A storyboard artist, or story artist, creates storyboards for film productions.

I had a blast sitting down with the very talented storyboard artist Stephen Forrest-Smith. Stephen has worked on some of the most popular films in the last 15 years, including “The Dark Knight,” the last three “Harry Potter” films, and last year’s “Star Wars” film.

His candor in the following interview is educational and very entertaining. Enjoy:

Matthew Toffolo: When coming aboard a project on a Hollywood film, how does the process generally work? Do you start with a preliminary chat with the director about themes etc..? How early do you arrive before production? When do you generally exit the job?

Stephen Forrest-Smith: There really is no normal to my job anymore. Every project seems to be different now and asks for a different approach. A film project could call on a storyboard artist at any stage from pre-pre…

A Graphic Designer creates the props and set-pieces for film productions and works directly with the Production Designer. Depending on the period and genre, these can be newspapers, love letters, shop signs, posters, cigarette boxes, logos. Basically, they create the original materials needed for a film that haven’t yet been invented.  

I was fortunate enough to interview the extremely talented Graphic Designer Tina Charad. In the last 10 years she has worked on over 30 productions including the films “Robin Hood”, “Edge of Tomorrow”, “World War Z”, “Pirates of the Caribbean”, “The Fifth Wave”, and “RocknRolla”.

Matthew Toffolo: Is there a film or two that you’re most proud of?

Tina: Well, in terms of pure indulgence, of being spoilt and designing beauty day after day, it would be 47 Ronin. Perhaps Maleficent too – for the same reasons.

Tina created images in the film “47 Ronin”:
Matthew: How long…

Anne Seibel earned an Oscar Nomination for “Midnight in Paris”. Based in Paris, she has worked with some of the top directors in the world today, including Steven Spielberg, David Frankel, M. Night Shyamalan, Sofia Coppola, Clint Eastwood, and 3 Production Designer assignments with Woody Allen.

Go to her website: www.anneseibel.com

I was fortunate enough to sit down with Anne to chat about her career.

Matthew Toffolo: Film fans always get Production Designer and Art Director mixed up, thinking they are the same position? Can you tell people what the difference is? 

Anne Seibel: The Production designer is the person in charge of the sets, the mood and look of the film collaborating directly with the director and Director of Photography.

The Art director is their right hand, supervising the art department and the making of the sets for the production designer.

I always compare my team as an orchestra.

Production…

What a pleasure it was to chat with the costume designer Janelle Nicole Carothers. Janelle has worked on over 20 productions in the last 12 years, including Seed of Chucky (2004), the television series The Game (2011-12) & Let’s Stay Together (2012-13), and the The Perfect Match – which opens all over North America today!

Matthew Toffolo: “The Perfect Match” is set to hit theaters this weekend. Can you give us a sneak peak to what to expect? How was your experience working on that film?

Janelle Nicole Carothers: Yes! March 11th! It’s a romantic comedy with an amazing cast and the cameos are hilarious. The experience overall on the film was amazing. The perfect marriage of new and veteran talent. The laughter on set was non-stop. The energy was contagious and the canvases I had to dress – I mean come on, you could put Cassie, Lauren or Dascha in a paper…

A storyboard artist, or story artist, creates storyboards for film productions.

Storyboard Artist Cristiano Donzelli is a wealth of knowledge. You can feel his passion for what he does. No wonder all of the top filmmakers in the world who venture to Italy want to work with him. He simply makes all the films he storyboards better.

Cristiano’s credits include Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Rome (2005). Zoolander 2 (2016), The American (2010). Ben-Hur (2016), The Young Messiah (2016), and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Go to his website at www.cristianodonzelli.com

Matthew Toffolo: You have been the storyboard artist on over 40 productions in the last 20 years. Is there a film or two that you’re most proud of?

Cristiano Donzelli: First of all I want to say that I do this work because I love cinema, I’m very passionate about movies, so for me it’s not just a job…

Making her home in New Orleans, Olga Wilhelmine is a singer/songwriter turned actress turned stunt performer. Jumping out of planes brought her to her new career (see below). In the last year she has stunt doubled for actresses Haley Bennett and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in two of the most highly anticipated films of 2016.

For more info, go to her website: www.laolga.com

Matthew Toffolo: Are you an actress who also does stunts, or a stunt performer who also acts?

Olga Wilhelmine: I am an actress who does stunts, or I’d say it started out that way for sure. A lot of times depending on where camera is, you have to do your own stunts and this is of course also depending on what the stunt is, but it is certainly a big factor.

MT: You were the stunt double for Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the upcoming film 10 Cloverfield Lane. Tell…