The Filmmaker's Guide to Production Design

by Vincent Lobrutto

Learn to turn a simple screenplay into a visual masterpiece! Top production designers share their real-life experiences to explain the aesthetic, narrative, and technical aspects of the craft. Step by step, aspiring filmmakers will discover sound instruction on the tools of the trade, and established filmmakers will enjoy a new outlook on production design. They will learn, for example, the craft behind movie magic–such as how to create a design metaphor, choose a color scheme, use space, and work within all genres of film, from well-funded studio projects to "guerilla filmmaking." This indispensable resource also contains a history of movie making and guidelines for digital production design. For the experienced filmmaker seeking new design ideas to the struggling newcomer stretching low-budget dollars, this book makes the processes and concepts of production design accessible.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Reference, Design

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Marru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liiga USA based informatsioon

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides both a broad strokes overview and more specific and practical advice. It would be great if they published an updated edition that could:
-cover the updates to technology since publication
-fix the typos
-include some newer film examples
-feature accompanying full-color photos!

It was sort of strange to only read about such visual concepts without seeing photos of what was being discussed. But other than that, seems like this book will be a great resource to have on hand 🙂

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of "what" to do, but very little "how" to do it. Not really sure who this book is for. The book length equivalent of saying "you need to think about production design" and leaving it at that.

[Hogfather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful as an introduction to the many different aspects of production design. I wish that it included more details about some of the subjects alluded to like the differences between film and video and how to excel at designing a microbudget or guerrilla feature, but the book is focused more on introducing students to terminology and the basics of industry practices than on instruction.

[Ganesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute basics. Read this book to get started and know the daily use terms. I read it as a wannabe director who should also know about production design and I'm satisfied with this book. I'll read it a couple of times more and would recommend that too.

[SamiJean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for any film lover. It has lots of facts and behind the scenes. I loved this book and will most likely read it again in the future.

[Nuria · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lot of fluff.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dated and a bit clunky in its structure but has some solid advice.

[Michael Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty informative, but doesn't really make for an engaging read due to the 'list' like nature of it. also, the author is pretty sexist

[Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written to producers and directors, this book is a valuable asset for explaining the role of the production designer