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Art Director

Runs set design delivery, drawings and construction liaison under the PD / Supervising Art Director.

Duties

• Read the call sheet and sides before arriving
• Maintain radio/set etiquette and H&S
• Hand over notes/kit status at wrap
• Working drawings
• Site surveys
• Manage art directors/assistants
• On-set art problem-solving

Reports to

Production Designer / Supervising Art Director

Works with

Draughtspersons, Construction, Set Decorator, Graphics, Props, Locations

Career path

Assistant Art Director → Art Director → Supervising AD / Designer

Day to day

Survey locations; brief draughtspersons; issue drawings; chase Construction; walk sets for finishes; solve on-the-day design problems.

Call times

Prep is office/workshop-led. On shoot days, dress/reset cover is often pre-call; night dress and strike around stages is normal UK studio practice.

What to wear

Smart-casual in prep/office; blacks and boots on set/stage; PPE on construction liaison days.

Tools & kit

Laptop, measuring tools, sample bag, radio on set days; drawing tools for draughting grades.

Tips

Confirm title, agreement, budget band, prep/wrap and kit fee on the deal memo before accepting. We never invent Bectu figures — check bectu.org.uk ratecards / your branch.

Software

• Vectorworks / AutoCAD
• Bluebeam / PDF Expert
• Notion
• Vectorworks / AutoCAD / SketchUp / Rhino
• Adobe Photoshop / Illustrator / InDesign
• PureRef / Milanote moodboards
• Excel / Google Sheets budgets
• Midjourney / Firefly for early concepts only (IP/clearance)

Bectu rate cards for this role are in the app.

Related roles

Production Designer

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