The set designer works for a director, creating the sets for a play, film, television programme or advertising film. First and foremost, they are spatial designers who work solely within the framework of a scenic space.
THE SET DESIGNER’S TASKS
After identifying the needs, he or she develops a scenographic concept before giving it physical form.
The set designer may work on the production of a play or an opera, for example.
In these circumstances, they work in conjunction with the director, whose issues and artistic intentions they understand. Depending on the director’s requirements, he or she will suggest how the stage should be organised, and propose sets and other props in line with the defined universe, which he or she will sketch out on paper or simulate on computer.
His creations, which are often ephemeral, can be used to reproduce a town or a place, or to anchor the production in a fantasy world; he can then rely on his ability to play with perspectives, materials and colours to achieve a result that is as close as possible to the director’s expectations.
Above all, he or she is a professional director. Set designers can also work in museums, where their role is often to think about the layout of an exhibition, to give it better visibility and allow visitors to move around more freely.
Once the design is finalised, he or she is responsible for monitoring and supervising the craftsmen. They must ensure that everything is done on time.
HIS EXPERTISE, HIS KNOWLEDGE
Cultivated, organised, clever and ingenious, the set designer must be involved in the field to deliver quality work: while maintaining an overall vision of the project, he or she must follow the teams involved in the various stages of creation with the other show professionals.
The set designer must have both artistic and technical flair. Both an artist and a technician, they can draw on their heightened sense of aesthetics, which they will put to good use in the construction of a set and the production of costumes, thanks to their knowledge of technical drawing, materials, interior architecture and their general and artistic culture.
This professional is now aware of the new audiovisual and multimedia approaches, including virtual reality technologies and the relative requirements of the Internet.
CAREER AND DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Today, set design is becoming increasingly popular, and can also be applied to museums and even department stores’ windows, to exhibition spaces that stage the works they present, for artistic or educational purposes. This opens up new opportunities for set designers.
Set designers are usually employed on a casual basis. This means that they work on a freelance basis for various organisations or are paid on a commission basis.
The average salary range is €20-30k.
