What is an Art Department Co-ordinator?
Art Department Co-ordinators provide daily administration and budgeting for the Art Department. This department is responsible for creating the overall look of a feature film or television show, with responsibility for designing, building and decorating the sets used for the production.

What is the job?
The Art Department Co-ordinator is hired at a very early stage in the production. They begin by collaborating with the Production Manager, deciding the Art Department’s budget and maintaining a line of communication to ensure that all costs are kept under control. Their main task is ensuring productive collaboration between crew members among set decorating, prop making, production, location scouting and construction. They will report to the Art Director and the Production Designer.

In addition to this, the Art Department Co-ordinator is responsible for scheduling build, dress and strike, all transportation and travel, shipment of equipment, and construction. On top of this, they will also be required to download, copy and deliver the necessary photos of locations and sets to the Production Designer.

Art Department Co-ordinators can also be responsible for the legal aspects of the Art Department, compiling construction permissions for set builds and obtaining clearances for branded props used on the production.

Key Skills

• Exceptional organisational and managerial skills
• Ability to plan and schedule
• Ability to supervise
• Knowledge of accounting software (for budgeting duties)
• Photoshop skills
• Good initiative
• Ability to work independently
• Administrative skills
• Ability to negotiate
• Precision, efficiently and knowledge of legal requirements

Salary & Working Hours
There is not really an average salary for an Art Department Co-ordinator as this will depend on the studio you are working for and the size of the production you are part of. In terms of working hours, these are likely to be regular office hours – however, as an Art Department Co-ordinator, you will have to keep working until a week after the shoots have been wrapped. You will often be provided with a Personal Assistant.

How To Become an Art Department Co-ordinator
In order to become an Art Department Co-ordinator, you will need an extensive amount of experience within the Art Department. Usually, Art Department Co-ordinators start out in a junior role such as Production Assistant or Runner, working on a number of productions, before progressing to become an Art Department Assistant. This gives them the opportunity to prove they have the required administrative and managerial skills, and enables them to gain enough contacts in the industry to make the step up to Co-ordinator.

Despite the fact that there is no formal training or qualification required for the role, it is worth considering film production courses as a method to gain your skills and further your knowledge. However, it is important to highlight that employers value hands-on experience the most, so gaining this through work experience, part-time jobs, internships or volunteering is the most important thing.

Where Can It Take You?
After you have built up a few years of experience working as an Art Department Co-ordinator, you may have the opportunity to progress to other related roles such as Production Designer or Manager. The skills you gain as an Art Department Co-ordinator are likely to provide you with the ability to progress into many roles as the skills are very transferable.

Become an Art Department Co-ordinator
If you are ready for the next step in your career, why not take a look at the latest Art Department Co-ordinator vacancies on our jobs board? You can view our latest vacancies here.