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Supervising Art Director

Senior art director overseeing multiple sets/units and art directors under the Production Designer — UK Art Department grade; confirm title on the call sheet and deal memo.

Duties

• Read the call sheet and sides before arriving
• Maintain radio/set etiquette and H&S
• Hand over notes/kit status at wrap
• Oversee art directors across sets
• Coordinate drawings and construction brief
• Budget and schedule with PD
• On-set problem-solving across units

Reports to

Production Designer

Works with

Art Directors, Construction Manager, Set Decorator, Graphics, Production

Career path

Art Director → Supervising Art Director → Production Designer

Day to day

Allocate art directors; prioritise drawings/builds; run art progress meetings; escalate budget/schedule risks to PD/Production.

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

Related roles

Art Director, Production Designer

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