Production Design Showcase 2023

Production design evokes story, character, and tone by building the physical world that the actors inhabit and the cinematographer films for the sound designer to provide a sense of presence. A great production designer pulls all the film crafts together in a seamless way to show rather than tell a complete story. We are so proud to support this next generation of Production Designers as they enter the industry.

Many thanks to the Faculty and Staff for helping these Fellows to bring their vision to life, and congratulations to the Class of 2023.

Susan Ruskin
Dean, AFI Conservatory | Executive Vice President, American Film Institute

Welcome to the AFI Production Design Showcase 2023! This is our annual end-of-year event featuring the design work of our 16 graduating Second Year Production Design Fellows. You will see design work from their classroom projects and their thesis, MOS and cycle productions over the last two years at the AFI Conservatory. The variety of the worlds created by our Production Design Fellows will amaze you. As our Fellows enter into their careers soon, your advice to them means the world.

You will see contact information for each fellow when you go to their individual page. They would love to hear from you if you would like to find out further information about them and their design work. It’s an important and challenging time for each of them as they turn a new leaf.

Thank you for reviewing and supporting the important and collaborative role of the Production Designer in cinematic storytelling.

Joseph T. Garrity
Discipline Head, Production Design

Meet the 2023 AFI Conservatory Production Design Graduates

The AFI Conservatory presents a showcase of the extraordinary talent’s of this year’s Production Design class. Click on a fellow’s headshot to see their bio, contact information and examples of their work.

Suneha Balasubramanya

@Suneha_balasubramanya | Suneha.2508@gmail.com| 323.327.3211

Suneha Balasubramanya was born and raised in Bangalore, India, also known as “Silicon Valley of India.” Being inclined towards art and design, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in architecture from SJB School of Architecture and Planning. Her design skills were later enhanced during her time at RSP design consultants. As a design manager she has designed interiors for corporate office spaces for Google, Amazon and Microsoft, to name a few, and successfully executed these projects. Exposure to Indian classical music, dance and cinema inspired her to learn more about the art of visual storytelling. She studied Production Design at the AFI Conservatory to take this journey further.

Skills
SketchUp, Vectorworks, Rhino, Revit, AutoCAD, Twinmotion, Podium, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Set Design, Set Construction, Model Making, Carpentry, Prop Fabrication, Perspective Drawing, Hand Drafting, Interior design, Painting

Suneha Balasubramanya

Andrés Domit del Valle

https://www.designandres.com/ | andresdomit@gmail.com| 323.476.2750

Andrés Domit del Valle is a talented production designer based in Mexico City. With a BFA in Product Design from Parsons School of Design and an MFA in Production Design from the AFI Conservatory, he has honed his skills and expertise in the field. As a passionate storyteller, Domit del Valle understands the power of design in conveying narratives. He places great value on the intricacies of human actions, habits and relationships with objects and spaces. Drawing inspiration from diverse cultures, ideas and people, his global perspective enriches his creative approach. Domit del Valle firmly believes in the importance of continuous learning, regardless of location or experience. He is always eager to expand his knowledge and embrace new challenges. As a skilled craftsperson and builder, he delights in getting his hands dirty and being actively involved in every aspect of the production design process.

Skills
Production, Design Construction, Prop Making, Illustration, Costume Design, Procreate, Adobe Creative Suite, Rhino, Twinmotion

Andrés Domit del Valle

Nymisha Gummadi

ishagummadi508@gmail.com| 323.378.9596

Nymisha Gummadi is an Indian production designer and art director based out of Los Angeles, USA. She recently pursued an MFA in Production Design at the AFI Conservatory. In her short time in LA, she has independently production designed and art directed several short films and a full-length feature. She completed her undergraduate degree in Architecture and worked for over a year with a renowned design firm in India as an architect and interior designer before moving to LA.

Skills
Set Design, Set Construction, Model Making, Location Surveying, Carpentry, Prop Fabrication, Perspective Drawing, Photobashing, Digital Painting, SketchUp, LayOut, Vectorworks, Rhinoceros, Revit, CAD, Hand Drafting, Twinmotion, Enscape, 3D’s MAX, VRay, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visual Research, Script Breakdown, Organizing, Budgeting, Scheduling, Logistics

Nymisha Gummadi

Jose Herrera

https://www.joshherrerapd.com/ | @joshherrerapd | 415.930.1656

Jose Herrera is a Hispanic/South American born architect and interior designer raised in a family with a construction and design background. He’s an experienced AFI production designer and art director, with multiple US projects under his belt & US productions as a Set Decorator for Asian TV Commercials. Films designed by him have screened at several US & International short film festivals. Working as a production designer with Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker, member of the Academy David Massey, and producer Xavier Santiago on GOLDEN SHOWER SHORT FILM, screening at more than 30 international film festivals, including BronzeLens 2023. He also has extensive experience working on commercial, high end residential design and construction projects, staging interior design, marketing events and holidays productions in hospitality. Graduated from a South American Architectural Sciences School, he also holds a 2020 California Architects Board Examination/Licensing Credential Certification in Science and Civil Engineering.

