Talented And Creative Art Director And Set Designer Janhavi Naik
It’s amazing that artists have so many ways to express how they see the world: painting, sculpture, music, writing, sketching, photography and filmmaking, to name just a few. Each one can tell a story, animate long lost feelings and put a smile on viewers’ faces. Filmmaking, of course, is the one art that actually takes a collaborative effort to finish it. It’s generally never considered a solitary art form because it requires so many people with different skillsets, talents and creative abilities to contribute to the making of the film. Janhavi Naik, the former architect from Mumbai, India, is one of those collaborators that producers and directors actively look for when they are building a team to make a movie.
Janhavi moved to the United States to fulfill her dream of becoming a Production Designer for films and television. She finished her Masters in Fine Arts degree in Applied Arts, which includes Art Direction, scenic Art and Visual Communications. Those disciplines coupled with her architectural background have given her a deep understanding of what the job of Production designer really entails and what is truly needed for each unique film that she is involved with. Throw in art studies and her grasp of design, colors, and her long love affair with movies of all kinds and you end up with someone who is fully prepared to jump in at a moment’s notice and take the reins of the production company’s art department and come up with the perfect sets every time.
She started her California professional journey by being an Art director or Production Designer on many student thesis films and she has also worked on various music videos and TV shows. She is currently employed in the ART Department of DAVE (A Disney and FX original show).
Her talents are not only for the movie world, although they are treasured there and always in high demand. Janhavi is also a scenic artist and has worked on several theatre and themed entertainment sets in the city of Los Angeles which includes scenic painting for HHN at Universal studios, Hollywood. She explains it this way: “My versatility in my skillset allows me to take up many opportunities and doesn’t limit me to one field alone. Scenic Art was a skill that came as a plus in the school program and I got a chance to assist the scenic art crew at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Halloween Horror Nights and Disney’s Little Mermaid Live! It’s great to see that someone so talented can be talented in so many things at once.
