In conversation with Anna Rhodes: Production Designer.
Lea: Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your background? How did you get into the world of film?
Anna: I always knew I wanted to study in London, but I couldn’t decide between spatial design or graphic design (eventually I decided to do graphic design). The degree was really broad and was far more, what I now know to be, based around art direction than pure graphic design, but I still had no idea that production design and art direction were an option for jobs at that point. After college I was hired as a junior graphic designer at MTV, which introduced me to the world of moving images. I was always obsessed with music videos and was fangirling hard about the film industry and music videos as a whole. Luckily one day my friend invited me on set to do some choreography for a band called Mystery Jets and Laura Marling. It was my first time on set. I was instinctively looking at the props in the monitors and would communicate things like, ‘Oh the rug is all crumpled, and we should move it this way a little bit’, which the producer noticed and suggested to me that I pursue a career in the art department. She kindly offered to put me in touch with production designers I could assist, and that’s how it started. I just loved it! From there I made my way up to designing my own smaller jobs, and eventually the jobs got bigger and bigger. Now I’m proud to say I’ve just finished my first big design-led feature film.
Lea: From not knowing production design was a job to succeeding in it, what an amazing journey!
Anna: Thank you. I think a lot of people in the art department fell into it and had no idea that this department existed, because it’s not really in the media. You hear about the cinematographer and the director and the actors, but back in the 90s, nobody was talking about the fact that a girl from Leeds could go on to be a production designer in film. That just wasn’t part of your career trajectory options at school.
Lea: Absolutely. Now that you have found success as a production designer, could you tell us what your role entails? What’s the A to Z processAnna: My A to Z is to read the script and note down each of the sets, the rooms, and the landscapes. Where are we in this project? I would then look at any treatments or visual references the director may have put together. Following that, there’s a period of gestation where I just allow myself to think, and then pull together my own ideas and references. This is very important to my whole process of design, because I find that the stronger each folder within my deck of references gets, the more they start to find their own individual look and idiosyncratic vibe. It’s very easy to find some references on Pinterest, but it’s nicer to do more in-depth research. I love to look into old books and different sources, so I'm pulling a myriad of references to create something new. Once I have a coherent mood board that goes through the journey of the film, based on the characters and the setting, I start the process of designing. I usually start sketching, doing really rubbish doodles, trying to get whatever’s in my head down on paper, and then I start drawing that up in 3D, all the while honing the mood board and the deck. During this process I pull together the colours, the palette, and the materials I want to use, and keep searching for more and more things until I’m finally happy with how everything is working together. All the way through, I’m checking in with the director. I’m head of my department, but I’m always collaborating with other people in the art department and all the other HODs on the film. Once I have a design plan signed off, I then start working with the location manager and the director to find the real life locations that I can decorate and make them appropriate for the film. Simultaneously, the set decorator is working on my vision from the boards with their buyers to make sure that everything is working together. Or if you’re not working on location, a set might be being built in a sound stage or studio by your construction manager. It starts very small - me alone with my thoughts in my room - and it ends with this whole orchestra of people that are working off of this design bible that you’ve created to make sure the film is coherent and connects with the director’s vision.
Lea: You’ve talked about your designs, would you say you have a style?
Anna: It's my job to not have a style, because as a production designer, you have to be very malleable. I work quite regularly with Raine Allen Miller, and she has her own distinct style. The jobs I work on with her are usually very colourful. I like working on very bog standard, based-on-reality jobs, but it is even more exciting to create a stylised world and use production design as a way to heighten the story of a film and its characters. Production design is there to help elevate a story and create some kind of magic that you might only see in cinemas or theatres. It’s a visual way of telling a story which I really love.
Lea: Could you elaborate on what design you are the most proud of?
Anna: What I’m probably the most proud of is the feature film directed by Raine Allen Miller that’s just about to come out called Rye Lane. It was a real labor of love, and there are some really nice set builds in there. I was also heavily pregnant the whole way through the film, so it was an overall very fun and exciting time for me.
Lea: How was it working whilst going through pregnancy, if you don’t mind me asking?
Anna: I was quite concerned about it at first. If it was going to be a highly stressful environment, there was just no way I was going to put my body and my baby through that. Then again as a freelancer, it’s very hard because you’ve got to make money for maternity leave, so it becomes a real balancing act. I was lucky that the producers and director were really supportive and completely understood that I couldn’t be working crazy hours, and if I ever needed to go for a doctor's appointment, there were never any raised eyebrows. It really made me feel like it was a safe space to work. I’m sure that there are some jobs that are most definitely not like that, but this one very much was, and I’m really thankful for that.
