Obviously, whether or not you are decorating a fake house or a real one the same rules apply: color, texture, shape, symmetry and lighting.

Many people can build a room but have no idea how to animate it, how to make the design breathe: structure is not style.  This is most commonly seen on television and low-grade films where the Production Designer or Senior Art Director are—inexplicably—untrained in art.

A Production Designer is more than an electrician, carpenter, plumber, graphic artist, carpet or tile layer or painter: he or she is a highly diversified and talented leader of a design team of creative professionals that include electricians, carpenters, plumbers, graphic artists, carpet and tile layers, painters and more. He is a visionary that inspires other visionaries to imagine, improve and erect the final style of the film, or in the case of interior design, the client.

Properly understood, Production Design like Interior Design, is a collection of disciplines that when properly combined created a visual environment that is authentic, nuanced and effective to the mood desired.

Ultimately, proper Production Design and Interior Design is achieved by four things:

1. Clear vision of the Director or Client;
2. Proper amount of money;
3. Proper amount of time; and lastly
4. The talent and experience of your Production Designer or Interior Designer.

Skimp on any of these at your peril.

My personal tip: find people you like and whose work you can trust and use them.

Don’t re-invent the team every time. I know a lot of production teams that hire new people every time and are surprised when they end up with unqualified amateurs on their team.  Find the right guys, pay them what their worth, give them the time they need, let them be great and get out of their way.

Run your team properly and you’ll rarely be disappointed.

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Sandmerrick, Inc. offers a full suite of 2D/3D modeling and animation services for the modern corporate and entertainment sectors:

• Medical
• Film
• Video Game
• Life & Sciences
• Architectural
• Earth Sciences

From low poly, normal and high poly mapping to complex animation sequences and compositing, our designers can design and render eye-catching yet affordable work, including: environment animation, character animation, visual effects, post production, product and architectural visualizations, and graphic enhancement.

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Original schematic of the personal firearm showcased in the Knightsilver Trilogy.

As a weapon enthusiast, I found a great deal of joy in this prop assignment. This layout is being revisited in 2012 for distribution of metal replicas from the Knightsilver properties.

The Apostle® is registered design (David Jetre and Sandmerrick, Inc.)

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

The beginning of a complex map animation for a 2012 film project.

More on this cool project as it becomes available.

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Composite plate for visual effects sans import sectors (placed video and animations). The entire upper right hand corner is sectored for animations.

The computer interface was designed in Adobe Illustrator and will be exported in layers to Adobe After Effects for animation.  Computer and user interfaces are one of the many things we specialize in at Sandmerrick, Inc.  In comparison to other designs, this particular interface is pretty modest.

Actress: Grace Holley
Photography by Bryan Chatlien
Art Direction & Graphic Design: David Jetre

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Bryan Chatlien is a great photographer in the North Texas area, although he does travel a great deal in service of his art.

I have known Bryan for almost ten years and count him not only as one my most reliable and talented vendors, but also a good friend. Professional, easy going, relentless, Bryan brings only the strongest attributes to his photography. Virtually every photograph on this blog, as well as on www.Sandmerrick.com and www.Jetrefilm.com is the result of Bryan’s great eye and ever growing gear.

Comfortable with a wide range of assignments, we at Jetrefilm Entertainment and Sandmerrick, Inc. continue to count ourselves fortunate for having such a strong player on our team.

Check him out for yourself at http://bryanchatlien.com/

If you need photography, he is your man.

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Recent set design for an industrial video in January.

The production went quickly as we had the proper team in place, which included: Production Designer (1), Carpenters (4), Carpet Layers (2), Electrician (1) and Inspector (1).  After everything was approved, the set took approximately 71 hours to build.  No injuries. No real surprises.  I meticulously laid out the production, calculated all costs, ordered all material, bought a bunch of beer for the crew and got out of their way.

Shown are the only to facets of the set: 1) main hall; and 2) bathroom entry.

The better planned something is the easier it goes.  When you can’t tell its a set—then its a good set.  As with any set go for total authenticity. This is achieved by proper color consideration, layering, accuracy and paying attention to all the details.  In this case the exit sign, can lights and ceiling lights work, but the electric outlets and ceiling vents are fake, but all look function and real.

Empower your team to be their best and they will.

John, James, Chez, Mali, Mark, Roberto, Andy and Jill…Thank you.

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

This is a gun I designed for my Knightsilver© Trilogy a few years back.

This photo (naked mold) was sent to me by the very talented Ben Chester, a master prop maker I worked with to develop this concept prop. Ben has worked on a wide range of television and motion pictures, not the least of which was Star Trek: Voyager.

This weapon is extraordinarily comfortable owing to its forward-swept and ergonomic shape.  Modeled after a flintlock and breech-loading pistol, this weapon has two barrels and fire two different types of ammunition.

I will be updating this blog once I export the original schematic for this prop.

A real metal replica of this weapon will be forthcoming in 2012 and will be sold online.

Sexy gun!

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com

Mid-resolution medieval poster for Shroud based on the original movie poster.

Poster: Teutonic Knights v.1
Dimensions: 2000 wide x 3008 tall
Resolution: 240 dpi

Model: Nicole Leigh Jones
Armor & Sword by Patrick Thaden & Ugo Serrano
Photography by Gayla Partridge

David Jetre | Creative Director
Sandmerrick, Inc.
twitter | www.sandmerrick.com