set decorating
We recently filmed an Art Gallery scene which of course we needed to fill with art.
So I called up some NYC artists I know whose art was the right style for the vibe they wanted. One of these artists is a friend from high school Crys Yin who has a studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
At the end of the shoot, the director liked one of Crys' paintings so much she bought it!
So during the one-day fake art show, we sold a piece! Does this make me an art dealer now???
When I was the Production Designer* on a silly web series "Put it On the Table" and one of the challenges we were given was to transform a contemporary Tex-Mex restaurant into an Art Deco vibe.
I'm proud of finding that sconce lamp and think it really made this shot.
Now I love Art Deco period design. like LOVE. As in, I'm a member of the LA and NYC Art Deco Societies, go to the annual Jazz Age Lawn Party, (so in other words I'm a little nuts) and my dream is to work on a period piece film or TV series set in the era.
Considering this, it was both a fun challenge and a frustrating experience to work with a micro-budget to capture the essence of the Art Deco aesthetic (the era in which Monopoly was designed) on a set that wasn't suppose to be a faithful and historic Art Deco interior but rather a surrealistic and disjointed fever dream suggestion of the Art Deco aesthetic.
Additionally, the location they found for us to use for these shots was a Tex-Mex restaurant and we would have 20-30 min to dress the set in between other scenes shot there.
Considering this, I think we got the job done for under $30:
*I mean I was Production Designer, Set Decorator, Set Dresser, Props, and On-Set....you know for these small things you are basically the whole Art Department. In this case it was my talented friend Eimi Imanashi and I who were the Art Department for the whole shoot.
I was the Production Designer* for a silly web series called "Put it On the Table" and one of the scenes was a Control Center/War Room for a guy to sabotage his ex-girlfriend's date with another guy.
It was fun to take a common visual idea seen in serious war or detective dramas and put a juvenile and light-hearted spin on it thinking from the perspective from a young guy still pining for his ex-girlfriend. You can see all the reference photos I used here.
*I mean I was Production Designer, Set Decorator, Set Dresser, Props, and On-Set....you know for these small things you are basically the whole Art Department. In this case it was my talented friend Eimi Imanashi and I who were the Art Department for the whole shoot.
So the feature film I'm set decorating is set in NYC in 1988.
The production designer wanted me to handpaint some sign mock-ups. I was using those 99 cent store brushes (that's what was available in the production office) but I thought they came out ok still:
The Art Dept office in the Production Offices were plastered with fun reference photos of NYC Soho in the 1980s.
While prepping for a feature film where I was set decorator, I had to try and create two different images of an equinox flower out of matchsticks, a key dressing in the plot of the movie.
option 1
option 2
option 3
option 4 (based on a drawing from production designer)
While not the easiest medium, I'm pretty happy with how they each came out. It took a long time, but it was calming and meditative and I listened to a great episode of On Being while making these.
In the end though, a much simpler and less complex design was used in the shot. When the film is released I'll screenshot it.
fun fact: a classic Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu was filmed in 1958, called Equinox Flower.
