Analysing the role of semiotics in films – from an architect’s perspective

Abstract

In recent years film Industry and tv program are hugely popular across the globe and it is considered as a main stream activity. India has a long-standing reputation and fame for its acclaimed world class movies. This industry has a significant positive impact on our economy and it has grown phenomenally in terms of media market globally. Being the largest entertainment industry for more than 125 years it is very evident that Indian cinema is attracting more footfalls in theatres. As per the fiscal year 2020 the film industry was valued 183 billion Indian rupees and so it does make sense that pursuing career in film industry is highly coveted. The role of set designer plays a pivotal and integral role in films creative part as they oversee all visual elements and closely associate themselves with art department. In modern cinema the concept of semiotics has gained more importance and they play a significant role in the representation of films as they provide indirect visual cues. To make a successful film, using semiotics set designers employ various images as part of the story telling mechanism and apply culturally informed strategies which is of recent trend. Being in a creative field many architects have successfully taken set designer as their passion and career. Film has been part of our life – a dominant mode of expression where little research has been done on the role of semiotics. Shall one look at a film as art or story telling medium or communication? What is the role of semiotics in set design? The objective of the paper is to see how architects can enhance the role of semiotic expressions in set design