A Production Design Bibliography

Compiled by John Muto

The Great Production Designers

Accent on Design: Four European Art Directors

Catherine A. Surowiec
British Film Institute, 1992
A nicely done 50-page paperback surveying the work of four great
Production Designers, Hein Heckroth, Alfred Junge, Vincent Korda, and
Lazare Meerson.

Architect of Dreams: The Theatrical Vision of Joseph Urban

Arnold Aronson
Wallach Art Gallery / Columbia University, 2000
A survey of the work of Joseph Urban, famed architect and stage designer, who also created
sets for the early American cinema.

Art and Design in the British Film: A Pictorial Directory of British Art Directors and Their Work
Edward Carrick and Dennis Dobson, 1948
Primarily a book of sketches, including a short bio of presumably every British Art Director of
note through the date of publication. (A companion volume to Carrick's Designing for Moving
Pictures.)

The Art of Film: John Box and Production Design

Ian Christie
Wallflower Press, 2009
The life, work, and adventures of the great British Designer of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, DR.
ZHIVAGO, and many others. A wonderful read.

Cecil Beaton: Stage and Film Designs

Charles Spencer
Academy Editions, London, 1975
A survey of Beaton's work as a costume, stage, and sometime film designer.

By Design: Interviews with Film Production Designers

Vincent LoBrutto
Praeger Publishers, 1992
Interviews with a wide range of Production Designers, veterans as well as contemporary
designers.

Decors de Cinema: Entretiens

Alexandre Trauner and Jean-Pierre Berthome
Flammarion, 1988
A survey of the work of Alexandre Trauner, who worked in both France and America, designing
for such directors as Besson, Wilder, Huston, Dassin, Bunuel and Carne. (Published in
French.)

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Designing Dreams: Dante Ferretti Production Designer

Silvia Bizio, Editor
Cine Citta Holding, 2002
A scholarly study accessible and fascinating.

Designing Movies: Portrait of a Hollywood Artist

Richard Sylbert and Sylvia Townsend
Praeger, 2006
The fascinating life, times, and remarkable career of one of the greatest designers. Much of it in
Sylbert’s own words describing his work on such films as CHINATOWN, SHAMPOO, DICK
TRACY and many others.

Destined for Hollywood: The Art of Dan Sayre Groesbeck

Robert Henning
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2001
An illustrated survey of the life and work of the remarkable illustrator who set the style for many
of Cecil B. DeMille’s earliest and greatest films.

Henry Bumstead and the World of Hollywood Art Direction

Andrew Horton
University of Texas Press, 2003
The long life and celebrated career of a great Hollywood designer; from the days of the studio
system into the new century.

Ken Adam: The Art of Production Design

Christopher Frayling
Faber and Faber, 2005
A book-length interview with one of the most influential of contemporary designers -- the man
who created the look of the James Bond films, among other achievements.

Moonraker, Strangelove, and Other Celluloid Dreams:

The Visionary Art of Ken Adam
French, Frayling, and Adam
Serpentine Gallery, 1999
The large scale catalog of London's Serpentine Gallery show tracing
Sir Ken Adam’s career; lavishly illustrated, with several great essays.

My Work in Films
Eugene Lourie
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985
The fascinating autobiography of one of very first film designers; his journey from Paris in the
20s to Hollywood in the 70s, and from art director to visual effects designer to director.

Part of a Lifetime: Drawings and Design 1919-1940

Lee Simonson
Duell, Sloan, and Pierce, 1943
A survey of the work of the celebrated stage designer and his work in the early days of film.

ScreenCraft: Production Design & Art Direction

Peter Ettedgui
Focal Press, 1998
Interviews with many of today’s leading designers.

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What! And Give Up Show Business?: A View From the Hollywood Trenches
Peter Wooley
Fithian Press, 2001
Amusing stories from the life of the veteran Hollywood Production Designer, probably best
known for his work on BLAZING SADDLES.

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The History of Production Design

A History of Film Design: Caligari’s Cabinet and Other Grand Illusions

Leon Barsacq
Plume/New American Library, 1978
Published in several editions, in both French and English.
The English version has different, but equally interesting illustrations as well as much added
material by Stein. Long considered the standard book on film design.

