ADG Perspective

Working with Tom Morris, the construction coordinator, and Supervising Art Director Richard nsn e gt ging first in te s and ten on site. They brought in carving teams from all over the country. The tunnel had to accommodate real trains, movie lights, a human crew and a lot of story. The production was incredibly focused on safety and systems of warning lights and ventilation and overt communication were all put in place. It worked, and ironically, what should have been the most complicated part of the shoot as st first and ent itt a it. e even turned the rest of the Train Museum campus into a lot of our South Carolina episode's sets. It was an incredible boon to the production, and it was a lot of fun. But by the time we were done, the good people who run the Savannah Train Museum were happy to have their historic place back to themselves. The plantation, which is the other biggest set of the series, also needed to be ready for the "Georgia" episode, very early in the shoot. I was aware of the Louisiana plantation locations that were used for 12 Years a Slave and Django Unchained. t eetinal films it great design. But this story was in Georgia and had a diretr it a dierent tae n at e anted t show about this life. As a result, we determined to build our own quarters. As much as being a slave was an experience of continuous horror, it was also the only life most slaves knew. So, while where they lived was not owned by them, was decrepit and harsh, it was also what they knew to be home. The production wanted not only to focus on the horrors of being a slave but also on the amazing achievement by those who endured and resisted. That they would work 18-hour days for no pay and minimal food, but still raise families, still make homes for their children, still make art somehow. an figred t a a t find small ernels very personal beauty amidst the outward horror of their life. Cora had her tiny plot which was almost worth her life. Barry and the Art Department spent an inordinate amount of time discussing types of okra pods. These became a central design theme. The incredible juxtaposition of engineering underground train tunnels and choosing okra pods is why I love my job. The design challenge of the slave quarters was to create a sense of community and home in what was essentially a concentration-style work camp. nd nt nl t find eat and nrtre itin tis rrr t t find eritage and ltre. resolved not to make the big house the center of this plantation set. This wealthy mansion was to be seen desaturated in color and lifeless in dressing. A falsehood built on a lie based in greed and depravity. What was beautiful and alive on the plantation centered around the honest inspired textures of the slave quarters. A A-C. SLAVE QUARTERS, GEORGIA. THE CABINS WERE DESIGNED TO NESTLE INTO THE 200-YEAR-OLD LIVE OAKS. THIS MADE THEM 30 DEGREES COOLER THAN IN THE STARK SUN. IT ALSO MADE THEM SEEM AS IF THEY HAD STOOD FOR A LONG TIME. SET PHOTOS. A B C

• 0C1_ADG MAY-JUNE 2021