On Thu, 10 Sep 1998 10:08:21 -0500 Scott Hutchins <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > The other day I purchased the soundtrack for _The Thin Blue Line_, and I > noticed that it listed a production designer among the credits. I was > wondering how someone could be a production desginer on this sort of film > which uses all real-life sets, buildings, etc, just as they are in life, > save for how Morris shows them. Would it be a token/union mandate job in > this case? You might like to have a look at Edward Carrick's book "Art and Design in the British Film" (London, 1947). Carrick was an art director who worked on a variety of films, including many of the "story documentaries" of the British documentary movement during the war (e.g. "Target for Tonight", "Close Quarters"). In the book he argues that design work for documentries had moved from a form of glorified location scouting to a role which was more closely aligned with that of the studio designer. He also attacks leading documentary directors for what he calls their "slavish insistence" on supposedly authentic locations, arguing that he could create the "same" thing a lot more effectively in a studio. __________________________________ Leo Enticknap Postgraduate Common Room (newly renamed) School of English University of Exeter Queen's Building, The Queen's Drive Exeter Devon EX4 4QH United Kingdom email: [log in to unmask] ---- To sign off SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]