Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/780285
Opposite page, counterclockwise from top: Mr. Coates' initial rough sketch of the masquerade ball pier- like stage with the St. Mark's colonnade pieces and portions of gondolas as if docked at the pier. Masquerade ball rigging installation in progress in the Vancouver Convention Center. Wire-cut foam-sculpted colonnades, inspired by Venice's St. Mark's Square, added drama to the tent interior. Craig Humphries spent many hours calculating just how much detail the production could execute and afford. A detail of the masquerade ball show portal, with its heavy theatrical painted drapery, during painting at the Grosh workshop in Hollywood. The olio curtain itself extended the illusion of a Venetian wharf. This page, top: A section through the masquerade ball drape and truss section, drawn by Mr. Humphries. Below, left to right: A photograph of the finished charity masquerade ball tent set favoring the orchestra stage. The intent was to create an old school event with pieces that the Grey family could have conceivably rented from the local opera company. Historic Venetian patterns were printed on Dibond ® for the stage, and on heavy gauge vinyl for application to the concrete Convention Center floor. Cal and I worked to create a more masculine, darker and fuller décor for the Grey spaces. We took a road trip to Seattle to refresh our sense of the city, get visual references and connect with local galleries. Contacts were made with several local vendors, shops and bespoke furniture designers who fabricated one-of-a-kind tailored pieces to help shape many of the Seattle sets, and create a more dense history for the sequels. As part of the new look, more than eighty works of art were secured for use in the penthouse, from artists working along the Pacific Coast and Pacific Northwest, to reflect a younger, edgier and more complex aesthetic. Richard MacDonald, one of the foremost figurative sculptors working in the world today, agreed to have three of his pieces featured in the Grey collection. Darker woods and heavier fabric textures were selected to help propel the thriller-like mood. New- to-the-market surface materials, including StoneTile products, Formica's Panasphere laminates, custom- shaved slate backed with fiberglass, and numerous Dibond materials, were added to mahogany- stained rosewood, Venetian plasters, and raw silks and linens to form the visual language of the penthouse. With so many filming days and so much equipment on the penthouse floors, the materials needed to withstand lots of abuse, and yet still look high end and fresh after weeks of filming. The master bedroom was redesigned into a true suite to allow depth and actor movement through the connected hallways, master bedroom, bath, closets and balconies. Foley felt strongly that a Madonna image should be included in Christian's private space since it is referenced in the book. Madonna by Edvard Munch had the right feel for a work of art that Grey could conceivably own and was cleared to use, adding a perfect edge to the master bedroom. As each new set was designed, the presentation walls were updated in advance of a dog-and-pony show for book author E.L. James, director Jamie Foley and producer Dana Brunetti. The design presentation featured sets encompassing three countries, eight cities, 106 filming days, and 160 sets and locations, and it was well received. That presentation was then refined to present to studio executives just one week later, who were also quite enthusiastic about the new design direction. Vancouver's Gastown neighborhood was a good match for Seattle's Pioneer Square historic district. Ana's environments for the film were set here to give contrast to Christian Grey's world. Signage and shops in Pioneer Square were approached about being represented in the film, and the Historic Society also gave permission to re-create their banners on the Vancouver streets. Jamie Dornan (who plays Christian Grey) and his wife were expecting their second child just as filming was to begin, so the first two weeks of production needed to be scenes that did not