ADG Perspective

The narrative is divided by chapters organizing the story by state. Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, etc. en rerdtin finall iall started the process was all about choosing locations, generating concepts and how to use these processes to inform each other. What is the big visual idea? How does that relate to the narrative thesis? From a design standpoint, what became clear was that this was a series of linked indeendent stries ea its n film tat ad to look distinct and be able to visually stand on its own. That meant that each state chapter, each eisde ad t ae its n ar stle and defined sae. St arlina is strangel ran. It's an episode about being separate and not equal and is set in te mti tn rin in t ld ae een set in ntgmer. ndiana is about the false promise of freedom in America and the perils of Black ownership. Its two chapters set in the tamed beauty of the heartland expanse, ile rt arlina ased n an atal slave narrative, is largely set in a three-foot tall crawl space. Cora's nightmarish journey through ennessee is set in a ntinall rning laened landsae ile ergia set n a plantation, was realistic. Way too realistic. The production started by scouting America, thinking that diverse looks come from disparate places. Initially, we thought that we would in some way be a road movie, starting in Georgia, as scripted, and moving north to other states to mae sre tere as eng gedierentiatin. hadn't yet come to terms with the fact that it's not always the trees and the hills that make a place. Place can be as much about how we look at things as what we look at. Ironically, at the start Barry was not available because he was releasing Beale Street. Looking back, I think he just wanted to give me a head start. By the time Barry arrived, I had extensively scouted Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Ohio and New York. Since the idea of budget was starting to come into focus, we resolved to limit the production to two states, New York and ergia. e nd great st. Sme real Underground Railroad places and stories. It was exciting. Too good to be true. We piled Barry, director of photography James Laxton and the producers into planes and sprinter vans and I showed them Cora's journey. We loved it. We were set. Until the budget gods began raining thunderclaps of uncertainty from the skies. Finally, all the nmers ere tallied and it eame ial tere was a crisis. The plan the creative team had spent a year building molecule by molecule went out the window, along with its too heavy budget. A new plan needed forming. We were given a week to come up with an all-Georgia version. Or else. At one of the fraught meetings that followed, Barry slied me a iee aer it te rds fi tis n it. ne at ad t d. A. CORA'S CABIN IN THE PLANTATION SLAVE QUARTERS. COLOR MODEL BY JURASAMA ARUNCHAI. B. CORA'S CABIN INTERIOR. COLOR MODEL. A B

• 0C1_ADG MAY-JUNE 2021