Production Designer Job Interview Specifications

Below is an example of a production designer Job Specification Sheet that may be found in a media job newspaper or media job website.


Production Designer

Genre: Drama – Drama

Working Area: Scotland

Location: Edinburgh

Contract Duration: 6 weeks

Application Deadline: 25/11/07

Salary: £16 an hour (40 hour week)

Job Description: ITV Drama, 6 week attachment

Job Specification: Production designers are responsible for the visual concept of a film, television, or theatre production. Working closely with the director and producer, they realise a design style for sets, locations, graphics, props, lighting, camera angles and costumes. Once the concept is decided, designers usually appoint and manage an art department, which includes a design and construction team. They often form a strong partnership with a particular director with whom they may work on many productions.
Obviously, in this role you will be required to create a suitable visual concept for a television drama. This job is open to young designers with new ideas and potential and must also be seen as an opportunity to gain valued work experience.

Competencies:
Reading scripts to identify factors indicating a particular visual style. Must show an ability to dram meaning from the text and narrative to build a suitable production scape.

Considering the production brief (which may be written or oral). Must have good listening skills and a good knowledge of production techniques.

Meeting the producer and director to discuss concepts and production requirements. Good people skills are essential, you must be able to keep in constant suitable contact with the director and producers.

Researching art history, background politics and historical information and producing design ideas. Creative ability is essential. You must be able to reference culture which applies to the script to help bring meaning to the drama.

Planning and monitoring the design budget. Must be able to manage a design budget keeping in mind maximum spendature and necessary budget for seperate departments.

Providing scale drawings or models for studio or theatre sets. A background in production design or graphic design would be helpful but not essential. You must be able to create models and drawing to help pre-visualise the final effect.

Producing design ideas for costumes, wigs, props, special effects, make-up, and graphics. All aspects of design must be catered for.

Identifying and assessing potential studios and locations. Must display a good knowledge of studio environment and studio capabilities.

Sourcing appropriate materials and researching effects. Must show competency in research and knowledge of materials used in production design and construction.

Presenting ideas to others involved in the production, such as actors and camera operators. Good communication skills are essential, you must be able to deliver your ideas clearly and professionally.

Researching, estimating and preparing a property list. You must show skills in other aspects of the productions such as properties.

Hiring and managing an art department team or teams. Managerial and administrative skills are necessary to lead a team and run a department.

Instructing the set construction company, scenic artists and special effects specialists, and monitoring their work. Again managerial roles and good leadership is important.

Liaising with the costume designer, director of photography, and props, lighting and sound director. Be able to build a professional relationship with other departments and work with them to create desired effect.

Attending progress meetings and being present during rehearsals and at filming to advise on visual presentation. Be helpful and on hand to answer questions relating to design.

NEWS DESK MWAH HA HA!!! CES (Consumer Electronics Show) - Viva Las Vegas

All this week the giant Consumer Electronics Show has been taking place in Las Vegas. The show aims to introduce the world to some of the newest and high tech electronic equipment available. There were several amazing highlights to the show such as the in-car Internet, the 150inch high definition television which takes up an entire wall and the digital home of the future.
(BBC Website)

The show stars several bits of kit designed for personal entertainment, there was also a strong emphasis on marketing trends and the chance for people to get there hands on the technology.

"Business strategies and market trends. Hands-on technical courses. There's no better way to learn, connect, explore and gain an edge in the consumer technology industry."

Nowadays it may seem to some people that technology can't get much further unless we truly step into the flying car, teleporting type world of tomorrow as demonstrated in Star Trek. What is needed to progress in technology? A need for the technology? Does anyone really need a 150inch television? The answer is no simply but that doesn't matter, because the money isn't necessarily in the need of the technology but the desire.

Bill Gates made an appearance and answered questions regarding the future of computer technology saying...

"...touch screens will dominate PC development while answering questions from readers of the BBC News website."

