Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/716619
front doors or first-floor windows of homes. Vehicles became large mounds of white everywhere you looked. I turned to Kenny and said, "I think this snow has to be a character, I don't think it's going away." This weather challenge foiled my initial plan to drive around Cape Ann and begin to learn how the landscape molds the people and what role the place holds within each character. But I could not see anything, nor was anyone out. Kenny's script was so poignantly written and deeply rooted in this New England backdrop, I knew I needed to merge the characters with their authentic locations. The characters' environments needed to be as genuine as their dialogue with one another. I continued my research staying inside and warm, studying the history of the area going back a few hundred years, learning about who moved to Cape Ann and why. As soon as the roads were driveable, I began scouting with location managers Kai Quinlan and Alex Berard. Both Kai and Alex are from the area, which made for lots of good conversations about their perspectives on Cape Ann and the people who lived there. Along with scouting locations, I wanted to meet the local shopkeepers, businessmen, policemen and fishermen, to gain insight into the area to help figure out where each character should live and why. I wanted to know everything about the fishing industry, the boatyards and Cape Ann's commercial fishing culture. Alex and I scouted one home where I struck up a conversation with the homeowners about what I was looking for and needed insight into. Shortly after, I received a text from them: "R u on for Pratty's 6:30pm? 10 Parker St. Darts. Juke Box. Pool. Fishermen in This page, clockwise from top left: A study model of the hero house showing the driveway and locations of the emergency picture vehicles during the fi re. Scouting the farmland that would be used to build a façade to match the in-town hero house; the layout was drawn in marking paint on the ever-present snow. Originally, Ms. De Jong planned to place the house at the bottom of a sloping hill because the trees behind it would be a close match to the house in town, but the extensive snowmelt forced its position to higher ground, both to avoid the water runoff and to be able to get picture cars in and out on shooting day. "Designing MANCHESTER BY THE SEA was about connecting the place to the story's characters and the characters to the place. They were who they were because of where they lived."