Spellbound 1945

Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel reportedly carried rocks in their pockets during the premiere of their first film Un Chien Andalou, anticipating a violent reaction from the audience. It was a fair concern. The movie might be almost 90 years old but it still has the power to provoke – the film features a shot of a woman getting her eye slashed open with a straight razor after all. As it turned out, rocks weren’t needed. The audience, filled with such avant-garde luminaries as Pablo Picasso and André Breton liked the film. A disappointed Dalí later reported that the night was “less exciting” than he had hoped.

 

National park: Leehamaa

 

 

For films, the art director is responsible for translating the production designer’s vision into the real world with sets, props, and graphics; drafting and overseeing any set construction; conducting scenic work; and creating advertising graphics. As a senior member of the art department, they work extremely closely with the production designer, director, and producers to create the visual identity of a film. They ensure that vision is executed by the rest of the art department on schedule and on budget. The art director’s job is a mix of work that’s creative (figuring out how best to depict a visual concept), managerial (supervising other staff such as set designers and construction crew), and administrative (cross-department coordination and developing budgets and timelines)