Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/834282
68 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U LY / AU G U S T 2 0 1 7 With Myleen on the drawing table, I could focus on finding a construction coordinator. I eventually located the right man in Chris Thompson, who agreed to do the job with the understanding that he would be coordinating two other shows simultaneously. His crew was an impressive mix of builders, painters and sculptors, and they didn't waste a moment. They moved so fast that Myleen and I worked overtime to keep up with their appetite for blueprints. I was also fortunate to bring a talented set decorator onboard. Renée Read had a fantastic crew and the city at her fingertips. She understood the tone of the show, her taste was impeccable and I was relieved to have her decorate the home of a famous movie star, Kyle West. After a few weeks, it became apparent that I would need to import a Supervising Art Director from Los Angeles. I had a long working history with Mia Cho, who arrived with one small suitcase and a skill set we had refined over ten years working together. The Art Department was taking shape. After all, we still had to deliver a completed set in six weeks. The first requirement of any luxury home in Malibu is an ocean view. The biggest technical challenge was creating this illusion on a soundstage with limited space. I needed a large photo-backing of that luxurious ocean vista for the background. To execute this, I engaged Phil Greenstreet of Roscoe Backings to shoot a high-resolution photo from a vista that I had scouted near Malibu High School, back in California. The set had floor-to-ceiling windows that opened to a grass lawn on a coastal bluff overlooking the ocean. Creating this distant vista felt nearly impossible with the limited stage space. For this technical challenge, I revamped an old-school concept, using miniature theatrical scenery to give the illusion of distance. The photo- backing included trees and houses in the foreground, so I ordered an extra print of the bottom portion of the backing to cut out those elements into free-standing images. These two-dimensional miniature trees and houses were strategically placed between the landscape and the photo-backing to create the appearance of distance. As the stage construction proceeded, the next hurdle was finding suitable locations to keep the show grounded in Los Angeles. Vancouver has a beautiful skyline of glass and metal, surrounded by forest and mountains. Unfortunately, this serene landscape bears no resemblance to Southern California...not to mention it faces the Top: A view of the finished set from the ocean, shot on the soundstage in Vancouver, including the backyard and glass wall into the open-plan interior. Above: A previsualization rendering of the ocean side of Kyle's house, drawn by Myleen Baesa in SketchUp.