Rowena has worked in the creative industries for 22 years, 8 of those in film and tv, she started out in immersive theatre which lead into Production designing short films, one of Which she won Best Production design at the London Kino Short Film Festival 2021.
Alongside owning very practical skills, Rowena has a keen eye for detail and good understanding of building up complex character sets. She likes her sets to be visceral and sensitive to the story, adding layers of history and personality to the characters worlds in order to support the actors and give the audience an intimate knowledge of them; she enjoys the idea that it is possible to feel her sets through the screen.
Rowena is able to convey clear set design ideas through a mix of mood boards, good presentation packs and referencing, along with collating physical sample packs for whatever is required. Rowena really enjoys the research and preparation phases of projects.
To back up her creative skills, Rowena completed the FDI certificate in draughting for Film and TV at Pinewood Studios in 2018. She is competent in Photoshop and excel and is a member of the British Film Design Guild.
Rowena works regularly on larger budget productions as a Production Buyer, she has a good understanding of budgeting alongside a good relationship with the leading prop houses and private suppliers.
Having worked her way up through the art dept gaining experience in different roles, eg, dressing props, petty cash buying, production buying and set decorating, along with early stabs at art direction and production design on low budget feature films, she has a grounded understanding of how the art dept department functions. Rowena is a team player who always delivers on time and budget.
TESTIMONIALS
Carolyn Saunders, Writer Director, On Island West
I feel like I hit the jackpot when Rowena came on board as Production Designer for my short film On Island West. She was professional, visionary and highly competent managing both her budget and her department. But she was more than just those words: Being a Challenge Alexa winner, our huge ambition far outweighed our budget. But Rowena was undaunted. Her creativity extended beyond her imagination to practical ways to realize all the gorgeous ideas she had for the film’s look. She did not let budget stunt our vision, but dreamed big, and then found ways to make it happen.
She made the most of our limited prep time, creating mood boards that not only lined up with my vision, but that were both stunning and achievable - and then set out to bring them to life. She tirelessly managed a team that was small but mighty, transforming our locations into evocative sets. She was able to source items that helped sell the dystopian world of the film, and she came up with incredibly clever ideas to achieve many of our FX in camera, saving us time and money in post. I look forward to working with Rowena again, and recommend her highly.
Victoria Thorson, Producer, On Island West
I had the pleasure of working with Rowena on the short film On Island West which was shot this spring on location in Cornwall. Rowena is one of the most resourceful and inventive Production Designers I have ever worked with. That in combination with her wonderful energy, her great taste and wonderful craftmanship really makes her stand out in her field. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a Production Designer and definitely hope to work together with her in the future on other projects.
Mary Farbrother, Director of Photography
I have worked with Rowena Zoro on several films now including a Feature lenth film 'The Tape'. Working with Rowena was such a positive experience right from the first meeting. Detail is so crucial to drama, detail and a consistency of approach throughout is key to creating a perfect ‘mine en scene’. Rowena achieves this in the most efficient and creative way, giving me choice and allowing great breadth and freedom in framing. Her creative choices were at once visually stimulating and sympathetic to character which gave the end film a truly collaborative cohesion. I am really excited to work with her again.
Annabell Vine, Writer, Director, Producer, Wax films
"Rowena Zoro was the production designer on my short film Granbad. She was such a find. Our recce were constructive and her prep was thorough. She produced rip sheets, mood boards on photoshop and also very skilled at sketches to help me visualise her thoughts. She has a precise attention to detail and understands how important finding a colour pallet is. On set she is very attentive working with the art director to really create the most of every set up. There was one scene that was particuarly tricky involving graffiti. She did tons of research on how to achieve the results we needed with out damage to property. She knew what to do if we needed a retake. Which we did, and when things got tricky she kept her cool. I highly reccomend Rowena. She brought so much authenticity and flair to the project and was a delight to work with every step of the way.
David Sterne, Actor
" I worked with Rowena on the short film Granbad.
her subtle attention to detail was inspiring, she has the gift of subtly placing and combining objects. Overall her sets were as much of the story as the actors.
she is a class act herself ".
Jason Squibb, Artistic Director for Collective Arts Ltd.
'Both of Rowena Zoro's WW1 exhibition's for The Trench at Levant and Bodmin were first rate, well-thought out and designed with the utmost attention to detail. Audience's found them fascinating, poignant and well-conceived.
'Great budget management and always clear and concise accounting.''
Maria Macewen, Pop Penzance CIC
"Rowena has worked with Pop Up Penzance CIC on three Christmas projects. Her artistic work is outstanding and her attention to detail exquisite.
We have loved everything she has brought to our community art projects and so have our audiences. We feel we have been very lucky that Rowena
has engaged with us and hope to work together again soon".