A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

A lyrical recreation of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ decision at age eight to stop chopping cotton and start s...

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphre...

Albert and David Maysles (Gimme Shelter) directed this 53-minute documentary about movie tycoon Jose...

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces an...
A historical film contrasting the two Germanies – the good and the evil – which struggled for power ...
Short by Stuart Schulberg. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

This is a film made in Toronto, in memoriam, so to speak - a memory piece, a "piecing-together" of t...

Short film in support of the Red Cross showing civilian volunteers'work, radio and movie personaliti...

The film is part of Eye Filmmuseum’s Mutoscope and Biograph Collection. This collection consists of ...

Kavery Kaul’s engaging documentary traces the history of calypso and soca music from their birth in ...

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each wa...

This short focuses on the job of the costume designer in the production of motion pictures. The cost...

One of Les Blank's industrial films, which follows a Holly Farms "broiler" chicken from factory incu...

A description and enactment of the discovery of gold by James Marshall, and the role played by John ...

Follows a crusading lawyer as he embarks on a campaign to save an African-American man, Paul Crump, ...

This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effor...

This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Compan...
Documentarian Jon Boorstin follows architect Frank Gehry and his sister, Doreen Gehry Nelson, as the...
A portrait of three Los Angeles area residents who create things with their hands. Angelo Austin dec...
The mechanized production of Duro-Test light bulbs is filmed as a dance to the tune of the Brandenbu...