ReCOGnition - Design for Music Production

For the second project I was given the brief to design the set for a weekly music show, based loosely around Top of Pops, that would cater to a range of different bands and performers. Set in the main studio at the BBC, it had to consist of both a main stage and smaller, truckable stage for presenters, interviews and smaller, more intimate performances. Like the first project the brief was focused on a set within a studio that incorporated an audience, however having laid down the fundamentals of studio design in the first project, the second one developed this knowledge, such as incorporating lighting effects and more technical camera shots.

When I first began considering the design of the set I played around with a number of different shapes and constructs, some inspired by the theme of 'music' and others I had simply began drawing and seeing where they led. Most didn't get past the 'Initial idea' stage and, along with others on the course I struggled to pin down a simple concept on which to develop and evolve a set from. The majority of my initial designs were overly complicated consisting of too many ideas and shapes, I also had to bare in mind that the design had to cater to all genres of music. The turning point came when I decided to restrict the design to a single shape, repeated throughout the set. To begin with I had tried cubes and spheres, and while these seemed to progress better than my previous ideas they were still missing a sense of originality and complexity that I was aiming for. For my next idea I started using the shape of a cog. Having done alot of steampunk - style sets and props in the past I was used to using and designing cogs and once I began to develop the idea of making up a set that consisted solely of cogs of different shapes the development really started to gain momentum rapidly.

Initial concept for Main Stage

Using varying styles of cogs I developed an initial design for the main stage, in this early concept I tried to create an interesting composition of cogs in order to get a variety of different camera shots depending on the angle. This early design also featured a tiered stage, however I realised that this would create a smaller, more impractical space. Instead I decided to keep the outer shape of the stage, and instead of having the tiered cog design I would create the same outlines but in the surface of the now flat stage. This broke up the space but retained a large, more practical space for varying performances.

I played around with the idea of having an upright cog 'framing' part of the stage and thus adding to the variety of camera shots available. By placing it off center it would still provide a unique space to film without obscuring the majority of the space, as opposed to if I had placed it more centrally.

The main stage reconfigured to create a more practical performance space.

I still wanted to create varying levels in the main stage and so used the second tier that had originally been in the center of the space to create a upper level attached to the side of the main stage. This gave me a more dynamic space to shoot but in a much more successful layout than the original structure.

Developing the main stage, the small stage also begins to take shape

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As the design developed I started playing around with a larger variety of cogs. As there would be a number of large gaps in between set pieces it was important to begin considering where exactly the cameras would be positioned. The use of lighting would be integral and help obscure views of whatever lay behind the set but I still had to build up a certain amount of pieces and consider where they would be placed. I made a pair of scaffolding towers with a number of light weight cogs fixed to the upper half of them and began positioning them in various places to see how best to use them, sometimes behind the main stage but also in the foreground creating a greater sense of depth.

At this time I also began development of the small stage and the layout of the two in the studio together. For the small stage I used the same size cog as that attached to the main stage and began to build up the set pieces behind and around it. As the space would be used for presenters and smaller performances, interviews, etc I wanted to restrict the size as much as possible. Not simply to be more cost effective but also to maintain a greater space between the small stage and the main stage as the health and safety rules stipulated a gap of around five meters.

\Development of possible camera shots.

As I began playing around with the layout of different pieces alot of refining of the set took place. After altering the position of everything, even the height of the screen in the background, I began to set pieces in their final place. With the composition of the set almost complete the next step was to begin adding detail to the surface, considering what materials would be used and how lighting would effect the surfaces of the various shapes in the set.

The surface begin to be clad.

When I began my research to find the style of surface detail I wanted to use I initially considered what would best benefit the shapes I had created in the set. It was important to me that the shapes of the cogs not be obscured by the finished surface detail. To emphasize the outline of the cogs in the flooring of the stages I decided they would need a bright outline to highlight them and make the most of their shapes. As the show would feature varying genres of music however I wanted this lighting to be able to change to a variety of colours, depending on the artist/ mood of the song, etc.

The surface detail of cogs is usually old-fashioned but as this would not be appropriate for a music production I decided to go for a much more futuristic, crisper design. Heavily influenced by Tron Legacy, the design style of black with lines tracing the shapes and their outlines seemed a perfect approach to the problem of highlighting the cogs and creating a versatile set. This took care of the flooring, however for the upright and hanging cogs I wanted something different that would work for close-up shots, as well as provide a good lighting opportunity.

Redesigned flooring and addition of hanging pieces.

It was at this stage in the development that I considered the shape of the main stage. It was suggested to me that I fill in the gaps between the 'teeth' of the cog shape to provide a larger, more traditional shape to the stage. While I agreed with the idea I didn't want to lose the dynamic shape of the large cog flooring by filling in these two gaps with a similar surface to the rest of the black stage. Instead I decided to fill them in with a transparent flooring surface that didn't distort the cog shape. Further down the line I decided to fill in the underneath of this flooring with strips of lighting to conceal the flooring of the studio and provide more lighting, as can be seen in the next image.

The cogs around the stage, fixed and hanging, I then had to decided how to clad. This proved challenging as I didn't want the same style as the flooring but not be utterly different from it either, ensuring the entire set fitted as a whole. Some of the cogs I decided to leave white, their crisp shapes would not only stand out strongly against the blacked out background, but also provide a versatile lighting surface to alter and possibly project onto as well.

Completed main stage.

For the surface detail of the cogs I played around with different styles and textures for those not wouldn't be left white. One such treatment I experimented with worked very well close up. By first undercoating the  cogs in black paint and then dry-brushing them with layers of metallic paint I created a surface that gave the effect of a rusted, uneven surface. At first I wasn't sure it would work with the crisp flooring, although I thought the contrast with the white cogs was quite effective. Once I began introducing lighting effects with fairy lights placed around the model and experimenting with photoshop the different styles of cogs and the flooring began to work really effectively together. With the later addition of an image on the screen framed in the background, the man stage was complete.

