With around 2100 Bachelor's and Master's students, the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) is one of the largest and most diverse art academies in Europe. The fields of study and research include art education, design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theatre and transdisciplinary. In the center of Zurich, the ZHdK is a dynamic place where passionate people from over 75 countries work, study, teach, research and further their education. The university has numerous exhibition and performance venues where students' projects are shown to the public.
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The Department of Performing Arts and Film at Zurich University of the Arts fosters a stimulating exchange between teaching and research thanks to its diverse range of programs. The Production Design course is an integral part of the collaborative film program. What sets the course at ZHdK apart is that across many of its modules, it consistently reflects the division of roles, team structures and production reality of the film industry.

Due to retirement, per 1 August 2027 we’re seeking in the Film Department an:
Artistic Professor in Production Design 50% (all genders)

The artistic professor is responsible for managing the Major Production Design module within the Bachelor’s degree program in Film and accompany the Master’s films from a production design perspective. The professor ensures the systematic development of the curriculum and develops existing and new courses and formats in close collaboration with the other film disciplines.

Your responsibilities
Design and delivery of courses and practical projects within the BA Major in Production Design, in close collaboration with the BA Major in Film.
Independent teaching and mentoring responsibilities within both independent and collaborative teaching formats.
Primary supervision of Bachelor’s dissertations (Worldbuilding) and supervision of student involvement in final films produced by BA and MA Film students.
Collaboration with external production companies and industry professionals to realise practical film projects.
Ongoing involvement in the curricular, organisational and content-related development of the BA Film programme (curriculum development, committees, events, representation).
Continuous dialogue with professionals and institutions in the industry, as well as contributing to the further development of production design as a discipline within the international film context.

Your profile
More than five years of relevant professional and practical experience as a filmmaker. You must have an established reputation and recent work of international standard. We expect several years teaching experience in the arts at university level, as well as a strong professional network. A Master’s degree or equivalent qualification is required. Excellent language skills in German and English are also essential. A robust professional network within the Swiss film industry is an explicit requirement in order to facilitate students’ access to relevant partners, productions and career opportunities.

It would be desirable to be available on an hourly basis from autumn 2026 onwards, so that we can plan a curriculum closely linked to the Bachelor’s degree in Film for the autumn semester of 2027, select students for the new cohort of the Production Design course, and ensure to give an adequate induction.

What you can expect from us
We offer an interesting and challenging role in a lively and collegial environment in Zurich's Toni-Areal. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive working culture. We particularly welcome applications from women and people of all gender identities. We offer multiple benefits.

Your contacts for further information
For further information, please contact Sabine Boss if you have any technical queries (sabine.boss@zhdk.ch), the film's director is happy to be available. Contact person HRM: Mirjam Schu?tz, HR-Business Partner (mirjam.schuetz@zhdk.ch).

We look forward to receive your full application by 28 May 2026 via the “Apply online now” link at the bottom of this advertisement. In addition to the standard application documents, your application should include a statement outlining your vision for the development of the field of study for a contemporary Production Design program at ZHdK (max. two A4 pages). Availability on an hourly basis from autumn 2026 would be desirable to ensure the planning of a curriculum closely linked to the Bachelor’s Major in Film by the autumn semester of 2027, the selection of Production Design students for the new intake, and an appropriate induction period.

Please note that we are only accepting online applications for this position. Interviews will take place on 22 June 2026 and the university-wide presentation on 3 July 2026, at the university. You can find information about the programme at www.zhdk.ch and www.filmstudieren.ch.
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Zurich University of the Arts

Apply: https://apply.refline.ch/788531/1209/index.html?cid=1&lang=en

BA, Production Design for Screen & Film at MetFilm in Brighton is excited to welcome our new External Examiner, Fleur Whitlock, who is taking over from Kerry Bradley in September 2026. Welcome Fleur, and thank you for accepting the role.

CLOSING 30 April 2026: Production design is a central yet often overlooked form of creative labour within screen industries. Through the design of spaces, objects, environments, and visual concepts, production designers and art departments shape narrative meaning while navigating complex industrial, technological, and collaborative conditions. Despite growing scholarly attention to creative labour in media industries, production design remains under-theorised as a site of labour, authorship, and creative negotiation.

