.  Stay tuned for more.

Check it out here: Write Your World

There is more to come in the series also.  So now my nose will be to the grindstone of article writing.  Hopefully I’ll be back to my pensive rants at some point soon.  In the meantime I’ll keep you all on top of my other works.  Speaking of which, while you’re here why not also check out the new preview for one of the short films I designed.

Passengers of 7D

There will be more goodies where those came from, so stay tuned!

1. Why did you decide to become a Production Designer?

I was really inspired by movies with very strong production design elements like fantasy, science fiction, and period pieces, because I loved stepping into a completely different world through the film.  When I realized it was someone’s job to create those worlds, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

2. What techniques and skills do you typically use in you work?

A production designer has to use a range of skills.  You have to be an illustrator, graphic designer, architect, interior designer, painter, furniture designer, textiles expert, color expert, photographer and storyteller all wrapped up into one.  In low budget film they often don’t have the resources to hire a full art department, so I have done sets, props and costumes as have most of the other designers I’ve met.  Even if you specialize in one area, it’s best to learn them all because you may never end up doing costumes, but you will want to work with the costume designer to create a unified look.

I have a background in architectural design, so I call upon those skills quite often.  Other designers with skills in other areas might go about creating their designs differently, to play up the skills that are strongest for them.  But it’s best to study all areas of design, because you will be required to call upon all of them at some point, and will become a better designer overall.

3. What is the typical process that you go through when designing for film/theatre? (for example, meeting with directors, conceptualizing the script, producing preliminary sketches etc)

The first thing I always look at is the script.  I like to see a script even before I meet with a director if it’s at all possible.  I want to be inspired by the story and have a desire to actually create sets for it, otherwise the work is not going to be worth it in the end.  Since I often work on very low budget independent movies, I then talk to a director and get all the logistics; what the budget is, how much time is available, what the location and set requirements are.  Quite often, people have expectations that cannot be met in the time period or under the budget restrictions, so it’s good to gage that right off the bat.  And the sign of a job well done, is one that exceeds the director’s expectations

The next step is to conceptualize the designs, which I usually do by writing notes on the script about certain props or set pieces that are mentioned, or moments that help inspire the mood for the design.  Then I create concept illustrations either by hand or occasionally by collage on photoshop.  I like this method because I get to both look for images that help inspire the design, and create my own concepts at the same time

From there each project takes its own path depending on the needs and the logistics of the project.  Some of them require a lot of shopping and sourcing, others require a lot of designing in advance down to careful details.  It’s important to have flexible working methods that fit the needs of each project.

4. What are the differences between designing for film and designing for theatre?

The one major difference is that in theater everything has to be built for, fully functional for, and scaled for the specific project.  You cannot improvise as much in theater because everything has to work for a real time performance.  In film, you can change your ideas as you go along, you can move a set around to suit the camera angles, you can cheat the positions of the set pieces and where the actors stand, to better the final result.  And while film is about both the big picture (wide angles) and details (close ups) theater is really about one big picture.  Yes, all the details have to work, but they are nothing compared to the impression of the overall set.

5. What is the most difficult aspect of your work?

Getting decent pay.  Enough said.

6. What is the nature of the industry that you work in? (for example, is it ever difficult do find employment? Do you work freelance or are you attached to a certain production company?)

It has not really been difficult to find projects to work on as a freelancer, but it is difficult to find projects with sufficient or even any pay.  More often than not, production designers will not be attached to a particular company.  Most set designers do freelance contract work.  In order to make a living you would probably be working on multiple projects at the same time or have a day job.  I used my design skills to maintain a steady job in architecture for years, while I worked on indy films in my spare time.

In the US there are a lot of unions and guilds one can join, depending on where you live, which will offer the benefit of more regular work.  The one disadvantage of joining a union is that you must take a certain amount of union jobs per-year and are only allowed to take a limited number of non-union jobs. If your numbers don’t match, you end up owing them money at the end of the year.  Steady work comes easiest from a solid reputation.  Once you have impressed a few directors and producers with your work, they will recommend you to others.  Building a network is the most powerful tool you have for getting work and eventually getting decently paid work.

4. From your experience overseas, what have been the local differences in design for film?

The film industry is noticeably smaller in Sydney.   In New York I was often picking and choosing between projects.  Out here I have taken a lot of the work I have found because there were fewer options.  And even in just a few short months, I have worked with the same people again.  That’s both a good and bad thing.  An Indy filmmaker has a much better chance of standing out and making themselves known in a market that has a lot less noise, but it does make for limited opportunities.

