Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/820551
60 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 7 to represent this community correctly, I would need support and expertise in worlds I simply couldn't know from the inside. One example from their Hair Show episode was the welcome tutorial that Graphic Designer Shaq Amerson offered me on the history and art of black ladies' hairstyles. I'm proud to say that, more than any other Art Department I've been a part of, this one on Star looked like our show. From the superb Set Designers Carlton Copeland, Cierra Madison and Omar Foster, to department coordinator Yolanda Ray with her own expertise in the Atlanta music scene, I have been blessed with the very best team in town and I'm beyond grateful. As we head to the finale of season one, the question remains: can a show combine the extremes of poverty and glamour in one package and still Above, right: For Simone's fantasy of being locked up, Mr. Saklad created a cellblock straight out of THE GREEN MILE that was built into a corner of an abandoned factory, as shown in his pen and marker sketch on onion skin. Above, left: A worklight view of the fantasy prison set just after getting its glossy blood-red floor paint to signal this was not a realistic prison. The full company of prisoners' mid-number on the set; the beam of light through the rotating fan was a stroke of genius from gaffer Tommy Sullivan. The ravishing color in the lighting and in the spattered paints didn't show up when the episode aired—the whole scene was turned to sepia in post production. Right: A sketch by Mr. Saklad of a location set for one of the girl group's musical performances. Planning the shape of the forestage went hand in hand with planning the choreography and camera moves for each number. The circular design was one of six different shapes proposed. Inset: The live musical performances by the girls needed to build and build throughout the season until their finale performances in the last episode. This proscenium with chasing bulbs was built within the Tabernacle nightclub in Atlanta for that finale, along with a round forestage and apron with LED uplights. Moving spotlights and pyrotechnics set those final numbers apart.