SOMEONE YOU SHOULD KNOW
East grad begins movie career
by ELIZABETH TAUFA, Reporter
2003, Alyssa Hill headed south to the North Carolina School of the Arts to pursue a degree in art direction.

Alyssa Hill

As Hill's education progressed, she became interested in production design for film and began interning, gaining experience on movie sets, including a 2006 production in Buffalo called "Poultrygeist."

However, it was the connection with a family friend in Western New York that would provide an opportunity for professional advancement.

"I had applied for a very prestigious internship in L.A. and didn't get it," she said. "So this friend of the family asked me to come out and work for her."

Hill, who is the daughter of Joyce and Rich Hill, started as an intern and eventually worked her way up until becoming the production designer on a film called "Racing Daylight," which premiered at the Woodstock Film Festival in May 2007.

The movie stars David Strathairn, who has been seen in several movie and television productions including "Good Night and Good Luck" and "The Firm" and Melissa Leo, whose credits include "Midnight Son" and "Falling Objects."

As production designer, Hill designed all of the sets in the movie, or as she puts it, anything that the actors stand in front of.

"We work closely with costume designers and and props," she said, noting that the work of a production designer begins weeks before the movie is actually shot and continues weeks after shooting has wrapped.

"A normal film day is 12 hours," she said. "Pre-production is about 10 hours, but seven days a week. Filming is six days a week and about 14 hours a day."

The film was shot just outside Woodstock, N.Y. in what Hill says is a popular location for period films including the 2006 thriller "Night Listener" starring Robin Williams.

While a design job may seem easy from the outside, Hill noted that the job is largely physical as well as mentally intricate in order to design the characters' surroundings.

"You have to analyze the characters and what their childhoods were like or their parents," she said. "You really have to dive into the characters."

Having been the sole production designer on a feature film is a feat that takes some people several years into their career to achieve. However, Hill has managed to do it before even receiving her bachelor's degree. She graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts on Saturday. She plans to relocate to Los Angeles and continue her career.

"I have a lot of different opportunities, but I would definitely love to become a production designer," she said.

As far as her formal education, Hill said that the numbers of people who care about it in "the business" are split down the middle. However, she is grateful for the time she spent there.

"At North Carolina School of the Arts, they gave us the basic skills and a basic outline of how film works," she said. "The education is design oriented." She noted that the school also addresses all aspects of film production from art and computer skills to managing a budget and a crew.

With that basic training, Hill and her classmates are sent out into the world of design and production with the idea that the basic skills will lead them to problem solve in unique situations. The school also provided the students chances to learn from professionals already in design fields.

"Every time I see it I get so excited," Hill said of the interactions she's had with design professionals

She also said that the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree that she received also will help her to understand all aspects of design so that she will be a well-rounded asset to movie productions as a production designer.

"I've been very lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but I want to work hard to know all of the different layers of the art department," she said. "If I can do it all then I can communicate well with all of those layers and, on a film set, communication is key."

If you have a suggestion for someone to feature in this column, send it to Jessica L. Finch, Amherst Bee, associate editor, P.O. Box 150, Buffalo, N.Y. 14231-0150, or call 204-4917.