Whether they’re contemporary apartments that give us crucial context about a main character or impossibly fantastic starships and castles that show us the character of a fictional setting, production design transports us to places that just feel right. But it’s often under-appreciated just how quickly these settings come together and how much detail escapes even our ability to pause on any frame. Join IndieWire in spotlighting the production designers and art teams who tackle impressive logistical challenges to do impressive visual worldbuilding.
“ What We Do In The Shadows ” has made Staten Island a gothic paradise for vampires — or at least an acceptable secret headquarters for Energy Vampires from all over the world — for five seasons now, with a final Season 6 arriving in October. One of the joys of a series that gets an extended run across multiple seasons is that the production team has that many more opportunities to expand the world and play with existing locations. The tone and aesthetic and the key locations are already locked in.
The hard part’s done, right? Not at all. Keeping a show visually fresh is part of what keeps it interesting. But that kind of series longevity also creates the challenge of maintaining all the spaces the show needs — or might need to return to.
“ What We Do in the Shadows ” has its main Vampire Residence, of course, and it needs to return that space to its normal look even after Guillermo ( Harvey Guillén ) falls thro.