NBCUni 9.5.23
Painting Practice

Behind the Title: Painting Practice CD Erica McEwan

Erica McEwan is a creative director at Painting Practice, a London- and Cardiff-based design studio for film and television. “We’re a nimble mix of artists and producers of concept design, previz, postviz, VAD, motion graphics and VFX design,” she explains. “We bring together all of these key ingredients for a holistic design overview on a show or film, delivering cohesive, high-end visual storytelling.”

The studio’s work spans film and TV productions and includes His Dark Materials Seasons 1-3), Black Mirror (Netflix), Wednesday (Netflix) and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.  

Wednesday

What does being a creative director at Painting Practice entail?
Our entire business comprises creative services, so ultimately, this job at our studio is about leading that creative with support, drive and innovation. It’s interfacing with clients, collaborators and our own teams on all matters of development, production and execution for our film and TV projects.

Building the foundation of a strong and cohesive team is key to the success of any project. It can also be hard to do in a small shop like ours, where we adapt depending on the scope of the projects on our slate.

Part of my role entails curating new and potential projects for the studio. Deciding what aligns with our values and where we can add the most value to a production as a group is essential to keeping our artists fulfilled and, in turn, running a thriving business. Fortunately, we tend to work on quite juicy long-form projects, such as His Dark Materials, where everyone gets stuck in from prep to post on a huge range of design elements, so we’re pretty lucky in that regard.

His Dark Materials

We’re a small and nimble studio, which means being super-adaptable at times. Mine is a job of many hats. While the biggest hat is having an overview and looking at what’s on the horizon, on any given day I could be discussing a new project with a showrunner, art-directing some motion graphics that are going out on-set, interviewing new talent or creatively producing a series of postviz shots.

My job is also to consider our brand and our voice as a studio. We know the projects we love doing and the shows we’d love to make, so it’s as much about keeping our house in order creatively as it is about interfacing with our clients and collaborators with an approach that’s authentic and creatively exciting.

What would surprise people the most about what falls under your title?
That even though your job title says “creative,” there is still a lot of the time when you’re not on the tools. It’s not to say planning teams, discussing new projects, art-directing and general management duties aren’t creative. In fact, I think they can be extremely creative in the sense of problem-solving and lateral thinking. But I think people are surprised to hear I don’t often spend my day in Photoshop or After Effects.

Black Mirror

What’s your favorite part of the job?
The scope and variety of scripts and briefs that I can sink my teeth into are a huge pull for me. I tend to enjoy the chaos of many projects, which can also be a massive piece of Kryptonite if you’re not careful.

I’d also have to say the people. It’s just the best to work alongside some really prolific creatives who are masters in their craft. I’m learning every day — from people I admire right through to the new generation we bring on.

What is your least favorite?
Being across multiple productions and overlapping shoots can be really testing. My least favorite thing is having to choose what fire to put out when schedules bottleneck. I also miss being on the tools sometimes, I do sometimes like to roll my sleeves up and get stuck in!

What is your most productive time of the day?
If I am lucky to hop into some design work, or I need to read scripts, I love to do this later in the evening, when the world is quiet. No interruptions. Before I had my daughter, my answer would have been early mornings!

There’s also a sweet spot mid-morning once the team is up and running. I find I can get a very productive few hours in.

His Dark Materials

How has your section of the industry changed since COVID? The good and the bad?
Like many industries, adapting to what now feels like a more balanced way of working is what I’ve mainly seen. Also, a greater compassion for work-life balance by employers.

Our section of the industry (and our studio, in particular) has had an element of remote working since well before 2020, so working during the pandemic was less of a shock for us. The downside to all this, in my opinion, is the loss of connection and community you get in a thriving creative studio. In terms of remote, the younger artists don’t want to work out of their bedrooms. They need the opportunity to learn from more senior folks in person — there’s nothing like being in the same room. There’s a big movement to get some of that back, but with a new-found balance. I know we’ve all enjoyed being back together more often.

