Someone has to build those futuristic sci-fi weapons, intricate electronic gizmos, and elaborate out-of-this-world sets found in Hollywood blockbusters. Pecan Johnson turned that into her career as a set and scenic designer.

Her resume includes props for Ghostbusters 3, The Equalizer, and Patriot’s Day, and work for theatre companies in the area. On March 16, she visited Dartmouth High media classes to talk about her career.

Johnson was introduced to art by her mother. It’s that connection that put Johnson on her career path, especially painting. Her presentation included photos and videos of set pieces, including for Ghostbusters 3, which she named as her favorite project.

“It was just the most fantastical and fun,” Johnson said. “To just be able to work on props knowing the actors would handle them, knowing they were going to be front and center and that they were just whimsical.”

A lot of film props are not as they seem in the movies. Fake bricks are made from wood, concrete, and paint to appear brick-like. Real marble is expensive, so wallpaper made to look like marble is used instead.

When she’s not building props for blockbuster films, Johnson dabbles in painting sets for a multitude of theater groups. She’s worked with the American Repertory Theatre and a number of local groups.

Her profession is not all fun and games. Kindness and working together is necessary to advance through the ranks. Working with people from a variety of backgrounds can be challenging.

“I think the hardest part is learning the dynamics of working with a variety of people and their experience,” Johnson said. “There’s always many different ways to paint something and you all have to kind of agree and that’s the biggest challenge.”

Johnson was just one of several speakers in Robert Perotti’s DHSTV class. Last year, students met with people in various areas of the film and TV industry. This year, speakers have been more spread out.

“If you’re interested to this type of career then understand it’s related to what we do in here,” Perotti said.

Johnson advised students to make plenty of art and be humble if they want a career in the set design field. “You’ve got to be nice and take pictures of everything for your portfolio even if you don’t think it’s important,” Johnson said.

Johnson just recently finished working on set pieces for a Netflix Original called “Castle Rock”, which was produced by J.J. Abrams and is from the mind of Stephen King.