Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/974985
5 4 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 8 Airlock set to be flooded in a water tank. So the special effects department fabricated a purpose- built tank and a second "sea worthy" set was built. All of the sets were products of collaboration among several departments with a collective focus on layering—layering of fabric, exposed tech and other dressing, graphics, glass, lighting, paint and motion graphics. Dan Mindel was a brilliant ally and advocate for the Art Department. He collaborated on exploring and selecting our color palette. And, surprisingly, he encouraged us to "box him in"—to create claustrophobic spaces with few wild walls so that the camera embraced the conditions. Amanda Serino and her team applied tremendous depth of knowledge and artistry to every technical layer of set dressing. And Ellen Lampl's graphics lent purpose and visual harmony to every set element. THE SURPRISE ENDING The surprise ending was not only in the waning moments of the film, but was in the very nature of the film's release. On January 31, 2018, two days before I was to disappear into the Oregon woods for a family vacation, I received an invite to a crew screening of God Particle at Paramount Studios. Strange, I thought, to get just a day's notice. But I jumped at the chance to see the film that had soldiered through several rewrites, reshoots and a change in studios (to Netflix). And when the lights went up at the end of the screening, I felt pleasantly surprised on several levels. The narrative held together, the timing of the print was well balanced with the details of the architecture, my department had done some really great work, and my attention held through the story's many nuances and implausibilities. And my general satisfaction was echoed by the other crew members in the audience. THE SURPRISE… While trekking in the trails of the Oregon Coast, my phone pinged with a barrage of texts from friends and family about a Cloverfield Paradox spot airing after the Super Bowl. The spot, I would soon learn, was the entire film…spilled out on the small screen for all of the post-Super Bowl audience (those still standing) to enjoy over crabby snacks and homemades. God Particle, the Paramount feature film, shifted dimensions into an alternate universe and was reborn as The Cloverfield Paradox, a live-streaming event from Netflix….SURPRISE! ADG A. CORRIDOR. ILLUSTRATION BY JOSH VIERS. B. & C. THE LABYRINTH OF CORRIDORS WERE INTERCONNECTED WITH THE R-DECK, ESCAPE POD AND AIRLOCK SETS ON STAGE 5 AT PARAMOUNT STUDIOS. D. HAMILTON (PLAYED BY GUGU MBATHA-RAW) RUNS THROUGH THE CORRIDORS IN A DESPERATE EFFORT TO SAVE THE STATION AND HER CREW. GLASS FLOOR PANELS WERE PERIODICALLY INLAYED TO EXPOSE ILLUMINATED TECH ELEMENTS BELOW. E. CAST MEMBERS GUGU MBATHA-RAW, DAVID OYELOWO AND JOHN ORTIZ ON SET. F. THE M-DECK SET, CONSTRUCTED ON STAGE 6 AT PARAMOUNT STUDIOS. STILL PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT GARFIELD. A