Lea: It’s very reassuring to hear that some productions are making everything possible for you to work safely whilst going through pregnancy, and hopefully other productions can take example of that for future projects as well.
Anna: Yes, I think it’s also down to the HODs and directors to push that kind of culture. Now, if one of my crew is pregnant, I will know what they’ll be going through. They’ll need to work, they’ll need to earn money, but they’ll also need to not be put under so much pressure mentally and physically. I want to help people in that situation. It was so good the way that it was for me, but I know that it probably isn’t like that all the time.
Lea: You mentioned you worked on a feature, is there any difference between working on music videos, commercials and feature films in your department?
Anna: I’m always striving for excellence, to push the budget as far as it can go to make something look as good as it possibly can. I take the excellence that is expected in the commercial world and try to encourage that standard in the feature world. All the props have to be right and everything that is on set is exactly as it has been prepared. This is not often the case in low budget features and TV, where it’s often a bit loose and casual, so I think that’s one aspect the producers were happily surprised with. I can only think that that’s because I grew up in the short form world, where there’s always a label, agency or client breathing down your neck.
Lea: I know that working in the film industry there’s a lot of challenges that sometimes we don’t foresee, so I’m curious to know what’s the biggest challenge that you have encountered in your career so far and how did you overcome it?
Anna: My partner is also in the film industry, so my biggest challenge has been reconciling how we are going to raise a family in this industry. How are we going to do the nursery pick ups and drop offs? How are we going to split up who gets to work? There are all these additional difficulties that we have to talk about, because the film industry is not set up for people who have kids. There are amazing companies like Raising Films who are doing really good work to try and encourage studios to support families, which is great. But it’s hard to think that I have worked so hard all my life to get to where I am, and now I’ve finally had a baby, but that might mean that I simply can’t carry on doing my job or I might have to switch my career because I want to raise my kid and can be at home for him. We have to deal with all these unfair questions just because the job we have makes it so hard for us to have a normal family life. I have had to turn down really big opportunities, because I haven’t wanted to be away. It’s all the more difficult because we don’t have a HR department. There’s no one we can go to to discuss things we are going through and ask questions like, ‘I’m pregnant or going through something else, could we make sure I’m not going to be extremely stressed for the next two weeks?’ It should be a given but it’s not.
Lea: As you said, you’ve worked so hard for this career and you’re getting to a point where it’s all happening for you, how does it feel to be finally recognised for your work in the screen daily stars of tomorrow 2022?
Anna: It hasn’t happened before in this way, so it really does feel good, I’m not going to lie haha.
Lea: What’s your next goal in your career? What’s something that you really want to do in the future?
Anna: I always like doing a little bit of both short and long form, but I really want to do another long form project next. I also want to continue talking about this issue of how to raise a family whilst working in film, because it is so important.
Lea: Definitely! What would be your advice to aspiring production designers out there looking up to you ?
Anna: My advice would be to get a driving license, buy a car and assist good designers, art directors, and set decorators as much as you can. Find anyone who can just show you the ropes, because it's a learn-on-the-job situation. It’s invaluable starting from the bottom as a junior and working your way up to just be on set and experience it for yourself. If you know you want to be in the art department, try a couple of different roles and assist for a really long time, until you’re confident in your skills and are ready to step up.
Lea: How did you take that leap and step up to become a HOD?
Anna: Before doing any designing, I was just assisting for years. Further down the line, a designer I was assisting put me forward for a couple of jobs that he couldn’t do himself. I started doing small jobs as a HOD whilst still assisting on other jobs. It was all very organic.
Lea: What’s your favourite part of the job?
Anna: My favourite part is that it's so broad and encompasses so many different skills. I get to make a spreadsheet and make a budget, but I also get to go to the library to do some research. I get to do referencing, drawing, and set design. I get to go to the studio and be around carpenters, woodworkers, painters, and then scout beautiful homes… Everything about it is brilliant. I love it all.
Lea: It’s incredible to walk on a built set that the production designer and their team have created. Which era inspires you the most?
Anna: No matter what the period is, you can find something incredible to draw from. It's very exciting to create something new from the old. It’s quite fun to do the 80s and 90s, because it’s like I’m reliving my childhood, but I love doing any of it. It’s an honour being able to dive into history and recreate it.
Anna Rhodes is represented by Wizzo and Co
Her full profile can be viewed here https://wizzoandco.co.uk/agency/anna-rhodes/
All photography courtesy of Anna Rhodes
