Spotlight on Local Talent:
Lynn Malmberg
By Jeska Lapin
A 10-year-old Lynn would revel in how far she would go in her career and talents. After all, it was the 1977 documentary, The Making of Star Wars, that prompted a young Lynn to proclaim, “I want to make the ships and planets!” That initial love for these creations led to her path in film as a Scenic Painter and Art Director and is something that Lynn channels on her sets still today.
Her favorite part of Art Direction? The initial intuitive feeling of how something should look; to find the one, specific thing– then to build around that to create a story. Lynn has the unique capability of anticipating the unforeseen disasters, having a strong creative intuition while applying a high-level of care and involvement. When others say, “it can’t be done,” Lynn sets the stakes even higher to prove that it most certainly can.
Starting out as a Scenic Painter and Muralist in the early 90s, Lynn went to Sac State, majoring in Painting and Fine Art, before moving to L.A. and landing her first professional job as a Scenic Painter with MTV. Lynn’s experience grew working in the Art Department with Disney, Universal, and TNT. With Sacramento developing a busy film market of its own, Lynn decided to base herself out of Northern California. Today, she uses her expertise in support of filmmakers visiting the area, as well as the many talented professionals based here in Sacramento. In addition to Production Design, Lynn is a Partner at Iron Mountain Films with her husband, Mike, a Director of Photography, and brother, Rich, a Writer/Director.
Acknowledging many throughout her career, Lynn shines a light on her mom, Mary Ann, a talented Cartoon Illustrator, as being a pivotal influence, exposing her to the aesthetic lens. Lynn’s other accomplishments include producing, story development, and directing. Her talents in other capacities allow her a multifaceted perspective.
After 30+ years in the business, Lynn is still an adrenaline junkie, excited by each new design challenge. The Sacramento film community has become her friends and film family. “Sacramento film crews are an amazing and special group of people that the world needs to know.” She also emphasizes that this is a perfect and versatile location spot for filming with everything from mountains, rivers and countrysides, to cityscapes.
What keeps her humble and ready for the next challenge is her gratitude for what she does and how far she’s come. “It can’t be done,” is Lynn Malmberg’s favorite thing to prove wrong. And she does it with incredible style and grace.
Lynn can be found in our Support Services database with Iron Mountain Films under Video Production Houses.
