Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1470106
R U S S I A N D O L L S E A S O N T W O | P E R S P E C T I V E 1 1 9 A. KRISTOF'S PARTY. ABANDONED POWER PLANT LOCATION IN BUDAPEST. SET PHOTO. B. NADIA (NATASHA LYONNE) ON THE SUBWAY PLATFORM. PRODUCTION STILL. C. LENORA (CHLOË SEVIGNY) IN A SUBWAY CAR BUILT ON A SOUND STAGE IN BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN. PRODUCTION STILL. The foundation of my design process always begins with extensive research, fundamentally important when working on a period show, essential when working with Natasha Lyonne. When I first came onto the project, Natasha handed me a formidable two-page reading list, including texts on uantum physics, philosophic musings on reincarnation and the history of the lobotomy. We looked at films from the early silent era, cinéma vérité and gritty crime dramas of the '0s. Major influences included Seven Beauties, Alan akula's paranoia trilogy, especially Klute, Mean Streets and Sid and Nancy. Taking color cues from these references, though seemingly counter intuitive, we decided our palette for the season would become more saturated as we go back in time. Descent Into the NYC Subway System Nadia and Allen's mode of time travel presented some of the more challenging hurdles for the production. Shooting in the subway is not easy, and with VID protocols to adhere to, even harder. Logistic concerns included time and safety restrictions, formidable locations fees, and complicated seuences with the need for specific blocking and camera angles. The solution was to split the work between practical locations and stage builds. The platform and station work were all shot in the subway. Astor lace was the series' key subway stop, but unfortunately, we could not use the real station. We choose to use a dead station where we had full control. Because of the tight schedule, we used half the platform for current day and B C