Soap Opera Report By Bruce Joffe and Vickie Murphy Patriot - February 16. 1977
The 35-plus sets used on Another World are undoubtably among the most varied and stunning of any daytime serial. From the Cory. Carrington, and Matthews homes — to Frame Enterprises and the Randolph law offices — to Tall Boys and El Diable, AW does a superb job in designing sets that suggest a realistic background for Bay City's lofty surroundings.
Otis Riggs, AW s Art Director, is the man responsible for creating this delicate illusion of reality. In order to achieve a look that viewers could accept as real., Riggs has had to combine his background in architecture and interior design with studies and stage management. When the creators of Another World decide to expand or to introduce a new set, the shows producers call & special meeting with their Art Director. How and when the set will be used, who will be visiting it, and what it should look like are all discussed in considerable detail. Riggs next consults his for possible ideas, paying careful attention not only to the function of the room in the plot, but also to the personalities and characteristics of the people who will be seen there.
Riggs finds himself devoting a great deal of time to researching each of the rooms he creates. Several sketches of a basic floor plan are devised by the Art Director before any of the actual set construction begins. These rough floor plans are xeroxed and copies are given to the serial's directors for an analysis of the new. room's "geography" — to make certain that cameras can be moved around easily. The revised floor plans are next routed to the show's carpenters who draw elevations and estimate the cost of building materials, paper, and paper hanging. A cost estimate is sent to the show's Cast Manager and to the producer, Paul Rauch. Finally a floor plan is approved and the green light is given to begin building the set.
While the carpenters build and shape the framework of the new set, Otis Riggs and his co-worker. Bob Greenberg, are deciding how it will be "dressed." Once these plans are complete, Otis will take his floor plans to the Kenmore Furniture Company in New York, a firm that specializes in providing furnishings to television and movie studios. Riggs will either rent or purchase the furnishings he needs, for quick delivery to the show's Brooklyn studio. The many sets used on changed almost every day. Once a set has been designed, erected and dressed, it soon must be taken apart. Every set has its own special "hamper" and "dolly," where its components are safely labeled and stored.
By
Paul Raven ·
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.