Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/619377
50 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 6 For the interior palette, I wanted to work with very specific colors used in the early 1950s. I have a large collection of vintage paint decks and sample books, and my frequent collaborator, Charge Scenic Artist Pat Sprott, is unrivaled at color mixing. Drawing on these resources, I created a palette of sour greens and yellows, and dirtied pinks and mauves in the toy store, Therese's apartment and the motel rooms. These slightly spoiled colors capture the unsettled emotional journey of the characters and the feeling of the transitional historical era. At the same time that I planned this palette, I also strongly aimed to avoid the classic turquoise and bright pink "Googie" palette associated with the later 1950s. In general, I avoided anything that even approached the clichéd kitsch of the 1950s. Research showed that austerity in decoration and the lack of an abundance of material possessions, even among the wealthy, was accurate for the time period. This austerity naturally underscored the emotional hollowness and alienation of the women from their lives. The exceptions, again based on research and Top: The finished set for Frankenberg's toy department, created on a storage floor of a fabric warehouse. Above, left to right: A foam core model of the toy department built by Art Director Jesse Rosenthal. The toy department set at the very beginning of construction; there was not a lot to work with there. The toy department in progress. This wall was designed to tie the set to the bank of elevators which was shot at a separate location. also true to the emotional story, were the active, bustling public worlds of the toy store and New York Times. Carol was entirely shot in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. The city was chosen because its relatively untouched architecture had many similarities with 1952 Manhattan, but the challenge facing me as a designer was trifold: (1) making Cincinnati pass for Manhattan and environs in 1952; (2) not only did I need to find locations and build convincing sets, I also had to transform them into the specific visual world envisioned for the movie; and (3) within the specific world of the movie I also needed to create visual contrasts: the youthful, somewhat impoverished Manhattan of Therese and her friends, with its gritty streets and walk-up apartments contrasted with the glamorous wealthy clubs and country houses of Carol, Abby and Harge and their friends and relatives; the streets of Manhattan contrasted with the openness, freedom and quirkiness of the road trip; the funky motel rooms contrasted with the Drake Hotel and the New York Times building where Therese finds her place in the world. Every locale and set was a character in the story, telling something about Therese, Carol and their coming together. Todd, Ed and myself started scouting with a few days in New York. We visited the exact house in New Jersey in which the real-life woman who inspired Carol had lived. We also scouted Times Square and the old New York Times building, and Bloomingdale's and its surrounding neighborhoods, to see what remained of the area and as information for scouting in Cincinnati. Next followed a lot of research. I even took a weekend trip to visit my parents and siblings in Chicago, and met them for dinner at a restaurant in the Drake Hotel, taking many photos and finding a souvenir history book of the hotel in the gift shop. Every location in Cincinnati was based on a New York counterpart. For example, when Carol spots Therese