Set Design Through this study, I aim to understand what a set designer's role truly is and how to have success in that field. First I would learn the history behind set design, and how it has evolved over the years. I will research award- winning set designers, and study their work; see what makes a good set and how they stand out. This will aid my knowledge when creating my own model set, and aid the design process. I also want to incorporate some of my favourite artists, and gather their techniques when designing. Set Design is the creation of the scenery you see in theatre, film or television. A set designer’s main role, in a production, is the set or the scenery you see. However, they can also be in charge of props, costume, sound design, lighting and budget; if they are not in charge, they would work very closely with those that are. The director gives the set designer a brief, and shares his vision with him, about what he wants from the scenery. Set designer has many limitations to their design, other than budget and the director’s brief. For example; the spacing of the stage and set, and how the actors can work with it. Also, depending on the stage layout, the sight lines of the audience; a theatre-in-theround is famous for the issue as some parts of the crowd are seeing a completely different play to the others. Another factor to consider is lighting, which according to the stage director at the Garrick Theatre, Stockport is a problem a lot of set designers seem to forget about. Although there are many limitations to their work, I believe it often enables the best pieces to come through. Set design has been around for numerous centuries; from the ancient Greek to the Medieval era. However, during these times, the set you see in the theatre was just a rear wall with minor detail and the writers had to create the scenery in the lines; leaving it to the imagination of the audience. A theatrical revolution took place during the Italian Renaissance, in a period between 1508 to 1638, where artists/architects introduced perspective and 3D structures to their work. This created the illusion of space and depth, and paved the way set design is done today. During the 19 th Century, much more realistic and historically accurate scenery was the trend, with an insurgency against twodimensional painted boards/canvases. This led to the creation of the wooden stage, with trap doors and panels that the actor could interact with. As technology was not as nearly advanced as it is today, the lighting and sound limitations problems were tenfold. To battle sound issues, architects created the theatre to be cone shaped, so the sound travels to the whole audience. To overcome lighting issues, plays were held outside during the day or if enclosed, it would be lit using footlights, reflectors, chandeliers and fire torches. In the 20 th Century, architect Walter Gropius thought that sets and stage layouts had grown stale. In 1927, this prompted him to design a stage, visible to the audience in three directions, called a ‘Thrust Theatre’. Many theatres built during the 20 th Century followed this idea, such as the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Swan Theatre in Stratford-uponAvon.
After reading the article, “The 10 best theatre designs” by Susannah Clapp which was published by the Guardian, I could see what makes a good set. One factor to create a great set, is how it complements the lighting. In the article, a great example of this is Sucker Punch (2010), where Miriam Buether transformed the Young Vic into a boxing ring with stands around it. She wrapped mirrors around the ring, meaning lighting would reflect of the mirrors and could blind the audience from the performance. She combated this by placing the lights directly above the ring, which also gave the feeling of a real fight night in Madison Square Gardens. Another factor to a great set, is how it aids the storytelling. A great example of this is The White Guard (2010), where Bunny Christie allowed the stage to be in “constant motion”; the stage would tip back and forth, when one of the characters is drunk. Furthermore, another important aspect is the immersion the set provides to the audience. Faust (2006)-designed by Punchdrunk- was a 1,500 square foot warehouse in Wapping, which was converted into a ‘mini town’. It contained stores, a cinema and a diner; as the audience would walk around wherever they pleased at free will, it created real immersion. Nonetheless, in my opinion the most important element to a great set, is originality. All the plays I have discussed, and the rest on the list, show great originality and that’s why Susannah Clapp has placed them in her top 10. A talented and highly praised stage designer is Es Devlin, who was born on the 24 th September 1971 in Kingston-upon-Thames, London. She has received 3 Olivier Awards, Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and an OBE for her work, and has collaborated with the likes of Kanye West, Jay Z, Beyonce and many others. I will be focusing on her theatrical work; Chimerica (which she won a Laurence Olivier award for in 2014), the Nether (also won a Laurence Olivier award in 2015) and Hamlet (nominated for a Laurence Olivier award in 2016). Chimerica and the Nether are similar, in the sense that they are abstract. For Chimerica, Es Devlin created a cube-like- box for each room, with projections on the walls. The lighting in the box, showed the mood of the scene. She designed numerous boxes, giving a real variety to the audience and creating immersion, when the location changes. For the Nether, Es used similar concept with the projections on the walls. She also had a similar concept with the box idea, but this team creating the whole stage into a box; the audience feel like they are looking into a window of that world. However, Es Devlin created a much more realistic set for Hamlet; contrasting the Nether and Chimerica. She created a large room, with stairs leading up to a first floor and a hallway going towards the back of stage. You can see light entering from the first floor windows, casting shadows across the set; this created a real intense and awry mood. She also piled rubble high towards the back of the room, with it descending down towards the stage. This showed how dilapidated and deserted the house is.
