Table of Contents

THE LANGUAGE OF VISUALS

THE BUSINESS OF PRODUCTION DESIGN

PRE-PRODUCTION

PITCHING/PRESENTING

DRAWING FOR FILM

THE MAGICAL ART DEPARTMENT

STUDIOS, STAGES AND SET CONSTRUCTION

BACKINGS

GRAPHICS/SIGNAGE

PROPS

SET DECORATING DEPARTMENT

LIGHTING/CINEMATOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

WARDROBE

MAKE-UP/ SPECIALTY CHARACTER DESIGN/CREATURES

SHOOTING SCHEDULE

PRODUCTION MEETING

CHANGES

STUDIO FACILITIES

BACKLOTS

STRIKE

NETWORKING

FAQ’S

RESOURCES

CREDITS

About the Author

Peg McClellan is an Emmy Award-winning Illustrator and Production Designer; she has worked on feature films such as Seabiscuit, Brokedown Palace, and Coal Miner’s Daughter, plus several television series, including Melrose Place and CSI. She is an instructor in Production Design at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco and also teaches a course in Visual Design for Film at Dodge Film School, Chapman University, Orange, California.

Reviews

"Even the top film schools won’t give you the tools of the Production Design trade the way that this in-depth, step-by-step ‘bible' will. From ‘The Look’ to the ‘The Wrap,’ allow a working production designer to be your guide, as you gain insider knowledge usually only earned from years on the set. You’ll carry this book with you from school throughout your career."

Ellen M. Harrington, Director, Deutsches Filmmuseum and Filminstitut and Former Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

"Even the top film schools won’t give you the tools of the Production Design trade the way that this in-depth, step-by-step ‘bible' will. From ‘The Look’ to the ‘The Wrap,’ allow a working production designer to be your guide, as you gain insider knowledge usually only earned from years on the set. You’ll carry this book with you from school throughout your career."
Ellen M. Harrington, Director, Deutsches Filmmuseum and Filminstitut and Former Director of Exhibitions and Collections, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures