Film Set Design Key Terms

Learn film set design lingo to jumpstart your career

By Shannon Tani

Film set design is an exciting career and requires a good deal of education to break into the field. In fact, most professional set designers hold a Master’s of Fine Arts degree in set design or another theatrical area. Set designers need to pay attention to detail. If they make a mistake, such as including a piece from the wrong time period, audience members will take note. For anyone interested in working in the field of set design, there are several key terms that you should understand.

Scenic Design

Scenic design, or set design, involves creating the places for film scenes. This could be anything from a school to a beach to a home. Set designers need to take care that every object in the scene belongs there, particularly with period pieces.
Try: Ruth Neeman is a set designer who offers several pictures of her set designs on her website.

Rendering

Before a crew builds the set for a film production, the set designer may create a rendering, or image, of what it should look like. This could be through sketches with pencil or paint or could also be 3-D images rendered through a computer program.
Try: ScrewHead Graphics offers samples of sets that it's rendered for clients.

Set

The set is where filmmakers shoot the film. While it may look like a film takes place inside a house, most films are shot on a set, which does not include all four walls.
Try: Merriam Webster offers a visual aid showing what a film set looks like.

Props

Props are the small things in the background of a scene that make it look more realistic. For example, props on a set for a home may include family pictures, lamps and books. The propmaster is in charge of all props.
Try: Props Unlimited specializes in prop rentals You can get a feel for different types of props by browsing its site.

Scale models

Before building a set, the set designer may create a scale model of the design. This is a smaller version of the design in which everything has the same ratio.
Try: Scale Reproductions creates scale models for its clients, with examples of architectural scale models on its site. The MovieBlog.com has pictures and discussion of scale models used in the making of the movie “The Incredible Hulk.”

Master carpenter

The master carpenter is the person in charge of building the set. The master carpenter takes care of the basics, while the propmaster dresses the set to gain authenticity.
Try: The University of Wisconsin at Madison lists a job description for a master carpenter.