Art Department
Film Crew Position: Construction Coordinator
What does a Construction Coordinator do?
What Is a Construction Coordinator in Film?
A construction coordinator is the head of the construction department on a film or television production. This person oversees every aspect of building the physical sets — walls, platforms, staircases, facades, structural frames, and any other built environment that the camera will photograph. While the production designer conceives the visual world of a film and the art director translates that vision into technical drawings, it is the construction coordinator who actually makes those environments exist in three dimensions.
Construction coordinators work across all production types: studio features, independent films, episodic television, commercials, music videos, and streaming originals. On a large studio feature, the construction department can employ hundreds of carpenters, painters, laborers, plasters, and riggers simultaneously across multiple soundstages. On a smaller production, the construction coordinator may personally oversee a crew of ten to twenty people building a handful of sets over a compressed schedule.
The role sits squarely in the art department, reporting to the production designer and working day-to-day with the art director. The construction coordinator translates blueprints and concept drawings from the art department into real, camera-ready environments that meet creative, budgetary, and safety requirements — all within the production's shooting schedule.
Where Construction Coordinators Work
Construction coordinators work both on stage (inside studio soundstages) and on location (adapting real-world spaces). Stage builds offer more control over materials and layout, while location builds require the coordinator to work within the structural constraints of existing architecture. Large productions often run both simultaneously — one crew building on a stage while another prepares a location — requiring strong organizational systems and delegated leadership.
Production budgeting software like Saturation.io helps construction coordinators and production accountants track construction department costs in real time, ensuring builds stay on budget and overages are caught early before they ripple through the rest of production.
Construction Coordinator vs. Art Director
These two roles are frequently confused. The art director manages the design process — drawings, models, vendor coordination, and communication between the production designer and other departments. The construction coordinator manages the physical build process — crews, materials, tools, schedules, and safety on the construction floor. They work in close partnership: the art director supplies the blueprints, the construction coordinator executes them.
Construction Coordinator vs. Set Decorator
Another common point of confusion. The set decorator is responsible for everything that furnishes and dresses the set — furniture, props, soft goods, artwork, plants. The construction coordinator is responsible for the structural shell of the set itself. When construction finishes a stage, the set decorator moves in to dress it. The two departments hand off from one to the other in sequence, coordinating carefully to avoid delays.
What role does a Construction Coordinator play?
Primary Responsibilities of a Construction Coordinator
The construction coordinator touches every phase of set construction from the earliest design meetings through final strike. Their responsibilities span budget, scheduling, personnel, materials, safety, and creative problem-solving — often all at once.
Reading and Interpreting Blueprints
Every build begins with blueprints generated by the art department's draftspeople and art directors. The construction coordinator must read and fully understand these technical drawings — floor plans, elevations, sections, and detail drawings — and identify any ambiguities, structural concerns, or material specifications that need clarification before a single piece of lumber is cut. Experienced coordinators often collaborate with art directors during the drafting phase to flag construction challenges early.
Budgeting Construction Costs
One of the most critical functions of the construction coordinator is building and managing the construction budget. This typically begins during pre-production with a take-off — a line-by-line estimate of every material and labor cost associated with each set. Materials include lumber, hardware, steel, foam, plywood, paint, fabric, and specialty finishes. Labor includes hours for carpenters, painters, laborers, plasterers, riggers, and scenic artists.
The construction coordinator submits this estimate to the production designer and line producer, negotiates any required cuts, and then manages spending against that approved budget throughout the shoot. Change orders — modifications to set designs that come mid-build — are common and require the coordinator to quickly assess the cost impact and communicate updates to production management.
Scheduling Construction
The construction schedule must align with the overall production schedule. Sets needed for the first day of photography must be ready before camera arrives — accounting for dressing, lighting, and final paint touch-ups. The construction coordinator works backward from shoot dates to establish build start dates, identifying which sets are on the critical path and which can be built in parallel. On large productions this is managed using scheduling software; on smaller shows it may be a combination of spreadsheets and daily check-ins.
