Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1517535
4 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 2 4 For Lessons in Chemistry, I resolved to recreate what my grandfather saw when he first began his career. But what was it? Was it the mostly rundown offices and trailers we have as production offices today or something better? I researched New York radio stations of the 1950s and what the transition to television looked like. In New York, it looked like theater. In Los Angeles, CBS Columbus Square Radio Studios turned into CBS television, built in the streamline style in the 1930s. I began with that. With Jesse, I scouted an old derelict radio studio, also streamline. There, once beautiful hallways, staircases and offices, were half demolished. This was the thread of the design. I found a plentitude of research on Desilu Studios, a late 1950s production company. It was well documented due to the fame of its star owners. I found Desi Arnaz in one of the first studio control rooms, with electrical cords everywhere, very low tech. Arnaz and his pioneering three-camera technique, with the studio audience in the background on plain wooden chairs and platforms. Desi's and Lucy's offices, with a little flair, but more business than movie star. The real glamour was in the public spaces. This began setting the scene; streamline-style hallways and mostly low-tech offices and spaces. Always remembering, this was the beginning of an era, things were still somewhat makeshift and chaotic. With the help of Zachary Galler, director of photography, Lori Mazuer, set decorator, and Jode Mann, props, we became obsessed with the small details. From the prop cameras that could still actually film to the period lighting and old school greenbeds. All of these items are still available in Los Angeles. People still use them. The color story was to document the dynamic of a male- dominated industry, cooler, darker colors with the artificial feminine, pink and frilly. The genius in this collaboration was the input of director Sarah Adina Smith who created a spectacular one shot from the exterior of the studio all the way to revealing Brie as Elizabeth Zott at the Supper at Six set. Every day, Sarah pushing for more, more hallway, more offices, more. But the series had a very limited budget. We took so many cost-saving shortcuts, using paint finishes and cheaper materials. We built the absolute minimum amount for the shot. Turned out the bare simplicity of streamline architecture was an advantage in completing the set. The Art A. CALVIN'S HOUSE. ACE STAGE 4. SET PHOTO. B. ELIZABETH'S BEDROOM. ACE STAGE 4. SET PHOTO. C. SUPPER AT SIX BILLBOARD. GRAPHICS CREATED IN ILLUSTRATOR BY CHELSEA ALDEN. SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE PINK MOTEL IN SUN VALLEY, CA. SET PHOTO. D. TV STUDIO OFFICES. ACE STAGE 1. PRODUCTION STILL. E. TV STUDIO CONTROL ROOM. THE TELEVISION OFFICES WERE BUILT ON THE SET WITH THE STAGE SET FOR SUPPER AT SIX, PROVIDING A VIEW ONTO THE STAGE FROM THE OFFICES AND THE CONTROL ROOM. ACE STAGE 1. SET PHOTO. F. TV STUDIO EXTERIOR. SHOT AT AT THE INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF BEAUTY ARTS AND SCIENCE IN GLENDALE, CA. SET PHOTO. C A B