Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541514
Sensei's World - El Paso In downtown Baktan Cross, Bob seeks out his ally Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro), Willa's karate teacher. We built the dojo inside an abandoned storefront in El Paso, constructing it from scratch with mirrors, mats, a weapons room and exposed insulation. Street-facing windows allowed the unrest outside to play directly into frame. Kerry Hyatt designed vinyls that integrated with leftover signage from the existing store, keeping the real texture and story to the glass. The karate tiger was Sensei's central image, lent to us by a dojo in Eureka which inspired much of the layout and also the source for the tiger motif present in a custom painting commissioned by Carlino later in the apartment. The first El Paso location we walked into was Genesis Perfumeria, which became the anchor for Sensei's world. I loved the idea that his apartment was above the shop. The gutted second floor allowed the crew to build the apartment overhead and create a continuous 360° labyrinth beginning on the street, winding through Sensei's sanctuary and apartment, backrooms to rooftops, and ending with Bob's fall through the tree. Local experts—key location assistant Jacob Cena and architect Bill Helm—coordinated engineering and helped secure over one hundred El Paso locations led by Art Director AJ Cisneros. Materials were craned through a single window by the LA construction team. It was true joy to work A. BOB'S HOUSE ESCAPE TUNNEL. SKETCH BY FLORENCIA MARTIN. B. BOB'S HOUSE ESCAPE EXIT. RENDERED MODEL AND SECTION BY SET DESIGNER CHRIS CORTNER. C. BOB'S HOUSE ESCAPE TUNNEL ENTRANCE. SECTION OF STAGE SET BY SET DESIGNER CHRIS CORTNER. D. ESCAPE TUNNEL SET ONSTAGE. SET PHOTO. E. BOB'S HOUSE ESCAPE TUNNEL EXIT. REDWOOD OUTHOUSE BUILT ON LOCATION. SET PHOTO F. SENSEI'S DOJO. ILLUSTRATION BY JOANNA BUSH. A B C D F E