The Art Directors Guild, the Hollywood guild whose members handle the production and set design for television series, films and commercials, has publicly made available select design presentations provided for their eleventh annual awards. These PDF presentations are occasionally accompanied by quicktime video clips highlighting the sets. Unfortunately some PDF files suffer from over compression and low resolution source material; recommend viewing at seventy five percent zoom.
The presentation for Ugly Betty, (Winner for Episode of a Single-Camera Television Series) featuring prodution design by Mark Worthington, is the real standout. While this presentation is apparently the only one not present on the new Art Director’s Guild website, it’s still accessible from its prior incarnation.
Another highlight is the pilot for Aaron Sorkin’s defunct NBC series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which interestingly incorporates 3D wireframe models of the main set. Most presentations are relegated to television, though Superman Returns is done justice with well varied examples. Other productions covered include House M.D., Heroes, Hell’s Kitchen, The Queen, Stephen King’s Desperation, and more.
