Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124104
The centerpiece of the story, the interior of the Shorter Way Bridge in Vic's mind, would require some serious visual effects—creating bats, static and rushing water below. The bridge appears for Vic; but isn't visible to others who don't have her creative imagination. The entrance was always in one location, the exit is always a different place. The interior of the bridge needed enough length, 130-feet, to support her dirt bike rides. The exterior pieces had to match, but be backed by a black box, then a greenscreen box so the bike rider could get up enough speed to enter and exit flying, and the far side could be added in post production. Lumber was immediately ordered to make sure there would be to enough to make the fourteen sections of framing and exterior boards, design and construction were started right away. Aging was done with blow torches and axes before it was put together. SketchUp flythroughs were designed to make sure it was the right size, width, height and length. The bridge, appearing in almost all the episodes, had to be designed before the director and director of photography arrived. The entire structure was on a platform and lit from all sides. It just fit into the height of the stage: eighteen feet. The location of the bridge was crucial and proved to be the harder problem to solve. A foundation would have to be built to support it and remain when the bridge disappeared. An old pier from the original structure remained for the times when the bridge was not there. The bridge had to cross a body of water wide enough to justify the length of the set piece, which on the exterior would be completed with computer graphics. I found a spot in a public park on a lake. It had an embankment in one section of stepped rocks, which couldn't be seen from a flat-on camera angle, making it look as though it went directly into the water. A runoff of twenty-five feet beyond the 12-foot entrance was needed, and this provided the perfect place to do it; but everyone had to be on board to make the final choice. I divided up the locations described in the script and started pulling together as much research as possible. I took plenty of photos of the houses looked at during scouting to immerse myself in B C A. THE BRIDGE AS SHOT ON LOCATION. SET PHOTO. B.135-FOOT BRIDGE INTERIOR ON STAGE. THE BRIDGE SITS 3' ABOVE THE STAGE DECK FOR GREEN SCREEN, AND THERE ARE WINDOWS ON THE SIDES TO OPEN UP FOR MORE LIGHT. IT WAS AXED, BURNED, PAINTED AND COVERED WITH MOSS FOR THE RIGHT LOOK. SET PHOTO. C. VIC'S ROOM COLLAGE. CHARACTER COLLAGES DEFINE THE LOOK OF ARCHITECTURE, COLORS AND DECORATION. D. THE BRIDGE SKETCH. VIC'S VERSION OF THE BRIDGE AS DRAWN BY THE PRODUCTION DESIGNER. ARTWORK AND PHOTOS BY ANDREW JACKNESS A D