World Renowned Production Designer Ritika Ramesh
A lot of people want to get into the movie business but only a lucky few are fortunate enough to actually make the entertainment industry a career. And good fortune isn’t always what it takes to break through the highly competitive invisible wall that separates the film and TV world from the mundane universe outside its gates. It takes a great deal of hard work and you had better have something to offer if you really want in. Ritika Ramesh, for example, the Production designer from Mumbai, India, is a perfect example of someone who brings a lot to the table and is certainly willing to do the work that is necessary to contribute to the completion of any TV or film project.
She graduated with a degree in architecture from IES College of Architecture in Mumbai, and because of her love of the film industry she moved to Los Angeles to pursue Production Design and she earned an MFA in Applied Arts from the California Institute of Arts. Her work was so promising there that she won the acclaimed and highly valued Lillian Disney Scholarship at Cal Arts. Since then Ritika has gone on to work on countless ad films and short films in the last two years. Her job titles have been Art Director, Production Designer, Set Decorator, Art Dept. Assistant and Assistant Designer. Some of the films she has worked on are: Nick and Sarah, Happy Face, Devotee, Lighter Than Air, Fatal Affair, Attention Whore, Dirty Diamonds, Live Me, The Space Between, Work Friends, Stuck, and Airmen, among many others. She was also the art Director for the commercial for JR Watkins and she was the assistant Designer for the 2020 SAG Awards Red Capet.
Production Designers usually work alongside the film’s director and cinematographer. The director’s vision is the driving force for the project but she or he will generally look to the Production Designer for ideas on color, motif, mood and theme in the sets and locations. The Production Designer is ultimately responsible for providing and capturing the overall look of the film. Drawings and color renderings of all scenes before the camera ever reaches the set are done by the PD and when the director okays them and if they fit within the film’s budget, then the Production Designer oversees their completion. So, sleepless nights and 16 hour work days are not uncommon for Production Designers.
