Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545081
chance to design in the style of one of our favorite eras of Los Angeles architecture—and television— the 1970s. We designed the DODC's offices to evoke the post-Vietnam anxiety over institutional failures that helped usher a boom in police procedurals and detective shows. We drenched the bullpen in a particular dusty teal, from window blinds to walls to desk gak; we brought in Steelcase furniture in unsettling greens and told the story of the office's current culture by dressing the background with local favorites Tierra Mia Coffee and Randy's Donuts. The Supermax Prison was established in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. We built on what audiences had previously seen: a high-tech facility, built from concrete and isolated in the desert. We saw an opportunity here to push further into Brutalism. For inspiration, we pored over the work of Tadao Ando, and the evocative shapes of Soviet bus shelters and transit centers, sketching ideas that Set Designer Katherine Sharpless translated to meticulous plans. Locations found an epic site to land our hallway scenes, at a water treatment facility that was constantly flooding. One of the only days of rain that year landed on our shoot day, of course. We matched this location to our build, which took over coordination across all departments. The crew spent two days on site building and testing. This immense collaborative effort paid off in a shot that remains incredibly fun to watch. It was also a meaningful chance to pay homage to practical filmmaking, and to the kinds of locations that make Los Angeles such a uniquely versatile place to tell stories. Let's Move the Moon There's a line during our meta show-within-a- show when the on-screen gaffer calls out "Let's move the moon!" and the crew immediately accommodates an extremely last-minute request. It's a cheeky moment, showing how casually the crew can pull off the impossible. On Wonder Man, it often felt like we were moving the moon, whether navigating the strikes, working with tight timelines and stretched resources, or grieving personal loss. The strikes shut us down just as we entered the second half of the season. When we returned months later, some of our crew had started other projects. Switching teams midway is never ideal, and the scale of what we had to achieve in the back half of the show was ambitious. Luckily, there is no shortage of superheroes in Los Angeles. With a revised lineup, we were back in action. There were two sets that loomed large over the final episodes—our Department of Damage Control (DODC) Supermax Prison and an exploding soundstage. We had already shot the DODC's offices, primarily in a decommissioned police department location. The West Coast branch of the DODC was meant to feel dated and a bit neglected. This was our E. WEST COAST DODC OFFICES. SET PHOTO. F. SUPERMAX PRISON. PRODUCTION STILL. G. SUPERMAX PRISON, TREVOR'S CELL. RADFORD STUDIOS. SET PHOTO. F G E