Scene & Unseen 2025 Conference Program

Wednesday October 22

19:30–22:00 · Regent Street Cinema, 307 Regent Street London W1B 2HW

Screening: The Fountain (2006)

Chair(s): Jo Briscoe (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne) Jane Barnwell (University of Westminster)

Conference attendees can book a complimentary ticket to this screening and discussion. See menu under 'Bookings'

21:00–21:45 · Regent Street Cinema, 307 Regent Street London W1B 2HW

In Conversation with James Chinlund, Production Designer

Moderated by Jamie Lapsley. In collaboration with the British Film Designers Guild

presentation

In Conversation with James Chinlund, Production Designer

James Chinlund Production Designer

Jamie Lapsley British Film Designers' Guild

Thursday October 23

09:30–10:00 · University of Westminster, Regent Street Campus, 309 Regent Street London W1B 2HW

Coffee and registration

10:00–10:20 · Fyvie Hall

Conference Welcome

Scene & Unseen: The Invisible Art of Production Design

Speaker(s): Jo Briscoe (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne) Jane Barnwell (University of Westminster)

Welcome to the conference, from Jane Barnwell and Jo Briscoe (PD-REN co-founders)

10:20–11:10 · Fyvie Hall

Light Bulb Moments - Where Do Ideas Come From?

A reflection on the Teaching of Production Design over 40 Years

Chair(s): John Wyver (University of Westminster)

presentation

Light Bulb Moments - Where Do Ideas Come From?

A reflection on the Teaching of Production Design over 40 Years

Moira Tait BFDG FRCA

Eli Bø The Norwegian Film School

11:15–13:00 · Fyvie Hall

Pedagogical Approaches

Chair(s): Anna Solic (University of South Wales)

Expanding the Language of Film

Jette Lehmann National Film School of Denmark

Sofia Stål National Film School of Denmark

Read Abstract

For nearly 60 years, The Danish Film School has been a cornerstone of international film education, producing some of the most renowned filmmakers across disciplines such as directing, cinematography, editing, sound design, and screenwriting. Yet, until August 2024, Production Design had never been part of its formal curriculum. That changed when a team of four practicing production designers launched the school’s first-ever four-year course in this vital discipline, welcoming six students into its inaugural class. As practitioners, we understand the crucial yet often misunderstood role of the production designer in the filmmaking process. Despite its visual and narrative impact, Production Design remains often one of the least articulated elements in pre-production discussions. Our mission is to professionalise the teaching of Production Design within the school, establishing it alongside other core disciplines. In this first year, we’ve encountered both challenges and breakthroughs. Integrating a new subject into a long-established institution raises structural and cultural questions: How do we carve out space for our field within existing frameworks? How do we educate not just students, but collaborators and educators about our value? The early results are promising —Production Design is already reshaping the school’s creative processes. We look forward to sharing our journey and continuing the dialogue.

‘Wokking-It’

Ben Simpson Leeds Arts University

Read Abstract

This paper presents my production design experience as an educator and artist with undergraduate animation students, particularly in relation to the present WOKKER project, which will be featured at the Dean Clough. The students are working on a black-and-white animated short under my direction – these are mainly students that have struggled to work collaboratively before – hence why they are WOKKING with me on this LIVE brief, which will be part of a sculptural installation marking the 100th anniversary of Anthony Earnshaw’s birth. The project honours Earnshaw’s surrealist influences, and it will be exhibited in July 2025 at the Dean Clough. I’ll discuss how my educational approach helps students develop essential graduate skills like self-direction, collaboration, critical thinking, professionalism, and progressiveness. I’ll share case studies from the last 5 years at Leeds Arts University that showcase how I use inclusive teaching practices to help students grow both creatively and professionally – furthering my ability to nurture award winning students. I believe education shapes how students approach the world and their craft, and I hope my presentation will inspire new ways of thinking about teaching animation and production design in higher education with an external facing focus.

