The Product Agent: Hurry Up and Wait

My guest this week is the amazing Ellen Mirojnick! Ellen is a costume designer whose credits include Bridgerton, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, the Greatest Showman, Maleficent 2, and so so so much more! Ellen’s resume truly blows me away. She’s even worked on the pilot of How to Get Away with Murder, Speed, and Showgirl!

Ellen never actually studied costume design and found her way in the industry by complete accident. She studied art and found out that she loved designing clothing and had a penchant for it. She was a fashion designer for about 8 years before she worked her way into the world of production, and the rest is history!

This episode is a little bit different than the others. Today, Ellen shares the details of her remarkable career, her incredible stories of how her career has taken her all over the world, what it’s like being a working, single mom, and why she still gets butterflies in her stomach with each new project.

CONNECT WITH ELLEN:

Instagram

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

Keri Lederman is a NYC-based set decorator whose credits include The Undoing, Marry Me, The Night Of,  Sneaky Pete and The Looming Tower. Her mother was an antique dealer, so Keri grew up in her mother’s store seeing decorators and collectors come in. She ended up majoring in English and through a few internships, she found herself on low-budget film sets and working as a PA in production offices. She then became a prop person before she transitioned to set decorator.

What is a set decorator? The set decorator is the person who fills in and decorates the sets. For example, if the set involved a kitchen, the set decorator would be responsible for the flooring (tile, vinyl, linoleum), the appliances, the cabinets, and outfitting the kitchen so it looks like a real kitchen or whatever the scene calls for. The role of the set decorator is to tell the story of a character through their belongings and surroundings.

In this episode we talk about:

+ Knowing the ropes: Everyone, no matter what department they’re in, should do at least one year in the production office. This experiences helps someone understand the production in its entirety, rather than focusing on one department.

+ Why Props? Props are crucial in making the character come to life, and Keri enjoys the “things” in the set that help tell the story of the characters.

+ Camaraderie: the camaraderie in the production world is unlike any other industry, because everyone is working together to achieve a common purpose and to create a story. Even though departments are vastly different, the shared experiences are what truly strengthens bonds among the crew.

+ The character journey: in this episode, Keri shares with her the process of developing a character from reading the script to finding the perfect pieces to create the visual language to bring the character to life. 

CONNECT WITH KERI:

Instagram

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

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Music: Bewitched Jeannie

LynneMusic

NeoSounds.com - Royalty Free Music, Stock Music library. 

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Meghan Kasperlik’s credits include Watchmen, 99 Homes, Fahrenheit 451, Noah, and many more, but she didn’t always want to be in production. In fact, she originally wanted to go into the medical field, but when she was in high school, she started to broaden her horizons and develop an interest in fashion. A retail job developed into a fashion magazine internship, which then led to a job offer in the fashion PR field. After that, she worked under Patty Field as a PA and worked her way up, and the rest is history. Meghan’s background in PR has given her a unique, well-rounded perspective as a costume designer.

In this episode, Meghan talks about her biggest challenges in her production career, the moments where she just made it work, the ins and outs of costume design and character development, and more! This episode is a long one, but you’re going to love it!

Tune in to learn more about:

• Character Development: Who are the characters? What is their background? How much research goes into costume design?
• Working your way up: For all the PAs or aspiring PAs out there: just jump in and do anything that is asked of you. Always be willing to help, because that shows willingness to learn.
• The challenges of working in production: how to “turn it off,” and why you should remain calm instead of freaking out!
• The differences between TV and film: from pacing, to the advancement of technology, to conceptualizing it as an 8 hour movie vs. a 2 hour movie, and more.

CONNECT WITH MEGHAN:

Instagram

FOLLOW JESSICA:

Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

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Music: Bewitched Jeannie

LynneMusic

NeoSounds.com - Royalty Free Music, Stock Music library. 

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Pam Chilton has been the costume designer for the last 6 seasons of Modern Family, but she did not always want to be a costume designer. Originally from the small town of Galveston, Texas, she struggled when she was in college as a film major with finding her niche and knowing who she was. While she was taking a semester off from school to figure herself out,  a movie film crew came into town, and she volunteered to intern in the costume department. They liked her so much, they invited her to stay on, and 30 or so jobs later, Pam became a costume designer.

In this episode, Pam is going to talk about her experiences on Modern Family, the ups and downs of production, costume design, self care, and what Pam wants to do after Modern Family. 

Tune in to learn more about:

• The familial aspect of production: working long hours with people toward a single goal and to tell a story, and why communication, respect, and attitude are crucial.
• Self care: you can’t come to work as your best self if you do not practice self care. Pam tries to have family dinner every night, enjoys walks with her dog, listening to podcasts, and meditation.
• The last minute nature of production: how Pam organizes, plans, and prioritizes, even when things are always changing and the job presents challenges.
• Budgets: the formulas, how to make the budgets work, restocking, how to cope with the changing sizes of actors (especially kids), and how to keep the characters relatable. 

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

My guest this week is Julia Caston, who has been a costume designer for movies and television for almost 25 years. Her credits include Bad Moms, the Middle, Celeste & Jesse Forever, and Great News.

Julia’s career started when she studied theater, and learned costume design as part of her theater study. Costume design was never really her intended path until she realized that she had an aptitude for it. She began as a PA for another designer who gave her a lot of challenging and thankless tasks, but she worked her way up to a Costume Supervisor, and eventually to a Costume Designer

In this episode, Julia and I talk about the process of character building through costume design, and how the little things are truly what tell the audience about the character, which is Julia’s favorite part of the job.

