The job of an art director is as impressive as it can get. From a creative portfolio to churning out the best creative project idea and producing a mind-blowing visual content, the life of an art director is competitive yet glamorous. With more and more production houses and digital agencies entering the workspace, the demand for art director jobs is also booming.
Art director jobs involve designing sets, overseeing actors and studio professionals, overseeing videographers and photographers while shooting, supervising the concept of creative art, overseeing pre-visualization, and helping everyone determine the look and feel of a film or video. Here’s a list of tips to become a successful art director:
Put forward a stunning portfolio: The first step towards a successful career in the film and animation industry is to build and present a killer portfolio. Make a portfolio that represents the style of art direction you specialise in and want to work further in it. A strong and beautifully executed portfolio is what will get a prospective art director noticed amidst the crowd. You can thereby climb up the ladder of a successful art director job in the competitive film and animation industry.
Pursue a filmmaking or art direction course: Pursue a filmmaking, or art direction course, or any other design-based subject to gain theoretical and practical knowledge required to become a successful art director. As a part of the art direction course, aspiring art directors should gain practical knowledge about the subject by visiting studios and production houses, working as art-directors in curriculum based projects and attending seminars and workshops by industry professionals. Visit your nearest MAAC centre to pursue a course in filmmaking.
Learn teamwork: Art director jobs involve closely work with teams to manage various stages of production from close quarters. Observe and supervise the work of professionals who build and design sets, arrange for props, work on graphics and other visual elements, and supervise videographers and photographers. Working in a team and supervising work of other team members will result in a successful project.
Perform the role of a coordinator: An art director need not be a pro in team work only, but also has to be superb in working with multiple teams. So, pull up your socks to work cross-functionally with teams responsible for costume designing, VFX, location set-up, prop arrangements, graphic designing, and budget allocation.
Share feedback with confidence: Sharing feedback with externals may be a little tricky than sharing the same with internal team members. Externals like animators or illustrators may have doubts with the feedback from art directors. So, be confident on the feedback points and ensure the same is implemented thoroughly. As an art director, the brief you share with the externals and the implantation of the same contributes a lot to the end product, i.e. the final movie, video, or advertisements.