I have also noticed that in Australia, people give significantly less time to development and pre-production.  This means they are hiring designers WAY TOO LATE!  I am floored whenever I see a posting for a production that is hiring within two weeks of their shoot date, and looking for production designers along with boom operators and PAs.  The production designer is KEY CREW!  It doesn’t matter if you are shooting entirely on location and have an extremely limited budget, without someone to pay attention to the overall look of your film, it will not be consistent and will inevitably create a distance between your audience and your story.  Film a visual medium, so how it looks is just as important as what it says.  I have also run into many producers and directors who said they tried to design their projects themselves.  They only make that mistake once.

5. Finally, do you think that design for theatre and film will change and progress in the future? Are there any new technologies that will revolutionize this area that you know of?

CGI and 3D technologies have already revolutionized the industry.  People can now make very stylized films quite easily.  In the past, the painterly touches you now see on films like Avatar were limited to films with heavy fantasy and a more narrow audience appeal.  But now, audiences have adapted to films that have a very stylized look.  They no longer expect everything to look real in order for it to feel real.

This type of filmmaking is still in its infancy and, as is always the case when learning a new art form, a lot of design mistakes are being made.  (This is where I insert my personal opinion)  Movies like the latest Star Wars trilogy and Indiana Jones incorporated elaborate CG sets that had no practical reason for existence and served no function for the story.  Television shows like V use fancy camera movements to show off sets that are, frankly, cartoonish, badly rendered, and laughable.  Remakes like King Kong and Clash of the Titans, go overboard creating highly detailed monsters to the point where the original stop motion creatures look much scarier than their rubbery-limbed modern day counter parts.  And in the latest Alice in Wonderland, filmmakers went out of their way to design for a 3D experience, but didn’t utilize the technology properly and the film fell short of showcasing the designs they way it should have.

This technology will make for some amazingly beautiful films, but people have to adapt to, and learn the advantages and limitations of the technology.  And most importantly, they must remember that the rules of good design; practicality, functionality, emotional response and contribution to the story, still apply.

To learn more about my design work, you can click on any of the images above to be directed to my portfolio, or take a look at my list of services on immmagination.com.

One of the films I production designed, a short called “Abbie“, is going to be screened on domestic Qantas flights throughout the month.  I think this counts as the first official distribution of a film I worked on.  Of course, there may have been others, but news of such events dropped off into obscurity along with the filmmakers, who may very well be selling insurance by now.  It’s a small victory, but it takes all the people who worked so hard to finish the film one step closer to that award winning blockbuster in our futures.  Kudos to all!

For screening times on Qantas and for more information about the film, you can check out the Abbie Blog.

I have talked before about the Aussie tendency to self-deprecate, and the tall poppy syndrome that leads them to chop down anyone who achieves international celebrity status.  It also makes Aussies tear apart their own films before they are ever even released, occasionally while they are still only screenplays.  It leads to the countless questions I get as to why I, a hopeful filmmaker, would rather be here than in LA.  And it keeps Aussies from seeing the huge filmmaking advantages they have right at their fingertips.

One of those advantages is government support.  People might not agree with all the decisions the state and countrywide film commissions make.  They might see favoritism triumph over quality in the films they choose to support, but that is no different than what you will find in Hollywood funding.  Favors and mutual back scratching are rife in the film industry, regardless of country.  But to have the country itself support filmmakers, is a rare gift.  Unfortunately, the Australian film commissions suffer from the same itchy rash that all their filmmakers do.

I’ve heard enough now to be sure that almost every development grant, almost every program created to support up and coming Australian filmmakers, sees at least some, if not all of its money to go the film industry in LA.  Script assessors in LA are hired over Australian ones to consult on development.  American filmmakers are flown out to give short talks at a cost that would probably support several Australian filmmakers for week long seminars.  And high priced internships are set-up to send young filmmakers to LA to learn the “tricks of the trade.”  No one seems to realize the detrimental message this is sending to Aussie filmmakers countrywide.  The government itself is practically shouting at the top of its lungs; “We’re just not good enough!”

That message is so deeply ingrained into minds of the filmmakers who would be receiving those grants, that most of the conversations I had this week sounded something like this:

Me – “The Australian government is basically paying to support California’s dying economy.”

Aussie – “Maybe the idea is to come back with all the knowledge from working in LA and apply it to Australian film.”

Me – “$50,000 for six months in LA!  Who are they kidding?  You’re never coming back!”

Aussie – “Probably not.”

Or this gem:

Me – “The government shouldn’t be giving away loads of money to spend overseas.”

Aussie – “No, it would be better spent paying the experts to come here.”

Me – “What!  That’s still spending money somewhere else.  That’s still saying that LA has something that you can’t get here.”

Aussie – “The government would probably spend more money here, if Australian films weren’t so bloody bad.”

Me – “You don’t think a bad film has ever been made in LA?  GAH!”

