Ha-jun Lee - Production Designer of Parasite

The guy behind Parasite loves the new Annie Atkins book

Oscar nominated production designer Han-Jun Lee says everyone should take a look at Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps

The Korean production designer Ha-jun Lee knows a good image when he sees one. Lee worked with Parasite’s director Bong Joon Ho to create, among other things, the beautifully ordered house that lies at the centre of this Oscar-winning film.

Casual moviegoers will have admired the house’s well-ordered forms and furniture, while film professionals might have picked up on some of Lee’s clever flourishes. Did you know, for example, that Lee created the house’s main garden window in the cinematic 2.35:1 aspect ratio, to make the garden look, as he put it in a recent interview, like “a nice photograph on screen.”

 

Annie Atkins
Annie Atkins

And Lee also admires nice images on paper too. He has just reviewed our new book, Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking, by the cinematic graphic designer Annie Atkins, whose work has appeared in Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and Isle of Dogs, and Todd Haynes's Wonderstruck, among other Hollywood films.

This new publication is, in Lee’s opinion, is a gem. "This is the notebook of an artisan who persistently moves forward on her own path—a wonderful guide demonstrating how on-screen realities are constructed out of forgery,” he wrote. "After working as a production designer for many years, it's exciting to find a book dedicated to the essence of graphic design in film. It will be a great help to many juniors in the industry,” Lee concluded. “No one should turn down the chance to peek inside a senior's notebook!"

 

ake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking
ake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking

Get your chance to peek inside by ordering a copy of Fake Love Letters, Forged Telegrams, and Prison Escape Maps: Designing Graphic Props for Filmmaking here.