Set Decorators

By coordinating everything on a film or television set from furniture, room accessories, and draperies to bed linens and kitchenware, Set Decorators flesh out the “backstory” of a show so that those watching the show can better understand the characters and story. In FIDM’s Associate of Arts Advanced Program of Entertainment Set Design and Decoration, internships give students hands-on training in this exciting art. Students get experience visiting prop houses, ordering props, watching the shooting process, and more. This year’s internships have included working with the Set Decorators from Two and a Half Men, MAD-TV, Shark, I Hate My 30s, the Style Network shows Style Her Famous and How Do I Look? and the Hallmark Channel film Brokenhearted. Other students have interned with the Art Department on the show Cold Case and at Lennie Marvin Prop Heaven, one of the best-known and most popular resources for Set Decorators.

In the Fall quarter, students participated in SDSA’s (Set Decorators Society of America) “The Day with the Decorator,” during which they toured the sets of ER, The Class, and Two and a Half Men, which all shoot on the Warner Bros. backlot in Burbank, California. Students were able to walk the sets, talk to the shows’ Set Decorators, and visit Warner Bros.’ vast private prop house, which features everything from sofas and tables to appliances and dishware.

Additionally, FIDM Students have been actively involved with SDSA, assisting with their annual Marketplace event at Universal Studios and helping out in the SDSA office. FIDM has become the first college to have a Student Chapter of SDSA on campus, which helps FIDM Students network and build alliances with professional Set Decorators even before they’re out of college. FIDM’s involvement with SDSA guarantees that our students learn the ropes, while at the same time allowing professional Set Decorators to become familiar with FIDM’s pool of ready talent. When FIDM’s Associate of Arts Advanced Program of Entertainment Set Design and Decoration students graduate from this one-year program, they leave with experience and connections!