Designing Dreams: Modern Architecture in the Movies

Donald Albrecht
Harper & Row / M.O.M.A., 1986
A scholarly study, but very readable.

Forties Screen Style: A Celebration of High Pastiche in Hollywood, 4th Edition

Howard Mandelbaum
Hennessey & Ingalls, Inc., 2001
Playful, but interesting. Very well illustrated, with a long section on women’s costume of the
period.

Metropolis – Un Film de Fritz Lang

Horst Von Harbou
Centre National de la Photographic and Cinematheque Francaise, 1985
A unique book that mixes great production stills from the film itself, with fascinating behind-the-
scenes images from the making of the early super production. Beautifully printed; very good
image quality.

Production Design in the Contemporary American Film:

A Critical Study of 23 Movies and Their Designers
Beverly Heisner
McFarland & Co., Inc., 2004
Scholarly but interesting.

Setting the Scene: The Great Hollywood Art Directors

Robert Sennett
Abrams, 1994
A handsome "coffee table" style book.

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The Art of Hollywood:

A Thames Television Exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum
John Hambley and Patrick Downing
Thames Television, 1979
A small paperback catalog from an exhibition at the V & A; famous as an early
acknowledgment of the work of the classic Hollywood Art Directors. Good illustrations and
photos.

Hollywood Art: Art Direction in the Days of the Great Studios

Beverly Heisner
McFarland & Company, 1990
Scholarly; considered one of the standard works on film design.

Screen Deco: A Celebration of High Style in Hollywood

Howard Mandelbaum and Eric Meyes
Hennessey & Ingalls, 2001
Includes many great set photos as well as sections on both men’s and women’s costumes.

The American Theatre, and The Motion Picture in America

John Anderson and Rene Fulop-Miller
The Dial Press, 1938
Two related books published together in a single volume. The motion picture portion includes a
number of rare sketches by Menzies, Grot, Usher, and others.

Stage and Film Décor

R. Myescough-Walker
Sir Isaac Pittman & Sons, 1940
An historical overview of décor from the Greeks to modern times, as well as six short studies of
the work of contemporary stage and theater designers.

The Art of Gone With the Wind: The Making of a Legend

Judy Cameron and Paul J. Christman
Prentiss Hall, 1989
A "coffee table" book, including interesting chapters on both sets and costumes.

Selznick’s Vision: Gone With the Wind

Alan David Vertrees
The book includes chapters on William Cameron Menzies, the “Script in Sketch Form” and “Film
Direction and Production Design.” Many illustrations from Menzies' own hand.

Designs on Film: A Century of Hollywood Art Direction

Cathy Whitlock and the Art Directors Guild
HarperCollins Publishers, 2010
A well-illustrated survey of the history of film design as practiced in Hollywood.

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The Practice of Production Design

Art Direction for Film and Video, 2nd Edition

Robert Olson
Focal Press, 1999

Designing for Moving Pictures: How To Do It Series No. 27

Edward Carrick
The Studio Productions, 1941
The book is, literally, a “how to do it” of film design -- as it was done in 1941. Remarkably, much
of the material on design and stage construction is still accurate today.

Designer Drafting for the Entertainment World

Patricia Woodbridge
Focal Press, 2000

Film Design
Terence St. John Marner
Tantivy Press, 1974
A great practical account of the British approach to film design and technique. One of the
"standard" texts and well worth searching for.

Production Design for Television

Terry Byrne
Focal Press, 1993

The Art Direction Handbook for Film

Michael Rizzo
Focal Press, 2005
An excellent book for students and anyone working in the Art Department, written by a working
Art Director.

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Production Design

Vincent LoBrutto
Allworth Press, 2002

What an Art Director Does: An Introduction to Motion Picture Production Design

Ward Preston
Silman-James Press, 1994
A practical how-to book on the film art department, by a veteran Hollywood
Art Director / Production Designer.