Skills
Set Design, Set Construction, Set Dresser, Set Décor, Architectural and Free Hand Drafting and Perspective, Model Maker, Hand Crafting, Carpentry and Power Tools, Sketchup, Rhino 7, Vectorworks, Twinmotion, Photoshop Software, Microsoft 365, Outlook, One Note, One Drive, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive, Project Logistics, Budgeting and Crew Workflows, Fluent in English and Spanish

Jose Herrera

Jisoo Jeong

https://jisoojeong.creatorlink.net/ | jisoo.art.o.o@gmail.com | 213.733.6467 | @jisoo_art_o_o

Jisoo Jeong is an accomplished and visionary production designer with a passion for creating captivating visual experiences. With a diverse background in art, design and film, she brings a unique perspective to every project, elevating storytelling through meticulous attention to detail and innovative design choices. She has contributed to theater productions and exhibitions, showcasing her ability to bring stories to life in various artistic mediums. Prior to attending the AFI Conservatory, she pursued studying Fine Art for about 11 years, earned a BA degree in Fine Art and also studied Stage Design at the Graduate School of Performing Arts, Hongik University in Seoul, Korea. She held exhibitions in many different cities, such as New York, Beijing, Seoul and Los Angeles. She also spent her time in London and Los Angeles working as a production designer. Since she has experience in many different fields of art; her biggest strength is she has a strong understanding of design principles, architecture, art history and various artistic styles, which helps to create a cohesive visual aesthetic as a production designer. She is currently a participant in the ADG’s Production Design Initiative program.

Skills
Model Making, Perspective Drawing, Hand Drafting, Set Design, Set Construction, Set Dressing, Prop Fabrication, SketchUp, Vectorworks, Rhino, AutoCAD, Twinmotion, Podium, VRay, Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustration, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Jisoo Jeong

Mingyue “Emily” Li

https://emilymingyueli.cargo.site/ | emilymingyueli@gmail.com| 323.696.5895

Mingyue “Emily” Li graduated from Boston University in 2020 with a BS in Film and Television and a minor in Philosophy. She has worked as a production designer and producer on a variety of short films, TV pilots, commercials and plays. Her works have been selected for multiple film festivals including Cannes La Cinéfondation, Palm Spring Shortfest, LA Shorts, Hollyshorts Film Festival and more. One of her works, BLISS AND SAD, won the Silver Award for Best Production Design in the Independent Shorts Awards. She is currently a participant in the ADG Production Design Initiative program.

Skills
Rhino7, SketchUp, Vectorworks, Twinmotion, AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Procreate, Adobe Premier, Final Cut Pro, Avid, Hand Drafting, Study Models, Movie Magic Scheduling, Movie Magic Budgeting

Mingyue “Emily” Li

Jolien Louis

jolienlouis.com | jolien.louis14@gmail.com | 347.301.2086

Jolien Louis is a designer born and raised in New York City. She began her design journey in theater, focusing on lighting and eventually scenic design. Her work has always been centered on telling unique and underrepresented stories that challenge her abilities in world-building and thoughtful design concepts. She studied for her BA in theater at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles to earn an MFA at the AFI Conservatory. She is proud to be included in the inaugural Find Your People Cohort ‘23, run by ColorCreative, and is excited to take her career in design and art direction to new places.

Skills
Sketchup, Layout, Vectorworks, Twinmotion, AutoCAD, Rhino, Hand Drafting, Set Design, Procreate, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere, Hand Illustration, Graphic Design, Microsoft Office Suite, Model Building, Budgeting, Scheduling, Construction, Scenic Painting

Jolien Louis

Al-e McWhorter

@al_emcwhorter | alexa.smcwhorter@gmail.com | 415.755.8284

Al-e McWhorter is a story-centered designer who loves exploring the untold tales of the ecstatic in the ordinary moments of life. Growing up in Northern California, McWhorter found solace and inspiration in the captivating allure of rolling hills and time-honored oak trees, shaping her creative journey. She graduated from UC San Diego with a BA in Visual Arts: Media and a minor in Studio Art. She began her career shortly after with the theater projection team at Industrial Light and Magic and evolved to work on Motion Capture Stage and with the Virtual Art Department. While at ILM she continued to pursue her interests in art department roles by working as an in-house graphic designer for Curated and as a production designer for LA-based commercials, music videos and short films. She recently just completed her MFA in Production Design at the AFI Conservatory. Beyond her professional pursuits, McWhorter loves antique wallpaper, stray cats and wearing her Nana’s vintage coats.

