Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/834282
20 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 7 Top: Concept art by Henry Fong of book- burning and public hangings at the Republic of Gilead's government center. This is the first time that June and Moira had seen their city unrecognizable after they were taken by the Guardians and locked up in the Red Center. The set was built at Toronto City Hall with only a 4-hour pre-call to assemble it. The fountain/ fire pit was constructed, greens, signage and set decorations were dressed in, and three of the gallows were installed. Visual effects artists added twenty other hanging men and women in post production. Above: A screen capture from the finished film. Gilead Rule ONE in this theocratic society is color palette, the clothing and environments for the various castes. Reed Morano, the director of episodes 1-3, reached out to costume designer Ane Crabtree and myself to develop this color palette. She said, "I'm shooting this on the Alexa camera and the palette should have restricted parameters to create appropriate cinematic results." Together, we studied the relationships between the Handmaids' red, the blue of the upper-class wives, the green of the Marthas (domestic servants to wealthy, high-ranking families, their outfits usually green, often with an apron over the top) and the further relationships to the men's color palette: the dark gray of the Commanders' suits and the Guardians' black fatigues. The rules were firm: No red, except for the Handmaids' gowns and anything handmaid-related. This is very difficult when red is so prevalent in Victorian architecture, rugs, art and the like. Ane's gorgeous costumes reflected a nostalgic, period feeling. It was hers and my challenge to transport the audience to this unreal, yet present-day world while staying within the parameters defined by Gilead's Rules. Gilead Rule TWO: no words, only symbols, no art, no books, everything erased from the old world that was government-related, everything returned to a Puritan way of life. To discourage women from reading in Gilead, public writings or names of any kind, including shop signs, are prohibited, replaced instead by signs with pictures or symbols. This proved extraordinarily difficult in our modern-day, colorful, branded world. In the fourth episode, Offred (played by Elisabeth Moss) and Moira (Samira Wiley) escape from the Red Center. An abandoned secondary school, the Red Center was established to house and train Handmaids, and is so nicknamed because of their distinctive clothing. The Center has fencing with barbed wire and the Handmaids are under strict surveillance at all times, not permitted to leave unless they are to be assigned to a Commander. All fertile women are rounded up and sent to the Red Center, where they live when they are not on assignments and are trained and indoctrinated in Gilead's belief system. When Offred and Moira escape, and are seeing Gilead for the first time, the Guardians are destroying governmental documents, art, anything representing the old ways. The location used was the backside of Toronto City Hall. With only four hours to load in the set, concessions had to be made. Just three vertical gallows were installed, and the fountain water feature was disguised. The other twenty-plus gallows were added with visual effects. FISHES & LOAVES Another world-building moment was developing the grocery store, Fishes & Loaves. Imagine creating an entire