Studio and set design plays a very important role in television production. The television studio set creates the world in which the show exists and the television personalities work.

The studio and set design needs to find the perfect balance between looking good and being practical, and needs to represent the overall tone and personality of the show. A studio set design needs to perform the following functions:

1. A TV studio set needs to be highly functional, facilitating the movement and functions of the actors or television personalities.

2. A television studio design needs to be aesthetically pleasing and attention-grabbing.

3. A television studio set design needs to work as the background to the focus of the cameras, finding the perfect balance between being flashy and not detracting from the television personalities.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find the best newsroom set designs

A newsroom set design requires some newsroom-specific elements, such as a large news desk, graphics panels for a colorful background and technology, such as teleprompters, for newscasters to read from.

I recommend: Find set designers experienced in newsroom set design at DA Productions or Blair Broadcast Designs.

Get the right tools for a weather room television studio set

Some specific things that a weather room set needs include large plasma screens for shots of regional weather and green screens to display radar map graphics. Many weather rooms also include news desks to report from.

I recommend: Find digital green and digital blue fabric screens from Composite Components Company. Choose Chroma-key green screens or blue screens from EEFX.com.

Achieve the right look for talk show studio set designs

The design of a talk show set depends much on the style of the show. Many are very intimate and reminiscent of a living room with large comfortable chairs angled toward one another, some feature a desk for the host and others are an around-the-table discussion.

I recommend: Concept Design Productions has a lot of experience in set design for talk shows. David Weller Designs has designed sets for popular, nationwide talk shows, including Oprah.

Create a fun studio set design for a game show

The set design for a game show is much determined by the format of the game, but there are some common themes in a game show. Many game shows feature large plasma screens to feature scores or questions, podiums for game show hosts and podiums for contestants.

I recommend: Clegg & Son has designed and built sets for game shows. Fifteenhundred has experience in a variety of television studio sets, including game shows.

Build studio and set design basics for a TV show

Set designs for television sitcoms and dramas vary greatly according to the kind of show, but many simulate the interiors of buildings, whether they are homes, hospitals or offices. Many are quite realistic and function just as a building would with workable staircases, elevators, doors and windows; but most are based on a three-wall set-up with an imaginary fourth wall in which the audience is viewing through.

I recommend: Jonathon Paul Green has designed sets for many TV shows. Nelstar Productions builds sets for TV shows and many other venues.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep TV studio design costs down by purchasing standard set pieces but customizing them with unique graphics, or buying a used set and rearranging it to be unrecognizable.
• •  Pay close attention to details, especially in sitcom and drama sets simulating an actual living or work space.

A studio and set design career offers the opportunity to work in many arenas including film, sitcom and news studios. While most set designers have a background in theatre, a move into television studio set design and news studios may be a lucrative decision.

A creative career is one that has unlimited potential for success but also has a high rate of failure. Not only does a professional need talent in what he does, he also needs to be inventive, resourceful and able to market himself well in order to succeed.

Before you begin your career as a freelance studio and set designer, you should

1. Get formal training in studio and set design at a college or university
2. Put yourself in a television studio as an intern
3. Get experience in construction and building

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Become adept at using Vector Works and AutoCAD

Drafts are so important because they give all the vital information to the crew constructing the set. Clear, concise and professional drafts are especially essential when dealing with highly technical details in a studio or set design.

I recommend: Invest in VectorWorks and AutoCAD. Either is helpful, but learning both is beneficial.

Do digital renderings for studio and set design

The ability to sketch and paint traditional renderings is a neccesity. Digital renderings are a vital tool in communicating your ideas and including all of the essential technical tools that a television studio set requires such as microphones and cameras.

I recommend: Use Adobe InDesign or Illustrator CS3.

Create an electronic portfolio of studio set designs

A professional portfolio is as important to a set or studio designer as a resume. Every designer should also have a hard copy portfolio, but an electronic portfolio provides the opportunity to distribute samples of your work easily and at a very little cost.

I recommend: Try the Digital Portfolios Made Easy system, which is ideal for those who are technologically-challenged, or Mahara which is available for download online.

Put your TV studio designs into a flipbook

This is simply another way to creatively market your talents. Put your designs into a small book that is relatively low-cost to produce in case you need to give one to a potential client. This book should be small, easy to flip through and coffee-table style.

I recommend: Use Mimeo to create a very professional, well put together book highlighting your design talents in a colorfully printed and bound format. A cheaper option is creating your book with InDesign and printing it at Kinkos.

Provide other related services in addition to studio and set design

Include light rigging and design or sound rigging. Both of these are highly specialized areas, and it could serve a television studio well to not have to find two or three professionals when one freelancer can do the job. Many universities offer training in both.

I recommend: Find the best audio equipment at ZZ Sounds. Get the best lighting equipment from Helix Camera and Video.

