Making Movie-Set Magic
It’s likely that more people have seen the buildings Justin O’Neal Miller, Arch 05, helped design than have witnessed the work of the world’s top architects. The major difference, however, is that his constructions aren’t exactly real.
Miller has served as a set designer and art director for several major film and TV productions, including The Walking Dead, 42 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2 — all of which were at least partly filmed in Georgia.
After graduating from Tech, Miller found work at a couple leading architecture firms but got laid off during the 2009 economic downturn. Looking for a job, he used his contacts to land a gig as a neophyte set designer on Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, the third title in Martin Lawrence’s comedy trilogy.
“It might not have been the artistic project I had always hoped for,” Miller says, “but it was a good place to start. I’m lucky to have known the right people to get my foot in the door.”