CMU School of Drama


Friday, February 17, 2023

2023 Oscars Production Design overview: A closer look at the nominees

GoldDerby: There are many gorgeous-looking films in this year’s Oscar race, but even with 10 films nominated for Best Picture, only five films could be recognized for their production design, a role that plays a large part in the overall look of a film, along with cinematography.

4 comments:

Kendall Swartz said...

The reason I clicked on this article is because the Oscars is one of my favorite things ever. The movies that are nominated for production design really blew me away this year. I feel like production design is one of those categories in the Oscars that really show how well the movie represents best picture. I really loved how Babylon had this Hollywood Lore aspect to it as mentioned in the article you could tell how much work was put into this production design. I also have loved the production designer for Babylon with the movie Her, especially. I also think that The Fabelman’s deserved production design as well, especially given the credits that designer has. Rick Carter has always had so many details in his production designs, including avatar. That’s another thing that I find interesting about this article is the sequel of avatar‘s nominated as well as the production designer did avatars nominee for another movie. Personally, I am very excited for the Oscars to happen and to see who wins Production Design.

Selina Wang said...

All though I haven’t seen all of the movies mentioned in this, I’ve certainly heard some news about some of them. ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’ is the only one I saw. Everything else aside, the visual effect was absolutely stunning. The planet of Pandora had many more possibilities than in the first movie. All the scenes underwater were breathtaking and I fully enjoyed the visual experience. ‘Babylon’ is also a film that I’ve been hearing some great reviews about, especially in terms of the visual designs. One thing I noticed from reading this article is that a lot of the designers seem to have worked with several directors on the nomination list already. They also come from various backgrounds, but all of them have been in this industry for a long time. I wonder what the relationship between a director and a production designer is on set as it must be challenging to keep real to the director’s vision and their own.

Gemma said...

I love seeing articles about production design, and while I have managed to see approximately none of the movies mentioned in the article that are nominated for Best Production Design, the stills in the article and on the web tell a story in themselves. Each movie shown in the article is a very different style, and I don’t envy the people trying to pick the winner - for example Babylon vs the Fabelmans - two very different types of sets with different needs. Each production design is essential to the show and I’m sure very accurate to its premise with each of the sets. I didn’t know that the entire art department was hired by/with the advice of the production manager, but it makes sense, having a team that you know will work well with you and your idea. All of these sets are visually stunning, and I’m excited to see who wins the Oscar.

Sawyer Anderson said...

I have seen all of these movies except for “Avatar: Way of the Water.” All these movies had incredible production design, especially “Babylon” which was so lavish it was overwhelming to take in. “The Fablemans” appeared to be simpler, but the complexity and precision of the scenic dressing was remarkable. “All Quiet on the Western Front” I loved for numerous reasons. Firstly, I have read the book and it is rare to see a movie that sticks to a novel with such accuracy. Perhaps because the book probably should not be described as a novel because it is so short. The design was stunning and truly fit with the mood of the show. It was one of the few movies that put what I had imagined onto the screen, and I cannot imagine the complexity and thought that went into creating that set. The set was barren, which I believe was the point, but in moments showed a level of escapism that fit with the movie and the words of the book.