Design Fundamentals: Set, Costume, Lighting and Sound
How designers shape a production: the four design elements of set, costume, lighting and sound, and how each one creates meaning, mood and atmosphere for the audience.
Justify the choices, the way you are assessed
Free interactive practice on the decisions the assessment actually asks you to justify.
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Designing a production
A play is not just the words. Designers shape what the audience sees and hears using four design elements: set, costume, lighting and sound. Each one is chosen carefully to create meaning, mood and atmosphere, and to help tell the story.
The four elements
Learn these four design elements before you study how they create meaning.
Visual and technical
The design elements work in two broad ways.
Link the choice to the audience
To reach the top grades, link a specific design choice to its effect on the audience, for example a dim red light to build a feeling of danger, rather than just naming the element.
Match the element to what it does
- set
- costume
- lighting
- sound
- creates the location and period of a scene
- shows the status and personality of a character
- creates mood and directs the focus
- creates atmosphere and tension
Match the term to its meaning
- staging
- props
- amplification
- texture
- the way a performance is arranged in the space
- objects used by actors on stage
- making sound louder for the audience
- how a surface looks and feels in a design
What can lighting create?
What can lighting design create on stage?
- Mood and focus on stage.
- The script of the play.
- The ticket prices.
- The sound effects of the play.
Design elements
Select the TWO design elements.
- Lighting.
- Sound.
- The plot.
- The audience.
Order the designer at work
Put the steps a designer follows in order, earliest first.
- The designer reads the play
- They decide the mood and meaning to create
- They choose the set, lighting and sound
- The audience sees and hears the result
Summarise the design
A production uses four design elements. _____ design creates the location and period. _____ shows the status of a character. _____ design creates mood and directs the focus. _____ design builds atmosphere and tension. Every choice communicates meaning to the _____.
Count the elements
How many design elements does this module cover: set, costume, lighting and sound?
Spot the two design elements
Tap the TWO design elements.
- lighting
- sound
- the plot
- the audience
- the interval
Which design element?
Decide which design element is being used.
- A revolving stage turns to show a new room
- A dim red glow suggests danger
- Footsteps and a scream build tension
Explain a design choice
Choose one design element, such as set, costume, lighting or sound, and explain how a designer could use it to create meaning for the audience. Describe a specific choice and its effect.
- Name the design element you choose
- Describe a specific design choice
- Explain its effect on the audience