(There may have been a few drinks involved with that conversation)

LA may be where the film industry started, but that is by no means where it ended.  Film is an international art, reaching audiences worldwide.  And in places like India, China, Korea, Europe and the UK, filmmakers function in entirely autonomous filmmaking communities.  Sure, some French filmmakers probably want an Oscar as much as everyone else does, but do you think the French would ever say “better learn how to make movies in the US, they’re better at it.”

The vision, the passion, the talent and the money to make the world’s best movies, all exist in Australia.  The only thing holding Australian filmmakers back, is themselves.  The best thing they can learn from Los Angelinos is the self-important attitude that makes reality TV stars think they’ve accomplished feats worthy of a Nobel peace prize.  If Australians do go to LA, it shouldn’t be to learn, but to teach Los Angelinos what humility actually means, and how to just generally tone it down.

I am watching Baz Luhrmann’s Australia as I write this.  I won’t argue that it’s filmmaking genius, and it’s certainly not to everyone’s taste, but no one would disagree that it’s a sumptuous film of epic proportions.  It’s undeniable evidence that Australian filmmakers can go so far beyond believing “we’re just not good enough” that they gain the ability to say “I can make any film I bloody well please.”  It’s about time Aussies start approaching film as they do sport, with voracious attitude and no fear of losing a few teeth.  I know they can do it, and if they don’t believe me, maybe they’ll believe Oprah.  Thanks for visiting Queen O.  Here’s hoping you inspired a few other people to aim to light up the harbor bridge one of these days.  I know I will, after all, I’m an egocentric American girl from LA.

Consciousness and Capability from The Story Department.com by Margaret M. MacDonald

Enjoy the read if you haven’t already.  Hopefully this will be the first of many.  This is very dangerous validation for an opinionated writer like myself.  I might actually start assuming that people want to hear what I have to say.

I have also been busy dealing with that thing called everyday life.  Bills and groceries, logistics and planning, phone calls and meetings, forgetting my umbrella, missing the train by a split second, and hearing plenty of call hold music.  Why is it always so bad?  In fact, the only thing that seems to be lacking from my life right now, is some inspiration.  The images that normally dance through my mind and the voices that tell me interesting stories, have all been pushed out and replaced with to do lists and deadlines.  My mind looks less like the a color wheel of infinite shades, and more like the greyish mush that comes off on your hands after reading the business section.  How boring!

So I’m on a mission to rectify this situation.  I have to wake up those voices and clear the fog so I can see those images again.  The potential for fascinating stories and stunning images is all around me.  It was in Joss Whedon’s words when he talked about why he wrote.  It was in the manic eyes of Tim Burton’s scrawled out characters.  It’s in the puffy clouds outside my window, the sweetly scented spring air, the fascinating cast of characters I met in the emergency room, and even in the terrible call hold music.  So it’s time to sit back and let it all soak in.  Time to fill my head with ideas that are good, bad, or downright insane, and see what emerges into the tangible world.  I’m finally ready.  So come on Australia!  Inspire me!

In the meantime, check out more of my photos from Melbourne on flickr.

Into this theater set!

And it was all done from the comfort of my livingroom floor.  This truly takes working from home to a new level.  Wrangling these fridge sized blocks used up a lot of elbow grease, encouraged a few dangerous encounters between bare feet and dropped knifes, and covered my carpet with snowy pills of foam that would stick to anything within a wide static cling radius.

I also used my expert illusionist skills to turn much more manageable sized pieces of foam into the materials our budget couldn’t afford.

The fun didn’t stop there.  I also constructed all the props, which involved covering a number of odd items with brown paper.

Did you know that when a ballon covered in paper, still moist with glue, pops in your hands it makes quite a mess.

I addition to all the glue sniffing I did at home.  I also spent a fair amount of time being a diligent shopper, ignoring the stares I got as I elbowed my way through all the beige clothing at the local op shops, and politely refusing offers of help at the hardware store.  “No, I’m not lost.  I just like to go up and down every aisle.  You never know when you might find a random piece of industrial tubing that could be turned it a fashion accessory.”

All in all, I’d say my literal blood, sweat, and tears was worth the result.  Wouldn’t you?  

You can learn more about this set from immmagination.com and see the rest of the photos on flickr.  I’ve since recovered from all the paper cuts, hand cramps, and have managed to scrape most of the glue from under my fingernails.  Though, I think there are still a few snowballs of foam hiding under the couch.  I’ve more news to catch you all up on so keep your eye on the page for an increased frequency of creative rants and travel-logs.  In the meantime, I’ll be vacuuming under the couch again.

You can see the rest of the photos from my adventures in pastoral Oz on Flickr.