Well respected and accomplished, Mank Set Decorator Jan Pascale SDSA won an Emmy for TV show Boston Public, worked on over 50 different TV shows and films and is no stranger to black-and-white films: she received an Oscar nomination for George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck (2005). But that monochrome film couldn't be more different than Mank. Unsurprisingly, the Oscar buzz has already started.
Mank was shot in crisp black-and-white, and allows viewers to journey back in time to experience all the glamour and grit of Los Angeles during the 1930s and early ’40s. “Everything looks pleasing to the eye in reality,” says Set Decorator Jan Pascale SDSA. “Even though the sets would never be seen in color, we didn’t want it to be jarring for the actors in the scenes.”
Much testing was done of different colors and tones to discover what worked best for black-and-white. For a little modern-day assistance, Jan used the “noir” filter on her iPhone when photographing set dressing elements so the images would be captured correctly.
The set dressing's authenticity is superb. For inside the writers’ rooms and steno pools, she tracked down clacking typewriters, candlestick telephones, and oscillating fans from a private antiques dealer. “So much of the technology has been rendered useless,” she says. “Every time we found carbon paper for the typewriters, we celebrated.”
Pascale’s biggest challenge was re-creating the opulent Julia Morgan–designed Hearst Castle. Because of limited funds, a single soundstage was used for the elegant dining hall, parlor, and foyer. “We had to make everything on a budget that was considerably less than what William Randolph Hearst was dealing with,” she shares, “It kept me from getting a good night’s sleep.”
Click on the link for full article in Architectural Digest
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