What COVID did do for us was provide that “pause” for much of the team and made space to explore new technologies, adjust workflows and have fun with R&D projects we wouldn’t have otherwise had the time for. It made way for a whole department we now call VP + Tech Labs that carries on today and feeds into our current ways of working. It gave us some incredible R&D time with some of the previz we created for His Dark Materials in Unreal Engine.

His Dark Materials

Do you see some of these workflow changes remaining with us going forward?
I feel like industry-wide a lot of effort and additional infrastructure was put into efficient remote and hybrid working. Why throw that away, right?

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I would have possibly stayed in the art department, which I did for many years before this role, supporting the production design via graphics, art direction and set-design elements. But if it was a total plan B, the romantic in me wants to say I’d have been a bad-ass dancer, touring the world!

How early on did you know this would be your path?
I always loved to tell stories. As a kid, I used to go in to work with my dad at the weekend and snoop around the art department. Back in the early ‘90s, they had one Apple Macintosh computer and about 2,000 Pantone markers! I used to sit on the floor and draw and draw for hours with them. I thought, this is pretty fun. I could dig this for a job when I grow up.

Through high school, I followed my passion for movies, photography, drawing and architecture — primarily under the influence of my dad. I was lucky to have a family that supported my interests. I remember doing work experience when I was 15, saying to this guy Robert (the creative director), “I’d like your job one day… tell me what I need to do.” He gave me some advice, told me where he studied, and I basically started with that and followed my nose.

Wednesday

Can you name some recent projects you have worked on? 
For the past 12 months, we’ve been on an exciting project that is coming out this fall, which I’m not allowed to talk about. The studio and I have been heavily involved across the board, visually, using an end-to-end design approach.

Previously, His Dark Materials was my main focus for a long time (several years!). I was the graphics art director and postviz supervisor on the final season of the production and worked across other motion and graphics on the previous seasons.

Name three pieces of technology you can’t live without.
My digital calendar, for sure. I couldn’t live without this organization at my fingertips and all the reminders — especially juggling work, school stuff and my own life. Also, my phone and AirPods.

Do you listen to music while you work?
I love music, but honestly, most days it’s hard to listen to it because I’m just about always interacting with the team, in meetings or in an environment where multiple conversations are going on, and I need to have my ears pricked up.

Black Mirror

If I’m lucky enough to do a bit of design work or research, I love to put music on. It really helps you get into flow. I’ll often put on NTS Radio (house and techno shows, Balearic or ambient), or I could be listening to anything from Thom Yorke to Atjazz or even classic Billy Joel.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I win some and I lose some here! I try to build exercise into the school run or on my way to the studio — even if it’s just a 20-minute jog to get a coffee. I meditate most evenings before bed, and I make a point of taking some short breaks in the day. It doesn’t always work out as planned, of course.

Finally, would you have done anything different along your path? Any tips for others who are just starting out?
I know it’s cliché, but I would always stick by the saying, “Do what you love and never work a day in your life.” Obviously, that’s over-romanticized, but if you can figure out what gets you into the flow, that thing you’re doing when time just disappears, then that’s passion, and it’ll take you miles.

Black Mirror

Don’t do anything for the money. That will come, and you’ll probably have even more success if it’s built on passion and heart. I had to learn that the hard way when I was younger. My path diverted away from film and TV for about six years. Still doing motion design and graphics, but in a more corporate space. It was paying better, but something was lacking. I wasn’t fulfilled. When I pushed myself to get back to the storytelling I really believed in, so many more doors opened for me.

The other thing is you can’t put a price on experience. I discovered a massive love for production design at university, so I was making a beeline for any film set or work experience I could get my hands on, while I studied. My advice to anyone starting out, would be to do the same. Make the tea, sweep the floor, be a sponge and learn from other creatives. There’s nothing like learning on the job.


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