The completed small stage.

Above shows a much clear angle of the painted cogs I had developed. Ultimately the size of the stage was quite small but the area was made grander and more elaborate by the use of upright cogs organised around the stage, as well as those placed on the studio floor to pick up light and those placed in the foreground.

Below are a number of images taken from my attempts at lighting the model, I found that the white fairy lights were particularly effective compared to the coloured ones, and interestingly the visible wires in the background were easily overlooked.

Lit main stage with screen.

Looking through  the cog.

Lighting the small stage.

Completed Model, here you can see how it makes up three quarters of the main studio at the BBC.

Completed small stage with curtained off backdrop.

Having gained an understanding of set design for TV in the first project, the second was were I really began to build and develop creatively. Where as the first project had held me back creatively while I dealt with learning about how sets operated differently to theatre it was satisfying to be allowed much more freedom and scope with which to develop ideas that were fun to design and make but crucially worked on a more realistic level. The next two projects would move away from studio audience sets and into the the TV and film drama area. Working on enclosed sets and accurate white card models that gave insight into the architecture of the design.

I will be including further images from this project at a later date as they are rendered in photoshop presently and incompatible with blogger.

Design for Arts Review Show

Our first two projects during the Masters were based around light entertainment shows and audience- based productions. The first project was designed to give a grounding in working within the confines of a studio and designing from a cameras perspective. This was my first real challenge as in the past I had always designed sets that would be viewed by a large audience, whether Promenade or Proscenium Arch the designs were always dictated by a audience with a less restricted view. A number of initial set designs had to be reworked as the set pieces were far too high for a show that would be focused on camera angles mainly featuring close ups of people, with the occasional wide shot showing a larger amount of the set.

Early stages of final design.

As the brief of the show was to design for a arts review in which the presenter and three guests would be discussing a broad range of art from classic to contemporary in a variety of areas, (e.g. architecture, installation, paintings, etc) I wanted to design a set that didn't refer to any one specific style, but at the same time not seem to busy and random. After working through a number of different designs I decided on a style that was initially inspired by Gothic architecture but in a more minimalistic, contemporary style. In terms of the surface detail I had originally wanted a rich, textured surface quality that drew more inspiration from classic architecture but ultimately I decided there was something appealing in the simplistic nature of a blank canvas like surface of pure white. This would also work much better in terms of lighting potential, and I believe the complex design of later pieces would have been lessened by overly detailed surface textures. I also decided on a gloss coat to the surface of the studio floor, while in reality in would be difficult to achieve such a highly reflective surface, especially considering reflections from the lighting rig and possible glare, I still liked the idea of creating pieces that continued in the reflection of the floor and achieved an interesting effect.

The finished set with furniture and P.B.Us

I took a lot of inspiration from Gothic window designs and striped them down to a much more linear design that focused more on the shapes used to compose them, by building up a number of layers I created a much greater sense of depth to the set. In addition to the these set pieces I incorporated a number of simple arch shapes used for photo blow ups (P.B.Us). I imagined these would change every week to reflect the work on discussion, which while varied would neatly tie together in the cyan, green and red hues that restricted the use of colour. The work I used for this specific weeks discussion is that of Andy Goldsworthy, as well as architecture taken from London's Southwark, Hampton Court Palace, Manchester Town Hall and Barcelona's Sagrada Família. The latter of which also influenced the whole set design in it's contemporary approach to more traditional architecture styles in terms of its interior. For the furniture I wanted something that stood out but didn't distract from the surrounding set pieces. I chose transparent acrylic pieces that would be custom-made and matched the colour scheme of the P.B.Us.

The entire set was placed against a black cyclorama, however looking back I would possibly re-think this and incorporate more lighting into the background. I think it can probably be put down to me clinging to my theatre design-comfort zone! As with the next project I worked on both where designed with a in-house audience present in the studio so to a degree I think it helped me in the transitional stage of coming from a theatre background and beginning to design for screen instead.

MA in Production Design for Film and TV

Having graduated from St. Mary's last year I spent the summer deciding what my next course of action would be and what direction I wanted to head in regarding my career. During my final year at St. Mary's I had thoroughly enjoyed working on a variety of shows inside and outside of uni, focusing on set and prop design. By the end of the year I had designed and constructed a number of sets and props for a variety of shows at uni and gained a huge amount of experience in professional theatre. It was such a joy to wake up every morning head down to uni and spend the day in the workshop sketching out designs for props and set pieces and then spending the day bringing them to life using a variety of materials. Needless to say once I graduated I was at somewhat of a lose deciding what I was suppose to spend my time doing. It wasn't until a month or so after graduating that my girlfriend suggested I apply to do an MA in set design. This was a stroke of genius as, although I had loved spending the year designing and building things I lacked the technical skill required for professional work and as I explored the idea of an MA I found that it would give me the additional skills I needed to properly seek employment in the industry.

I applied and was accepted onto the course at Kingston University studying an MA in Production Design  for Film and  TV and have spent the last year working intensely on a number of projects tailored to give you the skills required for working in an art department for film and television. This included technical drawing/ hand drafting of plans for sets, as well as constructing accurate, scale models of our sets which we then photographed and created visuals from, showing close-up, mid and wide shots from a cameras perspective. Also we worked on prop and texture boards, giving an insight into the set on a more detailed level, and in some cases creating a variety of pieces intended to give the overall impression of a set prior to construction. Over the next few blogs I shall be presenting a selection of the projects I worked on during the last year, having now completed my MA and begun the exciting albeit daunting task of seeking employment!