The Importance of Production Design

Everyone knows that one of the most important concepts of film-making is visual presentation.  I mean -- what's a movie without anything on the screen?  The production designer is the person in charge of all of this.  This is an enormous task, and the production designer must oversee every single visual aspect of the film: this includes costumes, set design, lighting, makeup, props, hairstyles, etc.  Without a production designer, a film cannot exist.

Production design artistically expresses the film. Color palettes are chosen with extreme care, and all props must have a purpose.  The job of a production designer isn't to simply please the audience aesthetically.  If you look closely, you'll catch on to the subtle hints that are placed in the background.  There are many instances where production designers give away the entire personality of a character in a single shot, just by decorating the background effectively and carefully.

The short above perfectly encapsulates the importance and duties of a production designer.  The task is certainly not easy, as I am discovering first-hand. It requires many hours of hard work, research, and excellent communication between everyone involved in various aspects of the film.