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“I wanted to contribute something that would change this up”; production designer Emma Koh on her career path to Oscar-nominated “Red, White and Blue”
20 May 2024
Production designer Emma Koh has spent the last decade utilising her diverse skills to create spaces for filmmakers to express their stories, consistently finding ways to showcase authentic worlds that feel lived-in from every angle. These partnerships have made her a sought-after creative, able to transition seamlessly from Asian-centric stories like Spa Night to light-hearted Korean-American XO Kitty and her most recent project, Nazrin Choudhury’s Oscar-nominated short film, Red, White and Blue, the story of a single parent who crosses state lines to get an abortion.
Koh says “a lot of things” led to her pursuit of a career in film and TV. “I was one of those kids every Friday who would go to movie theaters by herself and use her allowance money to watch movies... I just lost myself in the world of film,” she says.
With an undergrad background in fine arts and sculpture at Cornell University, she took a summer photography course at USC “and quickly realised I did not enjoy it... I was like, oh my God, there are so many cables and it was just a lot of physical work. And so I was like, maybe this isn’t for me.”
Her finals project for the programme was a short silent film. “We had a budget of US$100... I was able to fabricate and create an underground Iranian bar speakeasy situation with super dim lighting, lots of fabrics, lots of colors and lots of layering,” she says. The film won an award in the programme. “After that experience, I was like, this whole process was really enjoyable...”
Post-college she was asked to art PA for indie feature, General Education, And that was how – with a short deviation into parent-pleasing pre-med studies – it all started for her.
“At a certain point, I told my parents, I think I’m gonna go on to film and continue my art degree. That was a super huge letdown for them, but I think they’re happy now,” she says.
The Oscar nomination helped. “My dad is so funny. He was just like, ‘I mean, I’m really happy for you. But what does this mean? Do you get paid if you win the Oscar? Do you get money?’ And I was like, ‘No’. Then he made this joke about how he wants to melt down the award if I get one.”
Koh’s first film as an art director was Andrew Ahn’s debut feature, Spa Night, which she talks...
Production designer Emma Koh has spent the last decade utilising her diverse skills to create spaces for filmmakers to express their stories, consistently finding ways to showcase authentic worlds that feel lived-in from every angle. These partnerships have made her a sought-after creative, able to transition seamlessly from Asian-centric stories like Spa Night to light-hearted Korean-American XO Kitty and her most recent project, Nazrin Choudhury’s Oscar-nominated short film, Red, White and Blue, the story of a single parent who crosses state lines to get an abortion.
Koh says “a lot of things” led to her pursuit of a career in film and TV. “I was one of those kids every Friday who would go to movie theaters by herself and use her allowance money to watch movies... I just lost myself in the world of film,” she says.
With an undergrad background in fine arts and sculpture at Cornell University, she took a summer photography course at USC “and quickly realised I did not enjoy it... I was like, oh my God, there are so many cables and it was just a lot of physical work. And so I was like, maybe this isn’t for me.”
Her finals project for the programme was a short silent film. “We had a budget of US$100... I was able to fabricate and create an underground Iranian bar speakeasy situation with super dim lighting, lots of fabrics, lots of colors and lots of layering,” she says. The film won an award in the programme. “After that experience, I was like, this whole process was really enjoyable...”
Post-college she was asked to art PA for indie feature, General Education, And that was how – with a short deviation into parent-pleasing pre-med studies – it all started for her.
“At a certain point, I told my parents, I think I’m gonna go on to film and continue my art degree. That was a super huge letdown for them, but I think they’re happy now,” she says.
The Oscar nomination helped. “My dad is so funny. He was just like, ‘I mean, I’m really happy for you. But what does this mean? Do you get paid if you win the Oscar? Do you get money?’ And I was like, ‘No’. Then he made this joke about how he wants to melt down the award if I get one.”
Koh’s first film as an art director was Andrew Ahn’s debut feature, Spa Night, which she talks about today as “still probably my favourite film that I’ve ever worked on, not just story wise, but also work experience. [Andrew] was super humble, super patient, super kind and super communicative”.
Justin Chon’s Jamojaya, shot in Hawaii, followed before Koh shifted to TV series with XO Kitty.
“Kitty was a beast. Don’t let the name fool you,” Koh laughs. The series was her first experience working in Korea with a Korean crew and different rules, processes and habits.
For example, turning the yellow/brown grass of a Korean winter into the green grass of spring without VFX, “which would have cost too much”. In the U.S., she says, the process of painting grass is “super easy and FDA regulated”. In Korea, not so much, but she nevertheless managed to secure necessary permits. “My Korean crew was just completely flabbergasted... It was like a whole new world,” she says.
As Kitty wrapped in Korea, Roe v Wade was overturned in the U.S. “I just remember feeling so defeated and crushed. I told myself, or maybe the universe, that I wanted to contribute something that will help change this up, but I didn’t know how. I even said, I could work on a film that was about this.”
A few months later, friend and mentor, Lay Lee (Insecure, Euphoria) sent her Red, White and Blue. Koh cried for 20 minutes after reading the script and says everyone associated with the project “truly brought their heart to the film. Everyone was reminded daily what they were doing this for.... They worked their butts off because they understood the gravity and the meaning of this film.”
ContentAsia is collaborating with the Asian A.V Club on a series of interviews with Asian filmmakers and talent in Hollywood. Edited excerpts are available in ContentAsia. The full interviews are in the Asian A.V. Club newsletter. ▶ Click here to read and subscribe
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