Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1043753
B E A U T I F U L B O Y | P E R S P E C T I V E 4 9 views of each egress. I used redwoods, pine and maple, teals and burnt reds, stained glass, broken tile collages, and told the story of time's passage with family art projects that would start on a piece of paper and continue up the wall beside them. Painted abstracts were on the tree trunks outside, further embracing the house's lack of boundaries. Where on some films, directors of photography and designers are forced to mask windows with sheers and blinds, we chose to celebrate the outside, employing dramatic trees with forced perspective and translights of the actual landscape. This served a dual purpose: to capture the families' free spirit, and to dramatically contrast with the film's second half. Here, Nic journeys through rehabs, hotel rooms, crash pads and then the streets. Those interiors needed to feel like he'd fallen into a totally different movie. I felt the sobriety clinics needed to tell their own micro-story. The first clinic needed to feel expensive, but temporary: "Nic doesn't have a problem, he just needs rest." When it fails, the second needed to feel ultra-glossy, with whistles and bells more like a hotel: "OK, Nic has a problem, but we can fix this, with the best rehab that money can buy." By the third clinic, the rooms become cheaper, with frayed edges and faded palettes, temporary solutions employed with less confidence: "This is going to take a long, long time…we don't understand this…what happened to our son?" Art Director Patrick Sullivan and decorator Jennifer Lukehart made careful choices with colors and materials. Those that appeared in the home were avoided outside it and vice versa. Locations were chosen with progressively smaller and smaller interiors, fewer and fewer windows. Like all the Sheffs, Jasper, Nic's younger brother, is enormously creative. We invited him to imitate the drawings and writings of Nic's journals, which featured heavily in his room. Likewise, Nic's bedroom has a warmer, bruised color that differs D. SHEFF HOUSE SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY. MODEL RENDERING BY ETHAN TOBMAN. E. SHEFF HOUSE SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY. SET PHOTO. F. NIC'S BEDROOM. THIS ROOM IS DARKER THAN THE PALETTE OF THE REST OF THE HOUSE. I STARTED WITH WARM COLORS AND THEN BRUISED THEM WITH OPPOSING SHADES. THE CEILING IS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN THE OTHER ROOMS, A VESTIGE OF A PAST RENOVATION AUGMENTING HIS FEELING OF SOLITUDE, CONFINEMENT. PRODUCTION PHOTO. G. SHEFF HOUSE SECOND FLOOR HALLWAY. SET PHOTO. Amazon Studios D E F G