Have a strong online presence

In our fast-paced world, people often don't like to invest a lot of time in researching those they hire. Many base their opinions of success totally on your online presence. If you cannot afford to create and maintain a professional website, then at least put your name out there in as many places for as low cost as possible, and be sure to link each profile with the next.

I recommend: Set up accounts at places like Guru and Elance.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Network fiercely. Networking is always important in any career, but is especially so in a highly specialized and competitive career like television studio design.
• •  Get as much set design experience as possible. Design marketing booths for malls, sets for small and local tv studios and even displays.
• •  Try getting jobs with small studios in smaller areas. Smaller cities do not have the competition that the major cities have.

Film and television studio set design requires a specific set of creative and technical skills that you can acquire through a combination of degree and training programs. Most applicants for jobs in set design for TV studios have a college background in theater production, recording, drafting, graphic design, architecture or another art-related form of media.

You can also receive specialized studio and set design education and training from a set design college degree program online or on campus. No form of training for studio set design is complete without training in how to use drawing and drafting software and how to build a portfolio of your work.

When searching for studio and set design education and training, consider the following options:

1. Get a degree in studio and set design from a college or university.
2. Find training in AutoCAD or another drafting program for working on a TV studio set.
3. Learn how to share your TV studio designs with potential employers using a portfolio.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get a college degree in studio and set design

If you don't have an educational background in theater, art or production, a degree in recording or television studio design will help give you the creative skills you need. A number of programs exist online or on college campuses that include coursework in set design, production technology and digital media.

I recommend: DArTT Institute offers online programs in digital arts and media, as does the Art Institute of Pittsburgh online division. Columbia Academy's certificate program in studio and sound design offers more technical training in the leading software used in TV and recording studios.

Use training in drafting software to develop competitive skills for TV studio design

The responsibilities of a studio designer are largely to create drawings and set drafts based on production guidelines. Therefore, a TV studio set designer needs to have strong drawing and drafting skills and be able to use leading software programs in the field. Many training programs for AutoCAD and other drawing and drafting programs are available online or by mail.

I recommend: Download the ebook Tips and Tricks for Using AutoCAD 2008 for the most up-to-date advice and training for this common drafting software program. The AutoCAD Made Simple program is another solution for people with no background in drafting who aspire to enter a career in television studio set design.

Learn how to showcase your television studio design skills with a design portfolio

When seeking a position in studio and set design, you will need to be able to demonstrate your design capabilities in a comprehensive and easy-to-view manner. Like other creative and artistic jobs, most set designers present their work in a digital portfolio, so your training in set design will not be complete without learning how to create a cutting edge portfolio representation of your design abilities.

I recommend: Get tips for how to create a successful design portfolio from Smashing Magazine. You the Designer also offers a simple guide for creating a one-page design portfolio that requires basic knowledge of web design.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep in mind that a career as a set designer often begins with a job as a set assistant on a film or TV studio set. Experience on a set can be just as important for building a resume in TV studio design as having earned a degree in an art or theater related field.

A set designer is a professional who is responsible for setting up the visuals in a television, theater or film environment. The set designer works closely with the art director, so it's important to understand studio and set design key terms for clear communications.

Understanding studio and set design key terms offers you insight into the many facets of the set designing job. Knowing the terminology also keeps you current with trends and changes in the filming industry.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Graphic panels

Used in newsroom set design, this type of panel provides a colorful background for on-screen display.

I recommend: Go to oDesk for information on different types of graphic panels you might use for a television studio. Learn the pros and cons of each of the graphic panels through customer reviews and ratings.

Set design

The term set design, also called industry design or a production design, is the creation of scenery for theater, film or television.

I recommend: The Curators of the University of Missouri describe the way the company updates its set design in its studios. The site offers an image of the newest set design.

Design portfolio

A design portfolio is a set of records demonstrating your talents and creativity in jobs already completed. Most studio designers present their portfolio in a digital format.

I recommend: Qfolio.com offers examples of online digital portfolios for set designers. It shows images of scenery used for set design.

Art director

The art director works closely with set designers in crafting a visual image for scenes displayed through the camera.

I recommend: IMDb.com defines many terms used in studio and set design. It discusses the role of the art director, who works closely with the production designer and the set designer.

Acting area

The term acting area refers to the part of a stage that an audience or viewer can see.

I recommend: Philosophy Webring describes in detail ways to set up your theater design. It gives a rundown on the acting area and ways a set designer can work around it.

Scenographer

The Scenographer is a set and studio designer who is responsible for all production aspects that are visual such as scenery, costumes and lighting.

I recommend: Steph Stuff offers an in-depth look at a scenographer's duties. It discusses the perception of set design requirements for a scenographer in the United States.