Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535796
7 8 P E R S P E C T I V E M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 5 and thoughtfully chosen character pieces that helped bring life into all the rooms. Melissa and her team were even able to find the exact TV that Kitty and Jose were watching the night of their murder. I researched many designers from the 1980s, including Steve Chase, a famous Palm Springs interior and furniture designer. We used oversized white silk sofas and side chairs in the formal living room inspired by his designs. For the rest of the house, we stuck with solid colors, staying away from prints and patterns. Color blocking, blues, strong reds and cool grays were the palette. I also wanted to incorporate a few bold colors. For instance, in Kitty and Jose's bedroom, I used a garish red wall-to-wall carpet as a foreshadowing element and also to help create an uneasy feeling for the audience and the actors. We also used bold red vertical blinds in the Live Entertainment set where Jose Menendez worked. It's funny, as I get more immersed in a project, the characters' worlds begin to reveal themselves to me. For instance, in the TV room, I felt compelled to hang a wall-mounted blue marlin in an area of the room I had no reference photos for, not knowing until much later that there had been that exact fish hanging in that same place. As the vibrant red carpet was being installed in the master bedroom set, I also had a brief moment of doubt and thought, "Is it too much?" But we were moving so fast with such a tight schedule—there is no going back. Much later, someone found a Tik-Tok video which had a photo of Jose Menendez lying on his bedroom floor, and it turned out that the carpet had indeed been bright red. Convertible Sets/Fly Walls Building a set on stage allows creative control, removing the limitations that can occur in practical locations. The builds can also help the visual part of the story by incorporating camera portals, wild walls, fly walls, and even the placement of windows to help direct light—giving the camera flexibility and variety to capture the scene. At the start of preproduction, the Art Department didn't have all the scripts. We initially didn't plan on building a courtroom, but as we started getting scripts for later episodes, there were more courtroom scenes than initially anticipated. From Eric and Lyle's arraignment to both the trials, Van A. ELM DRIVE MURDER ROOM. SET PHOTO. B. ELM DRIVE DINING ROOM. SET PHOTO. C. ELM DRIVE LIVING ROOM. SET PHOTO. D. ELM DRIVE FOYER. SET PHOTO. E. VAN NUYS COURTROOM. RESEARCH PHOTO. F. FLASHBACK COURTROOM. PRODUCTION STILL. COURTESY OF NETFLIX. A D C B