Popular Mechanics: "Whether it's Stephen Colbert's head on Mount Rushmore or ray guns made from plungers, if you can think it, Michael Bednark can probably make it. The set designer tells us the tricks (and tools) he uses to construct props and set-ups for photo shoots and TV commercials.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Set Designer - This Is My Job
Popular Mechanics: "Whether it's Stephen Colbert's head on Mount Rushmore or ray guns made from plungers, if you can think it, Michael Bednark can probably make it. The set designer tells us the tricks (and tools) he uses to construct props and set-ups for photo shoots and TV commercials.
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7 comments:
This article makes it sound more like he is a prop artisan or something similar or at least the stuff that they talk about doesn't seem to quite be set design but then again the wording and explanation seems to be geared towards people who aren't familiar with our industry. Nonetheless it seems like he has done some really neat stuff and that he has a good career going for him.
In response to what Jackson says, I think it's just a very different workflow than that to which we are used in the theatre. It is different that he both designs and makes the sets, but I get the impression that he and his team are working on an extremely compressed timeline.
In general, this looks like a good series of articles; did anybody else read about the parachute tester or location sound engineer?
This job seems like it would never get boring. It maintains the innovation, and freshness theater in many ways, but it almost takes it further. the word renaissance man comes to mind, simply because of the mammoth skill set which is necessary for this type of work. The projects this man does are also reminiscent of the projects which Ben does for films who send him special requests. it would be interesting to learn more about the education which he received.
The Duties of a scene designer in theatre is so different form the duties of a scenic designer on screen( television,Film). But at the end of the day the base of the design concepts and the general point of what we do is still unchanging. the other main difference appears to be the amount of time allotted to the designer and designation between the props and scenic teas which appear to vary in the separate industries. i feel a good designer in our time has to be able to adapt to the different mediums as a way of surviving and making a living on this because that is one of the biggest reasons we do what we do.
The part of this article that really portrays the timeline in which TV and photo shoots happen is when he says that "sometimes the paint is still wet and your throwing it in the dumpster". In order to make something happen that quickly one has to really know their craft. They have to be able to understand what needs to happen at a conceptual level as well as a practical level. I think it would be interesting to see a process from design to completion.
We think WE have a quick timeline, but this guy operates by the afternoon. I've heard of wet paint on opening night, not wet paint in the dumpster. As others have commented, this guy has an interesting job description. It's certainly not the scenic designer we know in theatre. He must possess some of the craft and props artisan skill sets to realize his design. This is beyond the draftings, model boxes, paint els, and conceptual talks we train our scenic designers to do.
I agree with Jackson about how this designer's job sounds related more to props than set design in terms of the mind set that "what works, works". However, I feel that this article doesn't necessarily serve justice to the design aspect of Bednark's job, which therefore makes it more deceiving. I did appreciate though how this short blurb definitely conveyed Bednark's rushed work style in order to work int he business he does. I would like a challenge like this for a class.
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