ART DIRECTOR'S WORK

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21314, 15 October 1932, Page 11 (Supplement)

ART DIRECTOR'S WORK

M JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES " CREATING THE ILLUSIONS The art director is the Jack-of-all-Trades of the film industry. He is a combination of architect, engineer, shipbuilder, historian and dress designer. Apart from designing sets that are authentic in detail, he has to consider the mood of the story, and introduce into his designs the necessary atmosphere. Each setting must be in 'perfect sympathy with the temperament of the character around whom the scene centres, and at the same time blend with the undercurrent of atmosphere running through the film as a whole. He is further limited by the demands of the cameraman. " In one film," an art director said, " I was disconcerted to find a heavy anchor chain hanging across a ship's derrick. 'lt may be wrong,' replied tlio cameraman stifly when I protested, 'but I have my composition to consider!' The anchor chain remained—to the amazement of sailors wherever the film was shgwn." Precautions have to be taken to ensure that the set shall conform with the limits of the camera lens. The proportions of the picture registered by the camera are 7 by 6, and all plans and elevations are governed by these dimensiQns. This state of affajrs naturally creates difficulties, the width of a set often necessitating a height which is totally out of proportion. In order to include a room 22ft. wide, the walls have to be 16ffc. high. " Ceilings are out of the question," lie explained, " as the main lighting of the set must be from above. Beams or chandeliers are usually introduced in order to reduce the impression of height. These, when viewed through the camera lens, give an impression of a ceiling, at the same time allowing a clear field for the lights arranged on tho galleries above the r.ei." Talkies have added still further to the art director's task, for the acoustics of the set are now of paramount importance. Unbroken surfaces, deep arches and

curved walls are three pet aversions of the recorder as they are a frequent source of echoes. Jf there is one thing from which an art director does not suffer it is monotony. Every new film provides new problems, and every day brings with it new tasks. He must be prepared to produce anything from an African kraal to a Bloomsbury boarding house. A film may require as many as thirty sets, each taking only a short time to shoot, thus entailing day and night gangs working at top speed to comply with the schedule. Paint, plaster and plywood are three essential materials used in the construction of the sets. The latter, framed up on rough timber, provides the foundation. If an interior with smooth walls is required, the plywood is covered with a fine sackcloth, called hessian, which is then papered and painted. " Architectural features," the art director explained, " are made of plaster. Oak beams, cobbles, brickwork—in sheets —are all cast in this material. Whenever we are lucky enough to get hold of a genuine antique—a fine Adams mantelpiece or a delicate piece of moulding—we take a cast from it and store it up for future use. It is then a simple matter to make a gelatine mould from the cast, reproducing the original in the übiquitous plaster."