Hiring and Managing the Construction Crew
The construction coordinator is responsible for crewing the department. This means hiring lead carpenters (sometimes called construction foremen or first carpenters), scenic painters (often led by a paint coordinator), laborers, and any specialty subcontractors required for unusual builds — metalwork, fiberglass, foam carving, practical plumbing, or practical electrical. On IATSE productions, crew are typically hired from union rosters (primarily Local 44 in Los Angeles and corresponding locals in other cities).
Managing a construction crew requires strong leadership skills. The coordinator sets daily priorities, solves problems on the floor, and maintains crew morale through the physical and logistical demands of production builds. They also handle timecards, call times, and communicate with production management about crew size changes as work ramps up or down.
Coordinating with Other Departments
Construction coordinators work closely with multiple departments beyond the art department. They coordinate with the set decorator on when sets will be available for dressing, with the locations department on access to stages and permits, with the transportation department on delivery of materials, and with the special effects department when sets must accommodate practical effects like fire, water, or mechanical rigs. They also coordinate with the property department and the greens department, whose work often happens on or around constructed sets.
OSHA Safety Compliance and On-Set Safety
The construction coordinator is responsible for maintaining a safe construction environment. This means enforcing OSHA regulations on all construction work — fall protection, proper tool handling, PPE requirements, electrical safety near construction power, and safe material handling. On union productions, the construction coordinator works with the studio's safety department. On non-union productions, the coordinator is often personally responsible for maintaining compliance.
Set construction involves real hazards: power tools, pneumatic tools, heavy materials, heights, confined spaces, and chemicals used in paint and scenic finishes. The construction coordinator must have a thorough understanding of these risks and a strong safety culture that permeates the entire department.
Overseeing Strike (Tear-Down)
After photography wraps on a set, the construction department is responsible for strike — the systematic dismantling of sets to clear the stage for the next build or return the stage to the studio. Strike must be organized and efficient: salvageable materials are stored or returned, waste is disposed of properly, and rented equipment is returned on schedule. On multi-stage productions, strike and build often happen simultaneously across different areas, requiring careful coordination to avoid conflicts with camera units still shooting on adjacent stages.
Working with Specialty Vendors
Complex builds often require materials or techniques that fall outside the core construction crew's expertise. The construction coordinator vets and manages specialty vendors: foam sculptors for organic or decorative forms, scenic art studios for complex paint finishes, metalwork shops for steel structural elements, fiberglass fabricators for lightweight curved forms, and practical fixture suppliers. The coordinator negotiates pricing, manages delivery schedules, and integrates vendor work into the overall construction timeline.
Stage and Location Builds
Stage builds happen inside soundstages where the coordinator has full control over the environment. Location builds require the coordinator to adapt existing structures — reinforcing walls, adding false floors, building floating platforms, or installing temporary architectural elements that must be removed cleanly when filming ends. Location builds often involve more permitting, more careful material selection, and more complex logistics than stage builds, and the coordinator must be skilled in both environments.
Do you need to go to college to be a Construction Coordinator?
How to Become a Construction Coordinator in Film
There is no single educational path to becoming a construction coordinator in film and television. Most working coordinators reached the role through years of hands-on experience in construction, carpentry, or theatrical scenic work — not through a formal film school program. That said, certain educational backgrounds provide strong preparation for the skills the role demands.
Carpentry and Construction Trade Background
Many of the most experienced construction coordinators began as journeyman carpenters in the residential or commercial construction industry. A background in general construction gives future coordinators the material knowledge, tool proficiency, blueprint reading skills, and physical intuition that set building demands. Union carpenters (members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters or similar trades unions) who transition into the film industry bring particularly strong technical foundations.
Apprenticeship programs through local carpenters unions typically run four to five years and combine on-the-job training with classroom instruction in blueprint reading, estimating, materials science, and safety. Completing a carpentry apprenticeship and working as a journeyman is one of the most reliable pathways into the film construction department at an entry level.
Scenic Design and Technical Theatre Programs
Theatrical scenic design programs train students to design and build environments for live performance — skills that translate directly to film set construction. Programs at institutions like the Yale School of Drama, Carnegie Mellon University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts offer rigorous training in scenic construction, technical drafting, materials and methods, and production management.
