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Last night I attended a talk from Deborah Riley, production designer on Game of Thrones. Hosted by the Academy of Information Technology, in collaboration with the Australian Production Design Guild, the talk went in depth about the production process; from scouting locations, travelling on 65 different flights between said locations, liaising with producers, set research, visual effects and budgeting. 

One of the largest takeaways from the night was the realisation that good production design is very much contingent upon problem solving and collaboration. Riley spoke a lot about having to work to create quite elaborate sets within relatively small budgets, as she says in the first recorded clip, a lot of the production’s budget goes towards post production (namely dragons), and despite an increase in the time (and therefore money) required for post-production as the series progresses, the show has the same budget for each season. Therefore, creative problem solving is an incredibly valuable skill, as it is the task of the production design team to make each set as realistic and detailed as possible, so that the special/visual effects and post production needed to complete a scene are minimal. This is an incredible feat. The images below depict an example of a set in which such creativity was necessary. Instead of creating a set from scratch, using moulds and heavy plaster, the design team gathered hundreds of real branches together, sanded them down, painted them, and hung them from the studio ceiling in order to create the chamber of the Three Eyed Raven. Through the addition of lighting, costume and set dressing, the featured scene ended up being incredibly dynamic, without the need for any special effects.

The collaboration necessary to engineer and create such elaborate and intricate sets is immense. Not only is it important to have a functioning group dynamic within your specific department, but it’s also vital to have built good rapport between departments; with the builders, directors, producers, editors and all other people working on the film, as it is through this that cohesive productions are created. This cohesiveness is a large aspect of what Riley sees as imperative to success within the film industry, as heard in the second clip I recorded below.

 

Following the talk, we went for drinks and pizza with others who were a part of the event, attendees, industry professionals and Riley herself. Here, I met Robert Perkins, who is the production designer on Miss Fisher’s Mysteries. I got talking with Rob, who told me all about how he came into the industry, and whereas Riley entered the industry in a very formal fashion, establishing a grounding in architecture, then moving to degree in stage design at NIDA, Perkins began his career in the media industry at an incredibly young age, working as a newspaper artist. Drawing inspiration from his father, a highly talented artist who was unable to fully pursue his talent, Perkins took every opportunity he could get to forge his way in the arts. While working as a newspaper artist, a position opened at the ABC, creating graphics for television. Perkins was the first to put up his hand, and after securing this position, went on to become Art Director all before the age of 21. He has since established a longstanding career within the film and art industries respectively.

Another insight I gained from speaking with Rob, was that the film industry is far more interconnected than I’d ever thought. He spoke of the way in which production designers will often call upon one another to make use of sets created for other productions, or to aid in location scouting.

When locations are unreasonable, unavailable or fictitious, visual effects are often brought in to fill in the gaps. When asked about the impact the advent and progression of visual effects and post production as a field has had on his role as production designer, Perkins said that while people often expect it to limit his role, in actuality, it makes his job ‘expansive.’ An example of this can be seen when shooting in historical locations that aren’t able to be altered, or, in the case of Miss Fisher’s Mysteries, which is set in the 1920s, when post production enables things such as modern power fixtures to be removed, without the need for structural changes from the production team. Perkins said that tasks like this make up a large part of the post-production team’s job; however, they are also incredibly valuable when sets need to be entirely fabricated. An example of this can be seen in the Turkish Bath Palace from Season 1, Episode 1. After the production team was unable to find a suitable place to film, the set was created on a very small scale in the studio. After assembling the bare bones of the structure; the walls and pillars, it was the post-production team’s task to add the water to the pool, as well as the steam rising from it. This, combined with the shooting angles and lighting, enabled the bathhouse to seem entirely realistic, and far larger than it was in actuality. Perkins even said that many people ask him where the Turkish bathhouse in Melbourne is; testament to the fantastic job that post-production did, and the valuable role that the department plays in collaborating with the production design team.

Overall, the night was an important and influential night for me, as not only did it grant me an opportunity to speak in length with industry professionals, providing me with unique insight into the industry and the many different roles, opportunities and career paths within it, but it reinforced precisely why I am pursuing a career in the film industry. I cannot wait to be an active part of it.