Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/974985
6 4 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 8 Now in my sixth year designing Chicago Fire, I can probably safely say I've designed more fire sets than maybe any Production Designer. The show look is reality based; everything, regardless of how far out the gag may seem, has to feel grounded in the real world. It also makes minimal use of visual effects; 95% of what is seen on screen is actual to the lens. Early on, I learned that, even more than most episodic shows, time is of the essence. This show works on a typical network episodic schedule—eight days of preproduction and eight days of shooting per episode, 20 to 23 episodes a year. Each script contains two to three rescue events involving firefighters. Given that schedule, I find the Art Department juggling three to five such events simultaneously for the entire season. C o n t r o l l e d C o m b u s t i o n C H I C A G O F I R E B Y C R A I G J A C K S O N , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R A