"From Script to Set"
Turning Scripts and Storyboards into Sets...
Ever wondered how a few lines on a page become an entire world you can walk into?
On Saturday 8 August, award-winning Production Designer and Art Director Kim Jarrett will take participants inside the creative and technical process of turning scripts, storyboards and ideas into fully realised screen environments.
This free, five-hour masterclass is a rare opportunity to learn directly from one of the industry’s most experienced design professionals - and then put those lessons into practice yourself.
Currently the Art Director on the latest Minecraft movie, Kim has worked across major international productions including Sweet Tooth, East of Eden, Predator: Prey, Heart of the Beast, Minecraft 1 & 2 and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which earned him an Art Directors Guild Art Direction Award.
Step Inside the Art Department
The Art Department is one of the biggest creative engines on a feature film, bringing together an enormous range of roles, skills and processes to build the physical world of the story.
Using stills and examples from films he has worked on, Kim will take participants through the journey from the page to the finished set.
The masterclass will explore:
- How to break down a script from a design perspective
- The roles and responsibilities within a feature film Art Department
- How ideas move from script and storyboard into drawings and plans
- The drafting and design process
- Choosing materials for models and fabrication
- Developing the right visual and aesthetic approach for the story
- How creative ideas are translated into something that can actually be built
And this is not a five-hour sit-and-listen session!
In the second half of the masterclass, you will put the process into action, using the techniques explored during the day to design your own version of a set.
Who is Kim Jarrett?
Kim Jarrett is an award-winning Production Designer, Art Director, Environmental Designer and Landscape Designer whose career spans international film production, commercials, music videos, themed environments and landscape architecture.
His recent feature film and television projects include Sweet Tooth, East of Eden, Predator: Prey, Heart of the Beast, Minecraft 1 & 2 and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Across his career, Kim has also production designed more than 300 television commercials and music videos, including Billy and Elton featuring Billy Joel and Elton John for HBO, and Angel’s Heap for Neil and Tim Finn. He has won multiple television commercial design awards over the years.
Outside film, Kim is the Design Director and owner of Dawnfinder, a Master at the De Tao Masters Academy in Shanghai, and has held a Professorship in Landscape Architecture and Themed Environment Design at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts.
He also co-wrote and led Bachelor-level programmes in Themed Environment Design at the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts and the Wuhan Institute of Design and Science.
In other words, this is a chance to learn from someone who has spent a career not simply designing spaces, but understanding how environments tell stories.
Event Details
Date: Saturday 8 August 2026
Time: 10.00am–3.00pm
Location: AUT School of Art & Design, 27 Saint Paul Street, Auckland CBD
Cost: FREE - ticket required through Humanitix on the link below.
https://events.humanitix.com/masterclass-production-designer-kim-jarrett
Bring:
- Laptop
- Scale ruler
- Pencils and pens
- Your lunch
Light refreshments will be provided.
Secure Your Ticket NOW!
This is a free event, but you must secure a ticket through Humanitix via the link below.
https://events.humanitix.com/masterclass-production-designer-kim-jarrett
For anyone interested in production design, art direction, set design, drafting, fabrication, world-building - or simply understanding how the words on a page become the world on screen.
This is a masterclass not to miss!
