Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538080
Designing the Customs Border Patrol (CBP) detention center was the most gut-wrenching environment to approach both in research and execution. Art Director Zed tirelessly looked for clues online, anything to convey how these facilities are adapted and operated. The show's CBP facility was in a warehouse location and adapted haphazardly like most of these centers. Ours was primarily based on the McAllen Station Border Patrol facility in the Rio Grande Valley. We decided this could be where Mo would have been taken. For the prison cell, we took inspiration from a video of the Bluebonnet Detention Center in North Texas which helped us navigate the more nuanced details. This research reaffirmed what we suspected that these institutions are less humane than privately owned prisons. When Mo breaks through the wall of his prison cell, the crew recreated The Shawshank Redemption dream. Construction, scenic and fabrication teams sculpted the hole from plaster, echoing Andy's path to freedom. Scenic charge Bryan Wofford aged the detention center while Zed shifted focus on recreating the infamous sewage mixture, combining chocolate, sawdust and a few secret ingredients. We dropped the tunnel into the riverbank set, ready for the final day of shooting Mo's crawl to freedom. As the team spent most of our last day on set sculpting Zed's ingenious fecal mixture into the A. CBP DETENTION CENTER IN PROGRESS. SET PHOTO. B. CBP DETENTION CENTER EXTERIOR SIGNAGE DESIGNED BY GRAPHIC ARTIST MICHAEL GARZA. C. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION DREAM SEQUENCE TUNNEL AT BORDER CROSSING. SET PHOTO. D. & E. CBP DETENTION CENTER. PRODUCTION STILLS BY JAVEON BUTLER. A B C D E