Production Design Digest

Jade Healy is a story-teller at heart and a Production Designer by trade, working primarily in feature films. Her impressive 38 (and counting) critically acclaimed IMDB credits include ‘I, Tonya’, ‘Marriage Story’, ‘The Killing of a Sacred Deer’, ‘A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood’, ‘Ain’t Them Bodies Saints’, ‘Pete’s Dragon’, ‘Ghost Story’, ‘The Sacrement’, ‘In A Valley of Violence’, ‘Mississippi Grind’, and the upcoming ‘The Green Knight’ and Walt Disney’s ‘Peter Pan’ … just to name but a few.Jade and Production Design Digest host, Kelly Sinclair Smith, discuss her incredible multi-faceted career journey, their shared love of lamps, how she made her break into the industry and started designing films early on in her career, what she’s learnt along the way and how her love for story-telling is the driving force in everything she does. “Just because something looks amazing doesn’t mean it’s right for the character, or the film. I like to think I’ve learned to practice more control. My goal is to always create sets that push the narrative forward, not distract from it” explains Jade.In this episode with Kem White we cover:How Jade made her break in the industryHer hands-on approach to designingLamps, lamps and more lampsWhat she looks for in a scriptHer “dos and don’ts” of production designHow she’s progressed throughout her career and the crucial lessons she’s learnt along the wayThe importance of putting story and character first when it comes to designingWhat it’s like working with different directors and how to adapt to their individual styles of filmmakingThe use of negative space within her sets and why she’s come to appreciate itHer beauftiful use of colour and texture, and how she develops themThe heavily researched look-books she puts together for each film and first-time director meetings, and why it’s important to still spend the time making one regardless of wether or not she does the job‘Imposter Syndrome’ - what it is and how she’s overcome itHow to avoid being pigeonholed as a Production DesignerThe importance of being yourselfAnd much more!Subscribe + Follow Production Design Digest Instagram | BlogShow Links:In The Mood For Love IMDB | Production Design by William ChangWilliam Chang’s IMDBMagnum PhotosFollow Our Guest:Jade Healy’s IMDBJade Healy’s InstagramJade Healy is represented by Mira Yong at WMEFollow Kelly Sinclair Smith:kellysinclairsmith.comIMDBInstagramKelly Sinclair Smith is represented by Vision ArtistsOriginal Score by Joe Davies

Kem White is a Production Designer for big budget, high-end TV Commercials. Kem is based in London, but has worked across the world designing global campaigns. Her list of clients include Nike, Ikea, Louis Vuitton, Sky, Dulux, Twitter, Samsung, Paypal, Asus, British Airways as well as ALDI’s big Christmas TVCs for the past couple years that have involved designing and working with miniature models, building different scaled sets, VFX, SFX and an army of talented set-builders and scenic artists.Kem and Production Design Digest host, Kelly Sinclair Smith, discuss her career journey, her time spent as a model maker, why she transitioned from working in Film and Television to designing TVCs, her design process, what it’s like to work on global campaigns as well as designing sets using different scales.In this episode with Kem White we cover:How Kem first started out in the industryHer first ever job as a Production DesignerHow that job opened up more doors to opportunitiesHow her background in narrative-based filmmaking prepared her for her career as a Production Designer in TVCsWhat skills she thinks are necessary to be a good Production DesignerHer approach to designing the series of ALDI Christmas commercials that involved building a train carriage, an interior circus tent scene, a huge castle interior, a snowy mountain scene, as well as multiple miniature models and setsHer experience designing the ‘Dulux Walls’ global campaign, and her research into colour trendsHer production design “pet peeves”Her favourite part about being a Production DesignerAnd much more!Subscribe + Follow Production Design Digest Instagram | BlogShow Links:Romeo + Juliet IMDB | Production Design by Catherine MartinCatherine Martin’s IMDBFollow Our Guest:Kem’s WebsiteKem White’s IMDBKem White’s InstagramKem White is represented by Independent TalentFollow Kelly Sinclair Smith:kellysinclairsmith.comIMDBInstagramKelly Sinclair Smith is represented by Vision ArtistsOriginal Score by Joe Davies