Skills
Sketchup, Layout, Rhino, Vectorworks, Twinmotion, Hand Drafting, Adobe Suite, Procreate, Set Design, Set Decoration, Prop Fabrication, Construction Coordinating, Location Surveying, Visual Research, Budgeting, Scheduling, 35mm Photography, Illustration, Painting, Model Making

Al-e McWhorter

Rachel Miu

https://rachelmiu.com/ | miurach93@gmail.com | 586.298.0083 | @mewziee

Rachel Miu is a graduate of the University of Michigan, holding a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. Prior to attending the AFI Conservatory, she worked for an eventsbased creative agency where she was an environmental designer. In this role, she found her love for 3D modeling and renderings, helping create conceptual briefs into visual presentations. Miu has always had a passion for creating, being able to translate concepts and words into physical experiences, and seeing how these tangible products can be shared with others. Miu graduated from the AFI Conservatory in 2023 with her Master of Fine Arts degree in Production Design. During her tenure at the AFI Conservatory, she designed five cycle films and two thesis films, crewing on countless others.

Skills
SketchUp, LayOut, Rhino, Twinmotion, Cinema4D, Vectorworks, Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Hand Drafting, Hand Sketching, ProCreate, Microsoft Office, Google Docs Editors, MacOS, Windows OS, Fluent in English and Cantonese

Rachel Miu

Armaan Pujani

https://armaan-pujani.com/ | work.ar96@gmail.com| 323.376.8688 | @armaan.pujani

Armaan Pujani is a native of Gujarat and has lived in Mumbai, India. He is a graduate of the University of Mumbai, with a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He holds eight months of experience in an architecture firm and, after a career change, has been an assistant production designer for over a year and a half. Pujani’s portfolio includes projects ranging from commercials to music video, to longer projects including the film SILENCE and the web series MADE IN HEAVEN 2. He moved to Los Angeles two years ago to pursue an MFA in Production Design at the AFI Conservatory. During his journey at the AFI Conservatory, he worked on projects that broadened his scope of genres in short films. He also designed short films over the summer, SALTWATER and JEROME, and both are being screened at multiple film festivals this year. After this experience, he realized that his interest lies in set designing and art direction, with the ultimate goal of being a production designer.

Skills
SketchUp, Vectorworks, Rhino, Revit, AutoCAD, Twinmotion, Podium, VRay, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Canva, Adobe Photoshop, IndDesign, Set Design, Set Construction, Model Making, Carpentry, Prop Fabrication, Perspective Drawing, Hand Drafting, Procreate

Armaan Pujani

Yajie Qin

https://www.yajieqin.com/ | yajieqinla@gmail.com| 213.595.8165 | @Yajie_q

Yajie Qin comes from China. She graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing, with a bachelor’s degree in Environment Design in 2020. During college, her graduation project FLOW won the Jury award for landscape design in the UNI International competition in 2020. Her animation short HEALTH&MOBILITY won the Sinno-Finnish Challenge award in 2019. After college, she interned at the United Nations, where she assisted in web and animation designs. She then found her love for storytelling and started to chase her dream as a filmmaker. She worked as an assistant art director for commercials and TV series in China. She became a Production Design Fellow at the AFI Conservatory in 2021. Her dream is to tell good stories and make interesting films and television shows.

Skills
Set design, Set Decoration, Set Construction, Graphic Design, Storyboard, Sketching, Hand/Digital Drafting, Prop Making, 3D Modeling, Digital Painting, Visual Research, Location Survey, Budgeting, Script Breakdown, Organizing, Scheduling, SketchUp, LayOut, Rhino, Vectorworks, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustration, Vray, Twinmotion, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Yajie Qin

Camila Rodriguez

https://www.cbrodriguez.com/ | cbrodriguez.design@gmail.com| 323.688.8046 | @camilabrg

Camila is a Uruguayan designer with a BFA and MFA in Architecture (UdelaR) and an MFA in Production Design (American Film Institute). Over the past few years, she has worked in the Art Department and is now looking forward to focusing on a career in Set Design.

