Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1332040
understanding of what colors and values served the look best. This being said, nothing was taken for granted and everything was tested. Research was extensive and integral as could be expected for a project of this nature and the Art Department relied on the organized cataloging of images and information throughout the productioncontinually referenced through set development. The Academy Library was helpful in sourcing original documents and details from the archives to assist with the production of authentic replicated props and set decoration elements. Graphics especially benefited from the mass of research contributions which directed not only graphic visuals but typeface and kerning which are such instrumental details in telling the story of a period. Executing a film of that period in Los Angeles presented the obvious challenges I am sure most Art Department personnel have encountered. I know I am not presenting a new revelation, but the issues were more consuming than anticipated. Reaching back ninety years in a city that changes so quickly and so frequently was difficult at best. Locations could be limiting. Every location needed to be touchedif for no other reason than addressing hardware. Set dressing and props of the period were challenging to locate and if successfully procured, often involved the added burden of refurbishing. This was especially difficult for elements that involved any level of mechanization. Period-correct set dressing for creating a 1930s film set was especially difficult to obtain. Although the studios, neighborhoods and architecture of Los Angeles in this era primarily served as the visual setting and backdrop for the narrative, there were also the contrasting scripted locales of San Simeon and Victorville that carried both storyline and visual weight. Within Los Angeles, obvious locations such as the Biltmore Hotel, the Glendale train station, Bullocks Wilshire, Cicada and neighborhood streets in Los Feliz not only afforded the appropriate architecture but were in some cases, actually historically correct to scripted events. For instance, the 1th Academy Awards took place in the Biltmore Ballroom and film celebrities would depart from the Glendale train station when journeying to Hearst's estate in San Simeon, both of which were represented in sequences in the film. The studios represented in the film are primarily MGM and Paramount. The Paramount lot men's room and MGM editing offices were built as stage sets with an additional small set for Welles' office at RKO. Exteriors were shot at both MGM and Paramount with alley dressing and visual effects cleanup. The front gates to Paramount were replicated and staged on their backlot to afford a more representative street reversal. The interiors of the studios were a combination of builds in locations and stage sets. MGM was the more successful studio of the period and reflected a more polished Moderne Deco styling in its interior offices, writers' room and hallways while Paramount was more traditional with lush dark wood executive offices and a more utilitarian, worn writers' room. The studios were meant to contrast each other both visually and economically to serve the story. The production A. INTERIOR PARAMOUNT RESTROOM BUILT ON STAGE 6 L.A. CENTER STUDIOS. PHOTO BY NIKOLAI LOVEIKIS. B. PARAMOUNT WRITERS' ROOM AND OFFICES BUILT ON LOCATION AT LANTERMAN CENTER POMONA. PRODUCTION PHOTO. C. GRAPHIC FOR ELECTION BOARD AT TROCADERO CLUB BY LORI WEST. D. INTERIOR TROCADERO CLUB SET BUILT ON LOCATION. PHOTO BY NIKOLAI LOVEIKIS. E. THALBERG'S OFFICE BUILT ON STAGE 6 L.A. CENTER STUDIOS. PHOTO BY NIKOLAI LOVEIKIS. A B