Shona Heath and James Price

And you’ll always need parts of the sets that interact with people, that performers can walk through and interact with and pick up. So I don’t see it as a real problem. It’s just another tool. But it’s also a tool that we can have more control over as production designers, which has got to be a good thing.

AS: What advice would you have for people just getting into the industry who want to do the work you’re doing?
JP: I’d say don’t be in a hurry. Learn your craft. Take your time. Don’t be in a hurry to get to the top of the tree. Try all the jobs. Get the knowledge. It will be easier than trying to rush up and overshoot your experience.

Make sure you find the people who understand you and get you. And who will invest in you personally. Because there’s a lot of mentoring that goes on. Even if you’ve been to a very good university and been to a very good production design course there’s still a lot to learn in terms of the craft. Just don’t be in too much of a hurry. It takes a long time to mature in what we do.

SH: Work in something that you’re going to respond to and enjoy, whether you like period pieces or real life contemporary stuff or something more out-there or fantasy. It’s a much better fit if you find that genre and head to the people who do that genre. It will be a happier match. And also find people you like. If you like the people you work with, you’re going to do good work.