Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1545081
6 2 P E R S P E C T I V E M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 6 Everyone in the Art Department knows this truth: It's not ALL about us. The work that we do is always in the service of the story, and thusly, it's not necessarily about our personal taste or style or preferences. Maybe you loathe Regency ballroom- style frippery, but if Jane Austen calls you to do her new 8-part streaming series, you will learn to love crystal chandeliers and ornate marble mantelpieces. You will excitedly spend hours in a scout van combing the mansions and gardens of Derbyshire, Hertfordshire, Devonshire—all the shires—for exactly the correct setting for a fictional meet-cute between Lord Pemberton and his future, but low-born, bride. You will leave your love of Art Deco casement windows at home, and you will build upon what exists. Because that's what the story, and often the budget, calls for. But, sometimes a story comes along and it calls for every single location, every home, every store, every interior and exterior to be imagined and built, just the way you like, in a style that is a pure joy to work within. I have been lucky enough to work on just such a project: The Boroughs, an 8-episode series created by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, starring Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard and Bill Pullman, and executive-produced by The Duffer Brothers. It's the story of a grieving newcomer to a seemingly idyllic retirement community who discovers a monstrous, otherworldly force threatening the residents, leading him to team up with a misfit crew of seniors to fight back. F r o m t h e G r o u n d U p : B U I L D I N G T H E B O R O U G H S B Y R U T H A M M O N , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A. ENTRY GATE TO THE BOROUGHS. ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS PENNA. B. PROMOTIONAL POSTER FOR THE BOROUGHS COMMUNITY FOR COMMUNITY HEADQUARTERS. GRAPHIC LAYOUT BY MELISSA SHEPARD, THE BOROUGHS VINTAGE LOGO BY ADAM TANKELL AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY CHRIS PENNA. C. WHITE MODEL OF CUL-DE-SAC BACKLOT BUILT ON THE NETFLIX STUDIOS ALBUQUERQUE. A