Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/780285
30 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 1 7 include him. The publishing house where Ana (Dakota Johnson) worked became the logical choice for the start of filming. An historic building in Vancouver's Gastown was about to be vacated by an executive search firm, so we convinced them to vacate earlier and then introduced lots of elements pulled from Pioneer Square to divide the space and create the offices. About two dozen titles of books that could conceivably be published by a small concern in Seattle, alluding to the geographic area of the film, were created. To further delineate the look of Ana's work world, the reception area was designed with a wall of oversized woodblock type, to reinforce the Luddite quality of the publishing house. Author E.L. James agreed to a business name change from Seattle Independent Publishing to Seattle Independent Press, as the logo was so much easier to read. An overlay of manuscripts, boxes and history populated the desks, creating the sense of a long- established mom-and-pop operation. Many of the spaces in the set needed to easily transition in time as Ana's character takes over the publishing business. Divider walls were designed with hinges to allow quick redresses as well as to provide camera portals. Top left: Several design team members contributed to the Seattle Independent Press reception wall, a successful old-school printing press homage, featuring Mr. Coates' logo with the Seattle Space Needle as a writing pen. Each block was wire-cut from foam, coated and painted to look like ink-stained wood. Center and below: The boardroom portion of the Seattle Independent Press Set featured original graphics and book jackets, as well as production proofs and red-lined galleys, of titles the design team created and cleared to sound like works from a regional independent publisher. Book graphics were done by Loree Cameron. "Maintaining secrecy at every stage of a production can prove quite daunting. These days, the usual crowd of paparazzi are no match for the Twitter feeds and blogs of ubiquitous fans with their cellphone cameras." Among the many challenges of Fifty Shades Darker was securing Christian Grey's yacht. The interior yacht spaces actually had to be designed and constructed prior to securing the actual boat to be used as the exterior. Many Seattle-based companies ultimately came on board with signage and dressing so that the street scenes would feel authentic. Even the Seattle/King County Bus system cooperated.