By putting a clear picture of what the Art Department is actually building in front of everyone early, we get:As I mentioned in the box, I took some time off work to rebalance myself and reassess what exactly I was doing in this industry (and in my life lol).
During my time off I started developing some skills to make my return to work stronger, and to have more to offer the client as well as yourself to make jobs go a lot more smoothly.
Something noticed over the years is that a lot of the pain that shows up on set can be solved in pre-production. While mood boards are great, I know that our clients tend to not be very imaginative - this makes it difficult for them to see what the final set will look like.
This isn’t a criticism of them. We’re all in this industry because we’re visual people, and it can be challenging to imagine how the set will play when it’s just a collection of static prop images.
The miniature set you have in front of you is the first. With everything to scale, the mini-set lets clients play and more importantly see what the final set will look like. With a tangible set in front of them they can determine what needs to be changed or added, before we purchase anything.
Not every job needs a miniature set-
I realized that while the mini-set is useful for jobs with healthy lead times, I know that the turnaround on a lot of jobs don’t always allow for it. Which is why I also learned how to make digital renders.
Built in Blender, the set is rendered with variable studio lighting. You'll see how many walls and jacks we’ll be using. What EQ needs to be ordered. How color and texture play with light and space. Every piece of furniture and visible prop in place, in situ, at scale.
Client doesn’t like the lamp? Let’s pop another one in. It’s feeling a little too sterile? Let’s bring in some color and touches of life.
The hope here is that surprise creative decisions that normally happen on set happen here instead, well in advance - saving production time and money while avoiding stress for everyone on the team.
By putting a clear picture of what the Art Department is actually building in front of everyone early, we get:Dialed in budgets Faster approvals less waste accurate team needs smoother build & shoot days
I hope you enjoy playing around with the mini-set and seeing how CSTND can make your productions easier — and maybe more fun.
I’ve missed you a ton and this is my formal request for work - if there’s a project that you think I can help with please keep me in mind.
Hope to reconnect with you soon,