Theatrical training emphasizes working quickly, solving problems creatively with limited resources, and building for camera (or audience) angles — all directly applicable to film work. Many established construction coordinators have backgrounds in regional theatre, Broadway, or touring productions before making the transition to film and television.
Film Production Programs
While film school is not a prerequisite, film production programs that include production design coursework — such as those at AFI, USC, UCLA, Chapman University, and Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) — can help aspiring coordinators understand how the construction department fits into the broader production workflow. These programs also provide access to student films where a motivated student can gain hands-on construction experience early in their career.
IATSE Local 44 — The Set Construction Union
In Los Angeles and on most major studio productions nationally, construction workers in film belong to IATSE Local 44, which covers Set Construction — carpenters, painters, laborers, plasterers, and related craft positions. Joining Local 44 typically requires working a qualifying number of days on union productions as a permit (non-member) worker and then applying for membership once the threshold is met.
The construction coordinator on a union production is also typically a Local 44 member, meaning that reaching the coordinator level on major productions usually requires years inside the union system. Entry into the union most often happens through work referrals from working union members or through non-union productions where the coordinator can gain supervisory experience.
Other major markets have their own IATSE locals that cover construction workers: IATSE 891 (British Columbia), IATSE 873 (Ontario), and various locals in New York, Georgia, New Mexico, and other production hubs. Understanding the local union structure in your target market is important when planning a career in film construction.
Starting in the Construction Department
Most construction coordinators reached their position by starting in lower-level construction department roles and working their way up over many years. Common entry points include:
Construction laborer: The most accessible entry point — physical work moving materials, cleaning stages, and supporting carpenters and painters
Carpenter's assistant / permit carpenter: Working under journeyman carpenters, learning the tools and techniques of set construction
Journeyman carpenter: Full construction duties on sets, often the longest phase of career development
Construction foreman / lead carpenter: Supervising a small crew of carpenters on individual sets, managing materials and daily schedules for a portion of the construction work
Construction coordinator: Full leadership of the department, typically reached after 10+ years of progressive experience
Key Certifications and Safety Training
Regardless of educational background, construction coordinators benefit from several specific certifications. OSHA 30 (Occupational Safety and Health Administration 30-hour construction safety course) is widely regarded as a baseline for supervisors managing construction workers. First aid and CPR certification is standard on most major productions. Forklift operator certification is often required when coordinators work in environments where materials are moved by forklift. Some productions and studios also require specific fall protection training for work done at height.
Portfolio and Network Development
Unlike creative departments, the construction coordinator's "portfolio" is largely reputational — built through years of reliable work, problem-solving under pressure, and developing a network of crew members, art directors, and production designers who can recommend them for future productions. Aspiring coordinators who excel as foremen should actively pursue mentorship relationships with established coordinators and seek out productions that will challenge their technical and organizational capabilities.
What skills do you need to be a Construction Coordinator?
Core Skills for Film Construction Coordinators
The construction coordinator role demands an unusually broad skill set that spans deep technical expertise, financial management, personnel leadership, and creative problem-solving. The following skills are essential for success at the coordinator level.
Advanced Carpentry and Construction Knowledge
A construction coordinator must understand the full range of carpentry and construction techniques used in film set building. This includes standard wood framing and finish carpentry, steel framing for large structures, welding for metal-intensive builds, and the specialized techniques unique to scenic construction — building for camera angles rather than habitation, constructing forced perspective elements, and creating architectural illusions using lightweight materials.
Knowledge of materials is equally critical. Construction coordinators must understand the properties, costs, and appropriate applications of lumber (dimensional, plywood, MDF), steel, foam, fiberglass, concrete, scenic materials (muslin, dutchman tape, scenic dope), and the wide range of specialty products used in film builds. Knowing which material delivers the best combination of visual quality, workability, weight, and cost for a given application is a core competency of an experienced coordinator.
Blueprint Reading and Technical Drawing
Construction coordinators spend significant time reviewing architectural drawings, blueprints, and technical plans generated by the art department. They must be able to read floor plans, elevations, sections, and detail drawings accurately, identify potential structural issues, calculate material quantities from drawings (take-offs), and communicate clearly with art directors about ambiguities or construction challenges in the plans. Proficiency with CAD software (AutoCAD, Vectorworks) is increasingly useful, though most coordinators rely on art department draftspeople rather than drawing themselves.
