A viewer in front of the screen, while following the captivating plot, never thinks about what fascinates them so much. And what keeps their attention and does not allow them to put another handful of popcorn into their mouth and take a sip of Coca-Cola.
An actor who is in the frame, in a specially created space, whether it be interior or exterior, does not understand why sometimes it feels so comfortable to play, and sometimes it does not! The space is empty, despite the abundance of objects and furniture!
A director, who enters the set for the first time, often cannot understand what is wrong there, as everything is arranged according to the rules and even according to the script, but something is missing. There is no nerve!
These are all questions concerning art direction. There is a kind of creative activity in filmmaking which is called “Art Direction”, and a person responsible for embodying it on screen is an art director.
As a rule, many people believe that films are created by actors, few know that there is a profession of a director. Very few have heard about cinematographers, people who operate cameras. And practically no one, though I may be exaggerating, knows about art directors, about what they do, what they are responsible for, and what they contribute to the image viewers see in the end. What do they do, paint the walls or hang pictures on these walls, or something else?
But this magical world, where everything will happen in the future, be it a strange planet, like in AVATAR, or the dark and mysterious Saint Petersburg of THE DUELIST, or the magnificent theatre in ANNA KARENINA — the list is endless, was first seen by an art director who invented an artistic concept and then brought it to life in the huge areas of the pavilions and in dozens and hundreds of costumes, who furnished everything with unusual objects and details, called props, enriched it with various effects, from rain to snow. This person, called the art director, creates a mesmerizing frame space, in which the characters, who are also actors, are placed.
It is the convincingness and uniqueness of this space that influences the characters of the actors, and then they feel incredibly comfortable, and the director, seeing the set for the first time, feels a huge boost of energy from what he or she sees. This is all due to the art department, which may unite up to a hundred specialists, artists of various directions, led by the art director.
Cedric Gibbons, Dante Ferretti, Sarah Greenwood, Eve Stewart, Dean Tavoularis, John Major, Vladimir Egorov, Boris Blank, Aleksandr Borisov, Aleksandr Adabashyan and many more names have glorified this profession, called “Artistic Director”, and this is what we will talk about at me workshop VISUAL FABRIC OF A PROJECT, OR ART DIRECTION FROM IDEA TO SCREEN as part of the Pacific Meridian festival, held in Vladivostok in October 2020.
Addis Hajiyev, curator of Art Direction program,
Moscow Film School
Addis Hajiyev
Member of the Board of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, Vice-President of the Guild of Film and TV Artists of the Union of Artists of Russia, member of the international association of the Unions of Artists. Born in Baku in a family of artists. Graduated from the A. A. Azim-zade Azerbaijan State Art School in Baku, and then from the Artist of Cinema and Television course at VGIK. Specialization: cinema, theatre, television, design, decorative design and television advertising, easel painting, easel and book graphics. Since 2010, he’s also been directing TV commercials. For more than thirty years of career in cinema and theatre and on television, he has become the author of the visual solution of many feature films, television projects and many TV commercials both in Russia and abroad. Set designer for a number of theatrical shows and major ceremonies and concerts, including the TEFI and GQ awards. Author of many paintings that are stored in private collections and public galleries around the world. Member of the Union of Artists of Azerbaijan, the Union of Designers of Russia and the Union of Cinematographers of Russia. He successfully combines work in cinema, painting and graphics with public activities: since 2013 he has been a member of the Board of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation. Winner of several awards in TV advertising and film.