f r o m T H E AT R E t o F I L M A History of Set Design
Sam Watson
In the beginning, there was theatre,
and more recently, there was film. The primary difference between these two dramatic mediums is that theatre is live and that film is recorded;
from THEATRE
however, each is incredibly influential on the
to FILM
parameters may differ, theatrical and film sets are
other when it comes to set design. Though the
still considered a background that aids in helping
A History of Set Design
the director and actors bring a playwright’s, or screenwriter’s, story to life.
The Ancient Greeks, around the 5th
century
BCE,
were
the
first
to
have
painted scenery (Hornby 120). The scenery was painted on wooden screens, and, “was more representational than illusionistic” (Hornby 120). Since many Greek plays were staged outside in amphitheatres, the surrounding landscape was often utilized as scenery referenced by the characters (Hornby 121). Typically, the stage Sam Watson
consisted of a platform with a hut behind it; this
History of Graphic Design
hut was used for actors’ entrances/exits, and
7 December 2010
costume
changes.
This
was
eventually
decorated to become part of the scenery, and this is perceived as the primary reason why, “two-thirds of surviving Greek tragedies are set in front of a Watson 1
palace, temple, or tomb” (Hornby 121).
The Romans, who more or less absorbed
Greek culture and made it their own, were the first to use painted structures, such as windows, balconies, realistic columns, and rocks (BurrisMeyer 3). It is important to emphasize that these structures were also functional, as in windows could be opened, an actor could lean against a column, etc (Burris-Meyer 3). The Romans were Ruins of an amphitheatre in Segesta, Italy (“Segesta, Theatre”).
also the first to use curtains (Burris-Meyer 4). In modern theatre, curtains are very important for they signal the end of a scene or act, conceal set changes, and in instances where a set change needs to occur but the play is still going action wise, the actor(s) can act in front of the curtain while the set is being changed behind the curtain.
The Renaissance is really considered
the genesis of modern theatrical design for several reasons. The most important is Filippo The Teatro Farnese in Parna, Italy, built 16181628, is the first surviving theatre with a permanent proscenium arch (“Teatro Franese”).
Brunellschi’s discovery in 1415 of how to create, “the illusion of space and distance on a flat surface” (Wild). Though some, like Sebastiano Serlio in 1545, experimented with a slope staged floor to create the illusion of depth, Brunellschi’s method prevailed and is still used today (Wild). The painted drop also began to be used during this period, and in 1608, Ingo Jones began raming scenes with the use of a proscenium arch (Wild). Watson 2
Up until this point, the philosophy
When films are not being shot on
concerning scene design was basically that, “the
location, they are often being shot on a studio
scene location was obvious, unimportant, or
back lot or sound stages. Like theatrical stages,
stated in a character’s lines” (Wild). During the
they are built in a way that allows them to be
19th century, designers really tried to create as
disassembled for either traveling or storage
realistic environments as budget and time
purposes (Nishi). In the beginning, film sets
allowed. Set pieces began to be three-dimen-
were designed in a very similar fashion to
sional instead of two-dimensional, mostly due to
theatrical sets; painted backdrops and false
innovations in theatrical lighting (Burris-Meyer
perspective paintings were still in use, and the
3-4). Starting in 1810 in Germany, there was a
architecture of the sets themselves was still very
movement to put on historically accurate plays
theatrical (Sargeant 70). By the 1930’s, however,
with emphasis on historically correct scenery
serious consideration was given to the relationship
(Wild). Towards the end of the 19th century, the
between the set and the framing of camera shots.
flat stage floor was broken up platforms, ramps,
In theatre, the audience is free to look at
and stairs, and theatrical lighting was altered
any bit of the set (though lighting is used to try
throughout the play in order to help establish
to focus their attention); in film, the camera only
mood and drama (Wild).
shoots what the director wants seen. The materials
The end of the 19th century brought a
and fabrics utilized in film set construction began
shift to the philosophy of scene design due to the
to reflect and emphasize certain characteristics
birth of cinema which, “made illusion onstage if
of the characters featured in the film (Sargeant
not useless at best unimpressive” (Hornby 119).