A Global Framework for Teaching PD

Noelle C. Thomas DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts

Kerry Bradley Nottingham Trent University

Read Abstract

This paper presents a glocal pedagogical model for teaching production design—one that merges global industry standards with regional storytelling traditions. Focusing on Dreamland, a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) and Global Learning Experience (GLE) project between DePaul University (USA) and Nottingham Trent University (UK), the study illustrates how cross-cultural, interdisciplinary collaboration can expand the visual language and practice of production design. Students from production design, directing, cinematography, animation, and business disciplines co-created a children’s fantasy drama, developing designs for both a realistic child’s bedroom and an imagined Dreamworld. A core element of the project was the use of generative AI for previsualisation, which allowed students to create concept art, mood boards, and iterative visual designs. Through reflective analysis and prompt documentation, students critically examined the creative potential and ethical limitations of AI within design workflows. This case study contributes to current discourse on pedagogy, practice-based research, and the evolving role of the production designer in a global media landscape. It explores questions of authorship, collaboration, and the integration of emerging technologies. By fostering intercultural exchange and embracing new tools, this model equips students to navigate the often-invisible craft of production design across diverse genres, formats, and production contexts.

Development of Visual Scripts: Visualising Narrative Time

Siri Langdalen The Norwegian Film School

Read Abstract

This presentation explores how my artistic practice informs and shapes my teaching methodology. It examines how professional experience in visual storytelling translates into pedagogical approaches aimed at developing students ‘narrative and design skills in production design and related disciplines. This workshop-based course brings together students from screenwriting, directing, production design, cinematography, and editing to collaboratively explore the development of visual scrips. The central focus is on the cinematic construction of narrative time – specifically, how time can be visually represented, manipulated, and transitioned using techniques such as visual rhymes, rhythm, and image-based transitions. Key areas of exploration include the visualisation of temporal structures such as time jumps, temporal compression and expansion of time, and the use of imagery as narrative bridges between scenes. The course promotes the development of an individual visual language and provides analytical tools for understanding and employing cinematic time in students´ own creative work. During the workshop, participants create large-scale physical mood boards and installations as a means of articulating and reflecting upon their personal visual language and narrative strategies.

13:00–14:00 · Fyvie Hall & Regent Street Foyer

Lunch

14:00–15:00 · Fyvie Hall

Making the Production Designer Visible

Chair(s): Geraint D'Arcy (University of East Anglia)

Designing for ‘High Definition’ TV 1936-39

John Wyver University of Westminster

Read Abstract

The 34 months of the BBC’s 405-line television service from Alexandra Palace between November 1936 and September 1939 saw the rapid advance of television design. Under former stage scenic designer Peter Bax and his assistant Malcolm Baker-Smith, a small team serviced two studios presenting drama, variety, talks, ballet, opera and more, working in cramped conditions with minimal budgets, scarce resources, and tight turnarounds. Although no studio recordings from this period exist, there is a rich photographic archive and extensive documentation which permit the reconstruction of numerous imaginative designs created with painted backdrops, stage settings, projections and a unique system of lighting and shadows known as a ‘penumbrascope’. Bax, often working with make-up expert Mary Allan, also designed many of the costumes, and was known for his attention to historical accuracy. Bax and his team also became expert in designing and building small models to conjure up exteriors for the camera or to suggest aspects of large rooms. And the designers responded to the limited capabilities of the studio cameras to ensure the best possible screen images. Yet only rarely did a critic comment on a studio design, although in writing about a 1939 production of J.B. Priestley’s Bees on the Boatdeck, one critic reflected that, ‘Television scenery must be a thing to wonder at if you have not been in the studios.’ Drawing on extensive archival research, and employing numerous rare images, this paper outlines the early years of television design in Britain, offering a valuable context for later developments.

Not Just Great Directors:

Writing Production Designers Back into Soviet Film History

Ian Christie Birkbeck Institute

The British Film Institute Collection

Miriam Phelan British Film Institute

Kay Eldridge British Film Institute

15:00–16:00 · Fyvie Hall

NOOR previs demonstration

Moderator(s): Elena Trencheva (National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA))

Accompanied by coffee

presentation

NOOR Previs Demonstration

Will Htay British Film Designers' Guild

16:00–17:30 · Fyvie Hall

Immersion

Chair(s): Jo Briscoe (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne)

