About John West
Now a member of BAFTA and The British Film Designers Guild, I initially studied Vocational Film Theatre and Television design and also the history of art and architecture at The Croydon College of Art, with a later course at Pinewood Studios in Draughting for Film and Television.
This training has equipped me to take on most roles in the art department in a wide range of styles and media. I have practical and management skills relevant to the industry.
Being part of a team or working alone, I enjoy the creative process, using ingenuity to solve problems and help bring projects in on budget. I believe in working afresh, bringing in new ideas and not ‘borrowing’ ideas or recycling things people have seen before. I’m also passionate about excellent construction and detail. There’s no substitute for research, application, detail and skill!
I also have an understanding of the different roles within the different disciplines, and that film and TV design tends to be a group effort overseen by the Production Designer and each team will have a different view as to best tackle the requirements.
- A creative person
- A Quaker who disliked a Roman-Catholic Education
- A maverick, leader and problem-solver
- One who enjoys public speaking – I am Irish and (needlessly) kissed the Blarney Stone …
- told that crews say I am fun to work with and a laugh.
- told by people I respect, that I am one of the best Art Directors on the UK.
- Interested in cinema technology – I can run a 35mm projector with carbon arc lamps and do change-overs using a pair of cinema projectors.
- A lover of the fantasy of historic cinemas and movie theatres and the sense of expectation therein
- One who enjoys making humorous quips
- One who enjoys team-leading
- told that efficiency and morale drop by about 50% when I stop managing a group: volunteers all leave… standards drop…
- a conservationist who likes preserving old buildings even for new purposes
- someone who likes railways and canals
- one who enjoys entertaining people as a musician – I play accordion in dance band
- one who disliked compulsory school games, but I am a licensed SCUBA diver
- someone who runs a village cinema with Michael Bickerton – at the local Quaker Meeting House. (We have high definition, laser, digital projection and THX 7.1 surround sound.)
- the elected Chairman of the Art Department Branch of the London Production Division of the film union BECTU. We have offices at Pinewood Studios