Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1260764
Hello from Stumptown! Even though the fictional world of Stumptown is lifted from the pages of the graphic novel of the same name, in the Production Design world it is necessary that it have structural sustainability where the characters from these pages can come to life and interact. ason Richman, Stumptown's executive producer and show runner, provided clear notes on what should be designed for the stories of the first season. Greg Rucka, the creator of the graphic novel Stumptown with illustrators atthew Southworth and ustin Greenwood has said he learned that a T series and the graphic novels that inspired them are completely different things. Rucka says that one of the joys of television is that it allows the actors to give the viewers a better sense of the internal lives of their characters in ways a comic or graphic doesn't always have room for on the printed page. This is where my job as a Production Designer comes in, to work in conjunction and in unison with the writers, producers, cinematographers, actors, hair, makeup, construction, painters, greens keepers and many more to bring a script to life, in this case from a graphic novel, on the screen. I like to envision the life of whatever production I am brought into over several seasons. hat elements would be utilized to tell the stories and be built on and enhanced over several seasons In the case of Stumptown, there are five central characters in three interlocking areas of the city of Portland, Oregon. The personalities of each of these characters is reflected into the environment where they live and work. The Art Department needed to understand the characters in the comic books, the elements of their character lives, to build and decorate for them in an exaggerated glory that brings them to life. The lead character in Stumptown is Dex Parios wonderfully portrayed by Cobie Smulders, an Ira war vet who has come home with PTSD and a need for direction in her life. She arrives in Portland, to her childhood home, finding her parents have abandoned her younger autistic brother. So while not only dealing with her own foibles, she now must be his guardian and deal with his issues as well. The craftsman home dcor reflects her parents' taste and contrasts with her sensibility. In a comedic way, Dex looks out of place in her own home. I grew up inspired by episodic T shows and the strength of the women investigators of the 's and 's. There was Emma Peel Diana Rigg of S t u m p t o w n B U I L D I N G A W O R L D O F G R A P H I C R E A L I T Y B Y C O R E Y K A P L A N , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A-D. GREY'S LOFT. SCRIPTED AS ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF HIS BAR IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND. THE SET IS ELEVATED TO ALLOW SHOOTING NEAR THE WINDOWS WITHOUT SEEING THE STAGE FLOOR. IT IS AN OPEN SPACE ALMOST COMPLETELY WITHOUT DOORS. THE RAW THEATRICAL QUALITIES OF HIS DESIGNED SPACE IS SIMILAR TO THE ABSTRACT WAY GREY MOVES THROUGH HIS CONFLICTS IN LIFE. E. EPISODE FOUR REQUIRED SCENES THAT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE FROM THE GRAPHIC NOVEL STUMPTOWN, ILLUSTRATED BY MATTHEW SOUTHWORTH. E