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24 P E R S P E C T I V E | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7 news CREATIVE ARTS EMMY WINNERS 2017 by Katie C. Shipley, Associate Editor On Saturday, September 16, 2017, the Creative Arts Emmys took place at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles. Art Directors Guild members were recognized for their work on The Crown, Veep, The Handmaid's Tale, Hairspray Live! and Saturday Night Live. Martin Childs and team executed a grand representation of the British Royal Family in The Crown. Childs spoke of designing a period piece in traditionalhome.com: "It's not difficult to replicate the architecture as long as you know its rules. It's much harder to apply the decay and distress of many decades' use." The series takes us to intimate settings at Buckingham Palace, shot on location at various stately homes, and larger scale events such as the Coronation and Royal wedding, shot at Ely Cathedral, standing in as Westminster Abbey. Veep takes place in another familiar building: the White House. Production Designer Jim Gloster told The Hollywood Reporter, "We had a whole West Wing/Oval Office complex that we built. It was about one hundred and seventy feet long by seventy feet wide, with the Oval Office, Roosevelt Room, press briefing room, multiple offices and lots of hallways." The vast set accommodates "lots of people walking and talking." Julie Berghoff and team created a truly chilling, unnerving environment in A Handmaid's Tale. "I wanted viewers to remember that this isn't the past or future, it's now," she says. "It has to feel real, like it could happen to you" (Curbed.com). The set is full of reminders of life before oppression, and colors to complement the period, and now, iconic costume design. The live-television adaptation of Hairspray presented some unique challenges, as recounted by Production Designer Derek McLane. "Hairspray was originally written with the actors on stage and the scenery coming to them…we're doing this more environmentally. The cameras are going to follow the actors…so we have to keep the physical proximity of the different sets in mind" (Architectural Digest). One of the long-standing Production Designers on Saturday Night Live, Eugene Lee, spoke to Variety.com about the fast-paced design process for the comedy sketch show. "We still draft things up the old-fashioned way with a pencil and a straightedge." The team then blocks the action using scenic flats and conduct dress and technical rehearsals much like a theater production would. Congratulations to the nominees and winners for the well-deserved recognition. OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE PERIOD PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE) THE CROWN "Smoke and Mirrors" Netflix Martin Childs, Production Designer Mark Raggett, Art Director Celia Bobak, Set Decorator Invision/AP Courtesy of Left Bank Pictures Digital sketch by Martin Childs. Stateroom, Buckingham Palace Martin Childs accepting the Emmy The Coronation scene in The Crown