Mojo Wen’s Ravishing Production Design on 'Skin' Helps Bring Woman’s “Transition” to Life

Production Designer Mojo Wen describes the award-winning short film, Skin, which has no dialog, as a visual transformation of a girl peeling off her skin and becoming a man. Wen offers, “Production design establishes the tone, texture, and emotional resonance of a film, especially in experimental works where conventional narrative structures are often deconstructed.”

Wen suggests that, on the surface, Skin’s subject matter appears to align with the current trend in entertainment that highlights themes of "transition" or "transformation." She explains, “This trend reflects a broader societal interest in exploring topics like identity, change, and self-discovery. However, Skin distinguishes itself by taking an experimental approach to these themes, going beyond a conventional narrative. The film uses abstract and artistic visual storytelling to delve into the complexities of transition, not just as a physical or social process but as an emotional and existential experience.”

Indeed, Skin, which was officially selected for nearly 50 film festivals, also earned a SAA 2023 Gold Medal, Alternative Category—an award established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in 1972. Directed by Leo Behrens, Skin stars “trans” actor Lio Mehiel who won a Sundance award in 2023.

Skin uses visual symbolism to depict a woman's transformation into a man, and through the help of the “iceman” character, her inner manifestation, she sheds her old skin and embraces her true identity.

Creating the ice cave on a limited budget

Wen designed two spaces, one an aged-looking bedroom where the woman character sleeps. The other, an ice cave where her “inner self” rests, almost like in a cryogenic sleep. So, there’s a separate room for each character, and the two rooms are connected by a mirror, whose function constantly changes.

Wen notes that there is a professional way of building a cave set but it would’ve been too expensive and time-consuming—in her role as PD, she had to innovate her own workflow to make it happen within their limited budget.

“I researched and tested many different materials to make the fake snow cave look real. In the film industry or professional world, they carve forms, but I used wax. In the end, my team and I creatively used 5 materials to imitate different stages of ice and snow. I used those materials to create regular clear ice, melting ice, smoky old ice, icicles, and accumulated snow. I know, right?!”

She adds that in the film, the melting ice-world expresses the wake of the inner world, while the peeling wallpaper of the real-world recalls the skin being peeled off: “I’m happy to see that the true self which has been ice-sealed for a long time, finally helps the real-world self, that’s been affected by society and culture, to reveal who (the true) self is under the skin.”

Inspired hard work, not smoke and mirrors

Wen’s responsibilities as PD included: developing the visual concept, doing materials research, creating a unique method to reach the goal, implementing set design, instructing and leading the build of the set, and coordinating the whole art crew that involved a team of over 20 people:

“I designed the set based on my understanding of the story, did a lot of research and testing, and created a special way to achieve the look. In this project, 80 percent was handmade, including all the walls, a transparent coffin, and a clear icy-looking window. Funny thing is that a lot of people thought Skin was shot with green screen, that the ice-cave background was all visual effects. But it’s actually all on a soundstage. I built the space with lumber, screws, wires and other materials that I used creatively. In fact, one film festival gave Skin a visual effect award, even though we only used two simple VFX shots.”

Check out Mojo Wen on IMDb, and on Instagram.