Dick Lunn is a Production Designer for Film, TV and Commercials. Dick’s production design credits include ‘The End of the F***ing World’ (2019), Next of Kin (2018), Humans (2015), Man Up (2015), The Survivalist (2015), Cuban Fury (2014), Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013), The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), Four Lions (2010), and the upcoming Netflix series; The Duchess.Dick and Production Design Digest host, Kelly Sinclair Smith, discuss his career, all the different aspects of production design that he’s drawn to, his favourite go-to photography books for references, his approach to designing visually pleasing spaces through the use of symmetry and incorporating the camera’s aspect ratio within his set designs to create interesting frames.In this episode with Dick Lunn we cover:Dick’s journey into Production Design, and how his degree in modern history created a solid foundation for being able to reference and research different jobsHow having parents who were both art teachers influenced his love of art, and how studying art history and renaissance artists, such as Hieronymus Bosch, taught him about composition, lighting and how creating lines within a picture can draw the viewers eye to specific focal pointsHow his time spent as a runner, prop master and art director prepared him for his career as a Production DesignerHis approach to designing for the screen, and how important it is to consider the camera movement and the blocking within a scene when designing a setHow he uses symmetry within his set designs to bring structure to the space and create visually appealing compositionsHis long-standing working relationship with his set decorator and what makes it such a successful collaboration between themThe textures, colours and detailed props within the sets of ‘The End of the F***ing World’ (S2), and how Dick created the look of a British/Americana fusion for the seriesAnd much more!Subscribe + Follow Production Design Digest Instagram | BlogShow Links:Art History for Filmmakers | by Gillian MclverInside North Korea | by Oliver WainwrightThe Ruins of Detroit | by Yves MarchandTwo and One Quarter | by William EgglestonCathedral of the Pines | by Gregory CrewdsonEarly Works | by Martin ParrHustlers | by Philip-Lorca diCorciaModern Colour | by Fred HerzogBlade Runner (1982) IMDB | Production Design by Lawrence G. PaullLawrence G. Paull’s IMDBFollow Our Guest:Dick Lunn’s IMDBDick Lunn’s InstagramDick Lunn is represented by Echo ArtistsFollow Kelly Sinclair Smith:kellysinclairsmith.comIMDBInstagramKelly Sinclair Smith is represented by Vision ArtistsOriginal Score by Joe Davies

Anna Rhodes is a Production Designer and Art Director for Film, Commercial, Music Video, Events and Stills. She is based in London, but has worked globally, including Mexico, Chile, Tokyo, Seoul and Europe. Her long list of clients include Steve McQueen, Kanye West, One Direction, Kylie Minogue, Virgin, Absolut, Nike and Net-A-Porter.Anna and Production Design Digest host, Kelly Sinclair Smith, discuss her career journey, designing shoots abroad, building successful director relationships, developing colour palettes and how her background in graphic design helped shape her into the production designer that she is today.In this episode with Anna Rhodes we cover:What lead Anna to pursue a career in Production DesignWhat her degree in Graphic Design taught her about developing colour palettes and how it influences her approach to designingAnna’s creative process - how she preps a job from start to finishHow to create stand-out mood boards, and the importance of using carefully considered references to develop initial set designsHer go-to sources for inspirationWhat it is like to design a music video for Kanye West, directed by the iconic film director, Steve McQueenHer passion for designing music videos and what it is about doing them that she enjoys mostAnna’s research that went into designing and building (not one, but two!) entire New York street sets that take us back to 1985. We go into detail about all the different artists that Absolut have used for their advertising campaigns, and how she had to show the passing of time by re-decorating the streets to represent every decade from 1985 to current dayWe examine the importance of developing a mutual level of trust with directorsShe discusses her “series of micro-failures”, what she learnt from them, and how ultimately it made her a better designerAnd much more!Subscribe + Follow Production Design Digest Instagram | BlogShow Links:Toys (1992) IMDB | Production Design by Ferdinando ScarfiottiFerdinando Scarfiotti’s IMDBFollow Our Guest:Anna Rhodes’ WebsiteAnna Rhodes’ IMDBAnna Rhodes’ InstagramAnna Rhodes is represented by Wizzo & CoFollow Kelly Sinclair Smith:kellysinclairsmith.comIMDBInstagramKelly Sinclair Smith is represented by Vision ArtistsOriginal Score by Joe Davies