We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rupali Ingle a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rupali thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I once heard from an two time academy award winning production designer who has inspired me immensely saying “Nobody knows anything”. Even at the highest level, everyone is learning so just relax. You don’t need to know a lot to be here. Just focus on getting started. Guess what he is absolutely right!! The sooner we accept the fact that we will keep learning for the rest of our lives, the better we will become because we won’t think that we know it all at any stage so we will automatically become great learners and listeners.

I learnt calligraphy and took various art classes while in school. I really enjoyed taking the art classes and was pretty good at it so continued to pursue this path which ultimately lead me to Production design for film and TV. I got my MFA in Production Design for film and TV from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University in CA, USA. It’s one of the best film schools to study production design as reported by The Hollywood reporter in 2018.

Being imaginative, having the passion and good communication skills, I think would be the most important skills that are needed to be in this industry. We all work 12 hours a day, so it’s very important to be passionate about it. Be ready to learn. 3D Modelling, concept illustration, basic 2D sketching skills, understanding of color, basic knowledge of construction, understanding of building materials and hardware would be helpful for anyone interested in being a part of the Art department in film or TV. I think we should just be curious and with time, we will all learn provided that we get great opportunities and exposure to learn & grow.

I honestly, I think I got to know everything that I was meant to know at the right time, so I don’t want to speed anything up in terms of the process. I feel, I was fast enough to reach where I am today. lol :)

Rupali, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a quirky production designer who loves to dive deep into imaginative fantasy worlds full of vibrant colors and dimensions creating interesting spaces for the characters of a story. At the end of last year, I got selected as an Artisan Fellow for Women in Film LA as a Production Designer which I am super excited about. I was also one of the panelist at San Diego Comic Con 2023 for ‘Women of the Hollywood Art department’ Panel. Also, I am currently a participant in the BAFTA Newcomers Program as a Production Designer along with being a member of the Art directors Guild Local 800 as an Assistant Art Director. I am working my way up and I aspire to become a Production Designer for Film & TV. A production designer imagines and designs the world in which a story takes place whether it’s in Film or TV. The design holds the key to transport the audience in different worlds and timelines. It is my dream to design a world that the world hasn’t seen before. What sets me apart is ‘Me’. There is no one else like me so I believe in embracing my inner unicorn. My credits include the hit Fox show ‘9-1-1’ S6, ‘Star Trek Picard : The Final Season’, ‘Abbott Elementary S1’, feature film ‘White Men Can’t Jump 2023 and Bollywood Movie ‘Kedarnath’. I have won and been nominated for several ‘Best Production Design’ awards for my short films ‘A Yemeni’ and ‘La Casita de la Mariposa’ as a Production Designer. I can’t wait to share more exciting projects which I worked on in the past couple of months as a Production Designer in the near future as they are still in post-production. I am currently preparing for an upcoming short film as a Production Designer.
I graduated with a Masters in Production Design from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University in 2021 where I was a fellowship recipient. This gave me the required skillset to work in the art department here in Hollywood. I can’t wait to work on more fantastic projects coming my way soon…

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I decided I wanted to become a designer as a child and I am pursuing what I dreamt of now as an adult so I think I have already won half the battle. The most rewarding aspect is that I am happy that I am following my heart and going after what I truly want. For me the word rewarding means happiness. No matter how much we have achieved in life but if we are not happy it won’t matter to us, it may look good on paper to society or other people but deep down it won’t matter to us. So as an artist, I would say it’s a luxury to actually follow what I dreamt of, met great people who are willing to support me and can’t wait to just continue and reach or achieve the goals that I have set for myself. Sometimes, I do get blown away by the high expectations of the people around me about myself. I take it as a positive sign from the universe trying to push me even harder. Lol 

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes, I think the poem “The Road not taken” by Robert Frost (1916) made a huge impact on me as a child or teenager. I remember reading it in school and absolutely loving it. At that time, I knew that I wanted to be a designer not an engineer, scientist or doctor that my classmates or peers wanted to be. Maybe I was the only one in the entire school who was so sure of pursuing this road less traveled path in design along with another girl who I remember wanted to be a journalist. She and I were the only odd ones out who were looking into traveling these less common paths. I am sure she is doing fantastic now. Unfortunately, I have lost touch with her but she did get her Masters in Journalism btw from Ireland!! I got my MFA In Production Design from California, USA so yeah we both actually pursued what we had decided in school. Rather than talking specifically about any management skills, I am focusing on the basics of life. This Poem emphasizes on what we go through in life. There are several paths or majorly two paths ahead of us and we need to follow or choose one. Whichever one we choose will impact the rest of our lives. The last two lines of the poem are my favorite – “I took the one less traveled by , And that has made all the difference.” It beautifully embraces the fact that the poet was happy with his choice and confidently took the road which was less traveled. The poem can mean / be viewed differently by everyone. But for me, it means that we should go after what we want, we shouldn’t be making our choices by getting influenced from people around us and their choices. i.e. Not following the herd mentality, deconstructing it and following your heart which leads us to the path which we are destined to follow and avoids unnecessary detours. In some cases, we are meant to go through the detours to learn, grow and be better prepared for what’s destined for us at the right time. We shouldn’t try to fit into the crowd, instead embrace our uniqueness and stand out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rupaliingle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fdrupali

Image Credits
Art Directors Guild, Paramount Plus ‘Star Trek Picard : The Final Season’ and Fox – ‘911’ season Six.