Movie Magic: 50 Times Everyday Items Became Clever Props

To learn more about what to make of these pictures, we contacted Justas Ramanauskas, a director from Vilnius, Lithuania. He has created commercials, music videos, and short films, and to him, good set design is the kind that makes the audience believe the world they see is real.

"It doesn't have to be real, but it has to have that feeling, depending on the context of the story and film," he told Bored Panda.

"Set design plays an absolutely crucial role [in movies and TV shows]. When I'm working on a project, we—the crew—sometimes joke that if the set or location looks bad, it doesn't matter how well the actors perform, or how well you light it or shoot it — the frame just won't look good."

In that sense, Ramanauskas explained, the sets are like a foundation on which filmmakers add other aspects to create a scene. Because of this, "Directors collaborate extremely closely with art directors and production designers."

"The production designer is the head of the department, so they're the main person who can take the director's ideas and help make them a reality. It's one of the most creative and artistic roles in filmmaking, and it impacts a lot of how the film looks and feels."

However, as with everything in filmmaking, there are constraints. "Budget changes everything," Ramanauskas said. For example, "It's one thing to shoot on location, and it's completely different to shoot in a studio."

"Locations usually have features that you cannot change (although, depending on the situation, you can sometimes adjust certain details, like the color of a wall, etc.), while in a studio, you have complete control over all aspects (depending on the budget size, of course)."

The same goes for costumes. As director Justas Ramanauskas pointed out, "One thing is to rent and try to find fits, and another is to buy or make them for actors — and then shape the costumes to the actors' proportions, like cropping T-shirts, adjusting the length of pants, etc."

However, sometimes constraints add value, as challenges bring new opportunities for creative decisions. "For example, if you shoot in a real apartment and there isn't enough space to do very wide shots, it makes the location feel more real and authentic," Ramanauskas said.

Interestingly, creators even force themselves into uncomfortable situations to come up with new ideas. "Sometimes we bring those limitations [we might have in locations] on purpose when building sets," the director revealed. "[To extend the aforementioned scenario], you might build a smaller apartment to make it feel more genuine. But you also retain the option to remove a wall and make that wide shot if you really need it."

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