Paris Is Always A Good Idea

Production Design

Jonathan Paul Green was Production Designer on Paris Is Always A Good Idea, starring Lacey Chabert and Scott Michael Foster and produced for the Hallmark Channel.

This was a fabulous project to work on, beginning with four weeks in Paris before moving to San Sebastián in northern Spain, where I spent almost four months with the production.

One of the principal design challenges was that the story moves between Paris, Ireland and Boston, but much of that world had to be created in and around San Sebastián. We therefore needed to find, adapt and dress both interiors and exteriors that could convincingly represent three very different places, each with its own architecture, atmosphere and visual identity.

Paris gave us the opportunity to establish the genuine character and texture of the city before we moved to Spain. That became an important visual reference when selecting and transforming our Spanish locations. Architecture, signage, street dressing, vehicles, interiors and carefully chosen details all played their part in extending the Parisian world beyond Paris itself.

At the same time, other Spanish locations had to become Ireland and Boston. The challenge was not simply finding attractive locations, but identifying the architectural details and sightlines that could support each country, then using production design and set decoration to complete the transformation and remove anything that immediately identified the real location.

The interiors were approached in much the same way. Each needed its own sense of place and character while remaining part of a coherent visual world for the film. Sets, practical locations, furniture, artwork, dressing and architectural details were used to help move the story convincingly between countries — even when, in reality, we might only have travelled a few miles.

I was incredibly fortunate to work with a superb Spanish Art Department throughout the production. Their local knowledge, craftsmanship and commitment were invaluable, particularly when we were asking locations in and around San Sebastián to become Paris one day, Ireland the next and Boston somewhere else entirely. It was a genuinely collaborative process, with the team embracing the constant transformations and helping find creative, practical solutions to each new design challenge.

Over almost four months in San Sebastián, we transformed a remarkable variety of Spanish locations, allowing us to bring the novel to life and create the illusion of a story travelling between Paris, Ireland and Boston.

It was one of those productions where the pleasure of the design came from making somewhere convincingly become somewhere else — sometimes transforming not just an interior, but the entire world outside its windows.

Explore more of Jonathan Paul Green's work as a UK Production Designer across film, HETV and television.