Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546176
eight episodes, I can give each one much more attention. We always wanted Ransom Canyon to feel cinematic. Our visual references were films, not television. What Netflix has allowed us to do is capture both the intimacy and the scope. PROP CULTURE: As the creator, writer, showrunner and executive producer, you're responsible for building an entire world long before cameras ever roll. At what point in the writing process do the physical details begin to emerge? When do the props, set dressing, and everyday objects that ultimately define a character and their world start becoming part of the storytelling? APRIL BLAIR: I generally don't obsess over those things right away. There are some things I know are going to be important, and I'll describe them, but I really try to hire the best people possible. People who are craftsmen, artists, people who care. I like building those things together. I don't always have a specific object in mind. That's true with actors, too. People ask me who I imagined when I was writing a role. Nobody. I let that build outside of me. There are definitely little things where I'll think, "I wonder what we're going to do with that," but I kind of obsess about all of it. I literally want to know traditions without letting Ransom Canyon become a collection of familiar Western clichés? APRIL BLAIR: It's specificity. I don't ever think, "All cowboys do this," or "All cowboys wear this." There are things where I'll trust the experts. Ledgers and maps are probably one of those things where I think, "The Property Master knows what to do." But all the little details matter. The wallet someone carries. The keychain they have. Before we even started filming, I did an extensive lookbook for every character. It wasn't just wardrobe. It was their aesthetic. Knowing that aesthetic gives everything specificity. It doesn't feel like we're just doing "the cowboy thing." Even in the writing, we try to ask very specific questions. What would they be drinking? What's the right brand? Where would they get a burger in West Texas? Even the saddles they're riding or the pack Staten would carry when he rides out. We spent a lot of time figuring those details out with the wranglers and the various departments. Ninety percent of the audience would probably accept whatever we put on that horse, but I want the people who know better to look at it and believe it. PROP CULTURE: On a ranch, nothing exists independently. The props, costumes, tack, vehicles and locations all have to feel like they belong to the same people living the same lives. Was that level of collaboration between the various departments something you consciously encouraged from the very beginning? APRIL BLAIR: Absolutely. My worst- case scenario is everyone working independently and then coming back with things that don't belong together. The keychain doesn't match the purse. The purse doesn't match the furniture. Everything has to work together. That's why we have so many prep meetings. They probably verge on annoying sometimes ... (laughs) ... but they're important. PROP CULTURE: Is creating that atmosphere one of your superpowers, RANSOM CANYON: QUINN'S SOAP exactly what the soap wrapper looks like. Quinn's soap in Season 1 became a whole ordeal. The suitcase tells a story. PROP CULTURE: Property Masters often say the audience remembers the hero props but believes the world because of the everyday ones. It's the luggage, the soap, the wallet, and the things people carry every day that quietly convince us these characters have lives beyond the page. As one fellow Property Master once told me, even a coffee cup has an artistic eye behind its selection. Every choice helps tell the story. APRIL BLAIR: Exactly. We didn't feature Oliver's luggage, but it adds to the scene. It creates the world. It also helps the actors immerse themselves. If you hand someone a junk prop because you think nobody's going to notice, they feel that. They feel all those details. It helps them get into character. It helps the crew. It helps the directors and the DP. When everyone walks into a space and feels it, they have a much better sense of the world. PROP CULTURE: Every Western comes with certain expectations. The hats. The saddles. The trucks. The maps. The ledgers. Even the bottles behind the bar. How do you embrace those RANSOM CANYON: LEDGERS RANSOM CANYON