Meet Sandra B Rodriguez | Production Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sandra B Rodriguez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sandra B, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
The most difficult decision I’ve ever made was leaving home. I was born and raised in Jalisco, Mexico and my parents decided to leave my home country to immigrate to Chicago, IL USA. It was difficult to adjust at first, I had left all my extended family and friends, I didn’t even know English, and the culture shock was…intense. It felt like we left everything that was comfortable to seek out discomfort now. Regardless, I adjusted, grew through the discomfort, and made Chicago my home. I graduated from college with a BA in Interior Architecture, and lived and worked in downtown, Chicago. After a while, it seems I was living a very comfortable life again. But despite having built a familiar setting, I felt uninspired/unmotivated. My energy was stagnant. I wasn’t growing or progressing. It dawned on me that I was just basking in my own existence and becoming complacent. All that complacency and comfort led to a crash. I needed to seek out constructive conflict like my parents had done for us all those years ago. So, again, I left home. This time on my own. I packed my car with as many belongings as I could and I drove from Chicago across the country to Los Angeles to extend/evolve my skills into production design for film. I was now living in discomfort once again, where feelings of uncertainty and opportunity mixed into one. A study conducted by Yale researchers found that it is impossible to learn in a place that is too safe or familiar, which would have been good to know earlier on. I think it all worked out well enough, as I am now attending The American Film Institute Conservatory and in a few months getting my Masters in Production Design. It’d been challenge after challenge, but after all this time I’ve been able to find the music in the discomfort. Let’s see how long the song goes.

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.
My art is the art of building. Since the beginning, we have needed to create for a purpose. The Aztecs built massive pyramids and relics with great mythological and symbolic meanings. It is in our blood to make things with our hands, whether it is to make sense of the world around us or to give shape to the mysteries of our imagination. So with my work as a Production Designer, I approach each project as a story, nothing else. I always root it to a narrative and through collaboration and time, it takes its own shape, becoming its own entity. It grows out of that process, like something alive. And you have to respect it as such. It isn’t what is best for me it is always what is best for the project/story, always taking care of this thing we made. True creativity and collaboration removes the ego, and it is with pure selflessness that I’ve seen the most special projects be built. As much as I enjoy the safe space of creation, I also balance it with an analytical approach. My background is in Architecture and Interior Design, I worked at an Architectural firm for 5 years and learned that so much of the success as a professional comes from organization. It is important to be as organized, methodical, and critical to then be safe to let go for the “creative”. One must go in hand with the other. Especially when you have a team to lead and delegate to, with schedules, lists, and backup plans. All to protect the fun part. If there is anything I’d like to share about me and my work is that it is always done with heart, no matter how late or how hard the heart always pulls through. You gotta love it to do it well, and I really do. It’s hard not to, because simply put; making movies if fun. I’ve now had the opportunity to make 20 short film productions, and in that time I’ve really gotten to see film as a sort of collective dreaming. There is no other art form in the world that gives you that profound feeling as you sit in silence with nearly 20 people watching a small screen and seeing your designs come to life for just a moment in between those words “action” and “cut.” Sometimes it feels like you’re never more alive and connected to humanity than those moments.

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?
This is a tough question… considering I haven’t had a life in the past 2 years as I’ve been a recluse while pursuing a master’s degree at AFI. I’ve been subsisting off of Grubhub, homemade sandwiches, and hot Cheetos in my apartment but…I haven’t forgotten my friends – the street taco vendors in the Noho area, just the kindest and most hardworking people, providing the most authentic Mexican tacos (particularly the Al-pastor)! I also have a good memory of walking down the NoHo Art District and the boutiques, shops, specialty restaurants, and coffee shops – one of my guilty pleasures being Hazelnut Lattes all with the beautiful California sun shining.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
For me the most grounding thought is gratefulness. It’s imperative that we remain aware that if we do anything great or are anything great, we thank the ones who gave us the time and the knowledge- then pay it forward to those who seek it. This is the circle of kindness that keeps us as humans evolving and is the only way we can collectively move forward. I am grateful for: My parents, Marita and Joel Rodriguez, who gave up their dreams to work so that I could attain mine, “los amo!” & I pray for them every day. My soul sisters who stood by me and stayed up (countless nights) with me, Maggie Flores and Poulette Sterner, I wouldn’t have found peace without you. To the teachers and companies who first believed in me and gave me my first shot: Coavi Construction and Scott Zatt at WHA Architects my heart will always be thankful. My partner and mentor, Jesus Celaya, who has held my hand and walked with me on the path of purpose, I choose our life forever. And my current colleagues and friends, Suneha Balasubramanya, Jose Herrera and Gabriel Gutierrez, thank you for the good humor and the meaningful conversations, you are the kind of people I want to be surrounded by always.

Website: https://www.sandrabrodriguez.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandra_b_rodriguez_/?igshid=NzAzN2Q1NTE%3D

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-b-rodriguez-618a5939/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/rdguez_sandra

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13608978/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1#production_designer