Tune in to learn more about:

• Julia’s step-by-step costume design process
• The differences between working on movies and television
• Shoes! How and why shoes affect the actors and characters
• Working on a budget and why the generosity of brands is so crucial

CONNECT WITH JULIA:

Instagram |  Website

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

Karen Patch’s illustrious career as a costume designer includes the Royal Tenenbaums, Team America: World Police, School of Rock, and many, many more classic works. 

When Karen moved to Malibu with her family, she quickly realized that all her new neighbors worked in the film industry. With her background as an art student and family members who hand made clothes, modeled, and knew the fashion industry, Karen naturally gravitated toward fashion and art. Now living in Malibu, the film & television industry seemed like a perfect fit. Despite not knowing much about the industry, she had an interest in getting started and was able to get her foot in the door through a friend. The rest, as they say, is history. 

In this episode, Karen talks about the job and roles as a costume designer, her experiences in some of her most beloved films, and so much more!

Here are some of the things we can learn from Karen in this episode:

• What is the role and job of a costume designer? What does a typical day look like?
• Budgets, and how time and money determines what must be built or bought.
• How to create costumes that become iconic, timeless, and have lasting quality 
• How Karen designed costumes for the puppets in Team America. 

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

My guest is costume designer Meredith Markworth-Pollack. Meredith’s credits include Dynasty, Reign, and Hart of Dixie.

Meredith didn’t even know what costume design was until she was studying film at UC Santa Barbara, and had a revelation about how characters in television and film are dressed. Even though she was passionate about fashion, it wasn’t something she wanted to have a career in necessarily, but costume design was a way she could incorporate her passions for both fashion and film, so she packed up and moved to New York City and worked her way up, starting as an intern for the film, the Notorious Bettie Page. That internship helped her get her foot in the door and was crucial to the development of her career.

In this episode, Meredith and I talk about how important internships are in the production industry, finding balance between your career and your family, and the unique ways that social media fan accounts have influenced Meredith’s job. 

Tune in to learn more about:

+ Internships: how they shaped Meredith’s career, and how important they are in production
+ Being a mom in production: what the challenges are, and how production as an industry can be more family friendly
+ How do you differentiate between characters who look alike?
+ Social media: interacting with your followers, and the dedication of fan accounts 

CONNECT WITH MEREDITH:

Instagram |  Website

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

My guest this week is the wonderful Diana Oh, Department Head of Makeup at the Late Late Show with James Corden. Diana has been with the show since day 1, and is now in the fifth season.

Diana was inspired to do makeup after visiting a makeup counter at Macy’s to have her makeup done for her homecoming dance in high school. From then on, she knew she wanted to do makeup. While in makeup school, she was able to work on AFI student films and that’s where she learned set etiquette, and where she made mistakes and learned from them. From there, she worked as a receptionist at a salon while freelancing until she got her first big break at NBC Universal at a small video game network where she learned a lot about sketch comedy.

In this episode, Diana and I talk about relationships, family life, and her experiences on the Late Late Show. 

Here’s a few takeaways from the episode:

+ All of your jobs build on each other. What you learn on one you take to the other, and so on and so forth. You gain experience, perspective, and skills with each job you have.

+ There is no such thing as a typical day in production.

+ How to balance motherhood with working in production, and what it’s like being married to someone who is also in the industry

+ Diana’s favorite products and makeup bag must-haves

Mentioned in the episode:

Clown Fight Sketch

FOLLOW Diana:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

My guest this week is Eugenia Weston, celebrity makeup artist, and founder & creative director of Senna Cosmetics. Her clients include Bette Midler and Paula Abdul. Eugenia was raised in a family of creatives and artists. She soon developed an obsession with faces and studying them, and she started doing makeup at age 11. In those days, there weren’t any classes or makeup schools, so she taught herself everything. As she got older and developed into a bona fide makeup artist, there weren’t many makeup artists in LA so she never had a shortage of work. Eugenia started her makeup line in 1976 and now owns 5 studios.

Eugenia never wanted to be in the film industry. She only happened to get into the industry after longtime client, Bette Midler, insisted on having Eugenia do her makeup. That’s where she learned a lot about cinematography, and met a lot of people. 

This episode is a little bit different from others, as Eugenia and I delve more into makeup, business, and relationships.

Here’s what you can learn about in this episode:

+ Retail vs. production, and the challenges of owning a business and the importance of work ethic and relationship building 

+ Eugenia’s comprehensive makeup artist training program: from color theory, to facial structure and anatomy, to mature makeup, to period makeup, to the importance of having an artistic mind and gift.

+ Mom guilt: how to balance being a mom while working grueling hours

+ Eugenia’s makeup artist essential skills: confidence, communication, and artistic talent

FOLLOW EUGENIA:

Instagram | Twitter | Senna Cosmetics

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com

My guest this week is Tinisha Meeks, Department Head of Hair on Grownish. Tinisha’s credits also include Scandal and Blackish.

As a kid, Tinisha had Cabbage Patch dolls, and she used to braid their hair. In fact, a local doll maker even paid her to braid doll hair! From then on, Tinisha decided that she wanted to do hair. She went to cosmetology school while going to high school, and she graduated from both at the same time! She trained at a couple popular salons before transitioning to film & television. 

In this episode, Tinisha and I talk about how shows like Blackish and Grownish have revolutionized television by showcasing African-American hair, product sourcing, character building, and the one thing she can’t live without! 

Tune in to learn more about:

+ Making the script come to life, even with budget and time restrictions
+ Product placement and sales that happen on set
+ How social media has changed the industry
+ How to push yourself out of your beauty and style comfort zones

FOLLOW TINISHA:

Instagram | Twitter

FOLLOW JESSICA:

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WEBSITE:

TheProductAgent.com