them. Midway through his college studies in architecture, industrial
design, art/design history, and painting, the idea of a career in filmmak-
ing began to resurface. After providing art direction for some small short
films, he realized it was something he wanted to pursue. Chernawsky
received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from University of Alberta, then
went on to earn a master of fine arts in production design from the
American Film Institute in 1996.
While at AFI, Chernawsky acted as production designer on eight short
films. The first two and a half years following graduation were spent
working on a variety of projects, serving as an electrician, grip, carpenter,
and scenic painter, "just to learn more about how production worked and
how the set ran. It really gave me a sense of every aspect of how films are
made."
Chernawsky then began to focus his energy toward art direction,
taking on only those types of jobs. He worked on television commercials,
network campaigns, and bumpers. As his name and reputation got
around, he was offered work as a set designer on Sphere, working on
several interiors and details for the underwater laboratory.
Under the direction of pro-
duction designer Michael
White, Chernawsky went to
work on Armageddon. "I took
care of the interior of the space
shuttle and a variety of props."
White hired him again to
design the set of his next film,
Inspector Gadget. "I ended up
focusing a lot of my time on the
gadget mobile and a variety of
gadgets for Gadget himself. It
was at this point that I realized
I was doing a fair amount of
drawings specifically for the
special effects department,
which became useful down the
road, as far as my understand-
ing of how the special effects
department works."
After Inspector Gadget wrapped, Chernawsky went to Toronto as pro-
duction designer of the independent movie Ginger Snap, which had a suc-
cessful run on the film festival circuit. Returning to Los Angeles, he
worked on James Cameron's IMAX project Mars, before landing the job
What do you like
least about your job?
"The thing I like least is
the hours. Regardless of
whether it's a low budget
or big budget film, the
days are very, very long.
Personal and social life definitely come in
second when you're in the middle of produc-
tion."--Todd Chernawsky
What do you love most
about your job?
"Whether it's a period film, contemporary, or
science fiction, you're constantly looking to
create new worlds. That's probably the thing
I enjoy most."--Todd Chernawsky
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
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