Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/834282
The kitchen and what I called the servants' dining area connected to the backdoor onstage, and made a transition to a matching plug at the location exterior. The stage was its own challenge with only 22-foot ceilings and structural posts every twenty-five feet. At first, the cinematographer loved the windows until he saw the limitations of the stage. It quickly turned into, "Julie, what can you do to fix that?" One of the difficulties onstage is getting the right backdrops and window treatments. I used every trick: shades, curtains, traditional shutters and stained glass. THE COMMANDER'S OFFICE Commander Waterford's office had every sinful, tactile possibility. I embraced the fact that Gilead is at war and made maps and compasses a theme throughout his office. I love the idea that he could throw a dart up at the map on the ceiling as they conquered each state. There was only four weeks to design and build the set, so I had to take some shortcuts, including printing the marble compass on the floor. I used real inlaid brass and the shapes were cut out of MDF and wrapped in a printed marble created by Graphic Designer Sean Scoffield. WATERFORD HOUSE The biggest series location decision was choosing the exterior of the main house where Commander Fred Waterford lived with his wife. The house needed a great backdoor, a coach house for Nick (the Commander's driver) and a beautiful traditional garden for the Commander's wife Serena Joy. It was love at first sight with the chosen house, twelve-foot windows, Victorian detailing, curves in all the right places, but it was missing just a few key elements...a backdoor, a coach house and a garden. Each room in the house was designed specifically to complement the colors of the wardrobe and the Handmaids' red needed to stand alone. Offred's bedroom and bathroom were tricky because the rules of Gilead do not allow any art, books or anything provocative. Oh, and Reed wanted it white. Oh, no!!!! I haven't been allowed to use white in so long, I was terrified her room was going to be a bore. In the third episode, she's shut in her room for over three weeks. I wanted there to be hidden details that would be revealed as she explores her room. It's all about the texture, the layers, the dead fly on the window sill and set decorator Sophie Neudorfer's perfectly selected furnishings. Opposite page, top: An early concept illustration in Photoshop by Henry Fong of the backyard of Commander Waterford's house, featuring the conservatory where the servants eat. Center: The stage layout for Studio C at Cinespace Studios in Toronto shows the sitting room, kitchen and the servants' dining conservatory, the Commander's office, and Nick's apartment over the carriage house, all sets in the Waterford residence. Bottom, left and right: Set photographs of the servants' dining area, and the kitchen with its view through to the conservatory. This page, top: Henry Fong's illustration of the compass motif inlaid in the floor outside of the Commander's office. Bottom, left and right: Photographs of the corridor and a view into the Commander's office from the door.