Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/765720
With these challenges in mind, I began my research on the McDonald brothers' original restaurant, and Kroc's first Golden Arches franchise in his hometown of Des Plaines, Illinois. The distinction between these two building forms became the basis for the film's visual scheme, with each restaurant representing the characters and serving as a metaphor for their conflicting world views. The original San Bernardino octagonal restaurant represents a pre-war, individual sensibility, while the Golden Arches franchise is emblematic of a post-war mass-market vision of the future. At the heart of both, was the assembly-line kitchen, known as the SpeeDee System, and it was there that I began to decode and strategize how to make this the link that bridged both restaurants. Opposite page bottom, left to right: An undated archival research photograph of the San Bernardino restaurant, showing the new logo for the SpeeDee System; it was this assembly line concept that captured Kroc's imagination. The San Bernardino Octagon at night. Because the Golden Arches franchise used yellow neon, Mr. Corenblith chose to differentiate, and used the yellow only for the McDonald's name. Above: Using multiple archival sources, including an operation manual from the 1950s, the SpeeDee Kitchen plan was decoded. It was this assembly line efficiency that needed to be understood and depicted in the film. Below, left and right: A production set still, showing Kroc about to try his first McDonald's hamburger. After establishing the functioning of each workstation in the SpeeDee System, the kitchen elements informed the size of the original San Bernardino Octagon restaurant, modulating the perimeter to enclose this kitchen system.