(Image of Es Devlin’s set for ‘Chimerica’)
(Image of Es Devlin’s set for ‘the Nether’)
(Image of Es Devlin’s set for ‘Hamlet’)
On the other side of the coin, in film, Anna Pinnock is one of the best Set Decorators in the industry currently, with five academy award nominations and one academy award win for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'. In film, numerous sets are built for different scenes, which is a restriction in theatre. However, due to the high demand for sets and scenery that needs to be created, Computer-generated-imagery (CGI) is relied on upon heavily in modern film. With the Grand Budapest hotel, the director, Wes Anderson, calls for flat shots with not much depth, symmetrical layout of the scene and cast, and a colour palette of four to five colours from the scenery and the costumes. Anna Pinnock was able to deliver, and more; her and her crew transformed a disused shopping mall in Saxony, Germany, to the hotel you see on the screen. The shots that Wes Anderson uses, mixed with the scenery displayed, creates a 'doll-house' affect, with the audience peering into their lives. Another film Anna Pinnock has worked on, is 'Fantasic Beasts and Where To Find Them'. The directror, David Yates, needed a realistic setting of a 1920's New York; to create this, Anna Pinnock, and her team, created few streets and buildings to resemble that era. However, to fill in the rest of the city, she relied on CGI by wrapping a large green-screen around the street/buildings.
(Anna Pinnock’s set for ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel)
(Anna Pinnock’s set for ‘Fantastic Beasts and where To Find Them)
For my project, I chose my set design model to be based on the play ‘A View From a Bridge’, by Arthur Miller. I chose this play, as it relied upon a grimy and dingy urban setting. Although set in a 1950’s Brooklyn, New York, I will work from source material from areas near to me (Castlefield being the main one) and from source material from a trip to New York I took part in a few years ago. The name, ‘ A View From a Bridge’, comes from Brooklyn bridge, as Arthur miller describes it as “people going to nice neighbourhoods, passing over this area where this Greek drama was taking place”. This refers to the area of Brooklyn that lies under the bridge, with many different cultures and dramas that the people on the bridge- inferred to be wealthier- would be oblivious to. Another reason I chose this play, was because of the heavy significance of the bridge; I wanted to take influences from the Castlefield bridges and place them in model. The main area of performance is in a dining room owned by the character ‘Eddie’. As he and his family were not on a, relatively, high income, he is not able to afford luxury items nor his house to be decorated to affluently. I have to take these things into consideration when designing the set. I have chosen certain artists who influence my work, such as Liam Spencer and Ian Murphy. Both these artists are local to me, and have plenty of works done of my area. Ian Murphy works, usually, on paper and uses a range of media in his work; however a common theme in his pieces is that he layers them using newspapers local to the region or other brochures. This layering creates a relief, and texture adding more realism to his work. He gives a great sense of perspective, as well as reflections on the waters, showing the depth and real sense of the viewer being there. Ian Murphy has works from around the world, and as he travels, he would do pen studies in his sketchbook. These pen studies are more loose than his paintings, however aids him with the perspective and the scale when he paints. The other artist, Liam Spencer, is from Burnley and studied fine art at Manchester Polytechnic. In all his work, he uses oil paint on board; the board allows him to get a much easier blend, and movement. In an interview, he said “I’m always drawn to light and colour”; this is very prominent in his work, as his reflections of the light show give atmosphere to the paintings. Compared to Ian Murphy, he is not as detailed in his work as he uses larges brushes- giving large brush strokes. He describes his work as close to Impressionism, as he tries to convey “how we might see the world at a glance”. Liam spencer, also, travels the world and has works from around the globe; I will mainly concentrate on his New York and Manchester paintings. One more artist I looked at is Sunga Park who is from South Korea, and is self-taught. She uses watercolour on paper as her choice of medium (and, as she enjoys its “unpredictability”, which can be seen in her work. She works from architecture and portraits; however I will focus on the architecture side. You can see the fragments of structure in her work intertwined with the paint, showing a great sense of fluidity and blend between the tones. The colour, Sunga Park chooses, in her work describes the mood of
that place- the feeling you get from it, the weather or the condition of the buildings. This idea is supported by her, as she said in an interview “I always focus on showing my feelings through common architectural features…. Art is completed by people’s imagination or appreciation”; the perfect description for her work. To conclude, I have learnt that set design is always evolving, whether it be the techniques used or the design style. The use of perspective is very important in today's sets, especially in theatre and I will incorporate that in my design. I have also found out how crucial the relationship the set has with the lighting and sound, and it is something I will take into account when designing my set. I have determined that what makes a good set is how unique the set is, and how it interacts with the actors as well as the audience. Researching my artistic influences has aided my design process, and gave me a lot of ideas with regards to my model.