71). Also, set designers, starting in Germany,
Where cinema can capture dramatic action in the
starting
field, theatre is often confined to an indoor space
towers that were not built to be filmed, but built in
with a live audience. So, in reaction to the new
order to capture certain camera shots (Sargeant
industry, “stage designers began moving away
71). By the 1970’s, the architecture of the sets was
from realistic illusion to symbolism, the bold
constructed with both shot framing, and mood of
abstraction that depicts nothing, but instead
the scene and characters, in mind (Vidler).
evokes a mood, an atmosphere” (Hornby 119).
building
features
such
as
offset
Unlike in theatre where in the 1940’s sets described as “skeletal” began to be designed in
Watson 3
the mainstream (Wild), film sets have always
been expected to be hyper-realistic (Hornby
puter-generated imagery”). Many feel that as the
130). That is, the audience doesn’t need to use
CGI becomes more efficient and cheaper, more
their imagination to interpret the set for it is
films will replace portions of sets and location
already set out, in full, in front of them. It is
shoots with CGI (Dooley). This has already been
regarded that there are seven spaces of action that
done in films such as Sin City and Sky Captain
occur on film: spaces of power, private spaces,
and the World of Tomorrow, where very few
labyrinth spaces, transit spaces, stage spaces,
physically constructed sets are used (Sin City)
virtual spaces, and location spaces (Caldwell).
(Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow).
With the exception of spaces of power and virtual spaces, these spaces of action have been
Example of a space of power from the 1927 film Metropolis (“Metropolis Interior”).
present in the history of film since the beginning (Caldwell). Spaces of power make characters, “appear small, vulnerable, and exposed in a space designed to intimidate” (Caldwell 43). These types of sets first fulfilled their potential during the German Expressionist movement, and in the 1927 film Metropolis, sets designed by Otto Hunte, Enrich Kettelhut, and Karl Volbrecht (IMDB) were used to “reflect the differences
Example of a virtual space from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (“Sky Captain Promo”).
between the elite ruling class and the oppressed working classes” (Caldwell 44). Virtual spaces are fairly recent, and typically consist of actors acting in front of blue/green screens, and in post production, these blue/green screens are replaced by computer generated imagery, or CGI (Caldwell 46). CGI was first utilized in the 1973 film Westworld, and was fully embraced by Hollywood in the early 1990’s in films such as Jurassic Park (“Com-
Watson 4
The budget allotment for film sets
Though modern theatrical and film set
is generally perceived to be higher than the
design may seem worlds apart in construction
money put aside for theatrical set construc-
and aesthetic, they are both still just background
tion, and with this, film sets are expected to be
to the action of the story. With this is mind, it
historically accurate. If the film is set in the
is not uncommon for set designers to work for
modern day, it should be as modern as possible,
both mediums, and this has been the norm since
and if it is set in the past, it should look like
the 1960’s (Larson xvi). Both mediums are still
the past, though it will inherently have modern
highly influential on the other. Theatrical sets
influences. For instance, the Bible films from the
can now utilize projections to create moving
1950’s, such as The Ten Commandments with
backgrounds behind the actors on stage, and with
sets designed by Albert Nokazi, Hal Pereira,
careful staging, projections can even have the
and Walter Tyler (IMDB), feature incredibly
illusion
colorful and stylized sets to show off the
(Blumenthal). The biggest difference, however,
wonders
and
between theatrical sets and films is this: Where
Cinemascope, which were both relatively new
theatre involves the audience to suspend disbelief
cinematic innovations (Tashiro 42). They also
when it comes to the set becoming a real place,
were heavily lighted to show off the mass scale
to a film audience’s eye, the set is not a set, but a
of the sets, for the size of the sets often reflected
real place.
of
color
cinematography
the size of studio pockets (Tashiro 42) (Carnes).
One of the sets from Cecil B. Demille’s The Ten Commandments (“The Ten Commandments”).
Watson 5
of
being
three-dimensional
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