Maybe one of the more incredible pieces at the show was the radio for the deaf, which using audio capture technology, turns sound into words on a screen for deaf listeners. The picture on the right isn't a deaf radio...or a deaf person. I just thought it was cool :(

So if you have a few hundred quid, pick up some flights and head on down to Las Vegas CES show as it is running until..actually scrap that it finished today.

Trip to The London Studios

Over the Christmas break I was lucky enough to visit the London studios, one of Europe's largest television studio complexes. My trip revolved around the rehearsal and subsequent recording of a channel four production 'Balls of Steel'. The production itself was actually Balls of S***...but that's not the focus of this post.

The London Studios are situated on the Southbank of the River Thames next door to the National Theatre. The facility comprises of several studios, (The three main ones being underground) and a tower where the administrative duties of the seperate departments and network bosses nest.

During my visit, I was under the watchful eye of Steve Crabtree, an experienced technical operator in the VTR (Video Tape Recording) department, who's job it was to prepare and playback VT's for 'Balls of Steel' using an EVS machine. (more on that later)

The studio (Number 2) has a gallery and sound booth connected to it out of the audiences view, this benefits the production as it enables the gallery staff to get to the studio quickly if needs be. This differed from the 'Deal or no Deal' set as they're gallery was in a completely seperate building on the site, all credit to their floor manager who must have been the producer's eyes, ears and hands.

'Balls of Steel' is an hour long show that revolves around people doing stupid and sometimes completely tasteless things. Channel four had hired the studios for four days to record 6 one hour episodes. I found this quite surprising, it seemed like a lot of material for four days work.

The set comprised of a main staging area with a large LCD screen built into the back wall. Material was played onto this so that the presenter, guests and audience could see the additional content of the show filmed off site. The show was still rehearsing three hours before recording, however, remembering back to 'Deal or no Deal', it seemed understandable. All they really needed to shoot in the studio was the artist's chats with the presenter and the audience reactions. Hearing the talkback from the gallery, Steve commented on the experience of the producers, Steve has worked in the industry for many years and found it obvious and frustrating when an inexperienced producer worked on a show, he commented on they're lack of expertise resulting in time wasting and therefore the production company potentially needing to fork out more for the facilities.

I counted four cameras, a camera on a ped with an auto-cue for the presenter. A camera mounted on a tripod but sometimes taken off and used as hand-held, another camera on a ped capturing stage left and finally a Jib or 'Jimmy Jib'. A jib is an arm that allows the camera to be elevated much higher or lower than a ped could achieve. Its arm-like structure fixed to a tripod allows the jib to rotate the camera 360 degrees around the tripod and some jibs allow the camera to rotate at the end of the arm. The jib basically is an aid to the cinematography of a production allowing much more interesting and hard to achieve angles.
(Wikipedia)

Now, onto the EVS (Electronic Video System). I kind of found this thing a bit hard to grasp so I'm going to let the above link do all the talking so to speak. Basically an EVS machine allows you to record, playback, dub and edit live footage instantaneously.
(EVS Website)

The EVS has 6 ports which can be configured in a number of ways. The set up for 'Balls of Steel' was four outputs playing material into the studio and the other two recording into the EVS. Because the material coming into the machine is digital, it can be treated in a non-linear fashion. For example...at one point, Steve was playing a VT into the studio, recording footage from the studio and editing a piece of footage he'd recorded seconds earlier all at the same time. The system was originally developed for sports productions which explains how seconds after a goal is scored in a football match, a slow-motion replay is shown, the plungers shown in the above picture can be programmed to speedup or reduce the rate at which the footage is played.

I asked Steve about the monitor listing the material stored in the EVS as it was in DOS format. He said the main reason for this were due to the system being used for a long time and trusted and also for visual clarity.

I asked what it was like to work in a technical position in television. He said that television was changing and that the introduction of machines like EVS and large server based technologies were making the work easier, I asked whether he thought they were a threat to jobs and he replied by telling me that there will always be work for someone that is skilled in the trade. I also asked him whether he felt that programs like Final Cut and Soundtrack Pro were making everyday people capable of doing jobs that three of four years ago would have taken years of training and practice. He said 'A mechanic has his tools in the garage.'

