CONCEPT STUDY—SMALL SCALE SET DESIGN

April 2021

MARY CLARK: MODEL, STYLIST, SET DESIGNER | WOLE AJAGBE: Producer, principal photographer

Mary, a great friend and collaborator of almost four years, has an extensive modeling and stylist portfolio but wanted to expand into set design. I was excited to work with her and embrace a new medium, so we reached out to PropUp Shop in Baltimore to use their space and wide array of props to build table-top sets for a mock campaign. As Mary designed and built each set, I worked to further develop a storyline to bring the resulting assets together. After a few hours of intense experimentation we came away with a short film and a few stills which helped to sell the practicality of the set. Skills and collaboration that we will be sure to apply again.

  • Create a cohesive narrative across photo video based on a small-scale set design.

  • Set design that closely resembles a home office or study, complete with a desk library, a phone and a much-needed cappuccino cup.

    All props chosen had warmer hues to ground the striking red hue of the phone and match the organic wooden texture of the desk. The white cup and saucer helped to cut through the darker shade of the other props adding an element of rest to the otherwise productivity-focused table-scape.

    This set was captured with very tight composition and framing to make the set and props larger than life and shift curiosity away from what was happening in the room to only what was happening on the table; an important storytelling device for featuring products, services or emotions.

  • A short film and complimentary stills highlighting an intriguing prism added to the set along with new skills in small-scale set design and short-form storytelling.

    PropUp Shop was also pleased with the results and proudly displayed the outcome to their audience and future clients.