Art Direction and Production Design

Art Direction and Production Design are vital to shaping the visual aesthetics and narrative space of cinema. Over the past three decades, the department has established itself as one of the few film institutes globally to offer Production Design as a core part of its curriculum. The Art Direction and Production Design Department plays a pivotal role in delivering a distinctive and immersive educational experience that integrates the Art, Science, and Technology of Cinematic Production Design. To bridge the gap between academic learning and industry practice, the department actively collaborates with experienced professionals from the field. We initiate and organize workshops and interactive sessions led by industry experts who offer valuable insights, share current trends, and bring real-world perspectives into the classroom. These initiatives not only enhance students’ professional readiness but also contribute to the department’s ongoing development and alignment with evolving industry standards.

The Art Direction Production Design program offers an unparalleled opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the Art, Science Technology of Cinematic Production Design. The program is designed to equip students with an understanding of Visual Arts and Aesthetics, Production Designing Methods, Techniques, Budgeting Management, in depth understanding of the required Professional knowledge, responsibilities and deliverables to be a Production Designer.

Our curriculum is regularly updated to ensure that students acquire a thorough understanding of visual arts and aesthetics, as well as the practical methods, techniques, and responsibilities essential to production design. Curricular activities are supported by a dedicated team of experienced technicians and craftspeople, ensuring a hands-on and collaborative learning environment. The program includes regular workshops led by accomplished industry professionals. These sessions offer students valuable insights into current practices, opportunities to engage with experts, and the chance to develop the practical skills necessary for successful careers in the field.

Every year the Production Design department of FTII conducts students exchange programs with international Film schools like La Femis, Paris, France IFS, cologne, Germany. Students from both the schools visit each other's film schools and countries. With this, students gain exposure to global trends and practices in different aspects of Cinematic Production Design, preparing them for opportunities both in India and abroad.

Program Specific Outcome (PSO):
The outcome of a Production Design program comprises both theoretical knowledge and practical skills required to work in Film, Television and other forms of expressions in the era of New Media. The program outcome is to enable the students to develop abilities to contribute effectively to the design and creation of environment and overall visual aesthetics for film and television productions. Production Design program students will be equipped with both the creative and practical skills necessary to contribute to the development of visually engaging, functional, and convincing environments and experiences for film and television production.

Program Structure

The Semester one common course students with a foundational understanding of filmmaking across key areas, including Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Editing, Art Direction and Production Design and Screen Acting.

They will gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, alongside insight into the Visual and Performing Arts as well as the History of Cinema, thus preparing them for collaborative and creative work grounded in the tradition of continuity and classical narrative cinema.

The second and third Semester of the Art Direction and Production design specialisation phase is dedicated to strengthening within the students the visual aesthetics, art and craft needed for visualisation. Then, understand Production Design Workflow and the different sections or departments within it. Finally, working with a focus on how to visualise a Mise-en-scène from Script to Screen.

The fourth Semester of the Production design specialization Program is dedicated to the understanding and working with a focus on the development of design in a controlled studio environment to learn how to develop characters and their Cinematic world / space- time in accordance with the Script and execute it for Production from Pre to Post up to the Screen.

The Fifth Semester is dedicated for the students to understand How to design, create and execute Non-Present World - Historical, Futuristic, Dystopian, Utopian or any other proposed in the script.

As the Sixth Semester is the Final semester of the Program, it is dedicated to summarising the learning of the complete three-year Program in the form of a Research Publication and a 20- minute Fiction Film.
Program Outcome

Program Duration: 3 Years (6 Semesters)

Total No. of Seats: 11

Eligibility Criteria: Bachelors Degree in architecture / interior design/ visual art/ design/ applied art/ painting/ sculpture or related fields in fine arts or equivalent.

Faculty:
  • Ashutosh Kavishwar, Assistant Professor and HoD
  • Abhijit Das, Associate Professor
  • Nihar Ranjan Bhattacharya, Associate Professor
  • Bhaskar Gupta, Assistant Professor
  • Janhavi Wadke, Assistant Professor