Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541514
O N E B A T T L E A F T E R A N O T H E R | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 1 often felt like its title—one battle after another —requiring persistence, problem-solving and trust across every team. Otay Mesa - Opening The film opens at a detention camp built from the ground up along the border wall in Otay Mesa, CA, directly beneath the truck-entrance overpass from Mexico into the U.S. The constant rumble of semis became part of the background and character of the set. Grounded in contemporary and historical references, the Art Department studied imagery of temporary detention facilities—chain-link fencing, astro turf, metallic blankets, trailers and generators— to capture impermanence. The production changed course, and a new plan for the opening was developed overnight as we completed night shoots in El Paso. Andrew Cahn and Art Director AJ Cisneros, with Set Designer Chris Cortner, turned my sketches into a full plan overnight. When we arrived for the first scout, construction was set to begin the next morning. It felt like running a covert operation: marking out the camp with cones and stake poles and walking through the plan with department heads on the ground. The site was laid out around the blocking of the French 75's raid, featuring a back entrance along the border that led to long tented corridors housing officers' quarters, and a long street entrance that led to multiple gate pens and temporary tents. Lockjaw's trailer sat at the center, the most secure location per the film's military advisors. Set decorator Anthony Carlino sourced tents and trailers on an impossible timeline, while the art team secured fencing and built custom doors and gates from reference photos. The camp was lit practically, using the same portable floodlights found in real detention centers, powered by generators that became part of the set. All explosions were staged practically by SFX supervisor Jeremy Hays, allowing live rocket arcs as the camera pulled back to reveal the semi-truck loaded with liberated detainees. French 75 Unrest Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles and Tracy blended into the film's "any city USA." These inland cities provided the courthouses, banks, B. DETENTION CENTER OVERPASS AT OTAY MESA. PRODUCTION STILL. B