Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1124104
sheep and a magical collection of washed up detritus from previous episodes surrounding a house hollowed out of a giant tree. And of course, a tropical island on a stage is a bit of a head scratcher. Of the three elements to avoid in shooting—kids, animals and water—the production managed, with one exception, to avoid water. Thankfully, the very talented visual effects department kept us dry with digital water and the awesome camera department bathed the episode continuously in the warmth of tropical light. Ultimately, this twenty-five episode endeavor was one of those rare projects in which everyone involved marched to the same drumbeat, and, though thoroughly exhausting, pushed us all to make something which exceeded all of our expectations. I love it when that happens! And I can't wait to do it again! Don MacAulay, Supervising Art Director There are many reasons that A Series of Unfortunate Events was almost entirely shot on stage. The show had a very stylized aesthetic that was more easily controlled on stage than on location, day and night could be controlled to help with the kids' restricted shooting hours, and producer/director Barry Sonnenfeld REALLY likes shooting on stage. Barry and Bo Welch have worked together on many projects together so they had a shorthand and trust going into A Series of Unfortunate Events. They had very specific ideas regarding the stylized look of the show, the timeless quality they were after and the restricted palette. Bo knew Barry's shooting style very well, and Barry was there from the very beginning as the look of the show was developed. The initial plan was to shoot the series on four stages (about 80,000-sf total), shooting one book (two episodes) on two stages while building and prepping the next book on the other two stages and using some location work as relief to help the turnaround on stage. It was quickly realized this was not sustainable. The series, being an anthology with only two small recurring sets, required from-scratch builds for every book, and the scope of the scenery quickly become much more than the four stages could accommodate. This was compounded by a decision after season one not to go out on location at all anymore. A B C D