Rae Deslich on Set Decoration, Promising Young Woman, and Breaking into Hollywood

Explicit content warning

04/28/21 • 44 min

Rae Deslich is an Emmy-nominated set decorator whose film Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan. was nominated for five academy awards and took home one for best original screenplay. They have also worked on notable shows such as Party of Five, Drunk History, Alone Together, and the upcoming HBO Max reboot of 1980s Head of the Class.

What you will learn:

How Rae approached the set decoration on Promising Young Woman, how they worked with the director and production designer to create the look and feel of the film, the importance of color palette in the film, and why the choice to use bright pinks and blues worked with such dark subject matter. [0:00-11:58]
How they collaborated with director Emerald Fennell on Promising Young Woman, how the various set and design departments work together on films, and the importance of being versatile from production to production. [11:58-19:15]
How much work Rae does before, during, and after a production, how mood boards were used during the production of Promising Young Woman, and the inspiration Rae draws from other films and shows. [19:15-26:41]
How Rae got into the film industry, starting with film school, building a portfolio, and building their way up the industry. Advice Rae would give to anyone wishing to work in the film industry. [26:41-32:36]
What Rae enjoys most and least about working in set decoration, and their preference of film or television. Rae’s future plans, and why there are so many work opportunities on television reboots in the last few years. [32:26-44:00]

Resources:

Rae Deslich’s: Website, IMDb, Instagram, LinkedIn

What you will learn:

How Rae approached the set decoration on Promising Young Woman, how they worked with the director and production designer to create the look and feel of the film, the importance of color palette in the film, and why the choice to use bright pinks and blues worked with such dark subject matter. [0:00-11:58]
How they collaborated with director Emerald Fennell on Promising Young Woman, how the various set and design departments work together on films, and the importance of being versatile from production to production. [11:58-19:15]
How much work Rae does before, during, and after a production, how mood boards were used during the production of Promising Young Woman, and the inspiration Rae draws from other films and shows. [19:15-26:41]
How Rae got into the film industry, starting with film school, building a portfolio, and building their way up the industry. Advice Rae would give to anyone wishing to work in the film industry. [26:41-32:36]
What Rae enjoys most and least about working in set decoration, and their preference of film or television. Rae’s future plans, and why there are so many work opportunities on television reboots in the last few years. [32:26-44:00]

Resources:

Rae Deslich’s: Website, IMDb, Instagram, LinkedIn

Previous Episode

RECAP - Bryan and Jason on Strip Down, Rise Up, and Raising a Podcast Baby

Bryan and Jason discuss:

Takeaways from last week's interview with filmmaker Michèle Ohayon who directed the Netflix documentary Strip Down, Rise Up, which follows a diverse group of women as they attempt to heal from trauma and body image issues through the power of movement and pole dance classes;
The different styles of documentary filmmaking that Michèle talked about during the interview, including the style she used to shoot Strip Down, Rise Up (cinéma véríte);
The HBO Max documentary Q: Into The Storm;
A listener review posted on Podbean;
Bryan's upcoming interview with comic Monica Nevi;
Bryan's plan to interview more performers at The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima;
The pride Bryan and Jason have in the podcast baby they have helped raise since March of 2019; and
Next week's episode, featuring set designer Ray Deslich, who worked on the Oscar-nominated film Promising Young Woman, starring Carey Mulligan and directed by Emerald Fennell.

Next Episode

RECAP - Reflections on Rae, Police Reform, and Songwriters of All Generations

Bryan and Jason discuss takeaways from the interview with Rae Deslich, process the guilty verdict in the Chauvin trial and what it means for racial justice in America, and talk about upcoming interviews with two singer/songwriter Emily James, and the platinum-selling songwriter on more than 70 Heart songs, Sue Ennis.