About
I was born in Brazil, grew up in the U.S. and moved to the U.K. from Italy.
I have a masters degree in Production Design from the American Film Institute Conservatory in Los Angeles.
Since coming to the UK, I've worked as an Art Department Coordinator on an Apple TV+ series and a Sky film and as an Assistant Buyer for an HBO/BBC television show.
Prior to that, I worked on a number of American productions of a modest budget, mostly as a designer and art director.
While working on these, I got a chance to:
- Design and build period sets, including a 1920s Chicago speakeasy, 1960s Israeli street and a 1930s Los Angeles carpentry workshop and prison.
- Incorporate backdrops into my designs and forced perspective techniques that allowed an actor to appear to be 3-inches tall and made a tunnel appear to be much longer.
- Use moulds to create props, including a replica of a World War I water-cooled machine gun, cameras from the 1920s and a tortoise along with a prosthetic that was fitted onto the real animal's shell to look like it had been carved.
- Use Photoshop and Illustrator to create graphics like street signs, business cards, brochures, government documents, and signage.
- Use spreadsheets often to track budgets and hired props.
I have been trained in scenic painting, hand-drafting, perspective drawing, carpentry, sculpting, and model-making. I also know some CAD and 3D modeling (Vectorworks, Rhino, Sketchup) and hope to further enhance these skills.
Prior to working in film, I spent a decade as a newspaper reporter, which means I never miss a deadline.
I sincerely believe every day brings an opportunity to learn something new and the best way to learn is to gladly dive into every task, no matter how small.
Thank you for reading!
E-learning
See which ScreenSkills e-learning Lavinia DeCastro Walsh has completed to improve their skills and knowledge.
Experience
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Assistant Buyer
Prop sourcing, managed petty cash for set dec, organized BACS, raised POs, assisted production buyer with schedule, liaised with prop houses, vendors other departments
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Assistant Buyer
Sourced props, helped dress sets, gathered visual references, updated all calendars, raised urgent BACS, handled timesheets, handled all prop sales, handled Clearance, liaised with other departments and assisted the action props buyer.
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Art Department Coordinator
Maintained schedules, handled timesheets, updated budget, raised BACS and POs, liaised with other departments and assisted the art director with action vehicles.
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Art Department Coordinator
Kept calendars up to date, helped art director with action vehicles and armoury, liaised with Covid team to make sure all contractors were tested prior to coming to set, updated budget and raised urgent BACS.
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Director - Documentary
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Production Designer
Numerous feature and short films
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Journalist
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Journalist
Education and training
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Work well series
ScreenSkills Funded
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Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace
ScreenSkills Funded
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Introduction to mental health awareness at work
ScreenSkills Funded
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Tackling harassment and bullying at work
ScreenSkills Funded
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BFDG Mentee 2022
ScreenSkills Funded
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British Film Designers Guild mentee webinar
ScreenSkills Funded
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Coronavirus basic awareness on production training
ScreenSkills Funded
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Coronavirus basic awareness on production training
ScreenSkills Funded
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MFA Production Design
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BS Media Arts and Animation Animation
Certificates
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Work well series
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Introduction to mental health awareness at work
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Tackling harassment and bullying at work
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Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace
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Lavinia DeCastro Walsh
Art Department Co-ordinator