Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1109293
T R I P L E F R O N T I E R | P E R S P E C T I V E 6 7 The house itself was empty when it was found and in transition from one owner to the next. This turned out to be a perfect blank canvas to craft, paint and dress an imagined world of nearly eight decades of slow and steady decay. The layers of dressing presented opportunities to show echoes of historic wealth juxtaposed against modern-day amenities. The first step in this transformation was to paint the canvas. Over the course of two productions and approximately twelve months, lead scenics Mike Mikita Jr. and James Passanante worked tirelessly with their crew painting every square inch of this house inside and out. Supervising Art Director Peter Borck managed all the complexities and kept a careful and detailed eye on the developing look. Despite the expansive size of this mansion, the Art Department was challenged with one particular room that did not exist. Working with the concept that the house is the safe, it became clear early on in the process that Lorea's office would need to be a built set on stage in order to handle the multiple takes necessary to tell the story of discovering the money hidden in the walls. In a small warehouse on the Kaneohe side of Oahu, one room with four wild walls was built, with three copies of each wall to accommodate multiple takes. Built on casters, each wall had back panels that could be removed to fill the cavity between the studs with stacked cash two layers deep from floor to ceiling. Construction coordinator Dale DeStefani and plaster foreman Glen Hoofman worked together testing different sample panels until they were able to achieve the right plaster mixture combined with enough lathe scoring to provide the actors a breakable density that would not cause injury. To dress the final layers, set decorator Jay Hart shopped in both Colombia and LA to find all the necessary details that would bring this concept to life. As part of Lorea's character, J.C. loved the idea that he was an art collector and dealt in the black market trade of rare and stolen paintings. In addition to the cash squirreled away in the wall recesses of his house, Lorea would also be in possession of works by Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, Da Vinci and many more world-famous painters. Believed to be the most expensive, unrecovered piece of art ever stolen, Vermeer's The Concert was recreated as a key prop Redfly would take moments before he burns the house. Working with buyer Mick Cummings in LA and a local buyer in Bogotá, Jay and I provided a well-researched list of art, furniture and other details that would eventually help give an authentic, layered look to the overall setting. D C THE HOUSE IS THE SAFE A. DRESSED INTERIOR OF LOREA'S LIVING ROOM. SET PHOTO BY GREG BERRY. B. INTERIOR OF LOREA'S OFFICE MONEY ROOM. SKETCHUP MODEL, ILLUSTRATED OVER IN PHOTOSHOP BY MAREK OKON. C. VERMEER'S THE CONCERT. D. INTERIOR LOREA DINING ROOM. ILLUSTRATED IN PHOTOSHOP BY MAREK OKON.