Production Design Course

Lesson 1 • Script Analysis for Designers

Teaches systematic script breakdown to extract design requirements. Students produce annotated scripts identifying every spatial and visual need.

Lesson 2 • Research Methods and Visual References

Covers primary and secondary research strategies for period, genre, and cultural accuracy. Students assemble a structured reference library.

Lesson 3 • Visual Storytelling Fundamentals

Introduces how physical environments communicate story and character. Connects spatial choices to audience emotional response.

Lesson 4 • The Production Designer's Role

Defines the designer's responsibilities within a creative team. Establishes how design decisions serve narrative and director intent.

Lesson 1 • Concept Refinement and Iteration

Guides students through structured feedback loops to sharpen a concept. Teaches how to evolve ideas without losing the original vision.

Lesson 2 • Presenting a Design Concept

Covers verbal and visual presentation of a concept to directors and producers. Students practice pitching with clarity, confidence, and supporting visuals.

Lesson 3 • Mood Boards and Visual Tone

Covers construction of professional mood boards that communicate tone, palette, and texture. Students learn to curate rather than collect references.

Lesson 4 • Sketching and Thumbnail Ideation

Introduces rapid sketching as a thinking tool for spatial and compositional ideas. Builds confidence in using drawing to explore, not just present.

Lesson 1 • Designing for Camera and Lighting

Addresses how set architecture must accommodate cinematographic and lighting needs. Students redesign a space after analyzing camera and light requirements.

Lesson 2 • Elevations and Section Drawings

Covers wall elevations and cross-sections that communicate vertical design intent. Students learn to show surface detail, height, and material in elevation.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Spatial Composition

Introduces how scale, proportion, and flow shape audience perception of a space. Connects spatial grammar to character psychology and story tension.

Lesson 4 • Floor Plans and Technical Drafting

Teaches standard drafting conventions for production floor plans. Students produce accurate, annotated plans usable by construction and camera crews.

Lesson 1 • Building a Color Palette

Teaches systematic palette construction from concept through final selection. Students build palettes that are cohesive, flexible, and camera-tested.

Lesson 2 • Color Psychology and Narrative Meaning

Examines how color associations shape audience emotion and story interpretation. Students map color choices to specific narrative and character functions.

Lesson 3 • Color Scripting Across Scenes

Introduces the color script as a tool for managing color across an entire production. Students draft a color script that tracks emotional arc scene by scene.

Lesson 4 • Color Coordination with Costume and Makeup

Covers cross-department color alignment to prevent clashes and reinforce design intent. Students conduct a color coordination meeting simulation.

Lesson 1 • Hero Prop Design and Fabrication

Teaches the design and construction process for featured props with narrative significance. Students design a hero prop from brief through fabrication spec.

Lesson 2 • Set Dressing Principles

Establishes the hierarchy of dressing elements and their narrative functions. Connects every object placement to character, period, and story logic.

Lesson 3 • Dressing for Period and Genre

Applies dressing principles to specific period and genre demands. Students dress a set for a defined historical or genre context using research.

Lesson 4 • Sourcing and Acquiring Props

Covers rental, purchase, fabrication, and found-object strategies for prop acquisition. Students build a sourcing plan within a defined budget framework.

Lesson 1 • Texture as Narrative Expression

Explores how surface quality communicates wealth, decay, time, and character. Students redesign a set's material palette to shift its narrative meaning.

Lesson 2 • Coordinating Materials Across Departments

Addresses material alignment between set design, costume, and visual effects. Students conduct a cross-department material review exercise.

Lesson 3 • Material Selection and Specification

Covers the process of selecting and specifying materials for sets and dressing. Students produce a material specification sheet for a defined environment.

Lesson 4 • Reading Texture on Camera

Examines how different surfaces behave under various lighting conditions on screen. Students test materials under controlled lighting to observe camera response.

Lesson 1 • Lighting Fundamentals for Designers

Introduces key lighting concepts relevant to set design without requiring technical lighting expertise. Connects light quality to spatial and color decisions.

Lesson 2 • Natural Light and Window Design

Examines how window placement and treatment shape natural light behavior on set. Students redesign window architecture to achieve a target lighting mood.

Lesson 3 • Lighting Mood and Color Interaction

Explores how lighting color and intensity alter set color and material perception. Students test a palette under multiple lighting conditions and document results.

Lesson 4 • Designing Sets for Practical Lighting

Covers how to integrate practical light sources into set architecture and dressing. Students design a set where practicals drive the lighting scheme.

Lesson 1 • Budget Strategy and Resource Allocation

Teaches how to allocate limited resources to maximize on-screen design impact. Students build a prioritized design budget for a multi-set project.

Lesson 2 • Designing Across a Full Production

Addresses the challenge of maintaining visual coherence across many sets and locations. Students map design decisions across an entire script.

Lesson 3 • Managing the Art Department

Covers leadership and workflow management within a production art department. Students practice delegating tasks and managing a simulated department.

Lesson 4 • Assembling the Final Design Bible

Guides students through compiling all design work into a professional, shareable bible. Students present their complete design package to a panel review.