Decorating Pages: TV and Film Design

Latest Episodes:

Simon Dennis Pt. 2- Director of Photography - "Candy" "American Crime Story: Impeachment", "Peaky Blinders" May 10, 2022

Show notes

This is part two of my interview with Director of Photography Simon Dennis. We deep dive into dorking out about our love for the film “The Conversation”. He talks about shooting “Peaky Blinders”and “Black Sails”, and the super cool set up he has on set to adjust color, and bring up references. I hope you caught last week's episode with him. We talked about how he got into being a DP, not knowing who Ryan Murphy was, then working together for five years on his project such as “Pose”, “Ratched”, “Hollywood”, ”American Crime Story: Impeachment”. You can watch his latest work "Candy" airing now on Hulu.

Simon Dennis - Director of Photography - "Candy" "American Crime Story: Impeachment" May 03, 2022

Show notes

In this episode I speak with Director of Photography Simon Dennis. Simon has been working the last 5 years non stop in Ryan Murphy world and making it look stunning. Growing up outside of London, Simon was making films when he was young like a lot of us. He even admits to making his mom be the gaffer. Starting out making shorts, small films, and then springing into the mainstream with ”Dr. Who”, “Peaky Blinders”, “Pose”, “Politician”, “Hollywood”, “ACS: Versace”, ''Ratched". I worked with him on''ACS: Impeachment” and it was a delight. His new project is the limited series “Candy” which will air on May 9th on Hulu.

Ashley Michelle Marsh - Set Decorator - "Better Call Saul" Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

"Better Call Saul" - In this episode I chat with Set Decorator Ashley Michelle Marsh of "Better Call Saul". Originally from Oklahoma, Ashley Michelle March moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue a career in TV and film as a Set Decorator. Starting as an assistant on the film “Observe and Report”, then coordinating on the TV series like “In Plane Sight” and “The Client List” she moved over to Set Dec Buyer on “Better Call Saul”, “The Night Shift” and “Longmire”. Ashley began decorating and jumped into “Mr. Robot”, “The Girlfriend Experience” and films “El Camino”, “The Ultimate Playlist of Noise''. “Better Call Saul” is airing now and Ashley should be very proud of this final season.

Kimberly Leonard - Set Decorator - "The Dropout" - "The Mosquito Coast" Apr 19, 2022

Show notes

In this episode I speak with Set Decorator Kimberly Leonard. Growing up in Los Angeles, and being inspired by her uncle, Donfeld, a costume designer, Kimberly studied design at Parsons and then hit the ground running on features, “Wheel of Fortune”, “Married with Children”, even working in a prop house till finding the set decoration buyer position. Kimberly mastered the position on shows like “Star Trek: Voyager”, "Star Trek: Enterprise’, “Boston Legal”, “Bones”, “Weeds” and more. Kimberly started Set Decorating on the Robin Williams comedy “The Crazy Ones”. Her Set Decorating credits include “Jane the Virgin”, “The Grinder”, “Blindspotting”, ”Counterpart”, “The Mosquito Coast”, and just recently Hulu’s “The Dropout”.

Marek Dobrowolski - Production Designer - Pt.2 - "I'll Find You" -"Mr. Mercedes" - "The Walking Dead" Apr 12, 2022

Show notes

This is part two of my interview with Production Designer Marek Dobrowolski. His new film that has just been released is “I’ll find you” about A Catholic opera singer and Jewish violin virtuoso dream of performing together at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York City, but the German invasion of Poland tears them apart. Shooting the whole film in his native Poland Marek was able to select historically accurate locations for scenes and give the film its period feel. We also talk about his start as a theater designer which led to a series of nine fairy tale TV movies in a year! We speak about his designs on “Mr. Mercedes”, “Last Action Hero”, “Under the Dome”, “Hitler: Rise of Evil” which he won an Emmy for his designs and more. He is also designing the last season of “The Walking Dead” which was in last week's episode.