Intersection of VP and Design Practice

Jørgen Strangebye Larsen Norwegian Film School

Read Abstract

This presentation explores how Virtual Production is reshaping the role of the production designer—and how it may catalyse broader shifts in filmmaking collaboration. Drawing from my ongoing artistic research PhD at the Norwegian Film School, Cyclorama of the Future, I investigate how production design can evolve as both a conceptual and practical hub in real-time environments. Using the 19th-century cyclorama as a historical and symbolic framework, I reflect on how ancient immersive illusions resonate with today’s digital stagecraft. At the heart of my research is the idea of a circular, real-time audiovisual construction site: a collaborative production model where design, direction, camera, and visual effects are no longer sequential but interwoven from the beginning. This presentation will share emerging findings from practice-based work, including recent feature film experience (Sentimental Value, dir. Joachim Trier) and ongoing VP experiments connected to the short film Don’t Fall. Rather than presenting conclusions, this talk offers an open reflection on the shifting role of the designer and the potential of Virtual Production to reimagine authorship, process, and creative power in cinema. It asks how production design can lead—not follow—in constructing the realities of the future.

The Spatialisation of Film Narrative Through PD in Immersive Cinema

Jayne Sayer University of Salford

Read Abstract

In traditional cinema, production design is confined to the film frame. In film, the world created on screen is visually communicated and yet physically disconnected from the audience and the exhibition space. However, the convergence of immersive experiences and new cinema technologies offers a unique potential to spatialise the film world into the physical environment as well as the virtual realm, which are both inhabited by the viewer. This expands the role of production design beyond the traditional screen and positions the audience more viscerally within the world of the film. This presentation explores the connective potential of production design in immersive cinema experiences, focusing on the 2023 Practice as Research project ‘Nested Cinema: Vera’s not Alone’. Nested Cinema incorporates production design and dynamic lighting with multiple screen technologies, surround sound and VR to position the audience in the physical-yet-fictional world of the film. I will discuss my contribution to the project as production designer and creative technologies practitioner, and establish how I approach the spatialisation of the film’s production design into the physical exhibition space, and how this spatialisation is integrated with the VR experience.

The Art of The Hollywood Backdrop

Karen Maness University of Texas

Read Abstract

The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop (ReganArts, 2016) traced 100 years of motion picture scenic art, honoring the uncredited artists whose painted illusions helped define Hollywood’s golden age. Co-author Karen Maness, a scenic artist and Professor of Practice at the University of Texas at Austin, now stewards a collection of 70 historic backdrops from MGM and 20th Century Fox, teaching scenic painting through the lens of cinematic visual storytelling. As digital technologies dominate visual effects, this presentation explores the continued relevance and magic of painted backdrops in contemporary filmmaking. Since 2023, Maness has interviewed British production designers and scenic artists from major films—Tenet, Barbie, Poor Things, Wicked, Harry Potter, Star Wars—documenting the enduring use of painted and built illusionistic techniques, from plywood cutouts, hallway extensions, windbags, and full-stage surrounds. This talk champions the painted backdrop as both courageous and delightful design choice—an adaptable, economical, and enchanting tool for world-building. It invites reflection on scenic painting not as a nostalgic relic, but a useful, affordable, living craft that bridges analog imagination with cinematic storytelling.

Working with a Visual Artist on a VP Project

Richard Whitby Ravensbourne University

Lee McQueen Ravensbourne University

Panos Raptis Ravensbourne University

Read Abstract

What novel approaches might a non-filmmaker bring to an emergent, but already highly structured set of practices that make up current virtual production workflows? How can an ‘outsider’ be best facilitated in a specialist area of moving image practice? Presenting a project by Lee McQueen, Panos Raptis and myself, at Ravensbourne University London, where we all teach. In 2024, we designed a project which engaged a visual artist, Kitty Clark, in experimentation with virtual production. Rather than a shoot aimed towards a scripted story, this process was more open and exploratory. We initiated and observed the process of research, ideation and implementation of a new virtual environment built in Unreal and facilitated a one day shoot at a specialist VP studio. This case study, presented partly in video form, illuminates how this workflow can, and currently cannot, enable experimentation, outside production decisions based chiefly on efficiency and budgetary concerns. Our findings have broader relevance in terms of how moving image modes of production might, and might not, include those without a background in film or TV. Whilst on the one hand illustrating points of tension and frustration, this project also might point to areas where artists, production designers, games designers and filmmakers might productively collaborate more effectively.

