Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1539634
6 0 P E R S P E C T I V E S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 5 Contrasting Worlds: The Elite Spaces The ruling elite inhabited a different world entirely—gated communities of opulence and immaculate landscaping. President Cal Bradford's mansion epitomized this divide: neoclassical architecture, clean and minimal yet grand in scale, with echoes of the White House. The interiors were built on stage at Paramount Studios, while the series used a renovated 1920s mansion on Sunset Boulevard for location exteriors. The ruling elite's spaces required a different design approach. I designed the boardroom to feel like a cave within a cave, perched high above the city with dark stone colors and brutalist lines. Rescued masterpieces—I imagined Sinatra's team saving paintings from major museums—hung on walls covered in custom vacuum-formed tile skins that the construction team created. Raw concrete and darker palettes dominated—no need for the pretense of flowers and muted colors here. The interrogation room became a pivotal space where Xavier goes "through the looking glass," leaving the manicured world for something more sinister and Orwellian. Director of photography Yasu Tanida and I chose low ceilings to create the sense of underground claustrophobia. The walls were bare concrete with visible form lines, the lighting harsh and directional—a stark contrast to the soft, diffused light of the town above. The Dome Infrastructure The LED dome is its own ecosystem. Directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra expressed to me early on we would be up above the dome for a chase scene, so I knew we were building that for the finale. This drove my obsession with the city's edge, where fake mountains transitioned to pipes and miles of cabling. The Budweiser processing plant provided the ideal backdrop for part of this industrial frontier. The crew dressed massive cooling towers as atmospheric processors, transformed brewing tanks into water filtration systems, and ran thousands of feet of pipes and cabling to suggest the dome's power infrastructure. Working with Graphic Artist Lori West—another longtime collaborator—we detailed the visual systems that made this world believable, from technical readouts to safety signage marking the boundary between Paradise and its industrial reality. Research, Inspiration and Previsualization I always begin by immersing myself in research: architecture, photography, film, art—even something as simple as a wallpaper swatch or old newspaper can spark ideas. Building this visual scrapbook is central to my design process. I print everything and cover the Art Department A. INTERROGATION ROOM. CONCEPT RENDERING BY KEVIN BIRD IN CINEMA 4D AND PHOTOSHOP. B. INTERROGATION ROOM. PRODUCTION STILL. C. ARENA BOARDROOM. CONCEPT RENDERING BY KEVIN BIRD IN CINEMA 4D AND PHOTOSHOP. D. CONTROL TOWER. CONCEPT RENDERING BY KEVIN BIRD IN CINEMA 4D AND PHOTOSHOP. A B C D