Meet Kayleen Baker

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayleen Baker.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I always knew my career would involve art but it took me a while to connect it to film. I started in theater first in a small town in Indiana. Our budgets were always small, so it taught me to be resourceful. I loved it and worked with construction and scenic painting. After my interest in film grew I went to Ball State University to head more in that direction. I had a lot of hands-on experience there and worked on numerous shorts, often turning my focus to production design.

After undergrad, I went off and did a large range of things that had nothing to do with the film. I traveled along the east coast and I worked mostly in outdoor education so I spent most of my time off the grid and in the woods. While I enjoyed working in that field, it didn’t allow me any time to design any projects. So I moved to North Carolina and started working as a scenic painter. Going further into a career in the art department, I knew I would need more technical skills to go along with all of my hands-on experience. With that realization, I applied to grad school and went to Chapman University for Production Design.

During my time there, I worked on a dozen different projects, some conceptual and some being productions. I really pushed myself during those two years and it seemed to pay off as I am now a graduate and was accepted into the Art Directors Initiative Program.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I truly believe failure is fun! Maybe that is something that I just say to get over the big bumps, but it helps. Acknowledging the growth rather than the setbacks has allowed me to be flexible when things don’t go according to plan and also more determined to keep moving forward.

For example, I had a major wrist injury right out of undergrad that put my original goals on pause. At the time, I was devastated, but it allowed me to take a detour that I otherwise would not have had time for and I am grateful for that. I had experiences in outdoor education that couldn’t have happened in this field. Living on top of an isolated mountain, being an animal handler, and leading hikes to waterfalls – not things that normally go along with working in film. And while I loved that time in my life, it made me more certain that I want my career to be in the Art Department.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am in the art department and have mostly been credited as a production designer or art director. The projects I have been on so far have been with smaller crews, so I tend to wear a lot of hats along with those titles including; set design, set dressing, props, construction, scenic painting, and graphic work. Apart from working on short films at Chapman University, I had in-class projects there I would create conceptual drawings, renders, and plans for much larger-scale projects.

I truly love designing and everything that goes into it, I am a big fan of research. During my time at Chapman, I was able to join a wide range of projects with different genres to explore. My two favorite projects were my first short, Candy House, and my last, Tango.

Candy House was a short I co-designed with classmate and friend Isabella Campillo. A majority of the story took place in a magician’s ominous candy store. Our crew was amazing and was in the scene shop helping us make the store come to life. Isabella and I were in sync when creating the designs and were always in communication about the inspiration we had found or new ideas we had. And set dressing the set was so fun when creating ways to display all of the candy!

My thesis project also took place in a store but with a vastly different look. This comedy really allowed me to be cheeky when designing the set and set dressing, as the script involved a young woman taking over her late grandmother’s adult store to honor her memory. It was fun bringing in elements of the 1970s, a grandma aesthetic, and an adult store. When we were done transforming the location it was so pink, I loved it!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My family and friends! I think it is so important to have a support system, and I am so lucky to have such a great one! This is a very fast and demanding industry, so it is important to me when I have time to try and reach out and recharge with people who are truly in my corner. Having that community is so important and with my family being in the midwest it can be difficult. Luckily I have made some great friendships here in California.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.kayleen-baker.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayleen.design/