Set design in film can be a make-or- break element of bringing a creative vision to life. A number of production designers, such as Maki Takenouchi who works in a variety of low- to high-budget films, realized they would need to start thinking outside the box in order to maintain a realistic and immersive visual environment for their films. Today, large format printers are compelling methods for producing an advanced film production design on a limited budget.

Takenouchi took this creative thinking to a recent unique project, where she was brought onboard to production design a feature film created by actor/producer James Franco. Franco was teaching a film class at NYU and assigned his students the project of developing “Tar,” a film about the life of renowned poet C.K Williams told through an examination of his poetry. The budget would be tight and top Hollywood talent would be involved.

“A successful film has the ability to transport its audience to another world. For this, the production design of a film is critical,” said Maki Takenouchi, Production Designer. “’Tar’ required a large volume of sets to be produced in a limited amount of time. Without the money for a scenic department, this could not have been accomplished without the help of Canon’s imagePROGRAF large format printer.”

Given her past experience with the imagePROGRAF printer, Takenouchi reached out to Canon to see if they could assist the film’s art department, and Canon saw a fantastic opportunity to explore the more artistic side to its imagePROGRAF large format printer range. Canon loaned an imagePROGRAF large format

printer to Takenouchi and the art department, which they used to print out the sets – everything from richly textured wallpapers, intricate oil-paintings and brilliantly realistic period sets. It also enabled the crew to quickly transform and then break down the location sets required to capture the different moods and time periods the poet’s work evoked.

“The imagePROGRAF printer was a crucial element to making this creative, yet low-budget project possible,” said Shruti Ganguly, film producer. “The sets were so incredibly realistic and true-to-life on camera, it was easy to forget that these were prints.”

The film was a successful venture for the students, faculty and crew. “Tar” premiered in November 2012 during the 7th International Rome Film Festival at Auditorium Parco della Musica.

Designed for professionals in the graphic, fine art, photography and proofing markets, Canon’s imagePROGRAF 6400 printer is built to put advanced printing technologies into the hands of artists and photographers, thanks to its incredibly large color spectrum, improved color density detection and the highest possible standards for quality-control and image reproduction. 

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