Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538080
5 4 P E R S P E C T I V E J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 5 panoramic stills of Phoenix. This photography gave us a starting point, but it would obviously need to be altered significantly. What we captured was modern-day Phoenix—so most of it had to go. The team digitally removed the post-1972 buildings and other intrusions. Then came the harder task: reconstructing what would have been behind them in 1972. That meant deep research—referencing historical maps, city directories, local archives and even personal photo albums. The Art Department had to reconstruct historically accurate buildings and landscapes behind the modern elements we had removed. Then, we added the atmosphere: a layer of golden 1970s smog that sat low over the city. But Phoenix isn't only a skyline. Just like Duster, it's a city defined by the geology that holds it. So, the background was extended further, adding the signature craggy hills and stone-ridge lines that frame the desert basin. The translight wasn't just a background for windows. It had to hold up in every shot and lighting setup, across glass reflections, and in night scenes with orange sodium vapor light thrown onto the concrete columns the crew built on the exterior of the stage set to give a real element between the window and the backing. What was created wasn't just a backing of Phoenix. It was Nina's destiny—a landscape where she came to get revenge and find justice. From the moment she walks in, the city is there, looming—looking, judging, expecting. It doesn't blink. It doesn't shift. It doesn't care. It's part of what traps her. The power of that set was its duality: a space of supposed openness that revealed every inequity. It was a chamber of judgment that she would eventually claim as her dominion. Out of the Stages and Into the World Once the Art Department established the emotional and architectural DNA of the FBI set, it was time to expand outward—into the world beyond glass and steel. Our base of operations was Albuquerque, which would stand in for Phoenix and, in many cases, the broader American Southwest. And in that transformation, our secret weapon was Shani Orona. Shani, the location manager, was a quiet powerhouse. Her ability to see potential in overlooked architecture was a huge asset, and she A. PHOENIX FBI BACKDROP. B. PHOENIX FBI BACKDROP IN PROGRESS. BUILT AT CINELEASE STUDIOS, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO. SET PHOTO. C. PHOENIX FBI BACKDROP. PRODUCED BY JC BACKINGS. SET PHOTO. B C A