Budget Management and Cost Estimation
Financial management is one of the most critical skills a construction coordinator can possess. Building a detailed construction budget — a line-by-line take-off from the blueprints — requires both technical knowledge (to accurately estimate material quantities and labor hours) and market knowledge (to know current pricing for materials and crew rates in the specific production's location).
Once a budget is set, the coordinator must manage spending against it throughout production. This means tracking purchase orders, managing vendor invoices, monitoring labor costs against projections, and quickly communicating any cost overages or opportunities for savings to the line producer and production designer. Coordinators who develop a reputation for accurate budgeting and on-budget delivery are highly sought after.
Crew Leadership and Personnel Management
The construction coordinator leads a department that can range from a handful of people to hundreds of workers. Effective leadership at this scale requires clear communication of priorities, strong decision-making under time pressure, the ability to resolve conflicts quickly, and the judgment to know when to delegate versus when to manage personally.
Hiring decisions are critical — the coordinator is responsible for assembling a team capable of executing the specific technical demands of each production. This requires knowing the strengths and weaknesses of crew members across the roster, building trust-based relationships with reliable carpenters and painters over many years, and being decisive about performance issues when they arise.
Scheduling and Production Coordination
The construction coordinator must build and maintain a detailed construction schedule that integrates with the overall production schedule. This requires understanding the dependencies between different sets — some must be completed before others can begin — and the capacity constraints of the available crew. Experienced coordinators develop a feel for how long different types of builds take and build appropriate contingency into their schedules.
Communication with the production coordinator and assistant director is essential to ensure that the construction schedule stays aligned with camera requirements. When the shooting schedule shifts — as it almost always does — the construction coordinator must quickly recalibrate priorities and communicate impacts to the rest of the production.
OSHA Safety Knowledge and Culture
Construction is one of the most hazardous industries in any context, and film set construction is no exception. Power tools, pneumatic tools, heavy materials, heights, confined spaces, and chemical exposure are all routine aspects of the work. The construction coordinator must maintain a strong safety culture in the department — not just compliance with written rules, but genuine attention to hazard identification and elimination.
Familiarity with relevant OSHA regulations (29 CFR 1926 for construction safety) is essential. The coordinator must be prepared to stop work when safety is compromised, even when schedule pressure is intense, and must document incidents and near-misses appropriately. On studio productions, the coordinator works with the studio's safety department; on independent productions, the coordinator may be the primary safety resource for the department.
Problem-Solving for Unusual Builds
Film sets frequently require construction solutions that have no precedent in conventional building — a set that must partially collapse on cue, a floor with precise rigging points for wire work, a wall that must be removed and replaced between shots, or an exterior facade that must weather convincingly in extreme close-up. The construction coordinator must approach these challenges creatively, drawing on a broad knowledge of materials and techniques to develop solutions that are both aesthetically effective and practically buildable within the constraints of the production's budget and schedule.
Coordination with the Art Department
The construction coordinator's relationship with the production designer and art director is the central working relationship of the job. Effective coordinators develop a deep understanding of the design vision — not just the literal drawings — so that they can make sound judgment calls when unexpected problems arise on the construction floor. They communicate regularly with the art director about build progress, flag issues early, and participate in design discussions where construction feasibility is relevant.
Vendor and Subcontractor Management
Many builds involve specialty vendors whose work must be integrated into the overall construction timeline. Coordinators must be skilled at vendor selection, negotiation, scheduling, and quality oversight. Poor vendor management — late deliveries, substandard work, contract disputes — can cascade into schedule delays that affect the entire production.
Strike Planning and Execution
Strike is a distinct phase of the construction coordinator's work that requires its own planning. Knowing which materials can be recycled, which must be disposed of, and how to decompose a build efficiently and safely requires experience and forethought. Strike schedules must be coordinated with production management to ensure stage clearance happens on time for the next production or for return of a rented stage.
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