17:30–18:00 · Fyvie Hall

Education and Publication on Production Design

Speaker(s): Jane Barnwell (University of Westminster)

18:00–19:00 · Fyvie Hall & Regent Street Foyer

Networking Drinks

Friday October 24th

09:30–10:00 · University of Westminster, Regent Street Campus, 309 Regent Street London W1B 2HW

Coffee

10:00 · Fyvie Hall

Tying Worlds Together

Chair(s): Kerry Bradley (Nottingham Trent University)

presentation

Tying Worlds Together

Danny Brown Totom Construction

Russell De Rozario Production Designer

Read Abstract

Danny Brown (Totom Construction) and Production Designer Russell De Rozario discuss the use of Virtual Production across projects, including The Cleaner, Hijack and Haunting of the Queen Mary. Together, they will explore how VP technology ties together the Art Department, Construction, and Design to create immersive environments for the screen.

11:00–11:30 · Fyvie Hall

Our Teams

Chair(s): Maria Kavalioti (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

The Role of Graphic Design in Production Design

What do Spanish Graphic Designers Think about their Art?

Andoni Iturbe Tolosa University of the Basque Country

Itxaso del Castillo University of the Basque Country

Read Abstract

Graphic design helps to visualise the mood and psychology of characters: their past struggles, their inner world. The role of graphics goes unnoticed most of the time (posters, lettering, newspapers, packets of cigarettes or even books, any writing object); the viewer can rarely remember any graphic element that is part of the story, but that subtle, which is strategically placed, enriches the understanding and enjoyment of the story. In order for the objects created to be plausible, the graphic artist has to carry out an immeasurable work of documentation and search for references in archives, websites, collections, works, paintings, books... that allow the creation of original works that have an expressive or narrative purpose and that endure as graphic works. In 2019, a group of graphic design professionals decided to create in Spain the first meeting of professionals the Unión Gráfica de Audiovisuales de España (Assoaciation of Audiovisual Designers in Spain), which is composed of more than 40 graphic designers. In the United Kingdom, the creation of the union of audiovisual graphic designers has been going on since 2015. The proposal aims to collect the impressions, challenges and concerns about the authorship of Spanish graphic artists and to value their (invisible) work through a survey and deep interviews, describing a profession that has to adjust to the new reality of streaming channels and their productions in Spain.

We're Only as Good as Our Team

May Davies British Film Designers' Guild

11:30–13:00 · Fyvie Hall

Space and Story

Chair(s): Jane Barnwell (University of Westminster)

Formalist Visibility, Conspicuous Realism and Louder Production Design

Geraint D'Arcy University of East Anglia

Read Abstract

It is commonly accepted that the dominant mode of cinema is realism. A kind of visual iconicity where even in the most fantastical films we are asked to believe that what we are perceiving on the screen is what has been shot and should remain an unspeaking part of the storytelling. This provocation seeks to trouble this idea. Painterly, graphic or abstracted visions such as those produced by Hermann Warm, Walter Reimann and Walter Röhrig in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari have been seen as one extreme end of a spectrum of scenic expression which favours quiet realism above all else. Formalist production designs, which became known as Caligarist even if they were not expressionistic, are rarely employed in contemporary cinema. Instances of contemporary formalist design seem few and far between, but formalism persists as a subversive possibility of visual storytelling. This paper will look at independent, low-budget outsider film Dave Made a Maze (2017), and at the academy awarded Poor Things (2023) where the design choices are much, much louder than their contemporaries and where we have clamorous abstractions, counterpoints to the normal and places to play that influence and inform the storytelling.

Provoking Narrative through Spatial Possibility

Jo Briscoe Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne

Read Abstract

This paper examines production design as a catalyst for narrative creation, focusing on a specific case study of (the perhaps unimaginatively but intentionally ambiguously titled) The Set Project. Rather than responding to a pre-existing script, this case study offered a purposefully designed set as a narrative provocation to student groups to then develop and film stories in response to the dramatic potentiality inherent in the space. As a production designer, the challenge of imagining a space that offered narrative possibility rather than one that was responsive to scripted story upended my typical linear, industrial design process, and instead provoked me to consider temporal ambiguity, liminal space and visual metaphor to create a setting ripe with dramatic potential. The space demanded creative and dramatic impetus rather than being an expositional or descriptive consequence of narrative. This world-first approach to drama mirrors Alex McDowell’s world building theories, and sought to shift the traditional film production paradigm, positioning the production design as an active creator of story rather than merely an interpreter of written narratives. The challenges inherent in the project reveal many lessons in educating all filmmakers to be responsive to the dramatic possibilities of space and location.

