Hi everyone! I’m currently a third-year Interior Design student in Indonesia, and my goal is to eventually work as a film and television production designer.
I’m still very early in this journey, which is why I’d really appreciate some advice from production design students, applicants, or anyone already working in the industry.
I have a lot of ideas for sets and environments I’d love to design, but my biggest struggle right now is figuring out how to turn those ideas into production design portfolio projects. Coming from Interior Design, I’m familiar with designing spaces, technical drawings, 3D modeling, and rendering, but I’m still learning how a production design portfolio differs from an interior design portfolio.
I recently attended UC Berkeley Summer Sessions, where I took film courses and had the opportunity to learn about different filmmaking departments and participate in QnA sessions with working film and television professionals. That experience made me realize that production design is the direction I really want to pursue.
Eventually, I hope to apply for an MFA in Production Design in the US or UK so I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has been admitted to or attended Production Design programs there! UCLA, AFI, Chapman, and NYU are currently some of the programs I’m most interested in, but I’m also exploring programs at USC and universities in the UK like NFTS. I’d love to hear about your application experience, what you included in your portfolio, and anything you wish you had known before applying.
But before applying, I’m currently thinking about working in Indonesia for around 2–3 years to gain real industry experience.
My main question is: what should I start doing now?
For someone building their first production design portfolio without professional film experience yet:
- What kinds of personal projects should I create?
- What should one project include (research, sketches, concept art, floor plans, elevations, models, renders, props, etc.)?
- How important are drawing and illustration skills compared with 3D and technical skills?
- Should I design sets based on existing scripts, or create my own fictional scenes and characters?
- What do graduate Production Design programs generally want to see in a portfolio?
- How important is GPA for Production Design MFA admissions?
- For admitted students, what kind of GPA/background did you have when applying?
- Is there anything you wish you had started practicing earlier?
I’d really appreciate any advice, examples, portfolio references, or resources you could share. I’m trying to use the next few years to learn and build my portfolio gradually rather than waiting until application season.
Thank you!
I’m still very early in this journey, which is why I’d really appreciate some advice from production design students, applicants, or anyone already working in the industry.
I have a lot of ideas for sets and environments I’d love to design, but my biggest struggle right now is figuring out how to turn those ideas into production design portfolio projects. Coming from Interior Design, I’m familiar with designing spaces, technical drawings, 3D modeling, and rendering, but I’m still learning how a production design portfolio differs from an interior design portfolio.
I recently attended UC Berkeley Summer Sessions, where I took film courses and had the opportunity to learn about different filmmaking departments and participate in QnA sessions with working film and television professionals. That experience made me realize that production design is the direction I really want to pursue.
Eventually, I hope to apply for an MFA in Production Design in the US or UK so I’d especially appreciate hearing from anyone who has been admitted to or attended Production Design programs there! UCLA, AFI, Chapman, and NYU are currently some of the programs I’m most interested in, but I’m also exploring programs at USC and universities in the UK like NFTS. I’d love to hear about your application experience, what you included in your portfolio, and anything you wish you had known before applying.
But before applying, I’m currently thinking about working in Indonesia for around 2–3 years to gain real industry experience.
My main question is: what should I start doing now?
For someone building their first production design portfolio without professional film experience yet:
- What kinds of personal projects should I create?
- What should one project include (research, sketches, concept art, floor plans, elevations, models, renders, props, etc.)?
- How important are drawing and illustration skills compared with 3D and technical skills?
- Should I design sets based on existing scripts, or create my own fictional scenes and characters?
- What do graduate Production Design programs generally want to see in a portfolio?
- How important is GPA for Production Design MFA admissions?
- For admitted students, what kind of GPA/background did you have when applying?
- Is there anything you wish you had started practicing earlier?
I’d really appreciate any advice, examples, portfolio references, or resources you could share. I’m trying to use the next few years to learn and build my portfolio gradually rather than waiting until application season.
Thank you!
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