What I wise man...

Media Related Story - The Queen's 'Royal Channel' on YouTube

Buckingham Palace has reacently launched The Royal Channel on YouTube to meet the public's needs regarding royal footage.

"always keeps abreast with new ways of communicating with people".

According to Buckingham Palace, the Queen is genuinely interested in the evolution of communication and has heralded the channel as a way to "...make the Christmas message more accessible to younger people and those in other countries."

(BBC Website)

The channel offers clips from throughout the Queen's reign, important events in the royal calendar and links to other sites of royal interest.

The launch of this YouTube channel is quite incredible. It demonstrates a couple of things. It shows that sites like YouTube are becoming more important to organisations who want to spread information to a large volume of people.

It also rather suggests that YouTube has an official quality to it. The Queen obviously feels that YouTube has some sort of status on the World Wide Web and as a result has chosen them to help her broadcast the royal message. The obvious benefit for YouTube is the royal seal of approval for their site, boosting their status and, no doubt, business.

NEWS DESK MWAH HA HA!!! - 15 reasons Facebook may be worth $15bn

Reuben - "Facebook is working again."

Lance - "Oh my God, everyone back to the computers."

This is becoming an ever more common set of events amongst young people nowadays, and it's making Microsoft bosses smile with glee.

Microsoft has invested $240m (£117m) in social networking site Facebook in exchange for a 1.6% share of the company. That puts a value of $15bn (£7.3bn) on a firm that has only been in existence three and a half years.

Here are 15 reasons why Facebook is potentially worth $15bn.

1. The network has gone viral in the last 12 months, with more than 50 million users worldwide and a user base that is growing faster than great rival MySpace. According to Facebook, it adds 200,000 new users each day.

2. The average user spends 3.5 hours a month on Facebook - more than the average user on rival MySpace - which is increasingly attractive to advertisers.

3. Facebook is the current Web 2.0 darling - popular with ordinary users and "tech heads" alike.

4. US research reveals that Facebook users come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college than MySpace users - increasing that attraction for advertisers.

5. Microsoft's investment makes them a serious player in the growing market of "social advertising". Social network profiles are full of personal data that users voluntarily hand over, which is very useful for targeting adverts.

6. Sixty percent of Facebook users are outside of the US - so Microsoft's investment buys access to a global audience quickly and simply.

7. Facebook is the new web: The decision to open up the network to outside developers turned Facebook into a destination for many uses, like messaging, photos and video. Of course, as Facebook is on the web it could never really be the new web.

8. Every major content firm with an online presence is either working on a Facebook application or has already launched one - from Google to the BBC.

9. According to a report, 233 million hours of work are lost each month in the UK due to staff looking at social networks. Advertisers can now target people when at their desks.

10. The openness of Facebook is attracting a wealth of talented developers who can launch their applications to millions of users quickly.

11. Facebook messaging is the new e-mail. Everyone feels stressed from a deluge of e-mail from unwanted people and companies. But Facebook messages are always from friends.

12. Facebook's "status updates" have become the easiest way to let friends know what you are doing and how you are feeling at any given moment.

13. Facebook thrives on playful applications such as Pirates, Zombies, Super Wall and Top Friends, which have made the network a place to play as well as communicate.

14. Facebook is the acceptable face of blogging - you can reflect your life and personality online without being seen as a "blogger", which often carries a geeky stigma.

15. Facebook is worth $15bn only because Microsoft says so. The value of Facebook is based on a 1.6% share of the firm being worth the $240m Microsoft paid for it. Microsoft and Google were in a bidding war for a slice of the firm and both companies have large pockets. This was not just business, this was personal, according to some analysts.

BBC Technology Website

Endemol - Ready, Steady...Deal Or No Deal (Did you see what I did there!)

Endemol is one of Britain's largest independent producers of TV and digital media content and is responsible annually for more than 5,000 hours of programming.

