crew Would anyone who has worked on film production in a studio answer this form for my A-Level Product Design research?

N

noir_qwst

I am currently doing research into film studios in order to aid my design for my A-Level Product Design NEA for which I am creating a sustainable film studio that focuses on the reintegration of human design. It would be greatly appreciated if anyone who has worked on a film set or has contacts in the industry could fill out and spread this form to help advance my research for my final design. It is all anonymous and should only take 10 minutes or so. I have tried emailing professionals directly but of course they don’t reply. Please answer in regards to both sound stages and studio offices.

Link to form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1...xj4_v0auK8Sbh2ePEVR6YDSw/viewform?usp=sf_link
 
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Since I have worked on many film sets I opened up your survey.
When you use "studio" do you mean a sound stage?

Or are you asking about office space.
 
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I glanced at your survey questions, and I suggest that you have made a fundamental philosophical error. Sound stages are not aesthetic spaces at all, and should be designed purely functionally. Ideally they should be black boxes, so as to minimize reflections. Things that would make them more appealing to work in are all functional, eg. better wiring, grids, catwalks, HVAC; bigger doors, straight paths to fabrication shops. You don't shoot in a sound stage; you shoot in the set you build in the sound stage.
 
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The Lone Banana said:
I glanced at your survey questions, and I suggest that you have made a fundamental philosophical error. Sound stages are not aesthetic spaces at all, and should be designed purely functionally. Ideally they should be black boxes, so as to minimize reflections. Things that would make them more appealing to work in are all functional, eg. better wiring, grids, catwalks, HVAC; bigger doors, straight paths to fabrication shops. You don't shoot in a sound stage; you shoot in the set you build in the sound stage.
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I understand that, but I will be designing both the sound stage and the surrounding building as if it was owned by a production company. The entire space will encompass offices, studios and storage as well as the sound stage and so references to the aesthetics are more for those spaces. However if you could put this response in the form, it would still provide evidence as to how I should design the sound stage from a professional view.
Thanks for the insight, I would gladly appreciate it if you would fill out the form, given you clearly have extensive knowledge that could help me.
 
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I don't meet the criteria to respond to the questionnaire, but as someone with a certain amount of project management experience (including design-and-built projects) your request/proposal seems, at first reading, to be excessively broad and insufficiently focused - which might explain why you haven't had any constructive response from the people you've e-mailed.

Straight off, my first query would have been the same as @directorik : what do you mean by "studio" ? Given the first few questions in the form, I would have assumed you were referring to a single room, e.g. as used for shooting interviews or a chat-show; but wondered also if you might have been thinking of the workshop-studios used for creating costumes, model-making, etc. However, it seems you're actually referring to the entire physical site owned and operated by a production company ... which makes a pointed question like "what colour?" quite irrelevant: every room, every space will have different requirements, some of which naturally lend themselves to a particular colour while others will be re-painted every two weeks.

The phrase "the reintegration of human design" is also very confusing. Production companies (film studios) are packed with humans - see the list of credits at the end of any movie! ) so they hardly need to be reintegrated; and for the most part, the creative spaces that these people work in are built and modified by themselves according to their needs - which will change over time. What then do you mean by this - what problem are you hoping to fix? Similarly, what do you mean by "a sustainable film studio" - especially if you're referring to the production company? In some ways, movie making is an exceptionally wasteful process, so there may be value in improving some aspects of the industry, but you need to be clear about which aspects.

Have you visited various film and TV studios and spoken directly to the crews working there? Were they able to point out problems or unsatisfactory conditions that your proposal can address? Have you seen different solutions already put in place by certain companies that could be incorporated into your model? If not, have you considered why that might be - is it for financial reasons, institutional inertia, or lack of demand?

At the end of the day, though, coming up with a new concept for a whole industry is a long, long way from product design, when there are endless opportunities to resolve simpler day-to-day problems - like @sfoster 's boom pole! Before you go too far down this road, perhaps you should define a more precise objective, one that doesn't require more requests to explain what you mean than you get answers!
 
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CelticRambler said:
I don't meet the criteria to respond to the questionnaire, but as someone with a certain amount of project management experience (including design-and-built projects) your request/proposal seems, at first reading, to be excessively broad and insufficiently focused - which might explain why you haven't had any constructive response from the people you've e-mailed.

