Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/929567
So they want grounded. What better way to feel "grounded" than to lean into these contrasts? I started with color palettes. Inspired by the colors of the Nevada desert, I tackled the world of the small town Pahrump, by creating darker, more gritty, slightly dated and rundown spaces, like the characters. The locations were selected for their generic, bleak, cramped or chaotically cluttered qualities. The stage sets would feel static and uncomfortably intimate through the use of rough textures, heavy aging, dated set dressing, layers of clutter and generic soulless art pieces. Hollywood, on the other hand, would have a different kind of life and energy. The colors would be more lush, the lines cleaner, the sets brighter. Everything would feel bigger, flashier and evoke the feeling of a fast-paced, ever evolving, progressive, no-holds-barred world. We would embrace distinct and recognizable Southern California architecture, mid-century modern homes, grandiose soundstages, modern industrial design, the Valley craftsman bungalow and the glamorous Spanish architecture of the 1920s. Before we knew it, the creative team was up and running. Writer Davey Holmes, director Allen Coulter, producing director Adam Arkin, and pilot line producer Sara E. White were assembled to start preproduction. It was agreed that it would be big. The look, the cast, the scope. However, logistics didn't seem to be on our side. Not only did we face the usual challenges of crewing up, a tight schedule, a less than ideal budget and taking the pilot straight to series, there was an added layer. We were going to be a multi-location show. Seventy percent would be shot in Albuquerque, thirty percent in Los Angeles. Although we all knew this signing up, I'm not sure we knew exactly what we were getting into. A B C D E