Marek Dobrowolski - Production Designer -"The Walking Dead" - "The Last Ship" - "Into the West" Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

In this episode I speak with Production Designer Marek Dobrowolski. Marek has designed a number of historically rich stories that have taken him to locations all around the world. After winning an Emmy for his work on “Hitler: Rise of Evil”, he continued his epic designs with Steven Spielberg’s “Into the West ' which he was also nominated for.His other designs include “The Craft”, “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”, “Justified”, “World Without End”, ”The Company”, “Under the Dome”, “The Last Ship”, “Mr. Mercedes”, the current season of “The Walking Dead”. His latest film, “I’ll Find You”, is a wonderful story of love conquering all set in the Nazi background of World War 2. He shares that he got to go home to Poland for filming and was able to have a full Polish crew. He is a wonderful storyteller, as you will hear, sharing about his designs and research for each of these marvelous projects.

Shane Vieau - Set Decorator - "Nightmare Alley", "The Shape of Water", "Suicide Squad", "Juno" Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

In this episode I speak with Oscar winning Set Decorator Shane Vieau. Shane’s work has a dynamic effect on screen which you can currently see in his Oscar nominated work on "Nightmare Alley". He has decorated huge films like “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, “Crimson Peak”, “Suicide Squade”, “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, “The Shape of Water”(Oscar) and “It: Chapter Two”, He also decorated 2015’s Best Picture “Spotlight”and that lil’ indy film “Juno”.

Ethan Tobman - Production Designer - "Pam and Tommy" - "Free Guy" - Taylor Swift "All Too Well" Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

On this episode I speak with Production Designer Ethan Tobman. Ethan is nominated for and ADG award this year for his design of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” in Short Format: Web Series or Music Video. He won the ADG award last year for “Black is King” in the Variety Special category. Ethan studied at NYU where he wrote, directed and production designed a short film at the age of 19 that went to Cannes Film Festival. From there he worked his way up on film to a Production Designer for films, TV and music videos. Currently airing now on Hulu, Ethan Tobman also Production Designed “Pam and Tommy”. His other projects also include “Free Guy”, Beyonce’s “Lemonade” and “Formation”, multiple videos with Taylor Swift, “The Report”, and the chilling story “Room”.

Amber Richards - Set Decorator - "The Power of the Dog", "Mulan" - Oscar Nomination Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

On this episode I speak with Set Decorator Amber Richards. Amber is a Set Decorator in New Zealand and is nominated for an Oscar this year for her work on “The Power of the Dog”. This film was shoot in New Zealand for Montana by director Jane Campion and is stunning in it's period decor. As I spoke with Amber I got a better sense of how crews work in New Zealand compared to the US. We talk about how the responsibilities of the Set Decorator reach to different decor like wallpaper and hardware in her department. Amber was nominated for an ADG award last year for her work on “Mulan”, a huge scope of sets in that period film also. We discuss how Set Decorators have pieces fabricated for set as she did for “Mulan” and “The Meg”. Amber started as a set dresser on some of the biggest films of our time including “The Lord of the Rings” series, “The Last Samurai”, “King Kong”, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, “Mission Impossible: Fallout”. Amber is currently jumping in on “Sweet Tooth” season 2 on Netflix!

Live Before A Studio Audience: "The Facts of Life" & "Diff'rent Strokes" - Production Designer: Steve Olson, Set Decorator Jerie Kelter & Art Director Raf Lydon Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

On this episode, I speak to Production Designer Steve Olson, Set Decorator Jerie Kelter and Art Director Raf Lydon. These three are now nominated for an ADG award for their work on “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: “The Facts of Life” and Diff’erent Strokes”. Exciting to hear how these three collaborated to make these iconic sets come back to life. From the linoleum floors, the moldings, and matching furniture to a T! Steve, Raf, Jerie and their crews brought these classic sets back to life and made us remember the design of minicams in the 80’s.

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