The Filmmaker’s Guide to Working with Film Designers

Having a smooth collaboration process with your film design team (Costumes, Production, Hair and Make-Up Designers) can make or break the quality of your film. The number one reason for tension and upset on set always comes down to miscommunication and misunderstandings. If having a smooth collaboration can make or break a film’s success, then how do you get the best collaboration possible?   Below are a list of Do’s and Don’t to help you create strong, long lasting creative partnerships.

First things first: let’s hit the don’ts:

DON’T…

—Don’t use condescending remarks about the design choices: I.e. that’s ugly.  That’s a terrible option.  I hate that.  etc. when a designer gives you an idea that you’re not interested in.  Negative comments like this will put your designers on defensive and erode their trust in you.  This will lead to less creative investment in your project because negative comments create a sense of disrespect and devaluing.

—Don’t expect your designers to create YOUR vision of the film:  Your designers are looking to you to give them guidance around the look and feel of your film.  This is especially important when the creative pre-production time is truncated and the designers need to jump the creative process and just start buying to make things happen in time for filming.  The other downsides of waiting for designers to create your vision is that it takes much longer to get every department on the same page when options are infinite.  A clear vision to start with will help make sure everyone is moving in the same creative direction.

—Don’t expect production designers to be able to dress a full location on the day of shooting  or a costume designer to create looks from scratch without a robust team.  It takes time dress a set adequately or to properly build a costume from scratch.  Each of these processes take several days.  So, if you’re looking for something specific and special, you’ll want to budget in extra labor and time to make those elements happen.

—Don’t push back or get angry with your designers when they tell you they don’t have the human power or resources to achieve your creative vision.  Instead, ask what is possible.  They are working within the creative restraints your show is giving them and wanting to manage your expectations.  When you know your intention for a scene, you can start problem solving with that intention in mind, even when you can’t have what you originally envisioned.  When resources and time are limited, understand that it might not be possible to make changes to the physical design choices made with out great cost to time on set, budget, or other design elements for that department.  Once purchases are made, it can be really hard to course correct, especially on tight budgets and short timelines.  Your design team went there for a reason, so find out what that reason is and see what can be done if anything while making sure to ask yourself: where was I unclear about what I wanted and how can I better communicate with this person.

—Don’t not talk about how cast looks in front of cast members unless it’s positive.  This will cause a few things to happen.  Firstly, the cast member could get nervous, anxious, or self-conscious and take hours to come out of the works costing expensive time on set.  The other negative effect from talking about how an actor looks in front of them is that it undercuts the actor’s relationship with that design department, which can cause rifts and unnecessary drama.  This is 100% avoidable by making sure to only talk about design concerns one-on-one with that department head.

DO’S

—Avoid saying “I like that”—Saying you “I like” involves your ego.  The sentence is about you rather than what serves the story.  It’s also nebulous feedback.  What about the image does or doesn’t serve your story; why?  Is it the whole image that feels off or just the color?  The more specific your feedback, the more likely your design team will be able to get you something that is beyond your wildest dreams.

—Ask questions—Not sure why a choice was made?  Ask your designers about it.  They might bring something to the table that you hadn’t expected or considered.

—Explain what you are looking to achieve in the scene rather than exactly what you want them to deliver, they might surprise you.  AND, it allows you to focus on what you want audiences to experience instead of how you want to get to that result

—Give them space to be creative.  Designers thrive with creative freedom and autonomy and will often bring inspiration to the table that you hadn’t thought possible before.  They want to wow and dazzle you.  So, let them!

—Remember that you hired them for a reason, so get their expert advice.  Designers are trained to break down a script and help filmmakers get clarity on the characters and the story being told.  They can give great insight on story and how you could tell it through design that you hadn’t expected. Or, they could give you a storytelling solution with design that gets you what you’re looking for.

—Keep them in the loop. For example, if you add background, need a new costume, are seeing a different part of the location that might not have been dressed.  The sooner you let them know that could be a thing, the better they can plan for you on set.  Once a moment comes up on set, you’ll want to  and know that if you add something last minute they will need a few moments to dress people, give make-up attention, or dress the set.

—Have a clear sense of what direction you want to go.  Especially, if there isn’t much time.  When you come to a design conversation with images to share with the designers, you’ll shorten the creative process and 

—Understand that design takes time and designers need the chance to process what you are asking for, gather materials, and make the notes required after fittings, make-up tests, and initial set dressing.  If you want to give notes and have a stronger hand over the overall design of your film or project, you want to ensure that you are giving your designers enough time, resources, and labor to make those shifts.

—Give your designers grace if they get stressed or upset by a last minute request. Often times they really want to give you what you’re asking for, they just might not be prepared for it and it’s adding a wrench to the mix or derailing them.  Ask them how you can support or help them.

Surely, there are more ways we can foster strong, positive collaborations beyond these lists.  And, this is a great starting point. Following these guidelines will help you get the lost out if you’re creative team and ultimately have a less stressful, higher quality film. 

If you want to take your collaboration skills to the next level, check out Text to Moving Images and learn how to use design to up your storytelling and better communicate with your collaborators.