Broadway Buzz | Broadway.com: This year, designer Jason Sherwood joins the likes of theater artists Derek McLane, David Korins and David Rockwell as the set designer for the Academy Awards. On Sunday, February 9, viewers around the world will see Hollywood celebrities present and receive awards from Sherwood's set at the Dolby Theatre. Sherwood says the job came fast: “From the first interview to being hired was only two days, and from being hired to the first presentation, it was only three.”
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I thought that the set for this year’s Oscars was stunning. What made it initially stand out to me was its genius collaboration with the media. There was a distinct moment towards the beginning of the ceremony when projections of old film strips begin streaming around the set’s helix, but within the film strips were clips from this year’s nominees. That interaction between scenic and media was very powerful, and it successfully established the world that Jason Sherwood talked about towards the end of this article. All of the swirls gave the set a movement, and even as I watched the ceremony on TV, I still felt included in the set. It was very smart of him to root his design in the themes of this year’s nominees. I feel like that is one of the reasons why The Academy continued to not have a host--so that the nominees would take more of the spotlight. It is their night, afterall. I cannot wait to see what Sherwood does next.
The title of this article was so shocking to read. I had no idea that the set design only took him three days. To be fair, that was from when he was hired to the first presentation, so he probably had a lot more time to work out the fine details within his design; regardless, this is still very impressive. It is also interesting how he comments on the interdisciplinary this concept is: theatre designer designing for television about film. It is a very complex thought to consider, but an important one. And he also talked about why they chose a theatrical scenic designer. I like how he well framed his answer around the task of world building. As artists, specifically theatrical designers, it is our job to create a world or space for an audience or viewer to put the world on pause and enjoy something else. I think he did a fantastic job of creating a simple design that worked with the space and all the films represented at the Oscars.
Wow, I loved watching this set so much. Jason Sherwood's designs are so magnificent and really capture glamorous part of the Oscars. I thought the set looked wonderful from the Academy Award's photos but also on television. I remember the wide shot of the set that was off a little audience left, that wonderful angle really highlighted each aspect of the set from it's beautiful arch extending all the way out into the audience, and letting the category's be announced on its spiral. Also, the set changed so much the moment the purple drape flew on the stage. I am not sure is Jason Sherwood designed the parts for the Frozen Into the Unknown performance, but I also thought those Frozen themes crystals were a nice touch that goes along with the set but also with the song. Another scenic element that I appreciated was the amount of room left for projections. It is not typically that sets are designed to go along with projections but Jason Sherwood really made sure every necessary part of the Oscars could have been visible and utilized.
I never knew how famous Jason Sherwood is, only because he has designed several sets at a local regional theater in Arlington, called Signature Theater. He designed the set of Chorus Line, Gun & Powder, and will design for the set of Hair later this year. His sets have always blown me away. But he really amazed with this design for the Oscars. I love how his inspiration for the encompassing cyclone stemmed from the issues the nominees brought forth; the human experience. He wanted to submerge the audience in the films. I thought that was genius and the execution of the design fully encapsulated that wish. The movement of the cyclone made the diamonds sparkle and having people on different planes around the set increased that feeling of integration that he wanted. I can't wait to see what else he designs next and I am fully ready to see his production design for Hair!
I feel like the excitement that I had to watch the Oscars this year, was in part, because of all the hype that was around its set design. And I was so happy when I realized that all that hype was totally worth it, because it was a magnificent design, collaborating both aspects of set development and media.
I really did not know a lot about Jason Sherwood before his mention came up in content to the Oscars discussion and I am glad that the first thing that I am going to associate with Jason Sherwood is his wonderful set design for the Oscars. Honestly speaking, my mind was blown away in that moment when the set was revealed for the first time.
I mean the way the set created this sense of fluidity, the way it incorporated the natural qualities of the colors that it used, the overall sense of space that the design created was commendable.
I’ve been following Jason Sherwood’s work for a while now, and I definitely do agree that his work is very abstract and sculptural--designs for the Oscars that I’ve seen are often of this nature, so he was a perfect candidate for the job. It’s so crazy to read that he only had 3 days to come up with an initial concept to present to the producers, but I guess being a theatre designer, he is used to fast deadlines. I am curious after reading, whether or not the final design was the initial one pitched after 3 days—it seems that way, since he said he went to the academy with the idea (but was it the first one?). Regardless, I feel like the overall structural design is perfectly fitting for the Oscars. However, I will say that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the use of the video screens. They were good for displaying clips of films for the award categories, but I felt that when there were closeups on the presenters, there were distracting moving textures in the back that caught my attention away from the main speech. I think it’s really interesting that because the oscars have no story to draw inspiration from, that Sherwood had to get even more abstract with an already abstract task, and find commonalities between the film material of the year. I had never thought of the last thought, that film is often naturalistic environments, that theatre is the realm for environmental landscapes, which fit the abstract needs of the Oscars. He designed a beautiful set and I’m excited what he continues to do—he’s blown up so much in the last year and is so young!!
Jason Sherwood’s set for the Academy Awards was stunning. The fact that he was able to design that entire set in a mere three days? Breathtaking and jaw-dropping. In my experience, sets which don’t even reach that scale take weeks, if not months to conceptualize, design, revise, and finalize. On top of designing this beautiful set, as with all sets, Sherwood had to keep in mind particular requirements, such as the microphone that rises out of the stage, the various surfaces required for media, etc. What I found especially interesting while watching the Academy Awards was the occasional shot where they would follow winners offstage into the backstage area. The backstage area, in some areas at least, seemed to match with the style of the rest of the set, even as it progressed back into the green room. Thus, I am left wondering, did Sherwood solely design what could be seen on stage, or did he to all that plus the backstage area and greenrooms and such, all within three days? If so, what an interesting and unique opportunity to design for backstage – something that the live audience will not even see while in attendance.
The set design for the Oscars this year was extremely elegant yet simple enough that it didn't take away from the performers on stage. The gentle curve of the Helix centerpiece as well as the wrapped false proscenium allowed the media to add a magical effect to what was happening live. I remember at one point during the award show, sparkles/glitter wooshed from the bottom across the top, and it was honestly so pretty. The set and media design choices together gave a very glamorous ambiance to the evening, which is the exact mood I get from the Oscars themselves. I think Sherwood did a lovely job capturing what the Oscar’s night is and who it is through his design to the audience- its very important to keep in mind what message you want to portray to your audience as a designer for the stage. It was a lovely show to watch, and the set just made it even more wonderful.
I am a huge fan of most of Jason Sherwood's work, so when I heard that he was designing the oscars, I was very excited! I think that the design worked perfectly for the show, and really enhanced all of the media design as well. In the moments that the nominees or clips from the nominated movies were being played, it was so brilliant that it was moving along the spiral. Also, when the central spiral flew in and out it was beautiful. I love that he took the care to make the set reflect the nominees this year, rather than having a mainstream gold and silver look with no real depth. I think that the set functioned really well in the space, and gave it the perfect depth and movement to give the entire even a more elevated quality. I can't wait to see what Jason Sherwood does next.
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