On a show with 40 sets, the production designer can hold the vision for all of them but can't track which ones are waiting on permits, which need a paint crew Saturday, and which set designer is behind on the elevations for the hospital corridor. The art director tracks those details and runs the department's daily work so the designer can keep making design decisions.
The art department office in prep
Most art directors start a week or two after the production designer. The first task is building a set list from the script and the one-line schedule: every set, its first shoot day, whether it's a build or a location, and what it needs. That list becomes the department's working calendar and gets updated every time the shooting schedule changes.
From there the art director assigns drawings. Set designers draft plans and elevations for stage builds and location alterations. Graphic designers make signage, newspapers, labels, and screen graphics. The art director checks drawings before the designer sees them, answers construction's questions about materials and dimensions, and requests what they need from the production office.
The department runs on paperwork. Art directors write or approve purchase orders for materials, check requests for vendors, and weekly budget updates against each account. They also coordinate with the location department on what can and can't be changed at a location, since the location agreement may forbid painting or require restoring a wall after wrap.
Sample week before a big stage build
- Monday: Revised schedule arrives. The prison cell set moves up four days. The art director calls construction to see if the build can be done in time and reports back to the production designer and UPM.
- Tuesday: Reviews set designer's drawings for the cell block. Sends questions on door hardware to the prop master.
- Wednesday: Tech scout. The art director takes notes on every location change the director and DP request, including a wall to be painted a darker color.
- Thursday: Writes a budget memo on the cost of the extra paint crew Saturday. Gets approval.
- Friday: Walks the partly built cell set with the construction coordinator and the set decorator, confirms dressing can load in Monday.
Shooting: staying ahead of the company
Once filming starts, the art director mostly works a few days ahead of the shooting crew. They check each set is finished, dressed, and signed off before its shoot day and handle changes from the director that affect later sets. When the company arrives on a new set, the art director or production designer walks it with the director and DP and deals with any requests before rehearsal. After that, an on-set dresser from the decorating crew typically handles adjustments.
Graphics and clearance are an ongoing part of shooting. Anything with a brand name, real artwork, or a real phone number that appears on camera needs a clearance check or a fake replacement, and the art director usually tracks those requests with the graphic designer and the production's clearance contact.
Who the art director works with most
- The production designer, several times a day
- The construction coordinator and paint foreman, on schedules and drawings
- The set decorator, on when each set is ready for dressing
- The location manager, on what changes a location allows
- The 1st AD and UPM, on schedule changes and art department overtime
- The production accountant, on purchase orders and budget reports
Kit and box rentals
Art directors usually rent the production a computer, drafting software licenses, and sometimes a printer or plotter. That goes on the deal memo as a weekly kit rental or box rental with an inventory, separate from wages.
Joining the Art Directors Guild
In Los Angeles, art directors and assistant art directors are represented by the Art Directors Guild, IATSE Local 800. According to the ADG's membership page, the art director classification requires 175 days of experience as an art director or production designer. Assistant art directors need 400 days in an art department craft within the last four years. To get on the Motion Picture Industry Experience Roster, the ADG lists 30 days of work for signatory companies within 365 consecutive calendar days, or 175 days as an art director or assistant art director in the three years before applying. The ADG also notes that people who perform covered work under a Local 800 agreement can join 30 days after starting that employment. In New York, art directors are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA 829.
The usual path runs through set design, graphic design, or assistant art director jobs. A few art directors come from architecture or theater design. Pay minimums are set in the Local 800 wage schedules, and the ADG can confirm current figures.
Tools and tracking
Art directors use drafting software, spreadsheets, and the production's own scheduling documents. A production calendar that marks set build dates, dressing days, and shoot days side by side is the most useful single page an art director can keep. Storiara's Assets module can list props, vehicles, and other items from the script, each with photos, cost fields, and a link back to where it appears in the script, so the art department isn't building its first list by hand.