Academy's Production Design Database

Last month the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences launched the Production Art Database, an online research tool located on the Academy’s website.  The database, accessible to the general public, contains records for over 5,300 items from the library’s collection.  Nearly half the entries containing images including costume and production design drawings, animation art, storyboards and paintings. 

The Production Art Database contains motion picture design material that ranges in date from the 1920s through the present day.  Individuals looking for information can perform a basic search for materials using film title, film year, designer/illustrator, persons depicted, and keywords.  An advanced search including subject, type of art, collection name, library file number, company, and genre can also be performed.  For example, an individual could type “musicals” into the genre section, and receive a search result of 362 entries, ranging from a partial storyboard depicting the title sequence in “West Side Story” to Albert Wolsky’s “All That Jazz” costume design illustrations.  Accompanying each digital image is statistical information including dimensions, text, and a physical description indicating the material used to create the image.

The Academy is consistantly updating the database with new entries as well as digital images.  Since its launch, 141 new images have been added. 

The Production Art Database accompanies a variety of research tools the Academy maintains on its website for the use of researchers, students, and film enthusiasts.  These databases include the Academy Awards Database, Acceptance Speeches, Motion Picture Credits, Motion Picture Scripts, Library Catalog, Screenwriting Resources and a Teacher’s Guide Series.

To view the Academy’s Production Art Database, please visit:

http://collections.oscars.org/prodart/

To explore the Academy’s additional resources, please visit:

http://www.oscars.org/research-preservation/resources-databases/index.html