Katherine Dieckmann is a film and music video director known for her work with R.E.M. and the feature films "Good Baby" and "Diggers".
Working with a production designer always starts with the script and an understanding of the world it suggests, especially in terms of class and how spaces create a strong sense of reality for the characters. Then we start to have a conversation about specific visual references. If a production designer mentions a photographer I love and have thought about as providing a template for how I want my film to look, or starts talking about palette in a way that feels totally integral to what I’ve imagined, or in any way exhibits multiple signs of that elusive symbiosis called mind meld, I am immediately drawn to that person. I know we see things similarly and can develop a working vocabulary and a shorthand that will serve us well when we start in on the rigors of production.
I like to write the production designer a memo with specific ideas and notes for the film; when we’re moving fast, it’s great to have a specific set of written thoughts to reference. But above all, I look for a production designer who will not just be my aesthetic ally but will push me by bringing things to the table I could never imagine, and for which I would never think to ask: ways of layering in texture, or designing spaces that wind up transforming my thinking about staging. It’s a combination of the ease of being brought what you know you want, and the thrill of being presented with what you never guessed you wanted, that makes for the most rewarding relationship.
