Pre-Prod. Props & Set Design

SET DESIGN 

For this piece, as our locations are all hypothetical, we can say that they're confirmed. There are only two locations, that being the studio, which is where all the interior house scenes would be shot, along with a few of the close ups of props. Then we have on location shoots, which will be outside the Sodder family house, on selected streets in the U.S, & a few other potential locations, if necessary. So the set design for this particular episode will be pivotal in working together and communicating the same tones & themes that all the other components will be doing simultaneously. This would be to ensure that the correct emotions & aesthetic are conveyed to the audience successfully, resulting in a valid & viable project.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SET DESIGN 

Seldom do audience's like to be fed data through descriptive scenes because they tend to be tedious, over-complicated, and also the least stimulating way of conveying ideas and data. When you're telling the audience what they need to know, it's like being lectured. When you're showing the audience what they need to know, it's allowing them to make their own interpretation about what they see on-screen, put two & two together, and engage actively in the narrative.

This is why set design can be such a great tool for storytelling because the visual components it employs—a pristine bathroom, an empty fridge, an apartment full of IKEA furniture—can tell your audience so much more about the narrative than words often can.

- Mood: How do you want the audience to feel when watching a certain scene? Fearful? depressed? Calm? Whatever it may be, that is the "mood" of the scene and set design can help convey that. A good example of that is if the mood is supposed to be scary, dark, decayed, old, and broken elements will definitely help communicate that to the audience.

 - Character: Can the audience tell what kind of person the character is or how they're feeling based on the set design? If not, they totally can. For example, an unclean home could indicate that a character is a slob, while a room full of sports memorabilia indicates a character is a sport's fan.

 - Theme: The themes of the film can be communicated through the set design as well. Once it's established what they are—human vs. nature, human vs. technology, coming of age, capitalism— design elements can be chosen that contain subtext, reminding the audience of what the narrative is about.

Production/Set design, is crucial to the success of a show. It's the first thing that the audience is usually a witness too, and if it's not believable then how will the rest of the film/production work if it can't keep the audience hooked. A great example of some fantastic set/production design work would be that of the film Room (2015) which is set in one key location, and is just a small outhouse, if you could even call it that. The design of it, a long with all of the other technical components, really brings to life the struggle & isolation that the character is experiencing. So for our set within the studio, there would be obviously a constructed set, which would have several rooms, as we actually only shoot in two bedrooms, the living room, the dining room & the hallway with the staircase. Each of those rooms would be created, and styled/themed to that of the interior of a 1940s house. Everything was bleak, dull, uninspiring, there was no dazzle or shine, it was all pragmatic & purposeful items & even the furniture & objects aesthetic matched that. There were no appealing items of furniture during that time, as it was amidst WW2, so everything had to be for practical use, or else what use was it for. So the colour of the set & what it will be decorated with will have to match with what has been mentioned within the script & on the storyboard, to make sure each component of this project is communicating the same concept. This is so that the general tone is conveyed throughout the project, and that everything is consistent with each element.  

  

  

PROP DESIGN

Research into prop design for this pre-production package has given me further clarification into the absolute importance of getting the prop design right and just how significant a part they play. These days, with all that’s involved in filmmaking:  actors, sets, costumes, special effects–it’s easy to overlook the little guy of cinema: our trusty unsung hero: the film prop. A good prop can help a film’s believability, like star wars and the films light sabers, while a bad one can pull you out of the experience. Props come in many shapes and sizes.  They can be large.  Or small.  Or really small They can be weapons, knives, food, drinks, personal possessions, weapons, drugs, sporting equipment, musical instruments, literally anything. But props can be so much more than just objects in a scene. Great props can transcend the boundaries of the films they are in, and become legendary icons of cinema and pop culture. 

They can show the progress of mankind, (2001: Space Odyssey, Bone scene)

or reveal the hidden beauty of the world (American Beauty, floating bag scene)

A prop can be used as an opener for your film, or set you up for a sequel. A prop can draw you into a scene, or help you cut to another. A prop can be so important that it's in the title of your film, or can it be the title of your film. A good prop can represent a character, to the point where you can't think about that object without thinking about that character, 

(Raiders of the lost ark, Harrison Fords whip)

A prop can sum up the character's internal struggles, or sum up their way of life, or give you a glimpse into their personality. A prop can show a characters unique gift, or a characters unique madness. And sometimes a prop can actually be a character in the film, like in Cast Away, with Tom Hanks and his vollyball Wilson. 

(Cast Away, Tom Hanks with Wilson)

On rare occasions a single prop has the power to represent a man's entire life. This is the power of props: they can provide subtle subtext as well as function. You can use a prop to tell without telling. When used like this props become more than just objects. They become symbols, symbols that can represent a friendship, or a marriage, science or god. 

A prop can be a symbol of reality, or illusion. It can be a symbol of the future or the past. The same prop can symbolise childhood in one film, but death in another. In the Godfather, Coppola associates death with something bizarre: oranges. This isn't the kind of thing that's in the foreground of filmmaking. But it's there if you're looking for it. But props aren't always relegated to subtext, Christopher Nolan uses certain objects to actually move his plot forward. But even then, they're still symbols that support the theme, because a watch makes perfect sense for a film about time travel, and a polaroid picture makes perfect sense for a film about memory.

(Memento: Christopher Nolan - Polaroid photos) 

(Interstellar: Christopher Nolan - Watch)

Of course, aside from the symbolic aspects of props, they're also highly useful for other purposes. A prop can create tension by showing us that we are running out of time. It's often done by using exploding time bombs like in Fight Club or The Dark Knight.

In the end props are just objects.  But objects are things everyone can relate to.  They are things we can hold ourselves and when we see characters doing the same its a mutual experience that draws us into their experience. 

So bearing all of this in mind, I have to choose the right props in which support & guide the narrative that has been built. For our project there won't be a vast amount of props, but the props that we will have will indeed have some significance. 
Here is a prop list of what we will need - 
- 1940s Rotary phone. 
- 1940s Model car 
- 1940s Styled wedding rings 
- 1940s Worker vans
- 1940s Furniture 

These props would reinforce the aesthetic we are setting out to achieve, and further add to the validity of the show which would hopefully convince the audience that's its a believable set. As stated above, props can be used for many purposes and convey an array of things, so to get strong props, in the sense of strengthening our narrative with these kind of props that're listed above, would be beneficial to the outcome of this project. Each item is significant, as planned out in the storyboard are moments in it where these specific items will be shot with a close up, so they would need to be as authentic looking as possible and for that to be achievable they would have to be from the stated era to have any chance of that. The props have to match the script, to make it as authentic and as true as it can be visually, so that the audience buys into it & don't begin to question what they're watching. That's the key to props, not allowing the audience to know they're props.