Skills
AutoCAD, Sketchup, Rhino, Vectorworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Twinmotion, VRay, 3D Studio Max, Microsoft Office, Model Making

Camila Rodriguez

Sandra Rodriguez

https://www.sandrabrodriguez.com/ | rodriguez.sandra@outlook.com| 312.545.4625

Sandra B. Rodriguez is a Mexican-American born in Jalisco, Mexico. She graduated from Harrington in Chicago with High Honors earning a B.F.A. in Interior Architecture. She progressed into filmmaking by Production Designing a Sundance Lab scene, that became the Sundance-financed short film: WOLVES, which went on to win various awards at festivals. Sandra then production designed LUCHA NOIR, a short from Mcdonald’s Spotlight Dorado, the first-ever grand prize winner for the program. She’s also worked with Film Independent, production designing the short film THE WORDS OF CAYETANO set for release this year. Recently, she graduated from at American Film Institute Conservatory with an MFA in Production Design, while preparing to work on her first feature. Her passion is production design, art directing, and set design for film and TV.

Skills
Set Design, Set Construction, Model Making, Location Surveying, Carpentry, Prop Fabrication, Perspective Drawing, Photobashing, Digital Painting, SketchUp, LayOut, Vectorworks, Rhino, Revit, CAD, Hand Drafting, Twinmotion, Enscape, 3D’s MAX, VRay, Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visual Research, Script Breakdown, Organizing, Budgeting, Scheduling, Logistics, Fluent in Spanish and English

Sandra Rodriguez

Paige Schaeffer

https://www.paigeschaefferdesign.com/ | paigeschaeffer1014@gmail.com| 630.770.7311 | @paige.s_design

Originally a studio artist from the Chicago suburbs, Paige Schaeffer has found a passion in creating worlds that live on the screen. After studying architecture and fine art at the University of Kansas, she decided to move to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film. She has designed multiple stage designs for theater, as well as production design for short films, commercials and online mini-series. Seeing something missing in the film industry, Schaeffer is passionate about using production design to amplify stories of those who are often underrepresented. She feels fortunate to have spent her two years at the American Film Institute doing just that.

Skills
Sketchup, Rhino, Vectorworks, Twinmotion, Hand Drafting, Adobe Programs, Set Design, Set Decoration, Prop Fabrication, Set Construction, Location Surveying, Presentation Building, Visual Research, Budgeting, Scheduling, Illustration, Painting, Model Making

Paige Schaeffer

Eleanora Figueroa Steiner

https://www.eleanorasteiner.com/ | elle@eleanorasteiner.com| 323.672.7708 | @efigstein

Eleanora (Ellie) Figueroa Steiner is a Peruvian-Australian production designer with 10 years experience in the world of filmmaking. She studied a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in English Theatre Studies and the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Melbourne, and completed a Masters of Fine Arts in Production Design supported by the Screen Australia-Onbass Fellowship at the American Film Institute Conservatory. As production designer her most outstanding achievement is, ALL THESE CREATURES, winner of the 2018 Festival de Cannes Short Film Palme d’Or alongside an incredible 60+ awards from over 190 festival selections. Ellie also enjoys working in the Art Department on large scale Film and TV productions and has experience in various roles on shows such as FRAYED S2 and PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY. Ellie plans on continuing to work in the Art Department with a focus on specializing in set design between select production design projects.

Skills
Rhinoceros 3D, Vectorworks, SketchUp Pro and LayOut, Twinmotion, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Bridge, Premiere, Drafting, Concept Sketching, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography, Prop Fabrication, Sculpting, Art Finishing, Set Design, Construction, Decorating, Model Making, Scenic Painting, Coordinating, Buying, Sewing, Floral Arranging, Research, Presentation Building, Breakdowns, Location Surveying, Budgeting, Scheduling, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Microsoft Office Teams, Excel, Word and Powerpoint

Eleanora Figueroa Steiner

Mojo Wen

https://www.mojo4magic.com/ | MojoWenLA@gmail.com| 407.969.4642 | @Mojo4Magic

Mojo is a filmmaker who has been discovering storytelling for over 10 years. She is talented in visualizing meaningful stories through production design, including shot, prop and set design. With experience in camera, art craft, editing and visual effect, she provides valuable ideas for filmmaking productions. At the same time, Wen designs efficient workflow accordingly to ensure the whole team brings the creative vision to life. She is a team player and a problem solver. She puts collaboration to the top and works with talented people in different ways to make the film happen.

Skills
Analog/Digital Drawing, Drafting, Prop Making, Clay Sculpture, Scenic Painting, Truck Driving, Photoshop, SketchUp, Vectorworks, Autodesk Maya, Rhino, Twinmotion, Final Cut Pro 7.0, Adobe Premiere, After Effect, Nuke

Mojo Wen

Production Design Showcase 2023

Meet the 2023 AFI Conservatory Production Design Graduates

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

PROGRAMS

LEGAL