ADG Perspective

May-June 2016

Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/679317

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 60 of 75

P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 6 59 during the action. Added to this, on completion of the shot, we had twenty-four hours to wrap and remove everything so the owners could be prepped and ready for more overflowing kids on Memorial Day weekend, the biggest day of their year. Art Director Erick Donaldson and I brainstormed a viable pond plan, in and out with military precision. 1.5 million gallons of water needed to be pumped out to lay a pond liner—but where could we pump that much water? And then time was short to refill that same amount of water after the liner was laid. With the closest hydrant one thousand feet away, it would take 2-3 days to refill the pond, not to mention the cost per gallon from the city. Erick worked the numbers, and there was no way around it...our only option was to put a liner in the filled pond. Pond experts were unable to advise us on how to lay a liner in a full pond. The general response was, "Never done that before… Why??...Can't imagine why you'd do that!"…all responses I'm quite accustomed to receiving from people outside of our improvisational entertainment industry. A few ideas were spitballed until Dan Coe (superstar construction coordinator) and his talented team came up with an ingenious idea: float the 40-foot-wide sections of rubber matting into the center of the pond using sealed PVC pipes as pontoons. Then release the air in the pipes to lower the liner. The brilliant plan included certified divers who helped guide the rubber matting into place on the pond floor. The liner melded seamlessly to the existing floor thanks to the brilliant work of Charge Scenic Artist Rick Broderman. The submerged car was added, then logs, stone and aquatic plants. The scene was set. This whole approach was unorthodox but ultimately, it worked out and the company got all the shots required...but not without some gray hair being added to my head. Another difficult backdrop to create was a rose field of the opening scene. Writer Joe Lansdale had prior experience in commercial rose cultivation, so he guided Erick in the correct layout and harvesting process. The field was built in a parking lot adjacent to sugar cane fields, not an ideal starting point, but it offered an open terrain to sculpt. The field needed to be dressed with plants high enough to hide the rapidly growing sugar cane, but real rose bushes were too small, due to the season. Greensman Ryan Leblanc researched shrubs and foliage, and found the available plant which resembled roses most closely. Four hundred of the selected plants were brought in, and a combination of one thousand real and faux roses were attached to them. That was a good demonstration of the lesson, "Whatever quantity you anticipate needing...quadruple it." The extreme Louisiana heat wilted all of the hero prop roses. The greens team began frantically replacing roses between every take, as they would wilt in a matter of minutes. A few hurried calls to local florists had more roses rushed in to keep the set looking fresh. There were lots more challenges to be faced in Baton Rouge...not including the tornado that hit the first day of shooting, or being the state with the most poisonous snakes and spiders (tied with Florida). Water moccasin snakes, brown recluse spiders, the constant gator threat, mosquitoes. On the upside, the crawfish are outstanding! ADG Russell Barnes, Production Designer Erick Donaldson, Art Director Michelle Belfield, Graphic Designer Dave Kelsey, Set Designer Lisa Tong, Set Decorator Top: Hap Collins' seductive ex-wife Trudy (Christina Hendricks) checks out the dam in an inflatable boat…at night...in gator country. Center: A Scenic Artist preparing the Welcome to Marvel Creek sign laid out by Graphic Designer Michelle Belfield. Above: Trudy comes into Hap and Leonard's life with a proposition, which is that she's found out that there is $1 million in the trunk of a car submerged at the bottom of an alligator- infested river. If they can help her get the money out, they get to keep $100,000 each.

Articles in this issue

view archives of ADG Perspective - May-June 2016