Set Design and Costume Design Research and Northwest Research (1.1; 1.2)

Information I have gathered from various websites:

Set designer - Earnings in theatre range from about £18,000 to £23,500 a year. The average salary for a set designer in film and TV is around £30,000.

Designers train on the job, often starting out as assistants or model makers in a design studio or workshop, possibly on a voluntary or low-paid basis. Most set designers have an art-based Higher National Diploma (HND) or degree. The Diploma in creative and media may be relevant for this area or work.

Set designers have above-average artistic ability. They are drawers, painters, sculptors, sewers, and carpenters of the set. Set designers usually start with freehand sketches of what the scene should be. They then move to scale models, working in tandem with the director of the production, the production manager, and writers. Once their plans are finalized, the set designer supervises construction workers who build the sets. They also work with people in charge of lighting and sound. They have to have a strong understanding of theatrical rigging and safety.

They may also have to use computers to design sets and even as the use of technology has increased they may have to design some of the actual set with computer programs.

Costume Designer - Salaries may range from around £18,000 a year to £40,000 or more. However, most costume designers are freelance and have to negotiate a fee, which depends on their track record, the type of production, and the budget available.

Working hours can be long and unpredictable, often including evenings and weekends. Costume designers usually work in offices, studios, theatre wardrobes or from home.

There is fierce competition for jobs, so a strong portfolio and good contacts are essential.

A college degree is not a requirement, but in this highly competitive field, it gives a sizable advantage. Most costume designers today have a bachelor’s degree.

Northwest -

There are hardly any jobs available, on the search engines I used for the other jobs, for these two jobs. This is probably because there are not many theatres or TV productions (that need sets/set designers) in the northwest, and it is more one person who does a lot of the set, instead of a lot of people working on it together, on a middle-scale production.