Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512164
a harmonious dance between every department on the film. We needed everyone, from the SPFX department with their machinery and fully functional conveyor lines, lighting, machinery cues that had to be in sync with the faux analog faced designs, to the prop department responsible for handling the product on the factory floor. Everything had to work in unison to execute as visualized. Back when they were in operating order, the Frito-Lay factory interiors were never publicly shown or documented due to strict protections of their proprietary process. Our eureka moment occurred when we found a vintage home video on YouTube taken by a 6th-grade girl on a class field trip to a Frito-Lay plant in the Midwest. It showed us everything we needed to know without signing an NDA. Coming from a strong history in theatrical stage design, Cabot had devised an ingenious idea to build upward of seventy-five percent of our factory floor on wheels. The master plan allowed the camera, set construction, and set dressing to work within the frame that Eva and Federico had composed each time. Eric Thelander, the SPFX coordinator, brought these machines to life. Cabot and I would frequent the factory when it was under construction, and most times, we entered to find Eric with his head in a tumbler covered in Cheeto dust, always reassuring us that it would be a huge success. Eva had the great idea to not reveal the iconic red color of the Flamin' Hot Cheetos anywhere in the film until the big reveal of the first colettes spilling out of the giant rotating chrome tumblers and onto the line of conveyor belts. When this moment occurred, everything came together. Everyone was cheering, especially Eva. The machines worked, again and again, take after take, for weeks. Set Designers Marisa Frantz and Dylan Kelling did a brilliant job helping us bring the machinery to life. Not only was there no blueprint on how to correctly construct these machines, there was also an intricacy that they had to embrace while incorporating the practical special effects. It was a project that would have not been possible without their expertise. With the Frito-Lay factory and the Pepsi-Co offices came a tall graphics order. The graphics department, led by Melissa Shepard, had the endless task of creating numerous period locations, the Pepsi-Co headquarters, Frito-Lay products, and signage that flooded the factory floor. She was responsible for all set decoration and Art Department needs, while Callan Ramirez and other team members headed the prop department graphics and miscellaneous tasks. A. FACTORY FLOOR OVERVIEW. PRODUCTION STILL. B. MAINTENANCE OFFICE ON THE FACTORY FLOOR. PRODUCTION STILL.. C. MURAL LAYOUT PROGRESSION BY BRANDON MENDEZ AND CABOT MCMULLEN. PROCREATE SKETCH BY CABOT MCMULLEN. D. ROGER ENRICO (TONY SHALOUB) AND PEPSI-CO TEAM IN THE BOARDROOM. PRODUCTION STILL. E. FINISHED MURAL DESIGNED BY YOLONDA GONZALEZ, DAVID DAMIEN. SCENIC WORK BY RANDY ORTEGA SR. SET PHOTO. A B C