Art direction is one of the essential areas of cinema; Those who exercise it have the responsibility of taking care of the visual and artistic aspects of everything that is going to be captured by the camera. However, you don’t have to work in big movie production to use art direction; those who make videos with a smaller budget and autonomously, such as videos on youtube, will also find it a great resource to embellish their work.
What is the artistic direction
It is the cinema area that is in charge of the visual and artistic aspects that enter the scene. It deals with aspects such as the scenery, the costumes of the actors and the extras, the makeup, and the definition of the color palette. The art director is responsible for all this, but he usually is not alone. It is typical for a film’s art direction to be a team of several professionals, each with its function and specialty.
Scenery and filming location
The first decision to be made here is whether the film will be shot in a studio, where more work is done on the setting, or whether it will be shot on location, that is, in an actual location. In this second case, there is still research on the premises to find a suitable location.
The scenarios have a much more important function than the general public thinks, and they are very planned and speak a little about the characters’ personalities and the story’s time, place, and context. For example, a character’s house cannot be just any house, it must illustrate their standard of living, its economic reality, and have objects that interest them.
A trick often used in the film industry is to have repeating objects. Imagine a murder scene where a person dies in bed and blood splatters. The crew will probably try to provide two of the same beds, one dirty and one clean, and swap them as the scene progresses. This makes recording easier, so you can record as many times as needed.
It also works for Youtubers
Adapting these techniques for those who want to produce their videos autonomously is possible.
Here are some tips:
- If you always record in the same place, try to set up a lovely setting consistent with the content addressed in the channel that illustrates a little about what will be talked about.
- Channels about movies, games and anything in the geek culture often have colorful settings with various background decorations, like posters and dolls.
- The colors must also be thought out and have harmony between them.
- Another idea is to have several colored fabrics that you can place in the background. In this way, you can vary the color of the background in a more agile way.
Locker room
Just as the setting work is complex, the same thing happens with the clothes worn by the characters. A film set in an ancient era will require studying what was worn at the time and planning how to make all the clothing fit together.
For those who will apply this to their channel, it is also interesting to think about the style of clothing they will wear. Again, think about the content: does the channel have more formal or informal language?
- Patterned clothing may be worn if related to the content, such as a musician wearing band t-shirts.
- Whether it’s about the game, movie, or TV reviews, wearing clothes with characters is fun.
Makeup is not always to be prettier
At least not in the cinema or audiovisual productions. The idea of makeup is to make the actor more like the character’s personality and situation, such as highlighting sad facial expressions.
Another exciting aspect of makeup is that it is designed to react to light. The director of photography makes a lighting plan that helps tell the story, and the makeup done by the artistic team must accompany it. Makeup reacts differently depending on the light that falls on it.
Putting the finishing touches
The planning of the shoot is essential for the final video to look good. Still, you also have to pay attention to post-production, which consists of editing the video that goes hand in hand with an excellent online movie maker or editing software. This is where everything ends up taking shape. Some lighting and color problems can be corrected. Some scenes can be cut, background music can be added, and a filter can be added… The options are endless. Now, let your creativity guide you and do a great job with what you learned in the text.
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