Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1043753
A double-sided walls was to fly them straight up in tracks on chain motors. Another challenge was coming up with all the various prisons that are needed for the series. There were two prisons in Pennsylvania not too far from the city. One, which was closed down, doubled for California and Oregon. The second, which was used for the prison in Virginia, was still a functioning facility, so only the exterior could be used. A third shuttered prison located in nearby West Virginia was used to represent the Stateville Prison in Illinois. To get the scale and look needed, these locations were used whenever possible, but since there were long scenes in a few of the prison interview sequences, several of the interview rooms were built on stage to give the directors and shooting crew more flexibility. With the exception of one car crash, the show is long on dialog and does not have very much action. No car chases, explosions or big shootouts. It's mostly guys sitting in rooms talking. So without some really compelling dialog and great acting, it could be like watching the proverbial paint dry. Because there were so many interview room sets, I was constantly trying to come up with fresh new ideas for what these spaces should look like, making them different and still remaining faithful to the period, locale and character required by the script. Each one of these interview spaces became a little world unto itself with very careful decisions made about the shape of the space itself, the texture, color, feel and the specific furniture and lighting inside it. The car crash I mentioned above was something of a departure from the rest of the show. David Fincher is known for his attention to detail, his penchant for many takes and basically having the ability to be in complete control of things both in front of and behind the camera. He is also a genius with everything tech related—so in this particular situation, the cars were digital models and the crash sequence is mostly done with digital effects. The crash was extensively previsualized, where it was determined exactly what damage would happen to both cars. The two hero cars were damaged to match the previs crash, and set up at the crash location in post-crash positions. C B D