Five Rooms

Well, that was an interesting year. But do not fear, this is not so much a review of 2020, as a look back at the first season of Five Rooms, listening to excerpts from conversations with each of the 10 guests featured in the first series. If you are new to the show, each guest is given 5 rooms to create an imaginary exhibition that tells their story. As guest curators, they have the chance to fill each room with the stories of their lives, the essential tools of their trade and the influences which guided them along the way. For those of you who haven't listened before, I hope this episode gives you a flavour of what Five Rooms is all about, and maybe a little inspiration to check out some of the previous episodes.

Will Foulser is a CG Environment Generalist Supervisor. This may seem like a bit of a mouthful to those outside the visual effects industry, but fundamentally Will's work involves creating beautiful and believable environments for feature film and television at DNEG, one of the world's leading VFX and animation studios. Growing up in South London, Will drew inspiration from a wide range of TV and film, and particularly from his mother’s talents as an accomplished artist. Never settling on one format, he spent his youth experimenting with model-making, photography, film and sketching, enjoying a wide range of ways to express his creativity instincts. After studying Computer Animation at Bournemouth University Will established his career at DNEG working on night shoots to capturing camera data for Joe Cornish’s 2011 hit, ‘Attack the Block’. Since then, he has worked on a wide range of Hollywood blockbusters including ‘Interstellar’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Mission Impossible: Fallout’, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Les Misérables’. Most recently, he has been involved in Christopher Nolan’s 2020 espionage thriller ‘Tenet’. The film, starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, follows an unnamed CIA agent as he embarks on a dangerous time-bending mission to prevent the start of World War III. Beyond the world of film, Will was Environment Supervisor for ‘Chernobyl’, the five-part miniseries co-production from HBO and Sky that dramatises the events of one of the worst man-made catastrophes in history, vividly retelling the story of the sacrifices made to save Europe and its people from unimaginable disaster. The efforts by Will and the DNEG team were recognised at the 71st Creative Arts Emmy Awards with the award for ‘Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role’ for their work on the critically acclaimed series. DNEG’s TV VFX team delivered around 550 visual effects shots for the series that included creating the RBMK-type nuclear reactor building inside and out, developing complex destruction and smoke simulations, and researching and designing never-before-seen shots, including peering into the burning reactor core. Our conversation covers his formative years growing up in Dulwich, the often complicated relationship between Hollywood and the VFX industry, and resisting the temptation to express love to inspirational film makers.

Lauren McCormack is a makeup artist and hair stylist living in London. After a career in TV production, Lauren made the executive decision to retrain in a personal passion of hers to become a full time hair and make up artist. Filled with a replenished spirit, switching paths resulted in a successful career working across multiple disciplines to bring makeup and hair to models, broadcasters and brides. ​Starting her makeup career in fashion and beauty, Lauren has assisted leading artists for publications including US Vogue, Glamour, Twin and Porter magazine. Her own portfolio includes work for brands such as Ted Baker, Matches Fashion and LK Bennett. Outside of fashion and editorial work, Lauren provides hair and makeup styling for pundits and presenters across a variety of sports broadcasting, and in 2019 was part of the ITV Sport team that brought coverage of the memorable Rugby World Cup in Japan. Our discussion covers Lauren's work across broadcast, editorial and bridal hair and makeup, as well as what it is really like to powder the broken noses of rugby legends. LINKS Lauren McCormack Makeup - https://www.laurenmccormackmakeup.com Lauren McCormack Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/laurenmccormackmakeup Bridal Beauty by Lauren - bridalbeautybylauren.com New York Skyline Artist, Krikko Obbott - https://www.krikkoproductions.com

Pamia Coleman is an urban gardener and cooking instructor. She teaches simple and affordable plant-based cooking classes and urban gardening in communities across Philadelphia, PA. Her work is routed in educating people of all ages how to achieve a healthy lifestyle through eating well and being active. In 2016, Pamia Coleman and Latiyanna Tabb founded Black Girls with Green Thumbs. This not-for-profit organisation focuses on urban gardening and community engagement. Through Merkaba Wellness...

Damion Burrows is an architect and TV presenter. Over his career he has delivered a number of award winning new-build and refurbishment projects within the commercial and residential sectors. Drawing on his extensive industry knowledge and passion for architecture and design, Damion can be seen on TV presenting the architect’s perspective for property programmes, such as Grand Designs: House of the Year, How to Live Mortgage Free with Sarah Beeny and Your Home Made Perfect. He has also been...

Lauren Ray is a singer/songwriter. Lauren has firmly established herself as an independent artist. In 2016, Lauren released her debut album ‘We Will Need Courage’. Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, the album was released to critical acclaim. Following this release she has toured extensively across the UK and Europe, supporting artists such as Anastacia, Rebecca Ferguson and Paul Carrack. Alongside writing and recording her own creative projects, Lauren has written and collaborated with...

Jack Good is a video game artist based in London. Jack works in the games industry for Bossa Studios and has been involved with a number of highly successful video games, including the viral sensation Surgeon Simulator. We now live in an era where the video games industry is now bigger than both the movie and music industries combined. This huge landscape offers a wide range of different types of gaming for different people. So how do you differentiate your game in such a crowded market?...

Nazan Fikret is a soprano opera singer. Born in the UK to Turkish and Irish parents, she studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and her singing career has led to numerous critically acclaimed operatic performances all over the world, most recently as Blonde in The Seraglio for the English Touring Opera. As a coloratura soprano, she has the vocal dexterity to sing breathtakingly high notes. This agile vocal range has lead to performances such as the iconic Queen of the Night from...

Jonny Glover is an award winning illustrator and animator, currently working in London. Jonny’s illustration style is instantly recognisable and there is this strong sense of wit and movement throughout all of his work. Exaggerated and expressive composition is key, and more often or not, it’s his diverse characters and use of light hearted humour that make tricky subjects more accessible. Some of his clients include the NHS, The Guardian, The UN, The Barbican, The Financial Times and The...

Valia Gliati is an architect, currently working in London. Originally hailing from the chaotic city of Athens, she is a Project Director at Darling Associates Architects (www.darlingassociates.net), delivering exquisitely detailed homes and apartments. Before lockdown, Valia kindly hosted our conversation back in February 2020 at her beautiful home in Battersea, South London. As you might imagine from an architect's residence, it is an immaculate space; every aspect of her home is...

Juan Carlos Ortiz is a portrait photographer, currently based in Tokyo, Japan. Juan Carlos is originally from a small town up high on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, and he has found himself living and working all over the world, including in Italy, France, Belgium, Australia and the UK. His qualifications at the School of Design in Barcelona and Fashion and Design School in Milan led to his working on fashion shoots for Vogue Italia, Vogue Uomo and Grazia. His photography has a...

Hello and welcome to the Five Rooms podcast, where guests play curators of their own exhibition. Each guest has 5 different rooms to fill in order to create a retrospective show that tells their story. Each room is themed around a particular topic relating to the guest, including Early Life, Influences, Tools and Work. And, of course, no exhibition is complete without the Gift Shop, where each guest can choose a single item for every listener to take away with them. This series is intended...