Before the actor enters, the world has already begun to speak.
Production design turns narrative into place: architecture, proportion, color, texture and the invisible logic that makes a frame believable.
“There are deeper strata of truth in cinema, and there is such a thing as poetic, ecstatic truth. It is mysterious and elusive, and can be reached only through fabrication and imagination and stylization.”
“Telling a story realistically is such a slowpoke and ponderous way to proceed, and it doesn’t fulfill the psychic needs that people have. We sense that there’s more to life and to the universe than realism can possibly deal with.”
Production archive / on setTwo production design credits were listed in progress on IMDb when this filmography was reviewed in August 2026.
Post-productionThe Underneath:
Selected reel
Drag the lens. Move between drawing logic and finished atmosphere.
StructureAtmosphereInteractive treatment of a portfolio image.
Production design, art department, art direction, set decoration, production, thanks and on-camera work. Titles and roles checked against IMDb on August 27, 2026.
Open full IMDb profileAdditional work reproduced from Ermanno’s official portfolio.
19 images from Ermanno’s portfolio: on set, in process and inside constructed worlds.
Each link opens the original IMDb media record. The images are referenced rather than copied so their original source and rights context remain intact.
Born and raised in Italy, Ermanno was drawn early to conceptual design, performance and fantasy environments with a surreal edge.
Dadaism and Marcel Duchamp’s readymade logic became points of departure, joined by an interest in modern art, nature, archaeology, architecture and mechanisms.
After a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Rome, he attended classes at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and the Art Institute of San Francisco.
His early path included a consumer packaging research think tank for IBM and design work for Amdahl Corporation’s telecommunications division.
Freelance work began across theatres, galleries and museums in Europe and the United States, with early clients including the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Ballet, Life on the Water Theatre and Archangels Video and Films Productions.
After relocating to Los Angeles in 1998, his practice expanded through scenic concepts, illustration, graphics, set decoration, props, custom art, miniatures and interiors.
Feature films, television, music videos, commercials and independent projects followed. Commercial collaborations include work with the Hughes Brothers, Roman Coppola, Jim Sonzero, Richard Davies, Steve Ramser and Sean Thonson.
Productions have taken him across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Italy, France, Germany and Romania.
“Original spaces and proportions not yet explored.”Biography source · IMDb
End credits / begin the next world
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