The art that brings stories alive on screen

ONE SEASONED set designer who has won international acclaim describes his job as being "To capture audiences through atmosphere." Set design is about translating a director's vision and a screenwriter's story into living form.

It is about re-creating a world that has so far existed only in the imagination of a few people.

The entertainment business depends on products that are the complex creations of a multitude of people with varied talents. The set designer is one of those critical pivots whose skill at creating atmosphere could make or mar a film.

These days, more than ever before, movies and tele-serials are about packaging, about looking good, about convincing the audience of a certain mood, a certain ambience, and drawing them into the world of the screenplay.

Udayshankar Choudary is a set designer who moved into the field after working for several years in advertising, first as a visualiser, and then as an art director. Trained at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) in Hyderabad, Udayshankar's understanding of design led him to try his hand at a variety of other tasks that related to creating visually appealing media products.

From working on advertising layouts he moved on to creating "art- based" interiors for clubs, restaurants and pubs.

Almost accidentally, he found himself working as a visualiser on a film project at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, transferring his skills and experience from one kind of media product to another. "That was my entry into film land," he recalls.

Spurred on by those who recognised that he had a talent for this kind of work, he became a member of the Association of Art Directors, a film industry association that functions almost like a gatekeeper to the profession. This membership entitled him to formal association with any film director.

"A set designer is associated with the film right from the beginning, when the director and producer are studying the script and working out how to turn it into something that will appeal to audiences," explains Udayshankar. "You have to understand the script and decide on location, check to see whether the location needs to be physically modified, make decisions about using sets or natural backdrops, and so on."

The job therefore begins much before the crew goes on location for a shoot, and continues through the shooting, to ensure that everything on a set or context is true to the story, the characters and the historical period.

In the Indian film industry, a lot of emphasis is placed on the sets of song-and-dance sequences. "Depending on whether it is based on fantasy or reality, we have to work out options," says Udayshankar.

"Such a sequence requires a minimum of four different situations to retain audience interest, so a lot of work has to go into planning it."

"Edward Gianfrancesco, an award-winning Hollywood set designer, believes that research is key to success in set design.

While authenticity receives somewhat lower priority compared to escapist fantasy in Indian cinema, it still plays a major role in many contemporary films.

Udayshankar says that he spends a lot of time doing the research, accumulating plenty of visual references, and deciding what is suitable, before making a presentation to the director on the set design. He carries a digital camera everywhere he goes, to record snippets that he can use for ideas for his sets.

Even when a unit is shooting indoors, in a house, for instance, he must make sure that the arrangement of the furniture, the decor, and the items on the shelves and showcases are authentic for the purposes of the characters in the story. "So if the character is a doctor, or a computer professional, for instance, the surroundings must reflect that.

"A career in set design is far from comfortable, though. The entertainment industry is given to whims and fancies, and it takes a long time and a lot of patience to stick it out long enough to make a name and command a steady stream of jobs.

Membership in the Association of Art Directors is almost a must for those who are serious about working independently. Membership depends on training and experience.

Most people begin as assistants to senior set designers. Udayshankar, for instance, usually works with a team of four to six assistants who do jobs ranging from maintaining continuity between scenes to research and managing the physical props.

It also helps to build some experience by working in related media, such as television, which offers a lot of opportunities for conceptual space design.

Training in visual art or design (for instance at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, or JJ School of Art) can give you a head start, though, as Udayshankar says, very few of the successful film set designers and art directors have formal training.Experience is what counts, and that has to come the hard way working on the fringes for a while. "It's important to cultivate people, and build a good network," emphasizes Udayshankar.

A set designer's life is not easy by any standards. Long hours, dealing with temperamental artists and demanding directors, managing people and property in the best possible way, are just a few of the challenges.

"And you can be certain that no one will reach out a hand to help you. You have to prove yourself," says Udayshankar.

An eye for extreme detail and a mind to translate the pictures in the director's head into a camera-worthy is the task of the set designer. "You have to be able to work very fast," says Udayshankar, "You have to know today what the director will want tomorrow!"

Designers must be flexible, willing to make last-minute adjustments to suit the situation. They must be able to communicate their concepts to directors through words, models, or other visual presentations.

Udayshankar makes extensive use of computer-based presentations to show his directors the "look and feel" of the sets he plans.

No matter how great the story line, and how good the acting, it is to a great extent the set designer's responsibility to create a visual package that will make audiences buy the film.

USHA RAMAN

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