I was lucky enough to go along to Endemol UK's facilities in Bristol for a trip around the site. The site consists of a series of brick built warehouses. It wouldn't look out of place in a flick with themes of 80s political oppression in a northern mining town. (Think 'Billy Elliot')

The reason for this is simple, as prices rise regarding hiring facilities built for the purpose, Endemol have chosen to fabricate their own site out of old warehouses which can be cheaply turned into studio facilities and accompanying pre and post-production facilities.

The result is a site which is actually very practical because it means there is room for: Studios, scene docks, workshops, offices, artist and audience reception rooms, production galleries, edit suits and other accompanying pre and post-production facilities; all of which Endemol UK has.

So what is so special about Endemol that warrants my presence?
Well, Endemol are special for a couple of different reasons. They are currently Britain's top producer of content that does not broadcast. They also have some very VERY important, high rating shows under their belt.

These include:
Big Brother
Deal Or No Deal
Ready, Steady, Cook
8-10 Cats

and many others...

So what did you see Michael?
Well, my day began with a pleasant bus trip to the site during which I found a new appreciation for my iPod. I arrived a bit early so went for a stroll around a neighboring graveyard. (Don't look too deeply into that) I went and made my presence known at the reception and was invited into the waiting area where I was joined by Ved, Will, Rob and Reuben...hurrah!

We then met Annalise who took us through the Deal Or No Deal set to the audience reception area where we were given identification tags and introduced to the audience researchers.

Audience Researcher: From my understanding there job appears to be to book audience and then look after them when they are on the site, this involves providing safety information and information about the program and how it works. They also control the audience seating arrangements regarding where people should sit relating to how it will look on camera.

Studio Layout:

Once inside the studio, we watched a recording of the show which was filmed almost in chronological order other than some audience reactions which were 'picked up' after principal shooting had finished.

Some other roles we saw in the studio were:

Floor manager
Makeup Artists
Camera Operators and Camera Assistants

Please click here for a detailed explanation of these roles.

Then what happened?
After the recording, we were shown round the rest of the facilities by Annalise. We were told that they shoot three shows a day and simply rotate the audience. The editing was handled by a seperate company hired by Endemol on the same site, 'The Farm'.
There were I believe five editing suits all using Avid. It takes four days to edit one show together and there is a two month period between the program being shot and the program being broadcast. We were going to meet the production manager but unfortunately she was too busy.

It was a really good day and I think I actually learned quite a lot. I was surprised by the amount of time it took to edit a show and how many shows they shot in a day. I was also surprised by the amount of crew in the studio. And now I finally understand Deal or no Deal. Our episode will be broadcast on the 29/02/08.

So...are you ready for the big question? Deal, or no deal?

NEWS DESK MWAH HA HA!!! - "Extra Extra! Republicans Presidential YouTube Debate Isn't as popular as Star Wars Kid!"

"These mad Republicans and their...'YOU-TUBE'!" Spewed aged Democrat supporter Joseph Bloggs outside congress today. He didn't really, in fact, he doesn't exist...it was a clever ploy to get you reading this post.

Anyway, US Republicans Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have recently held a debate in which they answered voters questions that had been submitted to YouTube.

This is interesting for a few reasons. It opens up a new platform for political debate. If broadcasters can work out a system by which they can broadcast their information over social networking utilities, they will be able to spread their message to many millions of potential voters.

The debate was heralded as 'The youth vote getting a voice.' This leads on to another important factor. Youth vote is very important in politics as it is often the 'Youth Vote' that is not counted. The reason for this is...youth generally don't vote. Only 20% of youth in the united kingdom (18-21) said they would definitely use their vote. (BBC 2001 Election Watch)

Sites like YouTube and Facebook could be key in the future (with the owners of the sites permitting) of getting the Youth interested in politics and their vote.
How long will it be before people can have a live feed over the Internet with two way conversation to a studio or party headquarters? Will 'Question Time' audiences be replaced by macs? When will the 'Vote for who you want to run the country' application be available on Facebook?