Merle Hensel, Jane Morton

An art director makes a vital contribution towards creating the atmosphere, storyline, character and the style of a film through set design. They need to be able to develop their own ideas and work independently, but also in collaboration with others. The emphasis of this course is not to accept the easy and conventional solutions but to develop one's own interpretation through exploration and experimentation. This course will cover every aspect of art direction for the screen, from script analysis and interpretation, through to research skills, development of concepts and design approaches and finding interesting ways of presenting ideas. You will finish the course with a combination of practical skills (e.g. scaled model making) and a thorough understanding and knowledge of the creative world of art direction for film.

Merle Hensel trained as a theatre designer at Central St Martins School of Art and Design and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. She works internationally as a theatre, event and film designer.

Jane Morton has worked within the creative industries for over twenty years, initially as a Sculptor and Freelance Theatre Set and Costume Designer. As a Film Set (Production) Designer I trained at the NFTS graduating in 1993. She has designed for live action feature films and stop motion animation e.g. Peter and the Wolf (stop motion animation) directed by Susie Templeton (for which Susie received an Oscar) and Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar directed by Lynne Ramsey.