In this episode of IIDA Summit, we went beyond architecture and explored the art of storytelling with Akshita Hanss. Akshita Hanss is an architect turned production designer, art director, interior stylist, and the founder of Story Of Spaces, based in India. The firm is a versatile design firm that specializes in three key areas: production & set design, interior design and styling, and space design. She started working in films in 2015 and has over 8 years of experience as a production designer and art director, having worked with eminent directors such as Shimit Amin, Ashim Ahluwalia, Dibakar Banerjee, Shakun Batra, and Bharat Sikka. She believes that spatial storytelling is the silent narrative of set design, where every corner, color, and texture speaks the unsaid, shaping not just the scene but the soul of the story.
Architecture and cinema deeply intertwine and go hand in hand. The narrative and space we study in architecture correlate to what we see in movies. Case studies exemplify how cinematic setting design, much like architectural space, within which certain emotions evoke while establishing the mood and context. Similarly, directors and architects are very similar in their ideologies and concepts. Both begin their project with a vision and a concept, that develops to narrate a story through spatial design and evokes emotion of the user. Overall, this concept of set design, temporary spaces, narratives, and cinema is not only exciting but also offers matchless experiences to the creator as well as the user.
Every set design is a production design but every production design is not a set design. Let’s understand the difference between the two. Everything that you see on screen, apart from the costume, makeup, and hair of an artist, is production design. Storytelling is incomplete without minute elements in the frame.
In short, a production designer is a person who decides the visual look of the film. They translate the script into visual metaphors. Production designers create the color palette, architectural details, and themes. They are also involved in choosing locations, designing, and decorating the sets. Coordinating costumes as well as makeup and hairstyle. Constant involvement with other people in the film, for example, the Director of the film, discussing the creatives of the film. Similarly with the producer, for the budgets and of course the costume, hair, and makeup.
Moreover, a production designer is referred to in the position of an architect. A lot of people work under a production designer. People like set decorators interpret the set board. A set decorator details out and completes the work of a production designer. Similarly, with the set decorator and art director there are various other people. And, that’s how a film is made.
Similar to any other field that is creative and requires a lot of visualization skills, production design also requires a very high degree of creativity. The whole visual look of the project, firstly, depends on your creative mindset, and secondly your visualization skills. You need to imagine the space from scratch. Sometimes, the director might not be able to convey or imagine what he has in his mind. You have to put it into a sketch or an idea. You need to have fabulous communication skills. Because that’s how you will be able to communicate exactly what you have planned or designed. And if you have a prior interior design, architecture degree, or space design that gives you an edge over others.
Firstly, the film’s script is handed over to the production designer, by the director, producer, or anyone from the film. Once the script is read by the production designer after deep research and references, the script breakdown is done. It could be through books or the Internet. After the research, they end up doing a location recce, wherever the film is planned to be shot. Then they prepare an art docket which is more like a Bible and has everything like the design, 3D, etc.
When the director and everybody are on the same page, they end up doing the budgeting based on the docket. The docket has various other parts to it where they form a color palette and a mood board. Once the budgeting of the set is done, they end up sourcing the props to be used in the shoot. Once the props are sourced, they set up or construct the set. Then the shoot starts and once the shoot is over, the set is dismantled.
Let’s delve into a brief explanation of each step.
Script reading is the most basic creative stage of production where designers explore the script for details on the visual and spatial needs of the storyline. During this stage, production designers analyze the script meticulously regarding the setting, time, mood, and atmosphere to follow throughout the visual concept of the whole project.
A mood board in production design is a creative tool via which the attitude, feeling, and style of a film or television project can be represented visually. It is a combination of imagery, surfaces, colors, and references describing the intended aesthetics of the production. Mood boards act as a reference for design decisions that allow for general alignment of all involved, from directors to costume designers, about the design direction quite early in the project.
An art docket of production design must be a very important document for a film, television show, theatre production, or any other visual medium project, as it acts as a visual and conceptual guide. It explains the artistic vision of the project and incorporates all settings, props, costume direction, color scheme, and styles on location, usually in line with the director’s and the production designer’s vision.
The sourcing of props is crucial for set design, giving authenticity to detail. It provides background for each prop to support the narrative, enrich the aesthetics, and accurately present the concept, period, style, and personality of the characters as well as the story.
Set construction is the basic aspect of set design, involving the building or physical spaces wherein scenes are filmed or staged. The process blends architectural precision with creative problem-solving and logistical planning. Set construction helps to realize the production designer’s vision, with sketches, blueprints, and digital models rendered as real spaces, proper and true to the period and aesthetics of production.
With professionals like Akshita Hanss leading this intricate process, production design merges architecture, storytelling, and planning. Finally, the production design is not an outer quality of the story but one of the story’s key elements. Spaces must be alive for people to feel and think and so live through the experience on an emotional level. With creative imagination, architectural skills, and teamwork, the production design builds worlds that remain in the minds of audiences beyond just watching in theatres.
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