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the fins and shiny chrome that come with it. The script was written as 1963, but a Cadillac was found in the right shade of teal in a 1962 model, so the time period was stepped back a year. Only nineteen shoot days of the fifty-eight-day schedule were on location, and I have to say finding the right Cadillac dealership was the hardest one. A 1962 Cadillac is a behemoth of a car, and it was a challenge to find an appropriate place where it not only looked streamlined and of the future, but where other cars would also fit inside. Vince Nyuli, the location manager, took me to look at the rooftop of a former bingo hall that was soon to be bulldozed. As we walked through the main floor, I saw this amazing curved mezzanine and strips of period fluorescent lighting. It looked horrible, there was plaster falling from the ceiling, and the floor was strangely sloped and covered in nasty glued-down burgundy carpet squares. I scraped a bit of glue away to discover a terrazzo floor underneath! There was one angle from which it looked good and no options for a reverse. I did a quick SketchUp model and showed Guillermo, with the caveat of only shooting one angle, and it was selected. I was terrified that on the day of the shoot there would be an issue, but he and Dan Laustsen did it in one continuous take. THE REST There were also a number of great locations. The city hall of Hamilton (one hour from Toronto) was used for a Mad Men-style advertising agency. Hamilton also provided a great base for a period storefront street where Elisa covets her red shoes in the window, and where she boards the bus to work every night, as well as the highways for the bus journey itself. Graphic designer David Best knocked out the great period sign work for that street and all the period pie graphics and signage for "Dixie Doug's Pie Shop." Set decorator Jeff Melvin provided some matching garish-colored and inedible-looking pies straight from period research, and some great food styling. Guillermo himself hand-painted the first pie mascot "Dixie Doug," illustrated by Guy Davis and sculpted in the paint department. BLACK AND WHITE Although the film ended up being shot in color, there was one chance for a sequence in black and white. There is a moment when the otherwise mute Elisa segues into a dream sequence, where she sings and dances with an eighteen-piece band with her merman, wearing a fancy dress and her red shoes on a shimmery watery-like surface! The film was a dream project I count myself lucky to have been a part of. It started with a very visual script and an even more visual director. I had a great and talented crew of Set Designers and graphic artists. I was able to once again work with Marc Kuitenbrouwer's great construction team and Matthew Lammerich's talented Scenic Art crew. Shane Vieau and Jeff Melvin collaborated wonderfully to bring the sets to life, and of course, it wouldn't have been the same if Dan Laustsen hadn't shot it so beautifully. Most importantly, it had an inspired story to tell with the help of a terrific cast. ADG Paul D. Austerberry, Production Designer Nigel Churcher, Art Director David Best, William Cheng, David G. Fremlin, Jeremy Gillespie, Danielle Haeberlin, Evan Webber, First Assistant Art Directors Jane Stoiacico, Second Assistant Art Director Guy Davis, Vincent Proce, Concept Designers Jeffrey A. Melvin, Shane Vieau Set Decorators E F G