Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1043753
7 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 or more. A lot of the exterior street sequences required were possible and looked appropriate with a minimal amount of redesign because there just hasn't been an influx of business dollars to do architectural upgrades; there were very few modern structures to modify extensively or hide. This, and the fact that there is a wealth of great period dressing elements to be had at reasonable prices at the many local flea markets, estate sales and antique stores, made the task of recreating the period much more manageable. One of the first things I remember David Fincher saying about the look of the series was that he did not want it to look like other films or series set in this same period where the style of the time is pushed so far that it becomes exaggeratedly over the top and starts to seem camp. The focus would be on the more mundane and ordinary look of American life in the late 1970s. I knew a lot of the characters were from the lower social strata, so there were few places for high style or the cutting- edge fashion of the time. One big influence on the design was photographs from the time by people like Stephen Shore, particularly for our many on- the-road scenes in motel rooms. Since the majority of the story is centered on the FBI training facility at Quantico, VA, I was fortunate to be able to get a tour of the actual Quantico facility as it exists today. The Art Department had done extensive research into what it had originally been like, so I had a pretty good idea of what we needed to replicate. The production was given great support from the FBI itself, both because we were telling their story as faithfully as possible, and because John Douglas, who wrote the book, is still very well respected at the Bureau. The first big challenge was finding a place to recreate the look and feel of the Quantico training campus exterior at a location in or near Pittsburgh. There were several large closed-down industrial business parks that were considered, but in the end, the production was very fortunate to A. A STREET DRESSED IN THE NEARBY TOWN OF KITTANNING TO REPRESENT ALTOONA, PA, IN 1979. PHOTO BY NIKOLAI LOVEIKIS. B. POLICE STATION IN BRADDOCK, PA, DRESSED AS THE EXTERIOR OF THE SANTA CRUZ POLICE DEPARTMENT. SET PHOTO. C. EXTERIOR DAIRY QUEEN. SET PHOTO. D. ROADSIDE DINER. PHOTO BY NIKOLAI LOVEIKIS E. EXTERIOR OF THE QUANTICO ADMINISTRATION BUILDING. A B C D