The Art of Production Design: Building Worlds with Ging Chen Sow

Introducing Ging

When considering film and television, what are the first roles that come to mind? Probably the actors, actresses, or directors. But beyond this holy-trinity of centre-stage recognition lies a network of people whose work shapes the spaces that come alive on screen. One of these crucial – yet overlooked – roles is the production designer: the person responsible for crafting the look, feel, and physical world of a story. 

But who better to uncover the intricacies of this craft with than a production designer themselves? I got talking to Ging Chen Sow, whose experience in the film industry offers an honest, insightful look into the realities of pursuing a career in this hidden-in-plain-sight role.

Ging is a production designer and art director currently based in Los Angeles – but his story began in Penang, Malaysia, and production design wasn’t always a part of the plan.

In fact, while shooting events and making newsreels for his high school media club, Ging thought his future lay in documentary filmmaking, “I figured that was probably where I’d end up” he explained. “I started looking around for the best film school I could get into, and it turned out USC [University of Southern California] is one of the best. So I thought – alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

That shot paid off. Ging now holds a degree in Film and Television Production from the University of Southern California, and has since worked on a range of projects, particularly as a production designer and art director.

The Value of Academia

Reflecting on his journey, Ging credits his time at USC as instrumental in finding his creative direction. It wasn’t until he arrived in Los Angeles that his passion for production design began to take shape.

“Oh boy, when I got there, everything changed,” he laughs. “I realised narrative filmmaking is fun! I wanted to make films, use proper cinema cameras, shoot on 16mm and 35mm film – all of it.” 

Throughout his time at USC, Ging had the chance to explore different departments – from cinematography to editing – which gave him a solid grounding across the filmmaking process. “They want you to be able to make a decision about everything in the film. And I think that's a very good starting point because you will never know when those skill sets will come in handy” he explains. 

Describing himself as a “swiss army knife”, Ging applauds his education for its wide exposure to various learning opportunities and departments, providing him with a strong understanding of the industry overall before narrowing down his specialism. This hands-on experience proved crucial later, helping him see how production design fits into the wider storytelling puzzle.

It was during his junior year, while working on a senior capstone project about a dictator falling from grace, that production design truly clicked. A friend of Ging’s, who understood his background in the topic, asked him for his input designing the set for Obligatory (a short film about a dictatorship in 1970s Greece), saying there was “no one else who could get the aesthetic.” Ging took on the challenge, and something sparked.

“That’s how I started to realise that, okay, you know what? Building sets, designing sets, that's pretty fun. And that's how I stumbled all the way into doing art for film…art just spoke to me” he says.

When it comes to pursuing a career in film, Ging couldn’t recommend education highly enough. “It's about forcing yourself into a position where you can’t back off. That happened so many times. I was on the verge of breaking down on sets because the work was tough. But if you don’t push yourself, you won’t know where your limits are,” he says, crediting the high-pressure environment for carving him into the professional he is today.

The Film Set Survival Kit

When it comes to the skills necessary for working in production design, Ging doesn't sugar coat it: “Don’t be afraid to kill your baby.” It’s a dramatic phrase, but one that sums up the realities of film set life pretty well.

“You build a set and spend weeks designing it, and at the end of the day the director wants to do something different, you have to cut it up. There’s no other choice,” he explains. Sometimes, even the most beautiful designs end up blurred in the background, or don’t make it into the final edit at all. “It’s painful,” he admits, “but you just have to accept it because you have to trust the process.”

This kind of creative detachment is one of the biggest lessons Ging has learnt. Production design isn’t just about individual glory, but collaboration, compromise, and sometimes, starting again. 

Ging’s second most crucial skill? “Be kind,” he says simply. In an industry built on teamwork, people remember how you treat them. “You’ll never know when someone’s going to be the person you need – each person brings a different skill set. Be friends with everyone unless they give you a real reason not to be.”

For Ging, a great set is not built just with paint, wood, and fabric – but through trust, empathy, and shared purpose. “Everyone brings a very different perspective. You need people with those diverse skills, people with different strengths that compensate for your weaknesses.”

Advice for the Brave and the Curious

So what advice would Ging give to someone starting out?

First up: persevere in the heat of criticism. “If someone critiques your work, don’t take things too personally. As long as you make sure to do your best, your results will speak for themselves” 

That steady sense of resilience – paired with an openness to learning – is at the heart of how Ging approaches his work.

Second? Try everything. Seriously. “I’d tell my younger self to go back and experience more things,” he admits. “Take classes in every different department. Be open to the crew positions that people offer. Don’t be afraid to ask for help with things you’ve never done before. You might not see it make an impact immediately, but several years down the line, you would really appreciate that you've had the experience to do everything.”

That hands on understanding of what everyone else on set is going through helps you become a better teammate, and a better designer. “When you know how hard lighting is working, or why the camera team’s stressed, you can do things to make their lives easier, and they’ll do the same for you.”

It’s that mutual respect, the shared work-ethic, the united purpose, that keeps sets running smoothly. As Ging put it, “when the people are happy, it makes the work easier. Way easier.”

After all, long after the set is struck and the credits roll, what lingers isn't just the scene – but the spirit of collaboration that made it all come to life. 

Coming Soon

Right now, Ging is focussed on levelling up – building his hours, broadening his portfolio, and ultimately joining the Art Directors Guild. “I’m still thinking about it, but getting into the union would be pretty beneficial for me because it would show that I’ve hit a certain level of skill and experience.”

He’s also excited to progress into longer-form storytelling. “I just want to keep on working on bigger and bigger projects, climb up the ladder,” he says. “I’m mostly at the 20-minute mark when it comes to the length of a film right now. I’d love to slowly climb up to 40 minutes, 60 minutes, and eventually a feature film or even a proper TV series.”

But it’s not just about making it big in the U.S. Ging also dreams of bringing his flair for visual storytelling home. “Eventually, I want to be in a position where I can bring American productions back home to Malaysia,” he says. “That would mean a lot.”

So, from Penang to LA, Ging’s story is still in motion. With each new set, he’s not just building scenes, but bridges: between departments, between countries, and between where he started to where he’s going. The credits may roll, but for Ging, the reel is just getting started.