Designs on Film: The History of Production Design in the Cinema

Movies have the magical ability to entertain, educate and envelop us in their surroundings, transporting audiences to worlds of luxury, visions of the future, and the realities of a distant era. Through the use of art direction, also known in the industry as production design, talented “architects of dreams” support the narrative by establishing the overall look and feel of a film.

Journalist Cathy Whitlock pulls back the curtain on movie magic with a visual journey of over 100 years of filmmaking. From the anxiety-induced Hitchcockian sets of Rebecca and North By Northwest and the cinematic backdrop of desert and sand in the epic Lawrence of Arabia to the Art Deco-infused sets of Top Hat and the mid-century modern designs of Mad Men, the lecture Designs on Film will be of interest to design aficionados and movie buffs alike.

Host or Publisher Harry Ransom Center