How to Get a Job as a Set Designer
The career path for a set designer isn't as clear-cut as it is for a lawyer or a doctor. Getting a job as a set designer means answering a creative calling that emerges when you see your first play and find yourself focusing more on the furniture, the scenery and the props than on the actors. The best way to carve out a career in set design is to just dive in and do it, as soon as possible and however you can.
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Instructions
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Take art, film, theater and computer design classes that will broaden your background and knowledge. Check with your school's guidance office about summer jobs, internships or apprenticeships that will launch your career.
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Begin building your resume and portfolio as early as possible, not only with the classes, but also with practical experience, by working on sets. Volunteer for the high school play or local community theater. Volunteer work can often lead to paying jobs. Keep photos of all the sets you've designed in your portfolio so that you have it ready to show prospective employers.
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Look for specialized schools, such as the American Film Institute and the International Academy of Film and Television, which offer respected programs in production, as well as grants and fellowships in production and set design. Professors, guest lecturers and alumni can offer advice and be good job contacts. Don't be shy about asking them for set design job tips.
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Network. Go to theater, television or film-related social events in your area that might relate to production. Spread the word through friends and family that you'd like a job in set design. You never know what might turn up.
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Be willing to relocate to cities such as New York or Los Angeles for an apprenticeship, internship or job in summer theater. Search sites specific to the area in which you want to work. Playbill.com and Backstagejobs.com, for example, have theater job listings from all over the country.
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Search business sites for set design companies and television production companies. Pietown Productions, for example, clearly lists all available jobs open on its reality television site. Research each one individually and look for jobs being advertised. You may find an avenue into set production that way.
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Tips & Warnings
Consider jobs in areas that might not be exactly in set design, but will give you related experience, such as theme park design, event planning and and museum exhibit work.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit chinese drama image by Luisafer from Fotolia.com
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