Jamie Lapsley is a British production designer celebrated for her innovative and immersive designs across film, television and commercials. Splitting her time between London and Glasgow, Jamie’s career encompasses award-winning TV shows such as Bodyguard, Fearless, and Murdered _for_ Being Different, as well as films like Skeletons, Shell, and Tommy’s Honour.
In Episode 17 of Apotheosis, production designer Jamie Morgan Lapsley joins Alexander Whittenberg for a conversation about creativity, collaboration and the art of discovery.
Lapsley reflects on her journey from industrial design and television graphics into film production design, and shares how an early realization—that design begins with understanding story rather than aesthetics—fundamentally changed her approach to the craft.
The conversation dives into Lapsley's acclaimed work on Out of Darkness and the extensive research that brought the prehistoric thriller to life. While working on the project, Lapsley collaborated with archaeologists and linguists to design a modular cave system, which turned the production's budgetary limitations into creative opportunities.
Along the way, Lapsley also discusses sketching as a tool for thinking, the value of fostering healthy and collaborative art departments and her belief in the importance of distilling a project down to its essential idea that serves as a compass for every creative decision.
A striking interior from Bodyguard.
"I want to find something they haven't thought of. I want to find something that they haven't realized they've written…where it takes place is wherever you want it to take place."
An immense amount of research was put into the detailed props in Out of Darkness.
A moment from Grow.
"Art is work. You are literally making, investigating and using intellect over time to tell a story."
Jamie Lapsley and her team designed and built a complex network of modular cave structures for Out of Darkness.