Corridors of (Warp) Power: A love Letter to the Connecting Spaces in Star Trek

Jon Rowlands University of Lincoln

Read Abstract

Kirk languishing in the captain’s chair, amidst a 60s palette of primary colours. Picard signalling to ‘make it so’ within the warm tones of the 90s. Both of these legendary visuals take place within the iconic command centre sets known as ‘the bridge’ of the USS Enterprise. This talk is not concerned with these spaces! Here, Jon Rowlands takes us on a sixty-year tour of an often overlooked, but what he argues is an equally vital part of Star Trek’s production design: the corridor. These connections between the big spaces are the circulation system of the starships the crew inhabit. They are where a lot of the drama and excitement happens, as characters rush from one disaster to the next. They are the spaces that give us a sense of scale and geography. But they are also the spaces that give us a sense of what life is like on these vast ships; they are the streets, squares and communal spaces of the stars. However, the logistics of production have often realised them as cramped and submarine-like. Join Jon as he analyses the quintessential design work in these spaces, and how they are the silent star of any good sci-fi design.

Liminal spaces: Production Design as Memory Embodiment in The Father

María Del Rincón Yohn Universidad de Navarra

Read Abstract

This study examines how the production design in Florian Zeller’s The Father (2020) creates a liminal space that visually manifest memory loss. Drawing on Astrid Erll’s (2001) and David MacDougall’s (1992, 1998) concept of “films of memory”, we analyse how the film’s production design embodies the essential qualities that define these films dealing with “things seen only in the mind’s eye” (MacDougall 1998). Moving beyond conventional representations of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, Peter Francis’ spatial design becomes an active narrator of cognitive deterioration. The film employs subtle architectural transformations -shifting layouts, altered colour schemes- to translate temporal indiscernibility, a key characteristic of memory itself, into physical space. The apartment setting becomes a manifestation of subjective time, where the boundaries between present and past, the objective and the subjective, dissolve through deliberate inconsistencies. Production design elements function as the performative mechanisms of memory, with furniture, decorations, and spatial arrangements becoming unreliable narrators that mirror the protagonist’s cognitive state. This analysis demonstrates how The Father employs production design to create a physical embodiment of memory’s fragility, creating a visual language which transcends a mere decorative function.

13:00–14:00

Lunch

14:00–15:00 · Regent Street Foyer

Poster Presentations

poster

Production Design and the Cinematic Home

Jane Barnwell University of Westminster

poster

Organic Architecture

Adapting Fantasy Worlds with Historical Design

Abigail Stephenson University of South Wales

poster

Nevermore

Alexis Molloy University of South Wales

poster

Co-creating Tomorrow's World

The Art for Futures Lab

Angelica Boehm Filmuniversity Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF

poster

Production Design as Interpretative Practice

The Poetic Visuality of Mente Revolver

Daniela Cruz Rodríguez Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

poster

Portraits in Motion

Recreating Historical Art through Set and Costume Design

Boyana Buchvarova National Academy of Theatre and Film Art "Krastyo Sarafov"

Elena Trencheva National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA)

poster

Interlude and the layers of worldbuilding

Jordan Taylor AFTRS

poster

Cosmic ambition on a student short film budget! - Liminal

James Frith University of South Wales

poster

Generative AI and the shifting role of the production designer

Paraskevi Bokovou Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

poster

Art Directors: America's First Motion Picture Production Designers 1905 -1929

Thomas Walsh

Catherine Surowiec

Read Abstract

https://www.trelunadesign.com/

poster

Pathways to Production Design

Training Approaches for the Evolving Film Industry

Gage Williams University of Utah

poster

The First Woman

Immersive Installation

Roberta Pilleri University of Salford

Carys Allen University of Salford

poster

Sensory Storytellers

Reframing Collaboration through Virtual Production Pedagogy

Natalie Beak Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS)

poster

Who Makes a Film?

How might production designers apply a feminist filmmaking practice as below-the-line practitioners?

