Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1184216
T H E L I G H T H O U S E | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 0 9 historical accuracy is the approach we took for this story…to a point… After the Civil War, the US transferred all lighthouse services to the newly formed United States Lighthouse Establishment, the USLHE (they are now run by the Coast Guard). They institutionalized the maintenance and care of lighthouses with an almost military rigor. Reading the manuals and logbooks from the period was impressive. They specifically lay out the daily duties for the maintenance and operation of a lighthouse, which the logbooks indicate were fairly well followed. But a well-maintained lighthouse wouldn't do for this story. This needed to be a remote, inhospitable place, one that would not only mirror the emotional and mental state of the characters, but would help propel them. So I set out to design and build an old, weathered keeper's house, lighthouse and outbuildings. They needed sturdy bones and a strong silhouette, with a peeling exterior, whose interior was sparse, lacking for comfort, and perhaps beginning to come apart. As the film progresses, the buildings, along with the characters, endure a terrific storm which will tear at the house and the lighthouse keepers. If someone reflected back to the beginning of the film, I would like them to feel the possibility that the house had endured this before. Along with the house exterior and partial interior (for weather cover), the production would build the exterior of the fog signal house, boathouse, storage sheds and exterior lighthouse all on location at Cape Forchu; while the interiors of the keepers' house, fog signal house, lighthouse stairs, mechanical room and lantern house, plus several small sets would be built on stages in Halifax. A small beach set was also placed in a tank to be shot for the mermaid underwater work. The house was based on keepers' houses and residential homes from Maine and northern Massachusetts about eighty years prior to the story. I wanted the house to already be old in 1890. Mantle pieces were built whose fireplace openings had been bricked-in, with period cast iron stoves retrofitted in front of them, as a subtle indication of not just the period, but the history of the house. B The paint would be peeling and the floors well worn. It should not be unkempt, but it should not be well maintained either. It was certainly not to the USLHE standard, but it would fit the needs of the characters and story. The details needed to be there, however. It's been said that people will believe the big lies if the details ring true. To this end, I strove to find the details of this particular world. I discovered that the USLHE specified and made everything from oil cans, tools and lens cleaning kits to flatware and china. This was a boon to the Art Department as we researched lighthouses of the era. They even B. RHINO 3D MODEL OF THE FRESNEL LENS. RENDERED BY DAN SPINELLA. C. THE COMPLETED BRASS FRAME IN DAN SPINELLA'S SHOP. D. THE FIRST POLISHED AND TINTED LENS INSTALLED IN THE FRAME. C D