Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/990311
M A R V E L' S A G E N T S O F S . H . I . E . L . D . | P E R S P E C T I V E 7 3 Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. delights and abounds in variety. On an eight-day production cycle, the scripts come fast and the set list isn't short: stone castle, Las Vegas penthouse, robot factory, Cuban barber shop and spaceships. As an Art Director, I love the opportunities this variety gives the Art Department. Whatever gaps I had in my design portfolio are filled in now. We have five large soundstages in Los Angeles and we create so many new sets that we fill up three dumpsters quickly. Of course, we repurpose a lot of scenery, but frankly, how many times can a set get bombed, burned and hit by a missile before landing in the trash? A gunfight in a fireworks factory? Yeah, that's not a set we'll build to last… Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the first Marvel television show debuting on ABC prime time in 2013. On the surface, this is a show about secret agents, alien spaceships and underground bases, but at heart, it's really a show about family. Many of the story themes explore what it means to be a family and sticking together to overcome challenges. The show has several goals, but the main goal for Production Designer Greg Melton and the Art Department is to deliver a feature film look with a television budget and schedule. Greg has done a lot of feature film work, including The Majestic, The Mist and television work such as Tales from the Crypt and The Walking Dead. His brilliant tip to me is contained in his favorite quote, "Get there first with the most," which I take to mean have everything that's needed and have it early. Typically, each episode has two large new sets, two locations and a small set or modification to a small set. The show's large sets will nearly fill a 12,000-square- foot soundstage and its locations will need scenic pieces added like a cinderblock wall that gets blown up. I've been working with Greg on various projects for over six years and he designed every season of S.H.I.E.L.D., including the pilot. I started as Set Designer on season one and two, and was given the opportunity to step up as Art Director for seasons three through five. As Set Designer, I learned that the secret to variety in design is in knowing how to use it while creating unity. My college mentor, theatre designer Herb Camburn, taught me a good trick when working with a group of inexperienced Scenic Artists painting a large set. The trick is to have them change places every ten minutes to unify their different painting styles. I flipped that technique as a Set Designer by drawing half a set, then drawing half of another before switching back to finish the first. If a set got written out I could say, "That's OK, I only drew half of it" and if it got pushed up I could say, "Great, I'm half done." This gave my work variety and unity, plus I kept on schedule. A. A VACANT STORE IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD WAS USED AS THE ENTRANCE TO A FIREWORKS FACTORY. GRAPHICS WERE INSTALLED ON THE ENTIRE FRONT AND THE INSIDE WAS SET UP WITH SEVERAL SPECIAL EFFECTS EXPLOSIONS. GRAPHIC DESIGN BY RYAN MELTON. B. FIREWORKS FACTORY AFTER. "WE'RE GOING TO NEED ANOTHER DUMPSTER." C. ALIEN STONE MONOLITH IN A CUSTOM FABRICATED CONTAINMENT CELL. PHOTO BY MARVEL/ABC. THE ALIEN MONOLITH GLASS CONTAINMENT CELL WAS USED ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER SET AND ALSO ON THE S.H.I.E.L.D. HEADQUARTERS SET. C