Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
in Southfields, NY. The puzzle pieces for this set involved partially duplicating elements of the exterior on stage and the interior at location for exits and entrances. Because the episode is set in the Rockies, the production had to venture further north in NY to find a more mountainous terrain, as much of the Hudson Valley is essentially flat. But ninety minutes north of Newburgh, we came across a small area of conifers that also resembled the topography of the Rockies. The crew searched high and low for the motel exterior that Rian envisioned, something modest and timeless. We scouted and re-scouted countless motels until we found one that would work forty-five minutes away. It was perfectly nondescript, but Rian also wanted it to feel like a lodge, so we re-clad the façade with split logs to match the interior motel lodge on stage. To add visual interest and enhance the motel appearance, we designed and fabricated a freestanding neon sign reminiscent of roadside motels in the '50s and '60s. SPFX contributed the finishing touches of snow and ice to accomplish our Colorado blizzard. The tree hollow may have presented the biggest puzzle to solve early on. The design and execution had to service all the specific story beats of the episode: a body being dumped, a body climbing out, an existing resident corpse from several years back, hidden in the woods, in the Colorado mountains, during a blizzard, all to be revealed and discovered in a rhythmic telling of the story. The approach to filming it on location presented too many logistical hurdles so the production determined it was best to replicate the terrain of the location on an elevated platform to conform to the slope of the ground for visual FX to blend into a location plate shot. The carpenters and scenics fabricated a beautiful trunk of the tree and hollow interior as a separate piece, all in collaboration with Mike Thompson and the fantastic greens department to complete an incredibly convincing wilderness set. Episode Six: "Exit Stage Death" - Upstate New York The episode needed an old-school dinner theater for "Exit Stage Death," starring Ellen Barkin and Tim Meadows. Rian wanted it to feel like an intimate dinner theater, but large enough to accommodate a decent number of tables and chairs. The search started with small theaters and auditoriums, A C B D A. LODGE INTERIOR. ILLUSTRATION BY ALISTAIR MILNE. B. LODGE INTERIOR. SET PHOTO. C. LODGE INTERIOR. PRODUCTION STILL. D. TREE HOLLOW EXTERIOR ON STAGE. SET PHOTO. E. TREE HOLLOW. PENCIL STUDY BY ANDREW BOYCE. F. TREE HOLLOW INTERIOR. SET PHOTO. G. DINNER THEATER. FLOOR PLAN BY CHRIS RHOTON. H. DINNER THEATER. SKETCHUP MODEL BY CHRIS RHOTON. I. DINNER THEATER. AUDIENCE AND BAR. SET PHOTO. J. DINNER THEATER CATWALK. SET PHOTO.