Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/974985
8 4 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 8 • The tenements, representing various ethnic neighborhoods and including both commercial and residential development. • Midtown, representing our middle to upper- middle class characters, featuring townhouses and street layouts that reference the areas around Washington Square and the West Village. • Uptown, representing upper class characters with larger estate houses typically found on the Upper West Side of Manhattan or on the Avenues. • The Bowery, a commercial, transient and seedy hub of Manhattan at the time. Set Designer Nicole Reed attempted a variety of layouts and possibilities for connecting the different neighborhood types. I knew that I wanted the streets to connect to each other so that there could be continuous, practical carriage rides, and to allow the directors the flexibility to shoot 360 as much as possible, but I also didn't want a set with a layout that wouldn't allow for change down the line. Nicole did a masterful job resolving the connections between the different neighborhoods and integrating realistic scale details tied to conditions in New York. Unfortunately, Cary Fukunaga had to pull out of the show at this point because of time and project obligations, and a new line producer, Chris Symes (who had worked in Hungary previously), was coming onboard, all while the Art Department in Hungary was working full throttle, as there was a gigantic backlot to build. Ground had to be broken on the backlot by twelve weeks out in order to meet construction deadlines for the shooting schedule. Chris Symes was an incredible addition to the functionality of the show, and from the beginning was a huge advocate of building as much as possible to limit the restrictions and costs of having to extend or build the world in post with visual effects. Chris gave the go ahead to build the backlot full height, instead of only two stories A B C A. PHOTO OF THE COMBINED BACKLOT ON A MOTT STREET SHOOTING DAY. PHOTO BY MARA LEPERE-SCHLOOP. B. THE BOWERY BACKLOT SET. PHOTO BY MARA LEPERE-SCHLOOP.. C. PHOTO OF THE COMBINED BACKLOT ON A HESTER STREET SHOOTING DAY, SHOT FROM THE FIRE ESCAPE. PHOTO BY MARA LEPERE-SCHLOOP.