Film Directing: Shot by Shot – Visualizing From Concept to Screen

Steven D. Katz
Michael Wise Productions, 1991
Includes material on art direction in relation to storyboarding and dramatic composition.

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Working Cinema: Learning From the Masters

Roy Paul Marsden
Wadsworth, 1990
Actually a textbook; it includes a lengthy and unique interview with master Production Designer
Dean Tavoularis.

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The Theory of Production Design

Film Architecture: Set Designs From Metropolis to Blade Runner

Edited by Dietrich Neumann
Prestel, 1999
A cross between a scholarly study and a "coffee table" book.

If It’s Purple, Someone’s Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling
Patti Bellantoni
Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2005
Interesting analysis of pure color as a storytelling device.

Learning From Hollywood: Architecktur und Film

Hans Dieter Schaal
Edition Axel Menges, 1996
A German architect and stage designer looks at Hollywood design and it’s effect on real world
architecture and design.

Metropolis: A Cinematic Laboratory for Modern Architecture

W. Jacobsen and W. Sudendorf, Editors
Edition Axel Menges, 2000
Examines the relationship between the design of METROPOLIS and architectural and film
design in the years since. Many great photos and drawings.

Pretty Pictures: Production Design and the History of Film

C.S. Tashiro
University of Texas Press, 1998

Production Design: Architects of the Screen

Jane Barnwell
Wallflower Press, 2003

The Visual Story: Creating Visual Structure in Film, Television, and Digital Media
Bruce Block
Elsevier Science & Technology Books, 2007
A thought provoking study of film design / structure in it's most graphic, psychological, almost
geometric form.

Architecture for the Screen:

A Critical Study of Set Design in Hollywood’s Golden Age
Juan Antonio Ramirez
McFarland & Company, Inc., 2004

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Movie Worlds: Production Design in Film

Heidi Ludi and Kathinka Schreiber
Edition Axel Menges GmbH, April 2000

Architecture and Film

Mark Lamster
Princeton Architectural Press, June 2000

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The Designer’s Collaborators

The Art of the Cinematographer: A Survey and Interviews with Five Masters
Leonard Maltin
Dover Publishing, 1971, 1978
Could not be more interesting -- especially the stories about the making of
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

Celluloid Skyline: New York and the Movies

James Sanders
Alfred A. Knopf, 2001
It's almost impossible to exaggerate how interesting, well-written, well-researched, and well-
illustrated this book is -- written by a practicing architect, journalist, Emmy-winning documentary
filmmaker -- and one of the best friends the film designer has.

Drawing Into Film: Director’s Drawings

Annette Michaelson
The Pace Gallery, 1993
The catalog of a traveling exhibition; featuring examples of a dozen major directors attempting
to communicate through sketches in their own hand.

Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design

Deborah Nadoolman Landis
HarperCollins Publishers, 2007
A great book on the art of creativity in Hollywood -- focusing on, but not limited to, Costume
Design.

Filmcraft: Costume Design

Deborah Nadoolman Landis
Focal Press 2012
Interviews with a number of contemporary feature film Costume Designers.

The 5 C’s of Cinematography

Joseph V. Mascelli
Silman-James Press, 1998
Another classic. Covers all aspects of camerawork for storytelling;
cinematic time/space; compositional rules, editing, and so on.

The Invisible Art: The Legends of Movie Matte Painting

Mark Cotta Vaz and Craig Barron
Chronicle Books, 2004
A retrospective look at the art of matte painting – by one of the field's foremost practitioners.

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Hollywood Sketchbook; A Century of Costume Illustration

Deborah Nadoolman Landis
Harper Design 2012
A major survey of the evolution and influence of the costume illustration, particularly in
Hollywood.

Painting With Light

John Alton
University of California Press, 1998
The classic work on cinematographic technique written by a cameraman
who went from shooting poverty row film noir to the climax of
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. Well illustrated with photos and diagrams.

Reel Conversations: Candid Interviews with Film’s Foremost Directors and Critics
George Hickenlooper
Citadel Press, 1991
Interviews with David Lynch, Stanley Kramer, Robert Wise, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola,
and others.

Compiled by John Muto, June 2013.

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