Understanding Design in Film Production: Using Art, Light, and Locations to Tell Your Story

Great visual storytelling is possible on a minimal budget, but you have to spend a lot of energy thinking and planning. In Understanding Design in Film Production, author Barbara Freedman Doyle demonstrates how to use production design, cinematography, lighting, and locations to create an effective and compelling visual story, even on the tightest of budgets.

Featuring in-depth interviews with production designers, set decorators, construction coordinators, cinematographers, costumers, and location managers talking about the techniques of their craft, it provides you with a feel for what everyone on the visual team does, how they think and plan, and how best to utilize the knowledge and skills they offer.

This book guides you through how to find, secure, and manage the best locations, how to create and dress a set, and how to make old look new and new look old―all on a tight budget. With insights from experts at the top of their field, sharing how they plan for the real-world application of large-scale ideas, you’ll be able to see ways to apply their techniques to your own smaller-scale productions.

Understanding Design in Film Production is a practical, hands-on guide for any aspiring filmmaker who wants to understand the basic principles of visual design in order to create exceptional looking films.

Barbara Freedman Doyle began her film career as the assistant to the Senior VP of Worldwide Production at Tri-Star Pictures. She continued to work her way up the freelance production ladder as a production coordinator and production supervisor on projects for CBS, NBC, Disney, TNT, Showtime, Hearst Entertainment, Hallmark, 20th Century Fox, Morgan Creek Productions, and Alcon Entertainment. She is the current Professor of Producing and heads the College to Career Program at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media, and is a former Associate Dean of Production at the American Film Institute. She continues to consult on production for narrative and documentary film projects.