Nash’s Job shadow project.

I wanted to job shadow an artist who designs anything. So I decided to choose a artist in the Film Industry, I knew that was a good place to start was my dad, a member of IATSE (film production Union) so I called my father to ask if I was allowed to shadow a member of the artistic crew working on the TV show he also works on.

He told me that I could and asked me if I wanted to be in contact some nice painters that I could shadow. The first guy I called was a man called Ilja, and he was happy to have me shadow.

A scenic artist is an artist who does all the intricate and scenic parts of artistic jobs. Its a very hard job that requires a lot of skill and connections within the industry to get a job. It requires knowledge of materials, time management and the ability to deal with extreme stress.

 

 

 

 

 

When I arrived at 7:00 AM we had to check into the building with Ilja’s pass that only artists and construction crew have. After that he checks into his painting crew and talks to his boss for a while on what they are going to do for the day. After about 2 hours of painting the inside of a building we move on to lunch where the crew cooks eggs and bacon for 18 people. After that lots of painting where I watch, ask questions and eat snacks, then lunch, then more painting and he drives off home and I head home with my dad.

Here is the start to my questions.

1. What kind of education is necessary to be trained as a Scenic Artist? A degree in Fine arts, bachelor isn’t required but adds benefits.
2. How many years of post secondary training are needed to be a Scenic Artist. Minimum 2 years
3. What is the average salary of a Scenic Artist? 125k yearly

4. What is the typical working hours of a Scenic Artist? 7am-5:30pm
5. What are some of the skills you need to be a Scenic Artist? Full artistic capability, an eye for colour. Sense of style and such.
6. What courses would you suggest that I take in high school to be a Scenic Artist? As many artistic courses as possible.

7. What are the best things about being a Scenic Artist? You get to create beautiful recreations of many different kinds of surfaces, marble, granite, wood grains,

Sculpting and painting portraits are also part of the job criteria

8. What are some of the worst things about being a Scenic Artist? It can be highly stressful when realism is incredibly important for close up shots in a movie, as we strive desperately to create the illusion of realism when we are creating so many surfaces made from materials nothing like the real thing

9. What occupations are related to being a Scenic Artist? Well it is a unique position. In the real world someone with this talent would create art for a living, so as an artist.
Other jobs may be specialty finishes for both residential and commercial properties as hired by a designer or proprietor .But it is a very unique and specific kind of talent, a small percentage of the population live this way.

 

10. Do most people enjoy there jobs as a Scenic Artists? Very much yes.
11. Can a Scenic Artist move up in the ranks of there workplace? Yes, some have moved on to the art department as production designer. Where good artistic ability lends the right background for a designer to create the vision of a director.
12. How are Scenic Artists evaluated by there bosses? By speed and quality !! Of course!

13. What is expected of a Scenic Artist when a job is assigned? To assess products needed, create samples, then work in unison with others performing the task as diligently as possible. The deadline must be met, there is no exception to the rule.

14. How has the job of Scenic Artist changed over the years?Design and creativity has changed as fast as progress in technology, things are bigger and more sophisticated, grandeur and beauty are an ever changing landscape. The thirst for a more beautiful movie causes the artistry to become more difficult and challenging all the time. We the artists must make it so.
15. What is a typical day of a Scenic Artist? Well… When a project is new , we have to work on the available scenery hopefully before it is installed in hard to work situations. But most of the time we will pre-do the specialty finishes apart from the rest of the set. So areas are created by us to begin an assembly line of these special pieces of scenery , example , 200 peices of marble flooring made from wood, but ever so carefully created into realistic marble slabs. Then the carpenters can put them in place when we have finished with our steps required to make them so

16. What is the demand for scenic artists? We are in high demand for a skill that does not come easy to many. But a castle cannot be built with the hard work of the simple and humble tasks of the labourer as well. We get special treatment as only a few gifted people, it’s sad that the hard work comes from the common folk…
17. What is the hardest part of being a scenic artist? Well, sometimes what is asked of us may not have been done before. So we must attempt new ways or find a technique that has not been tested. And with all of these projects there are time constraints, deadlines, other departments waiting on our completion or else we can throw the whole project into a tail spin. So I would say pressure, that is the hardest issue to deal with
18. What are he current challenges of the industry?The film industry is doing very well, we are in high demand.

19. How has technology affected scenic artists work? Technology has advanced the job of the scenic artist in some ways with the use of machines to pre shape and mold scenery before we even begin applying our vision. But the true technology in visual effects has also taken Away much of what we used to do and replaced by their ingenuous ways.

20. Does/has the economy affect your work? Yes it does affect our work.
Budgets for films are determined by how much money a movie company is willing to spend. With a low Canadian dollar, the movies can afford to splurge on beautiful and elaborate sets.
When our dollar is high, budgets can tend to shrink as they( the movie co.) try to stretch their dollars in production value.
21. How much are your required to work outside of normal hours? Yes. When the project is running out of time, we will put extra hours and even extra days or shifts to complete it no matter what.

Here are some amazing photos of the interior of a submarine that the crew had completed a couple days before

 

 

 

Personal Opinion of the Job…

After shadowing Iljah my opinion of scenic artist is a mixed one. It’s incredible how unique this job is and what skill set is required to produce good quality results that the boss will like. I feel like scenic artist is for a very small amount of people, the people with niches for beautiful art and a good grasp of time management.

What I leaned. On this job shadow I’ve learned many things. I’ve learned that working in the film industry is very hard. I’ve also learned that to be an artist you really have to love your work. Working under pressure is very common as a scenic artist, becuase for certain projects you only have 1 opportunity and can’t mess up. To be a member of the film and TV industry you need connections within the industry aswell.

In reflection, if I had the choice to either become a scenic artist or not I’d have to pass on the job. It seems like such a hard job that requires extreme skill and the ability to perform under pressure all the time.