Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538080
In total, the crew created well over one hundred environments: a Greek-American wedding venue, a biker bar in the desert, a decommissioned power plant, a small-town bowling alley with an Elvis theme. We had to treat each set like a sand painting—meticulously conceived, vivid in texture, but usually designed to serve a single emotional beat, then wiped away when the story moved forward. That transience was part of the ethos of Duster. The characters are in motion. The truth is always elsewhere, forward. Even our most anchored spaces were just stops on the road. And some spaces told stories not by what they revealed, but by what they refused to show. Viewers never see either of the lead characters' homes. These omissions were deliberate. Instead, their emotional journey is revealed through seeing their shared or inherited spaces, like Jim's childhood home, a sprawling mid-century relic transformed by his stepmother's relentless kitsch decorating. It was a house in conflict: Spanish tile under shag carpet, florals fighting geometry, grief concealed by pattern. A place for Jim to depart from, not come home to. The Dusterverse in Print and Paint Graphic Design was a huge part of creating what I call the Dusterverse. Often, I advocate for re- creating real products from archives or research, but this project had a totally different approach and we wanted to create our own version of brands and corporate logos. Graphics were having a heyday on roadsides across America in the 1970s. I wanted them to feel authentic, even though they were completely fictitious. Honestly, this is one of the harder things to do in films—to make something that's not real but doesn't scream fictional. The show's incredible Graphic Designer, Alan Chao, was an absolute ace at building some of these brands which would be seen throughout the series: Vortex gasoline stations, AstroFudge candy bars, Oro De Carrasco tequila, Hooks and Ladders cereal, Mr. Fizz soda, a board game called Oh No, Armadillo!, Continental Gold cigarettes, A. BOWLING ALLEY EXTERIOR. VFX SIGN MOCK-UP. B. SOUTH PHILLY STOREFRONTS. SIGNAGE LAYOUT. C. SOUTH PHILLY STREET. ILLUSTRATION BY SVEN JOHNSON. D. SOUTH PHILLY STREET. SET PHOTO. E. MR. FIZZ GRAPHIC LAYOUT BY ALAN CHAO. F. NACHOS CON DIOS AD. GRAPHIC LAYOUT. A B C D