Extending a Decor: (Very) Special Work - Text 3
And so the profession of lay-out designer came into being, specializing in constructing decors on a reduced scale either to be filmed directly or to be used in the background of a real decor (as a three-dimensional back-drop, for forced perspective, etc.). The models in Ballerina are only apparent as such because of the presence of lay-out designers in the production photographs: without their presence, which gives the picture its scale, it would be impossible to distinguish the model from a life-sized street. The lay-out artist’s job changes when the trick decor takes on more importance and involves conceiving all of the effects both beforehand (beginning in pre-production and during the filming) and afterwards (by completing them with trick effects in the laboratory in post-production).