Ella Drinkwater AFTRS

poster

Expediting World Building Through Agile Innovation

A Production Design Case Study of Collect Call

Nathan Evans AFTRS

poster

Workshop in Virtual Production at the Norwegian Film School

Signe Gerda Landfald Norwegian Film School, University of Inland Norway

poster

Designing, Building, (Re)Creating

Maria Kavalioti Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

poster

ZERO: Basil

Michael Gärtner Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: About Glass

Lilli Manner Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: Oi Ocha

Liv Pohl Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: Feverdream

Marie Dülberg Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: Candle Wax

Lara Marlies Rabitsch Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: River Creature

Louis Knudsen Loges Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

ZERO: Kite

Tata Saakashvili Internationale Filmschule Köln

poster

Analogue Origins

The Importance of Pens and Paper in Production Design Pedagogy

Jon Rowlands University of Lincoln

Read Abstract

Imagination is under threat. Now more than ever, there are multiple tools that can offer students solutions to creative briefs without them having to give it a moment’s thought themselves. Whilst these instances are currently in a minority, as generative technology advances, the seductive lure of the prompt can only grow. In this talk, Jon Rowlands will outline the approach he has taken to teaching the fundamentals of production design within a specialist module, and the techniques he uses to successfully centre that learning on the nurturing of ideation. He proposes that creating an analogue environment of pens, pencils, paper and mark-making for the first quarter of the curriculum, cultivates a strong bond between imagination and confidence when generating ideas. Students are then free to use whichever methods they prefer to continue exploring their creative solutions, be it software-based, three-dimensional model-making or continuing to sketch. This process successfully creates a foundation of ‘ideas-first, tools second’. It is not without its challenges, and creating a safe space for such exploration is the key. Jon will outline his experiences of teaching the subject in this way, the hearty triumphs and the unvarnished failures, that have yielded some overwhelmingly positive student feedback.

15:00–16:15 · Fyvie Hall

Future Directions

Chair(s): Boyana Buchvarova (National Academy of Theatre and Film Art "Krastyo Sarafov")

Co-Creating Tomorrow’s World, The Art for Futures Lab

Angelica Boehm Filmuniversity Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF

Read Abstract

The Art for Futures Lab (AFFL) is an innovative online future museum that combines artistic research with sustainability. A collaboration between Film University Babelsberg and The Institute for Art and Innovation (IFAI), the AFFL was awarded the German Award for Sustainability Projects 2024, recognising its unique contribution to envisioning a sustainable future. At the heart of the AFFL is a research-based archive that collects existing sustainable and planet-friendly innovations. Through its Future Prototyping Workshops, participants explore this archive, select innovations, and collaboratively construct scenarios for the year 2050. The AFFL bridges the digital and analog worlds through artistic research and visual creation expertise drawn from film and art. It produces immersive experiences across media, enabling participants to explore transformative possibilities. The initiative also emphasises implementing knowledge, extending the reach of creative and innovative solutions, and inspiring adaptation to real-world challenges. Recognised for its interdisciplinary approach, the AFFL highlights the critical role of visual storytelling and collaborative design in addressing global sustainability challenges. By transforming artistic visions into actionable narratives, the AFFL demonstrates the power of creativity to shape a sustainable future and inspire active engagement across diverse communities.

Sustainability project ZERO

Sebastian Soukup Internationale Filmschule Köln

Petra Maria Wirth Internationale Filmschule Köln

Taming AI: How to create and maintain authorship

Mani Martínez Catalonia?s Higher School of Cinema and AVs (ESCAC)

Read Abstract

This presentation explores how Al is transforming creative and logistical processes in production design, from both a pedagogical and professional perspective. Based on my recent years of experience as a professional and educator working with hybrid techniques that integrate Al -such as the Design Film_lA course taught at ESCAC (Higher School of Cinema and Audiovisuals of Catalonia) and funded by the EU Next Generation program - this presentation addresses how generative and logistical Al tools are being used both in practice and in preparing future professionals in the field. Through two main pillars - creative design assisted by Al and intelligent logistical management - it analyses how to harness new technologies to train competitive students in a rapidly evolving environment. In addition, it highlights practical cases derived from professional projects and teaching exercises that illustrate the integration of these tools into hybrid workflows. The presentation also reflects on the role of the educator as a facilitator of sustainable technological solutions, beyond the current Al hype, proposing an ethical and pedagogical framework that fosters critical and flexible thinking in future production design professionals.

