Gini Godwin (Production designer)
On getting started, recent film watches, newcomer advice
Miles:
Hey Gini. Good to have you. Who are you and what do you do in the industry?
Gini:
Hello Miles! I am Gini Godwin and I am a Production Designer, mainly working in film and tv.
Miles:
How did your journey start?
Gini:
Welllllll, I’m a late starter to this job.
I did my first design job when I was 29 years old.
I’m really lucky as I have a lot of very fun, creative friends - two of which were making their first feature film and asked me to design the set, plus the costumes. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing but I had a lot of fun (!) and realised this was actually a job. So then I did short films for around 2 years and then it just went from there...
Miles:
This is a nice summary.
Miles (cont.):
Is there a particular kind of job that gets you excited?
Gini:
I like the stylised. Where you can push ‘reality’ to the limits. Those kinds of jobs are my favourite.
Miles:
Do you have any highlights in you career so far?
Gini:
Each job I do seems to have highlights and lowlights. I feel like I’m still very much at the beginning of my career.
It’s been 10 years now. There’s a Japanese saying of how it takes 10 years to get good at something and THEN you can begin properly (that is completely paraphrased but you get the idea). I feel like I’m just getting started - highlights to come I reckon.
Miles:
For people entering the industry, who want to go along similar path - do you have any wisdom (whether gained or changed perspectives, valuable knowledge or other)?
Gini:
Work with people you like as much as possible.
Get together a great team - you are nothing without your team.
Soak up everything.
Every experience - good and bad- is worth while.
You learn more form things going wrong usually.
Don’t be afraid to try things. Experimenting is key.
Travel and go and see different places as much as you can. You never know where you’ll see the perfect colour for a wall in a movie.
Get a Nix colour sensor (google it) and take it everywhere.
Make sure you give yourself down time. Creativity needs energy. Look after your health.
Miles:
Solid sounding advice.
Miles (cont.):
What have been your favourite films that you've seen recently?
Gini:
Past Lives, The Worst Person in The World (I only recently watched it as I was saving it) and Barbie was a lot of fun.
Miles:
You warned me in advance that emotional films hit you hard. This proved to be apt when we watched Past Lives.
I recall you having to disapear after to find tissues, then staring into the sky afterwards in the carpark, telling me “f*ckinggggg hellll Miles that was too much” multiple times.
I think that film absolutely killed everyone there, me included - in the most fulfilling of ways. But, it was also really enlivening just how much you love film (& TV), stories and what it is that you do. It’s clearly in your blood.
In your words though – what is it about the medium that you love?
Gini:
My thing has always been to tell important stories with interesting people and make it as beautiful as I can with what we have available (i.e. the budget).
Film reaches so many people. You have a real chance to change someone’s view, perspective or day. To be a part of that, I think, is a bit of magic..
Miles:
Gini, keep ‘getting good’ and kicking butt.
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