“….but the real star was the house. The camera’s slow journey through every nook and cranny made the viewer a voyeur, desperate to know every secret contained within the high, elaborately corniced walls. There were lingering shots of the paint-chipped newel posts, faded tiled hallways and emergency light switches” – Ben Lawrence
The first episode of What Remains aired on Sunday 25th August on BBC1 and received many positive reviews, including this one from The Telegraph. Read it in full here.
I talk on the BBC TV Blog about designing the house for What Remains: check it out here and on my site here.
BBC1 4-part suspense drama WHAT REMAINS begins this Sunday 25th August at 9pm. Directed by Coky Giedroyc and starring David Threlfall alongside a stellar cast, it was a gift of a job to really push Production Design for contemporary crime drama – building big sets at Ealing Studios and Wimbledon Studios, playing with high texture, colour and subverting architectural detail. Set inside a London Victorian house converted into five flats, we built everything in the studio – the staircase, loft and all five flats – shooting all four episodes in 10 weeks. I will be appearing on the BBC TV Blog revealing more about the show’s set design. Can’t show any behind-the-design-scenes photos yet but watch out, it’s going to be big!
I had a fantastic Art Department who all deserve a mention: Art Director Keith Dunne, Set Decorator Jo Berglund, Production Buyer Caitlin Thompson, Construction Manager Russ Daly, Petty Cash Buyer Anne-Marie Minty, Graphic Artist Richard Wells, Character Buyers Dalia Gellert, Fiona Albrow, Ollie Tiong, Clare Porritt, Props Master Martyn Doust, Dressing Props Lisa Rust, Dave Tincombe, Scenic Painter Steve Simpson and Head Carpenter Julian Weaver, Standby Art Director Edd Cross and Standby Props Pat Dunn. Thank you all – couldn’t have done it without you.
“Bein you means not bein me – see, a deficit already – before you even started we running at a loss.”
Elayne thinks she’s alright. Nobody else does.
30 October – 5 December. Book tickets here, £12-20 each
I’m in the initial set & costume concept stage on my second theatre design job, this time at the National Theatre, on the new stage at The Shed, for debbie tucker green’s new play, “nut“. Starring Nadine Marshall and Anthony Welsh, this play will not be what you’re expecting. Getting very inspired by the work of Turner-Prize contender Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, sculptors Alexander Calder & David Smith and fashion designer Martin Margiela…book your ticket now.
Completed work on “Second Coming“, the first independent feature film for writer/director debbie tucker green, and our third project together. Funded by Film4 & BFI & produced by Hillbilly Films, we filmed on location in SW London and at Wimbledon Studios. Starring Idris Elba, Nadine Marshall and Sharlene Whyte, this was a fantastic contemporary drama to design. Watch out for it on the 2014 festival circuit…
Read more here.
Apply now to work in the Art Department on Katy Brand’s Little Cracker for SKY! Please check the flyer below and send the required details to lisamariehall@me.com.
I’ve just started on a new project for Hillbilly Films: one-off episode for SKY’s Little Cracker Christmas comedy series, written by Katy Brand and directed by Ed Dick.
Shooting starts on location in London in just a few weeks so it’s fast & furious – Christmas 1989 here we come!
65 Days Later….it’s finished and online for all to read. Over the course of writing this diary, it has very much turned into a Handbook for Production Design – real advice put to the test with real experience. I encourage anyone to look back at a job, to remember and evaluate all the good, the bad and the uglies – it’s a liberating experience and teaches you so much about yourself, the way you work and how we can always improve. There is so much to discover about Production Design but I hope for all those studying and just starting out, this is the most honest, explanatory and passionate accounts of one the best jobs in the world! Click here to read it.
**With special thanks to the David Lean Foundation for supporting this project**
Just taken part in the BBC Academy Design Trainee Scheme application process – working with 2 other industry professionals, we spent 3 days looking through 337 submitted portfolios to get down to the final 20 for the next interview stage. Great experience and what a wealth of diverse talent out there! Good luck to everyone who applied. And if you have questions about how to pursue a career in design in film & TV, please listen to my podcast for the BBC’s College of Production, talking alongside Costume Designer Howard Burden and Make-Up Designer Catherine Scoble: listen here.
