Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1538452
14 PROP CULTURE I FALL 2025 vibrations formed instantly into specific shape patterns on the plate. After a preview, Ben saw the arresting visual and added it as a beat in the sequence. The wave forms for the oscilloscopes and the frequencies needed to vibrate the salt patterns on the Chladni, plate were all generated practically. I remain proud to have contributed to the "science" behind a pivotal plot point of reintegration and achieve those visuals practically with no VFX help. Additionally, when we meet new refiners in MDR this season, I was encouraged to create incentives and perks that the refiners could have brought with them from their respective branches. We had our prop illustrator create a silhouette portrait for Gwendolyn instead of the caricatures featured on Dylan's desk. There is a nine-sided die with the core principles on it. We made a Dario wooden head cube, as he was from a very "poor" branch to counter the sleek Mark crystal cube. Ben and Dan wrote some of these prop creations into the scenes and gave the Dario head cube an extra moment when Dylan returned to his desk questioning the piece and tossing it aside. This season, we also got to expand our world and build an entirely new world on Gemma's testing floor. We were no longer tied into the retro aesthetic and had to find a whole new language that described Lumon's most cherished experiments. We were able to create a suite that served dual objectives as both jail and safe space. Within the super minimalist aesthetic, we created a medical suite, 60 books bound with custom dyed leather, a food system for feeding Gemma that consisted of food pods and a functional cooking stove, among many other elements. All the parts came together to form a disturbing residence suite for Gemma in her captivity. Born from that, the Woe Meter was an exciting Gemma suite build. Holding hand-carved conductive rocks, Gemma answers a series of questions while a device records her biofeedback with lights, moving meters, and dials. Essentially measuring her woe. We concepted it and made a 3D model, finally CNC'ing it out of steel. We then powder-coated the piece and added dials scavenged off old Nagras. Last, we laid in motors to steer the needles of the gauges and remote relays for the lighting changes. It was all controlled via an off-camera app. Another big Gemma suite build is the telescoping fluoroscope, among the many props concept illustrated by Eric Fehlberg. It was movable up and down and counterweighted for the least possible resistance as the actor engaged with it. The specialists engineered the functionality and fabricated the rig. Each arm of it weighed hundreds of pounds yet moved with ease. A fan favorite from Season 2 is Irving's carved watermelon head. The theme of melon as a corporate employee reward had been running through the story since the first episode of Season 1. Each time melon was introduced to the story, it was important to up the ante making each instance visually deeper and stranger. The Irving watermelon head was the next evolution. As a twisted homage to Irving's death, Lumon offered up a meticulously carved watermelon Irving From Gemma's food pods to a carved Irving watermelon head, food helped tell the story in Severance