DID200 P1 LECTURE 1

SCENIC LECTURED BY:
D ESIG N DR N O RA SH IK IN A B DU L K A RIM

DID200 P1 LECTURE 1 P RO J ECT B RIEF IN G B Y :
EN . N A Z RU L H EL M Y J A M L U DDIN

DID 200 – IN T ERIO R D ES IGN : CO M M E RCIA L

What is ❖Scenic design (also known as scenography,
Scenic stage design, set design, or production
Design ? design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as

film or television scenery.

❖The term “scenography” includes all of
the elements that contribute to
establishing an atmosphere and mood for
a theatrical presentation: lighting, sound,
set and costume design.
❖It is the creation of the sets used in
works of performance art, TV shows,
including movies, plays, live TV program,
game show, etc.
❖The designer must truly understand the
whole scenario of the performance art
and the TV shows that they are dealing
with to create the mood and the great
ambiences which suits with it.

The Purpose of The set helps show where and when
Scenic Design? the story of a play takes place, while
also conveying meaning to the
audience.

A Contemporary ClassicMood &Ambience Conveying Setting

The most essential aspect of scenic/set
design is to show the audience where
the action takes place, which might be
as general as a country or as specific as a
room within a house.

Conveying period

As well as conveying the setting, the set
design should suggest the period of the
play. For example, a play set in a living room in

the 1970s could feature yellow and browns
within the patterned walls and floors and large
retro furniture associated with the era.

Sources: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides

The Purpose of Communicating themes or symbols
Scenic Design? The set design can also communicate
abstract concepts, such as themes and
Realistic-looking props
symbols. As an example, a design could
include a large, dead tree to suggest
the themes of death and decay.

Interacting with other design elements
Set is one aspect of a show’s visual
aesthetic and it needs to line up with
the other design elements, eg costume
design and lighting design, to create a
cohesive overall style.

Supporting style of production
Set design is also important in
supporting the style of the production.
For example, a play in a naturalistic
style would aim to create the
impression of reality through realistic-
looking props and set items.

Sources: www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides

Considering Colour
colour,
condition, Colour can be used within set design to symbolize various ideas
practicalities on stage. For example, a set designer might make a Victorian
and scale schoolhouse look stricter by using dull greys and a
monochromatic palette.

Condition

The condition of a design can reveal important information about
the setting or a character’s circumstances. For example, a living
room with tatty, ripped curtains and stained carpets might
suggest that the house is old or that the character who lives there
is poor.

Practicalities

A set designer will need to consider the practical aspects of set
design. If the play has lots of fast-paced scenes in various
locations, set design may need to be kept minimal to help with the
quick changes (perubahan cepat pentas).

Scale

A set designer can experiment with scale to create different effects
on stage. Forced perspective is a design technique used to make
an object appear either further away or closer than it is in reality.
For example, a scene set on a street could feature a row of houses
on both sides of the stage, and those further from the audience
can be smaller to create an optical illusion, making the road
appear longer.

Using shape, Designers will also consider:
texture and
transitions Shape
The use of shape within set design can also convey
ideas to the audience.

Staging configuration
The staging configuration, eg end-on or in the
round, impacts how the audience relates to the
action on stage.

Texture
The materials used within set design provide
different textures that help to create the feel
of a set.

Transition
Transitions are the moments between scenes, and
often during these transitions the scenery will
move to suggest a new location.

Health and safety
Set designers need to consider the health and
safety of stagehands, performers and the audience,
to protect them from injury. They will need to
ensure that all items of scenery are properly
secured, and that their movement can be
conducted safely.

5 Element of
scenic design

Line, color, texture,
form, space,
movement, and shape.

(Ben Davis, 2020)

Scenic Devices There are several other scenic devices that can be incorporated
> set dressing into a set design:
and special
effects < ▪ Set dressing - smaller items that add details to a set, such as
stage furniture, to help establish setting and era

▪ Entrances and exits - a set designer might include naturalistic
doors or performers may enter from the wing space or even
enter or exit from trap doors

▪ Floors - sets usually incorporate a floor that is fixed to the stage

▪ Pyrotechnics (pyro) - the use of fireworks within theatre to
create effects, eg explosions

▪ Hydraulics - machinery used in large-scale productions to
move set, usually up and down

▪ Smoke - used to create dramatic effects and created with a
fogger or a hazer

▪ Truck - a moving platform on which a piece of scenery is
built to facilitate scene changing

▪ Revolve - a turntable built into the stage floor on which
scenery can be set and then turned

▪ Flying - involves a manual or electric system that lifts
performers off the stage, allowing for stunts and aerial
sequences

STAGE TYPES Proscenium

▪P r o s c e n i u m S t a g e Thrust
▪T h r u s t S t a g e
▪A r e a S t a g e Arena
▪F l e x i b l e S t a g e Flexible

TYPES OF
SCENIC DESIGN

▪Box
✓Involved wall that enclose the space
✓Most sit com on TV are box set

▪Unit
✓Composed of unit can be move in
& out of stage
✓Musical stage consider unit stage

▪Suggested
✓Suggested environment
✓Non-realistic
✓May be concept/theme

Example of Scenic Design

Game Show Tv News Entertainment Show

Theatre Talk Show Reality TV Show

STAGE PARTS

✓Of f s t a g e
✓On s t a g e
✓B a c k s t a g e
✓C e n t re St a g e
✓A p r o n
✓D own st a g e
✓U p s t a g e

Scenic Design
Scenery

◦ Soft Scenery
✓ Grand drapes
✓ Border& Legs
✓ Tracker
✓ Cyclorama
✓ Backdrops

◦ Hard Scenery
✓ flat surface

✓ door
✓ window
✓ wall
✓ floor
✓ arches

◦ Dimensional Scenery
✓ staircase,
✓ Ramp
✓ Platform
✓ column)



MATERIALS USE

▪Non-traditional Materials & Unconventional
Method

✓Styrofoam
✓Thermoplastics
✓Molded Plexiglas

▪Wood substitutes

✓Steel, aluminium, other materials
alloy

✓Fibreglass
✓Styrofoam and urethane
✓Vacuform molds

Scale drawings typically include a ground
plan, elevation, and section of the complete
set, as well as more detailed drawings of

SET CONSTRUCTION individual scenic elements which, in
theatrical productions, may be static, flown,
or built onto scenery wagons

LIGTHING ❖Selective visibility : the ability to see
STAGE what is occurring on stage
FUNCTION: ❖Revelation of form : altering the
perception of shapes onstage,
particularly
❖ 3D stage elements
❖Focus : directing the audience’s
attention to an area of the stage or
distracting them from another.
❖Mood : setting the tone of a scene.
Harsh red light has a different effect than
soft lavender light.
❖Location and time of day : establishing
or altering position in time and space.
Blues can suggest night time while
orange can suggest a sunrise.
❖Projection’ stage elements : lighting
may be used to project scenery or to act
as scenery onstage
❖Plot : a lighting event may trigger or
advance the action onstage and off



Thank
You!

Scene designers today, like the other artists
of the theatre, have no single standard way
of creating scenery…

Lecture Slide Illustrated by Dr Norashikin Abdul Karim I Oct 2021