16:15–17:15 · Fyvie Hall

AI as Co-Visionary: Imagining the FilmEU Campus of the Future

presentation

AI as Co-Visionary: Imagining the FilmEU Campus of the Future

Boyana Buchvarova National Academy of Theatre and Film Art "Krastyo Sarafov"

Elena Trencheva National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts (NATFA)

Read Abstract

What should the film and media arts university of the future be? What kinds of spaces will support the learning, creation, and collaboration we cannot yet fully imagine? This workshop invites production design educators to become co-visionaries in an exciting journey: designing the FilmEU Campus of tomorrow. Through a fast-paced collaborative exercise, participants will explore how artificial intelligence can serve as a creative partner in speculative design – helping us visualize radical possibilities for educational spaces. Rather than focusing on software mastery, the session emphasizes experimentation and imaginative thinking. Participants will brainstorm visionary concepts for future campus environments – classrooms, studios, collaborative spaces, or entirely new typologies – and watch selected ideas come to life through AI-generated visualizations. This dual-purpose workshop demonstrates both how AI can enhance design pedagogy and how collective speculation can shape institutional futures. Participants will contribute valuable input to the FilmEU Future Campus project while gaining practical insights into using AI as a catalyst for creative exploration in their own teaching practice. No prior technical experience is required.

17:15–18:00 · Fyvie Hall

Conference Close & What Next?

Upcoming publications
Launch of full PD-REN website – Jo Briscoe

presentation

Perspectives on Production Design: Practice, Education and Analysis (2026)

Jane Barnwell University of Westminster

Jo Briscoe Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne

presentation

Teaching Production Design in the 21st Century (2026)

Maria Andronikou Stavrakos Film & TV School

PD-REN

Network

Conference 2025

Scene & Unseen 2025 Conference Program

Wednesday October 22

Screening: The Fountain (2006)

In Conversation with James Chinlund, Production Designer

In Conversation with James Chinlund, Production Designer

Thursday October 23

Coffee and registration

Conference Welcome

Light Bulb Moments - Where Do Ideas Come From?

Light Bulb Moments - Where Do Ideas Come From?

Pedagogical Approaches

Expanding the Language of Film

‘Wokking-It’

A Global Framework for Teaching PD

Development of Visual Scripts: Visualising Narrative Time

Lunch

Making the Production Designer Visible

Designing for ‘High Definition’ TV 1936-39

Not Just Great Directors:

The British Film Institute Collection

NOOR previs demonstration

NOOR Previs Demonstration

Immersion

Intersection of VP and Design Practice

The Spatialisation of Film Narrative Through PD in Immersive Cinema

The Art of The Hollywood Backdrop

Working with a Visual Artist on a VP Project

Education and Publication on Production Design

Networking Drinks

Friday October 24th

Coffee

Tying Worlds Together

Tying Worlds Together

Our Teams

The Role of Graphic Design in Production Design

We're Only as Good as Our Team

Space and Story

Formalist Visibility, Conspicuous Realism and Louder Production Design

Provoking Narrative through Spatial Possibility

Corridors of (Warp) Power: A love Letter to the Connecting Spaces in Star Trek

Liminal spaces: Production Design as Memory Embodiment in The Father

Lunch

Poster Presentations

Production Design and the Cinematic Home

Organic Architecture

Nevermore

Co-creating Tomorrow's World

Production Design as Interpretative Practice

Portraits in Motion

Interlude and the layers of worldbuilding

Cosmic ambition on a student short film budget! - Liminal

Generative AI and the shifting role of the production designer

Art Directors: America's First Motion Picture Production Designers 1905 -1929

Pathways to Production Design

The First Woman

Sensory Storytellers

Who Makes a Film?

Expediting World Building Through Agile Innovation

Workshop in Virtual Production at the Norwegian Film School

Designing, Building, (Re)Creating

ZERO: Basil

ZERO: About Glass

ZERO: Oi Ocha

ZERO: Feverdream

ZERO: Candle Wax

ZERO: River Creature

ZERO: Kite

Analogue Origins

Future Directions

Co-Creating Tomorrow’s World, The Art for Futures Lab

Sustainability project ZERO

Taming AI: How to create and maintain authorship

AI as Co-Visionary: Imagining the FilmEU Campus of the Future

AI as Co-Visionary: Imagining the FilmEU Campus of the Future

Conference Close & What Next?

Perspectives on Production Design: Practice, Education and Analysis (2026)

Teaching Production Design in the 21st Century (2026)