Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1241865
B I R D S O F P R E Y | P E R S P E C T I V E 4 3 I like to do different types of films. I had never attempted a comic book film before, so it was fresh territory. I have always thought of my default as minimalist and unlayered. I wish there was an award for the simplest amount of Art Direction that still served the story uniuely. This film would blow that up. The characters in it told me so. Committing: When deciding to do a film, many factors come into play. It's always nice to be considered, but to be fair to the film I ask myself Am I in sync with where the director wants to go? Am I right for the proect? an I find something uniue that supports the material and hopefully elevates it? an I explore something I have never done before in service of the story? Am I excited? I felt in each case the answer to Birds of Prey was an easy yes. athy an was a fiery new director, I loved the dark humor of her first film Dead Pigs, and she and Margot obbie, who would be producing and starring, were ready to create some arley chaos. I was here to play. arely do you get license to spill the contents of an unbalanced mind onto the screen through set design arley's head, not mine, but I did need to occupy it to get close to the source. I wanted to climb inside arley's head and snoop around, then ump out of her ear and run with what I had found. This was my fifth film with female directors, and this was a story about women who turned the tables on how male adversaries perceived them. This theme would play heavily in the design process. Where do you start? efore all the budgeting and building and engineering and scouting, the most important design task is at hand. What are we looking for? What are the ideas? All design usually comes from character. The Concept: Every film is hard work but the first few weeks are always the most difficult. What exactly are we going to do and how can it be different? What are the rules? More importantly, what are the rules to be broken? I find it best when there is a mantra of conicting yet sibling inuences to test ideas. A. FUNHOUSE. MODEL BY SET DESIGNER LUIS HOYOS.