Expert: Andre Hickman - 3/29/2007

Question
QUESTION: what does a production designer do? im a artist and im realy trying to figure out wich field to go into and study, is digital design a deflated market? what does it require? what are the best computer programs for it?
ANSWER: Hello,

That is really a loaded question, and I'm not sure that I have a great answer for you.  The term "Production Designer" can be used as a title in so many different design industries.  It could be a graphic designer for print production and packaging...It could be a graphic designer for video production...It could be a set designer for plays or trade show exhibits in that industry.  The term is used so much and so loosely, that I don't know what to tell you it is, except for "ALL OF THE ABOVE"

As opposed to thinking about a title, think about an industry. What do you want to do? Print design? Logos? Video editing? Motion graphics? Animation? 3D Animation? search yourself for the answer to that question, and then find an industry that makes use of that skill, and go for it!  If you are looking at a school, you need to dig a little deeper, and find out what exactly they are teaching in the curriculum for a "production designer" and see what they are actually gearing you up for.  Regardless of titles, find the path that teaches what you want to learn.  It may even be in "game design" but if you are trying to learn 3D animation, then that might be the best path.

As for digital design being a "deflated market," I'm not sure what you mean by the term.  Please clarify, and I'll give you my best answer.

Staple programs for Digital Design are #1 EVERYTHING ADOBE MAKES!....Adobe After Effects, Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign....then Adobe just bought Macromedia, so look at Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks....For 3D Design, I use 3D Max, and Autodesk (3D) Viz, and I need to learn Maya, but I just haven't found the time.

I hope this helps in your quest.

Cheers,
Andre'

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: omg thank you so much, i did not think ill gat such a clear answer, ill try and be as clear as you in my next question,
if you ever watched star wars and the making of the movie youl see that it requires alot of artistic tallent, that is my dream, but i dont know what to learn and major in in order do get ther, is it digital design, is it product design, ore modeling, maybe industrial design,fine arts??? it all is connected and will help but there gatta be one wich fits the need.
as far as finding a school, i live in ny and pratt looks very promissing.
oh one more thing,what computer should i get for these kinda things a mc or pc?
tahnx a mill,
naftali

Answer
I looked at the Pratt website, and from what I can see, you want to be looking at the Undergraduate Digital Arts program, which includes (or branches into) Digital Animation and Motion Arts, and Interactive Media and Game Arts. Both of these will give you a solid foundation to where you want to go, and you'll probably figure out which focus will suit you better as you matriculate through the program.

Mac or PC? Well that's a loaded question, and I'm sure that someone down the line would want to shoot me for my answer.  The truth is, I am a PC man.  I'm not going to get into all of the political and business ethics reasons, but I will say that with most 3D animation software, it is much easier to get a hold of for PC.  Software like 3DS Max, Viz, and some others to my knowledge are not even made in a Mac version.  You will find more content and tutorials FREE on the internet for the PC based software.  

Now the newest versions of Macs are able to be dual platform (i.e. run both OSX and Windows) and software can be purchased to open that functionality to where you can actually be in OSX and then open up windows simultaneously from within OSX.  That does require additional software "addons" to "unlock" this powerful functionality, but I feel myself going back down that "business ethics" road again, so I digress.

Cheers,
Andre'