Straight off, my first query would have been the same as @directorik : what do you mean by "studio" ? Given the first few questions in the form, I would have assumed you were referring to a single room, e.g. as used for shooting interviews or a chat-show; but wondered also if you might have been thinking of the workshop-studios used for creating costumes, model-making, etc. However, it seems you're actually referring to the entire physical site owned and operated by a production company ... which makes a pointed question like "what colour?" quite irrelevant: every room, every space will have different requirements, some of which naturally lend themselves to a particular colour while others will be re-painted every two weeks.

The phrase "the reintegration of human design" is also very confusing. Production companies (film studios) are packed with humans - see the list of credits at the end of any movie! ) so they hardly need to be reintegrated; and for the most part, the creative spaces that these people work in are built and modified by themselves according to their needs - which will change over time. What then do you mean by this - what problem are you hoping to fix? Similarly, what do you mean by "a sustainable film studio" - especially if you're referring to the production company? In some ways, movie making is an exceptionally wasteful process, so there may be value in improving some aspects of the industry, but you need to be clear about which aspects.

Have you visited various film and TV studios and spoken directly to the crews working there? Were they able to point out problems or unsatisfactory conditions that your proposal can address? Have you seen different solutions already put in place by certain companies that could be incorporated into your model? If not, have you considered why that might be - is it for financial reasons, institutional inertia, or lack of demand?

At the end of the day, though, coming up with a new concept for a whole industry is a long, long way from product design, when there are endless opportunities to resolve simpler day-to-day problems - like @sfoster 's boom pole!
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So, this specific project although for my Product Design Coursework encompasses, both product and interior design as well as some aspects of architecture, we as students are given quite a wide range of creative outlets for our final projects. My proposal is broad because this is only the research stage in which I have to gather a wide range of evidence so that I can justify the decisions I make in my final design. I have had constructive responses, outside of this website too, these people making me aware that a sound stage is supposed to be a functional space, which knowing now will prevent me from using certain colours or materials later.
The key word in the phrase reintegration of human design is 'design'. It is all about removing CGI and greenscreens as a main source of set design in film, meaning that humans are building physical sets instead of using computer generated atmospheres. Although creative spaces change, I look to make one that is more adaptable and suitable for these changes which is why in my survey I have looked into storage and how the dimensions of a set may vary so that I can account for all possibilities. I am trying to make more eco-friendly studios, that encompass all the facilities needed to make a film in one place, to reduce the carbon emissions produced by constant travel etc. I am trying to reduce waste, and make movie making more energy efficient. I have emailed countless production companies and studios, but of course many of them do not have the time to sit down with me to talk about my project because at the end of the day I am a student with no intention of building this studio in real life to scale with all the proper materials. These are professionals we are talking about here, they are busy. The reason I have turned to this forum is because I was looking to find a more relaxed, informal environment in which I could get my questions answered, accepting criticisms along the way. The fact of the matter is, this is pretty much a 'first draft'. I am trying to gather information so that my next survey will be more specific and accurate to the field, but I need to eliminate certain design choices first. So thank you for your reply, even if you are not an industry professional, feel free to complete the survey since you are so opiniated and would like to make a statement about everything wrong with this project. I need feedback whether it be positive or negative to be able to progress.
 
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directorik said:
When I asked if you meant sound stage or office space you replied "sound
stage" and then change it to "both". You mislead me.
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I did mean a sound stage, I now have added the surrounding offices and facilities. I didn't mean to mislead you, in fact your answer is still valid. If you would like, you can submit another answer. I apologise for the misunderstanding, I've just had one too many people now mansplain how I should set up my project.
 
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I apologize for mansplaning. I often find it difficult to know the difference between
offering my advice and opinions when asked and "mansplaning".

You're right; it's your project. I shouldn't do any more than simply answer the questions
with no comment.
 
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directorik said:
I apologize for mansplaning. I often find it difficult to know the difference between
offering my advice and opinions when asked and "mansplaning".

You're right; it's your project. I shouldn't do any more than simply answer the questions
with no comment.
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You have been absolutely perfect, others on this thread not so much, but I truly do appreciate your advice and questions. You have been a huge help either way and I apologise if I have in any way made you feel like you opinion is not welcome - I rely on your opinions and for that cannot thank you enough.
 
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