Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/916056
It was stripped down to a very large two-story box of four walls, ceiling, floor and a steel stair and catwalk at one end. Ironically, it was a similar layout to one of my favored reference images. Before settling on the Brutalist style of building, there had been discussions of New Deal/WPA style of painted murals depicting science and technology above all the computer or workstations on the ground floor. I settled on a 1950s style of ceramic murals that could be done in a palette of greens and blues, and Guy Davis retooled his WPA-painted mural design, which was then translated into the final design for a digital output by graphic designer David Best. These designs were printed on vinyl with a tile pattern gauged to match existing 8" x 8" tile board shipped in from the US. It was a pretty successful cheat for individual tiles, and once completed, went up in one day. THE THEATRE Guillermo del Toro had written the script with a particular location in mind for the theatre exterior below Elisa's and Giles' apartments. Unfortunately, it didn't have a theatre marquee. Massey Hall is an historic music hall built in the 1890s. Due to a later fire code change, they installed an iconic pair of descending fire escape stairs perfect for the story. As it is a working concert venue, the install and shoot had to be squeezed into a two-and-a-half day period. No attachments to the building were allowed, and its large hanging sign had to remain. Coordinating the build with construction coordinator Marc Kuitenbrouwer, a steel-structured marquee was designed to be like a table on four legs, which covered the existing sign, and a ticket booth was placed over the middle set of doors. Two of the legs were installed and painted to match the door framing, and the other two next to the street were painted green and digitally removed by Mr. X in post production. Mr. X also added the upper sign in post. THE APARTMENTS Guillermo and I created a back story to the space that formed the apartments. It was as if an original grand room had been bifurcated in the late 1920s when the theatre had been converted to a talking- picture cinema. Elisa's apartment had been used for film storage and Giles' for offices. Guillermo had given me a reference he liked from a set in the 1948 film The Red Shoes, showing a grand-arched window. This formed the basis for the set, with this window having been rudely split by a later wall. Elisa's side had been left with the original ornate wallpaper from the building's beginning in 1894. I wanted something evoking the idea of water for her space and Shane Vieau sourced some great Anglo- Japanese-influenced wallpaper. G H E D F