We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Figueroa Chávez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea, thank you so much for making time for us. We’ve always admired your ability to take risks and so maybe we can kick things off with a discussion around how you developed your ability to take and bear risk?
I think I have to go back in time for this one to one of the most tender and challenging memories I have from my childhood. I was 6 years old and I was collecting plums with my grandmother from her garden in San Miguel, Mexico. The highest tree had the most sweet and red plums. I wanted them but I feared falling from it. My grandmother told me that the sweetest things in life sometimes will challenge ourselves to overcome our fears. I climbed the tree , going branch by branch. She was telling me not to look down on the floor unless I was looking to where my feet were standing. I focus on the plums and after letting go off my fears, I reached the top and the sweet taste of the plums and the view was something I will never forget.
Last week I experienced a challenge that made me feel like that little girl again and the successful outcome of one that I went through a year ago.
Recently working with Albina Kim in an Ice Nine Kills music video, I was going to drive a truck to the Warner Brothers’ Prop House. I thought it would be either a cargo van or a 12’ truck. It was a 16’ truck! I took the challenge and I developed a new skill. I’m thankful for these types of challenges that take me out of my comfort zone. Driving a truck in Warner Brothers’ and seeing most of the drivers being men, made me realize how much we have to believe in ourselves to break through works that are stereotypical for men. While driving back, I saw the Warner Brothers’ tower painted in pink due to Barbie’s recent premier and it just enhanced this feeling of proudness in being a woman that is capable of becoming and doing what it once started like a dream. That reminded me of the day I climbed that tree.
The second one, speaking of successful women in the industry; is attending the premier of “Till death do us apart”. The story is about a bride that has to fight the Seven angry killer groomsmen after bailing on her groom in order to be free. Starring the talented actress and producer of the film Natalie Burn (Black Adam, The Enforcer and Studio city) with Cam Gigandet (Twilight and Violent Night) and Jason Patric (The lost boys, the losers and speed2: cruise control), among others and directed by the Emmy Award Winner, Timothy Woodward Jr. We were only three people in the art department team leaded by Markos Keyto (Knight and Day, Nomad: The beginning, and Tea with Mussolini)and seeing how everything was put in together was such a wonderful thing to see. The production lasted three weeks and two of them were overnights. We redressed a gorgeous house in the Brentwood area in Santa Monica into an abandoned house with a messy basement that was going to be the place for a scandalous crime scene to happen. The last week was shot on a warehouse in downtown LA and in a boat in the southern California beaches. It was a great challenge because in this action movie not only we had to take care of the details of the design but also in making it an interactive sets for all the stunt choreographies. We provide a whole set of weapons made out of rubber for actors to have the freedom to explore and change the dynamics of the stunts.The basement area was highly interactive, that Pancho Moller (S.W.A.T. and The guardians of Justice) was able to hide for his scene in a fridge to later on be thrown into an enormous pile of cardboard boxes. Spoiler alert! We cut with an electric saw Pancho’s doll doble and a splash of blood provided by the make up department leaved the signature of his end on the plastic walls we create for the scene. The story ended in the warehouse in downtown that we transformed into a killer’s shelter were our beautiful bride proves all of the evil men that she was not only able to survive but to have the success of her life, setting herself free.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a Production Designer based in Los Angeles, CA and I hold the responsibility of creating the outstanding, realistic and sensitive visuals in a film. I create the look and the essence of the set design enhancing it with symbolic metaphors. Details make a film more valuable, I read the script and after breaking it down into its logistics I dig deeper into what type objects can represent the characters, the story and the message of it. All of the knowledge that I have in psychology and sociology is printed into my visual work. It’s not only about the colors and textures, it’s about how mixed all of it is to make an audience feel through the spaces the characters grown in.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Understanding that creating myself is a process (self-discovery), that taking risks is better than keeping the “what if” (Being courageous and bold) and appreciating that each of us have our own mission (Human connection).
Take the time to question and create who you are to be truthful to yourself and others. You already have the no, go for the yes, reach out to people and become better (bigger) at what you do (love). And finally not comparing to others, on the contrary being on service to make grow the mission of others in order to grow yours.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Leading a bigger production team. I’m a multitasker and being a Production Designer makes me a carpenter, painter, sculptor, researcher, stylist and more. When I had more space from production to production I will do most of it , I love what I do but over the past year, I’ve been moving from production to production quickly. I expanded my art department team. In my last building set, I lead a group of set builders, architect and engineer to make a working bathroom for the Director Paola Ramones (Legend Quest:The origin and Heroes).
Contact Info:
- Website: https://andygoesbeyond.myportfolio.com
- Instagram: @andreafigueroachavez_
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