Scenography, a mysterious term composed of two Greek words: skènè, scene, and graphe, writing, so literally meaning writing (or drawing) the scene: in other words, set or scenery design. The art of creating the physical setting for the characters in a story.
We could say that everything around the actors in every frame of a film is scenography.
The set designer is the person who, having read the storyboard (script) and heard what the director needs, creates, finds, changes, draws, designs everything serving not just to construct a setting but also to create an atmosphere so that the audience is captured by the images and not just the plot.
Film reconstructs the reality of life, the plot appears credible and real. Often the audience identifies the actor or actress with the character he/she plays. Likewise, the moviegoer may not realize that what surrounds the actors on the screen was created by a set designer. The trend is to believing that everything exists before the film is shot and that the use of settings and props is pretty much random. Almost no one imagines that choosing a location is preceded by discussions, meetings, scouting, photographs, videos, preparation drawings, and so on, and that often the settings are reconstructed on the studio lot or, if actual places, completely rearranged.
The new frontier of scenography is the “non-set”, or the virtual setting. A big empty space, a world of bright green surrounded by and hooked up to high-tech film equipment that creates the virtual setting in it. A void ready to be filled by the imagination of the set or production designer.
MASTER CLASS IN SET DESIGN WITH FABRIZIO NICORA
As we watch comfortably from our seats, film takes us to the most varied settings… the hall of a castle, the cabin of a spaceship or the apartment of your average family. Have you ever wondered how these “scene changes” are created? How much work it requires? And above all, who it is who materializes the fantasies of screenwriters and directors? Students taking the master class will be led to discover what scenography is, what studies should be undertaken to become a set designer and what careers are offered.
First part:
“Everything you always wanted to know about set design”. Historical notes
Second part:
From storyboard (script) to sketch to practical realization.
Real-world applications: commercials, TV series and film sets.
Description of set designs by Fabrizio Nicora through a multimedia presentation and mockups in scale.