This special section of Media Industries invites contributions that critically examine contemporary methodologies in production design as forms of creative labour. The section seeks to foreground production design within broader debates about media production, labour organisation, collaboration, and technological change across film, television, and related screen industries.

We welcome original scholarly contributions that engage production design through a critical media industries perspective, rather than an instrumental or purely aesthetic approach. Submissions may be contemporary or historical and may draw on qualitative, archival, ethnographic, or practice-based research methods.

Indicative themes include, but are not limited to:
• Production design as creative labour in film and television industries
• Contemporary production design methodologies and workflows
• Collaboration, authorship, and hierarchy within art departments
• Labour conditions, precarity, and professional identity in production design
• Digital technologies, virtual production, and changing design practices
• Global and transnational production design labour
• Production design, material culture, and industrial constraints
• Archival, historical, and institutional perspectives on design labour
• Practice-based and practitioner-led research on production design
• Teaching and training production design within media industries contexts

We particularly encourage submissions that bring global or international perspectives, address underrepresented production contexts, or adopt innovative theoretical and methodological approaches.

Submission Information
The proposed special section will comprise three to five peer-reviewed articles (5,000–7,000 words each), along with an editorial introduction. All submissions will undergo Media Industries’ standard double-blind peer review process.

Authors interested in contributing to the proposal are invited to submit an abstract of approximately 300 words, outlining the article’s focus, methodology, and relevance to the special section theme to PDREN.research@gmail.com by 30 April 2026.

Image credit: "El Deseo" Art Department, Madrid. Photo by Juliet John

CLOSING 17 April 2026: Production design is fundamental to the creation of screen stories. As scripts are finalised and prior to cameras rolling, visual thinking— through sketches, drawings, models, storyboards, reference imagery, and other conceptual artefacts— shapes narrative meaning, aesthetic direction and collaborative practice. Despite its centrality to screen production, production design remains under-examined within screen studies and media education scholarship.
This special issue of Media Practice and Education seeks to foreground production design as a critical foundation of screen storytelling by exploring how visual concepts are developed, communicated, taught, preserved, and interpreted across film, television and other screen-based media. Contributions are invited that address production design both as a creative and pedagogical practice, situating it within production workflows, educational contexts, and broader cultural and institutional frameworks.
We welcome creative practice-based research that engages with, but is not limited to, the following themes:
• Production design and conceptual design practices in screen production
• The visual concept development in screen storytelling
• The role of visual artefacts (e.g. sketches, mood boards, models, previsualisation) in narrative construction
• Visual thinking as a collaborative and interdisciplinary process
• Pedagogies of visual concept development in screen and media education
• Practice-as-research approaches to visual conceptualisation
• Archival perspectives on conceptual materials and production artefacts
• Visual concepts as sites of authorship, communication, and meaning making
• The relationship between the visual concept, script, camera and/or performance
• Digital tools and emerging technologies in visual conceptualisation and realisation

Submissions may take the form of critical reflection of practice-based research outputs or case studies that bridge professional practice and education. Contributions from academics, educators, practitioners, and practitioner-researchers are strongly encouraged.

Submission Guidelines
Abstracts of approximately 250 words should be submitted to PDREN.research@gmail.com by 17 April 2026 with a short author bio.
Manuscripts will align with the aims and scope of Media Practice and Education and adhere to the journal’s submission and formatting guidelines. All submissions will undergo double-blind peer review.

Key Dates
Abstract submission deadline: 17 April 2026
Notification of acceptance: 31 May 2026
Full paper submission deadline: 30 September 2026
Publication date: Online TBC, Hard copy 2029

Further Information
For informal enquiries about the suitability of proposed topics, or if you are interested in being on the editorial or peer review panel, please contact PDREN.research@gmail.com

Image credit: Ronnie Scott's, London. Photo by Juliet John

The Production Design Research & Education Network (PD-REN) proudly launched its first-ever international conference, Scene & Unseen: The Invisible Art of Production Design, from 22–24 October 2025 at the University of Westminster, London. Bringing together educators, practitioners, and researchers from across the globe, the event celebrated the creative and intellectual depth of production design, the often “unseen” art that shapes the worlds we experience on screen.

