Graphics for Film & TV
Type: Graphic Design
Tools: Photoshop | Illustrator | Adobe Acrobat | Figma | Canva
It is not uncommon in my days on set to be required to produce last-minute graphic requests. I have been an assistant prop master for many years. It is the ultimate UX challenge. Ensuring that the user/ actor has everything easily managed and accessible becomes second nature to handle, and it doesn't require them to think about it while performing. The problem is how to produce valuable designs on the fly suitable for hi-definition cameras and production in general with no desk and possibly just my iPad in hand?
Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Adobe Acrobat, and Canva are my most accessible tools on set. I can text or email PNG files for approval and create vector files to be sent to the lot's art department or local print shops.
This case study will explore the instances where design goes into hyperdrive. These case studies all have one shared aspect. There is not much planning and no prototypes because there is never enough time to get these endeavors done in any other way.
This project is a prime example of graphic integration in hand props. On The United States of Al, a television show, an actor requested a hand prop to hold to look busy. She wanted her lines inserted to assist her with the scene. The logo file from the art department was all I had from an earlier email. Once a request is made, it needs to be resolved quickly.
After a google search and borrowing some text from a local aquarium, I concealed her script in the pages within the context of the aquarium text using Adobe Acrobat, so she could casually flip through a clipboard pretending to make notes on camera.
Below is a brochure project that came up during rehearsal. We filmed in an aquarium set with a digital "green screen." It is a vivid green, and when filmed, images are superimposed to make it appear we are someplace else. The background actors needed something theme-related to hold, making it appear they were all in an actual aquarium and not on a small set on a sound stage.
A sprint through iStock and a pass in Canva, making sure the colors and design would tell the story and function well in the set, and I had something for approval to be printed in no time at all.
Boo, Bitch is an episodic television project for Netflix. I needed to scramble to make prom tickets because the art department had not been able to legally clear the artwork to use for posters until the day before the scene was to be filmed.
I loaded the Parkway High School colors into the brand kit on Canva and kept in mind the prom theme of Alice in Wonderland. Within an hour, I offered four magical ticket options, with the school colors, glitzy fun, and the event theme in mind.
I pushed the PNG files to the prop master and producers via email. Once approved, they were off to studio clearance to pass through our legal department. I applied the bleed area required for print. And within hours, we had a ticket design approved for camera and printed on card stock from the studio sign shop.
This project was fun. I got a text from a friend on another project saying that a logo file was damaged and needed repair. A super busy and talented designer created the file for a feature. The original design had gone through several iterations on mobile devices by the director and producers, and the layers had been tweaked and flattened. The original designer had no time to fix the unapproved and unwelcome "tampering."
I tried to salvage the PSD file but it had the following issues.
So I just rebuilt the file in Adobe Illustrator using what I had for scale and artistic rendering. I was able to hand them back a fully functional vector file with complete control of all layers.
Last-minute chair backs were produced during my lunch break. The prop master needed chair backs for a feature in production fast. He had no way to make a vector file to send to the printer. I created the ESP file in Adobe Illustrator and sent it for approval while waiting in line to eat. They are not fancy, but they are in context and the design that was approved to use.
There is no end to creativity! I have learned to think on my feet and not skimp on quality. Sometimes it is an actor that needs help or a friend that needs a fresh look for a project. With portable tools and a little help with a laptop, there is nothing you cannot produce if you have the skills, patience, and a few minutes to spare.
