Sara Johnston
A short film motivated by Puccini’s 'Madama Butterfly', transposed to the atmospheric, noir world of 1940's New York. It is a tale of isolation, betrayal and murder. In collaboration with fellow student Ciara Walsh, inspiration was drawn from the visual language of Alfred Hitchcock combined with the symbolism and story of Puccini's opera. The design merges the classic gritty film-noir aesthetic with a feminine touch. It focuses on architectural storytelling through lighting, shadows and textures. The project used Virtual Production and a large LED screen to depict the New York skyline. This integration allowed for a dynamic representation of passing time, emphasising Iryana's isolation and obsession within her studio.
A Butterfly Murder
'MY Project'
Stasis in Darkness
"I would like to be as empty as a brick wall... I am so tired of the sun, the great bright eye."
The Plough and the Stars
A design proposal for an immersive theatre performance piece exploring female interiority through the architectural metaphor of Sylvia Plath's ‘The Bell Jar’, drawing on her poetic language and the spatialisation of psychological pressure. This work is rooted in my passion for psychologically-driven design. It is a story about the female experience, with the set functioning as a "human zoo" visualising how society observes, labels and cages women who don't fit the expected mold.
Through visceral lighting shifts, an encroaching fig tree and a steadily constricting proscenium, the architecture itself mirrors her psychological descent, physically tightening the space as the internal 'Bell Jar' closes in. The design forces the audience to step inside the jar and experience Plath’s world firsthand.
This project reimagines Sean O'Casey's 'The Plough and the Stars' and adapts it for film through the design of two pre-visualised interiors: the public house and Bessie's tenement attic living room. Focusing on historical recreation, the project explores the social and emotional realities of Dublin shortly before and during the 1916 Rising, reflecting the play’s themes of nationalism, poverty, survival and disillusionment through production design and mise-en-scène.
Particular attention was given to the atmosphere and spatial storytelling within the pub set. The contrast between the cold evening exterior and the suffocating, hazy warmth of the interior was used to reflect the limbo state of Dublin City in the run up to the Rising, and the everyday struggles of civilians seeking temporary escape.The use of levels through a staircase within the space visually reinforced the social and ideological divide. Elevating the Irish Citizen Army volunteers above others suggests their romanticised detachment from the harsh realities of survival experienced by those around them.
This thesis investigates the role of production design in facilitating temporal experience within an increasingly "accelerated" culture. It explores how cinematic space can be intentionally crafted to manipulate duration and foster contemplation. The central research question asks how the material environment can function as a form of quiet resistance against contemporary burnout culture, allowing the viewer to "feel" time.
Drawing on Byung-Chul Han’s critique of societal exhaustion, the research analyses how "slow cinema" provides essential "between-times" for reflection. Through a visual case study of Tsai Ming-liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003), the study examines the use of interstitial and decaying spaces as "temporal containers." The methodology applies Gilles Deleuze’s theory of the "time-image" to decode how specific spatial arrangements and atmospheric lighting techniques can stretch the audience's perception of the present moment.
The research concludes that the production designer acts as a vital architect of duration, creating immersive environments that offer a necessary break from digital acceleration.
Sara is an emerging production and set designer who recently completed her BA (Hons) in Production Design for Film. Sara has spent the last four years honing her skills in AutoCAD, SketchUp and white card modeling. She gained valuable experience during an Erasmus exchange at FAMU Prague, where she collaborated with international filmmakers on various design projects. She has developed a deep understanding of visual storytelling, reinforcing her passion for creating spaces that reflect psychological states. With a sharp eye for detail and a knack for creative problem-solving, Sara works well within a team and is particularly interested in hands-on roles such as standby art direction, set dressing, and prop sourcing in her future.
