Interview With The Professional Practice Designer

We interviewed a professional production designer, who had been working in theatre, film and television since 1996. These are a few of the questions we asked her, about her job.


What got you into production design?

-I fell in love with the theatre when I saw my first pantomime; I also realized that I had a natural ability for art, so it made sense to become a theatre designer.

What Problems did you encounter?

-It is a highly competitive industry; you have to be very ambitious and skilled in order to be successful. You work on a self employed freelance basis. You are always responsible for generating your own work. You also have to be disciplined about your cash flow.

What qualifications do you need for the job?

-Art and design is a main part and it helps to be interested in history, you also have to be strong in the area of 3D design, I had a bachelor’s degree in theatre design and a Masters Degree in film and television design. This was six years of qualifications.

   How much do you get paid?

-The pay is very good in film and television, especially commercial work. A designer can get anything over £500 or £600 a day, as the job is freelance, you only get paid for the days you work, therefore you have it’s a balance payment.

-You have to do a lot of networking, and you have an agent who will help you find work, they get a percentage of your income. You always have to make sure that you network with people in the industry.

What are the Pros and Cons of being a Designer?

-The Pros of being a designer are that it is an extremely varied job, and you are always doing something different and creative, the pay is also very good, especially when you are head of the department. Having this job also means you will be travelling a lot.


-The Cons of being a designer are that the job sometimes gets very challenging as there are many challenges to face, there are also very high levels of responsibility such as having to deal with tight budgets and deadlines which sometimes lead to stress, sometimes there is a sense of job insecurity and the job is so demanding as shooting on a film could be 24/7 which means it can take over family life.

What is it like to show your work to an audience?

- It is very exciting especially when you sit in the audience and their reactions are very positive, you realize that you have a significant impact on how much the audience enjoys and understands the performance.

Have you ever had a bad review?

-Yes, once it was down to a technical issue about the sightlines I used in the performance, it is important you make sure that the audience can see the stage.

What Do You Think is the most valuable skill?

-You have to be able to communicate visual ideas to people.

 How did you deal with stress of looking for work?

-You have to do a lot of networking, and you have an agent who will help you find work, they get a percentage of your income. You always have to make sure that you network with people in the industry.

What is it like to show your work to an audience?

-It is very exciting especially when you sit in the audience and their reactions are very positive, you realize that you have a significant impact on how much the audience enjoys and understands the performance.