Meet Prerna Chawla | Production Designer & Set Decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Prerna Chawla and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Prerna, can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I want to tell stories that stay with you- that you keep thinking about days after you have seen them. Whether it is a gut wrenching tragedy or an over the top comedy that pushes the boundaries; the genre doesn’t matter as long as the project has something to say. I am truly fascinated by the profound cultural influences and impressions that great storytelling can have on individual or collective histories. I am an immigrant from India and LA wasn’t easy at first. I didn’t know anyone in the industry and I had to build my network from scratch- starting with student thesis films. After 15 years, there’s so much to still learn and do; but LA has started to feel like home. I’m most proud of the nurturing environment I try to create in my department on every project. The crew comes first, if the people are happy, no mountain is too high. I believe that skills can be learned, but a good attitude cannot.

I am Production Designer and Set Decorator. I am very passionate about building worlds that are dramatically different for every story and I cannot imagine myself doing anything else. I get to visualize each character’s space in minute detail while looking at the big picture; what makes them tick, what is their essence? This research and character analysis is one of the most exciting parts of the design process for me.

What’s one piece of conventional advice that you disagree with?
That you have to suffer for your art. As artists we are supposed to reflect what we see, be a keen observer of the human condition and be vulnerable. That can come from pain, but can also come from other emotions. To weave a tapestry of the human experience, we need all these different threads within ourselves- suffering is but one of them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA has so much to offer, that this is such a tough question! In no particular order, here are some of my favorites: -Hiking the Griffith Observatory and seeing one of the shows there.
-The Broad Museum followed by lunch at Grand Central market. Then a walking tour of DTLA including a stop at The Last Bookstore.
-An outdoor movie at Hollywood Cemetery
-The free Friday jazz concerts at the urban light installation in LACMA museum
– A Comedy show (either at The comedy store, Laugh factory, Hollywood improv or one of the smaller venues)
-Dan Sung Sa in KTown for drinks and soju. I just love that place.
– Chill at Dockweiler beach one day and then do a bonfire in the evening.
– Rosebowl or Long Beach flea market on the weekend
-Smorgasburg in the arts district on Sunday.
-some of my staple food places: Chengdu Taste, The Boiling Crab, Night+Market Song, Podi Dosa, Abhiruchi, Kogi, Daikokuya, Hoyka, Birdies fried chicken, Newport Seafood, Guisados, Mariscos Jalisco, Coni Seafood. all of these are fairly priced and do not break the bank! Majordomo, Pasjoli, Yangban, Dama among the fine dining options.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My spouse- Hasan Sachdev, who moved continents for me and is an equal partner in every sense of the word. My first boss- Rahul Kurup. He was the kindest soul who is very talented. In the short time I was his employee, it firmed up my decision to jump into this career.
My parents- who gave me a great childhood and were able to give me an excellent education. This education helped open doors for me in the professional world.
My teachers- Chris Barreca (my mentor in CalArts) and Victoria Paul (Production Designer who taught at USC Film School), Rohan Shivkumar & Kaushik Mukhopadhyay (my professors while at Architecture school in India)

Website: www.prernachawla.com

Instagram: prernachawla.designs

Image Credits
Justin Lubin Billy Moon