The conference opened with a cinematic flourish on Wednesday, October 22, at the Regent Street Cinema, where Jane Barnwell, Jo Briscoe (PD-REN co-founders) and Jonathan Paul Green (BFDG Chairperson) gave a warm welcome to an excited audience of filmmakers, educators, students and the general public. The screening of The Fountain (2006) was followed by an insightful conversation with James Chinlund (Narnia (2026), The Batman (2022), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), the film’s production designer, moderated by Jamie Lapsley in partnership with the British Film Designers Guild.

Over the next two days, the program offered a rich mix of panels, talks, and workshops. On Thursday, October 23, PD-REN co-founders Jane Barnwell (UOW) and Jo Briscoe (Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne) welcomed attendees before sessions explored creativity, pedagogy, and visibility within production design. Highlights included Light Bulb Moments - a dialogue between Eli Bo (Norwegian Film School) and Moira Tait (BFDG) on inspiration, chaired by Professor John Wyver (UoW); followed by a stimulating Pedagogical Approaches panel with presentations from - Jette Lehmann and Sofia Stål (National Film School of Denmark), Ben Simpson (Leeds Arts University), Noelle C Thomas (DePaul University) and Kerry Bradley (Nottingham Trent University), and Siri Langdalen (Norwegian Film School) chaired by Anna Solic (University of South Wales). Next up the focus shifted to Making the PD Visible, chaired by Geraint D’Arcy (UEA) with presentations from Professor Ian Christie (Birkbeck Institute), Professor John Wyver and Miriam Phelan (Curator of Screencraft, BFI National Archive).

Will Htay (BFDG) followed with a NOOR previs demonstration. The next panel connected beautifully with papers exploring Immersion from Jørgen Stangebye Larsen (Norwegian Film School), Jayne Sayer (University of Salford), Karen Maness (University of Texas) and Richard Whitby (Ravensbourne University) chaired by Jo Briscoe. Day one was rounded off with a conversation between Anna Solic and Jane Barnwell about the Visual Concept Toolkit Jane has developed for both designing and analysing Film and TV, before networking drinks for attendees.

Friday, October 24, continued with forward-looking sessions. Danny Brown (Totom Construction) and PD Russell De Rozario got the day off to a raucous start with candid conversation VP: Tying Worlds Together chaired by Kerry Bradley. Our Teams panel followed highlighting the art department working practices, with presentations from Andoni Iturbe Tolosa (University of the Basque Country) and May Davies (BFDG) chaired by Maria Kavalioti (University of Thessaloniki). Panels, Space and Story (Geraint D’Arcy, Jo Briscoe, Jon Rowlands (University of Lincoln) and Maria Del Rincon Yohn (Universidad de Navarra) chaired by Jane Barnwell); and Future Directions (Angelica Boehm (Film Universitat Babelsberg Konrad Wolf), Sebastian Soukup (International Filmschule Koln) and Mani Martinez (Catalonia Higher School of Cinema) chaired by Boyana Buchvarova (NATFA)) examined evolving narratives and methodologies. An energising round of fast paced poster presentations from Abigail Stephenson (University of South Wales), Alexis Molloy (University of South Wales), Angelica Boehm, Boyana Buchvarova and Elena Trencheva (NATFA), James Frith (University of South Wales), Gage Williams (University of Utah), Nathan Evans (AFTRS), Signe Gerda Landfald (Norwegian Film School), Maria Kavalioti and Jon Rowlands delivered a visual feast with impact. The workshop session, AI in Production Design: Tools for Expression and Exploration, led by Boyana Buchvarova and Elena Trencheva, delved into the creative potential of emerging technologies with entertaining results.

The conference concluded with a glimpse at two forthcoming publications – from PD-REN, Perspectives on Production Design: Practice, Education and Analysis led by Barnwell and Briscoe (Open Access, UoW Press 2026) and CILECT Teaching Production Design in the 21st Century, by Maria Andronikou (Stavrakos Film & TV School). The new website for the network was launched emphasising PD-REN’s mission to build a vibrant global community that bridges research, education and practice in production design.
With over 45 speakers and 200 attendees across the programme, and the mix of screenings, scholarship and spirited debate, the inaugural PD-REN Conference set a strong foundation for the future - a celebration of the imagination, collaboration and research that make the invisible art of production design visible.

