Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1241865
T H E P L O T A G A I N S T A M E R I C A | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 7 A Change of Plans In ebruary 2019 I had been working six months on a series at ew ersey's Meadlowlands Arena. I was ready to head back home to my family and the temperate climate of Los Angeles when Art Director Randall Richards told me he had a project lined up with roduction Designer ichard oover. A six- part series for , David imon's adaptation of Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America, was I interested? Thrilled was more like it, this was the kind of proect I'd been longing to do. upervising Art Director ordan acobs followed up to discuss the proect, and we set a start date two weeks away. My return to os Angeles would have to wait. I read oth's award-winning novel back in 200 and was captivated by this fictitious autobiographical memoir of a frightening, alternative American history. It's 190, and the nation takes a dark turn when famed aviator harles indbergh defeats ranklin oosevelt, running for a third presidential term. indbergh uickly introduces isolationist, fascist and anti- emitic policies into mainstream America. The two-year timeline follows these events through the experiences of the oth family, middle-class ewish-Americans living in the Weeuahic section of ewark, ew ersey whose faith and culture put them on the wrong side of the new administration. Gearing Up In any period piece, the graphics play an important role in establishing the environment and helping to tell the story. I oined the Art Department ust eight weeks from shooting, less than ideal for such a large undertaking. onsiderable research into the graphics of the period, and the specifics of the Weeuahic neighborhood had already been done. nce I came on board, I had some Weeuahic high school yearbooks located. I've learned from previous shows that they're a goldmine for finding a community's local businesses and graphics. The six-part series would be block shot like 2 three-hour movies. The first half directed by Minkie piro, the second by Thomas chlamme. There was a shooting schedule, but I was warned not to take it literally. ver the course of preproduction, right up until filming commenced on April 10 that proved true, the schedule remained up in the air and multiple sets had to be planned for at once. The interior of the evin home would be the only major set built on stage at Silver Cup East tudios in ong Island ity. oncept discussions about its design were ongoing, as was the hunt for the home's exterior location. ilming would begin without a cover set. Any large project can seem overwhelming unless one compartmentalies, with The Plot Against America, this was especially true. I knew it would be a big show lasting eight months, but not the most challenging I'd ever done. The initial graphics department of three seemed fine at the start, but I quickly realized it was well short of what was reuired to deal with the high volume of work. As the start date approached, the breadth and variety of graphics needed for most sets made it clear I would have to add more artists. ltimately, a core graphics department of five artists enabled us to manage the load, with others hired as needed. y the end of production, fifteen Graphic Artists had contributed to the series. YOUNG BESS AND EVELYN FINKEL IN FRONT OF THEIR FATHER'S NEWARK GROCERY STORE, 1910. A. VINTAGE PHOTO FROM THE ONTARIO JEWISH ARCHIVE. B. FINISHED COMPOSITE. C. STUDIO SHOOT WITH ACTORS. PHOTO BY MICHELE K. SHORT. THE PHOTO WAS BASED ON SHOWRUNNER DAVID SIMON'S OWN FAMILY PHOTO OF HIS FATHER AS A BOY. C