The Art Director (1949)
0h 7m | PG-13
A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
Director: Otto Lang
Studio: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS)
Genre: Documentary
Video: 720p
Cast
Dana Andrews
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ronald Colman
as Self - from 'Late George Apley' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Joan Fontaine
as Self / Jane Eyre (archive footage) (uncredited)
Ann Harding
as Self - from unidentified film (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rita Johnson
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Charles Laughton
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Reviews
This is quite an interesting short feature that spotlights the creative skills of the art director. Often creating the scenario from scratch, and equipped with a considerable knowledge of the styles of halcyon days as well as an imagination for what might be yet to come, this person has to create detailed sketches from which extensive and obviously expensive sets are built. It’s an integrated position that sees those with lighting and photography roles playing a complementary part in delivering the raw structure from which the director and the actors work to create the bright and airy or the dark and gloomy. It illustrates many of these talents using archive footage from previous films and even suggests that these designs inspire household furnishings and layouts, too.