A heartfelt thank you to all our attendees, speakers and partners for making this inaugural conference such a success. Your insights, enthusiasm and engagement created an inspiring atmosphere and sparked meaningful conversations.

Special thanks to the Conference Committee - Jo Briscoe, Natalie Beak, Maria Kavalioti, Boyana Buchvarova and May Davies and UoW BA Film and CMP student helpers - Holly Tucker, Eliana Folin, Mika Lippelt, Lois Raulin, Alfia Jane Mullenger, Daisy Warne, Sofia Miretti and Venice Pintea.

We’re grateful for the time, energy and expertise you brought to the event and look forward to continuing the dialogue and collaboration in the months ahead.

Until next time, thank you for being part of our community and helping make this event truly memorable!

Jane Barnwell

Event Type: Conference
Start: October 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
End: October 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Location: University of Westminster, Regent Street Campus, London W1B 2HW
Event URL: https://pd-ren.org/
Registration Required: Yes

Description:
PD-REN is pleased to announce their inaugural conference, hosted by University of Westminster. This conference brings together an exciting combination of ideas from both industry and academia to provide insight into current practice and suggest approaches to production design research and pedagogies into the future.

Researchers, educators, practitioners and students are all welcome!

To recognize International Production Design Week in October, Pop Junctions invites contributions related to the craft of production design. We are particularly interested in critical reflections on world-building, production culture and labor, creative identity, creative practice, production technologies, and the industrial conditions of production design. Contributions can take on a range of forms, including written essays, video essays, book reviews, interviews, or in-conversation pieces of approximately 1000-2500 words. Contributions will be published on the blog between October 17th-26th and will need to be submitted to the editorial team by October 3.

If you would like to contribute or can suggest someone who might be, please get in touch with Tara Lomax (tlomax@aftrs.edu.au), Lauren Sowa (lauren.sowa@pepperdine.edu), Samantha Close (sclose@depaul.edu), or Henry Jenkins (hjenkins@usc.edu). A style guide will be provided to those who express interest.

Pop Junctions website: https://henryjenkins.org/
Bluesky: @popjunctions.bsky.social

Production design in film and television has been developing steadily as a critical field in the last decade, forming a significant cultural contribution to media production studies. This special journal issue of Arts is interested in contributions which take a scenographic approach to unpick and illuminate the relationships between production design (and related disciplines) and technologies of screen production.
Scenography is an approach which emerged in mid-century European theatre as a way of understanding the contributions of the performance, design and technical elements and how they contribute to the overall aesthetic experience of theatrical production. Film and television are, by their very nature, technological aesthetic forms, but they are rarely understood through the lens of scenography because of industrial practices that separate the vast array of production responsibilities in their organization. The finished qualities of film and television production design are marketed and simplified into the single, understandable authorship of directors and producers. If aspects of design and technology emerge from a production as being of particular note or spectacle, then they are often promoted as anonymous elements of “movie magic” or “technical wizardry”.
Virtual production studios and their enhancements of computer-assisted design appear to be radically altering the shape of screen industries, upsetting the balance of working practices in pre- and post-production, and making the production design and technical spectacle of production become very visible. Like any disruptive technological emergence, however, this might not be so much of a revolution as it is an evolution as new technologies uncover and rediscover older working practices and relationships. We are at an interesting moment of production studies in film and television. This call for papers reflects that moment and is interested in contributions which expand the field of production design studies or production studies in technology for film and television.
It seeks to understand current industrial practices and workflows using scenography to understand their aesthetic impact. It welcomes contributions made in collaboration with practitioners, production designers or other industrial partners as well as practice research, or research co-authored with production specialists, producers, and makers. Production design is broadly understood here to encompass costume, props, visual and special effects and their scenographic relationships with production technologies.
We invite proposals that explore, but are not limited to, the following themes:
Production design and virtual production.
Production design, animation and post-cinematic aesthetics.
Chromakey extensions, technologies and their production design affordances.
Historical technologies and their contemporary contributions to production design.
New cinematographic practices in contemporary production.
Practical, digital, and hybridized special or visual effects.
Abstract deadline is August 29th
Final MS submission is January 2026
(plenty of time for any Practice Research work)
[* It's a Gold Open Access journal and your institutions will have funds and policies supporting publication costs if accepted]