Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1433736
N I G H T B O O K S | P E R S P E C T I V E 7 3 What a fun show to design. What a dicult show to design during a global pandemic. Preproduction started in late summer in a very busy Toronto where stages had all been scooped up. The production settled in several converted warehouses, along with oces all prepped for separation so we could work safely and with some freedom to move around our individual spaces —a luxury for sure. With the Art Department being such a tactile specialty, I think some people overestimate how much can be achieved over oom in a very short time and without the benefit of inperson paint and fabric samples. In the first couple of weeks, the director and I and the rest of the Art Department spent most of our time putting together set packages to be presented online. We were producing $3.5M worth of sets on a $25M budget, with a preproduction time that was extremely tight, incredibly rising costs of building materials and a city so busy we hired a core crew in the oce with a revolving door of satellite assistants who stayed with us for a few days or weeks at a time. Art Director Diana Magnus was spending much of her prep days in Zoom meetings with the satellite sta, so occo Matteo was also hired as an Art Director to come in for a few weeks and oversee some of the sets. When director ave arovesky and I first met over Zoom, we spoke of our shared love of the horror genre and how, at its best, it is created with layers upon layers of symbolism and metaphors that reveal something new upon each subsequent viewing. We were making a horror fantasy for children and teens but wanted to create a world A. CONCEPT ART FOR THE MAGICAL LIBRARY BY JESS SHERIDAN. B. HERO BOOK ILLUSTRATION BY PJ WILSON. C. HERO BOOK BEADED AND EMBROIDERED BY HAND. D. ALEX'S NOTEBOOK COVER ILLUSTRATED BY PJ WILSON. PRODUCTION STILL. B D C