This was an incredibly ambitious short film but the creative team behind it was so generous and collaborative that I didn’t hesitate to come on board. The location was actually the same one from the movie ranch where I had previously shot the cabin set in “Shortwave” so the opportunity to re-dress this blank slate as a completely different space was an interesting challenge!
I put a great deal of effort into researching the decades before the film takes place so the space I built would feel rooted in time but still have a lived-in, transitional look. It was important to me that the viewer could sense a subtle evolution as the family grew and changed. In remote areas with little access to new goods, it was customary to see the same fabrics being used for multiple purposes; a worn out bedsheet became curtains—the offcuts were used as kitchen towels or to keep insects out of stored foods. I researched cabins of that time and made some character choices (with the writer’s blessing) to hint at a possible tie to the confederate army, as that would have been period appropriate and provided justification for some of the set dressing.
The film takes place in a small cabin in remote West Texas in 1873 with a flash forward to 1883. I was tasked with creating a modest family home where the father has long since passed away, and the adult son Carson is living following the death of his mother 6 months ago. His younger sister shows up unannounced and pregnant, looking for her mother and a safe place to give birth, but instead finds her reluctant brother and a shallow grave. I wanted to show the history of the family in some of the objects, as well as allude to the care Carson took in tending to his mother during her long illness; her books and teacup sitting untouched by the basin he used to mop her brow as she lay dying. Her bed made but not slept in since his mother passed; the indentation of her head still on the pillow like a moment frozen in time that he cannot bear to erase.
I made fake versions of several products (tobacco, whiskey, and canned goods) and used a lot of baskets and wooden elements to create texture in the space. We knew we would be seeing the entire cabin in 360º so I had to plan things carefully to ensure the space made sense. The biggest challenge was creating a faux fireplace mantle and surround that could also house a light source on a wall that could not be altered to accommodate much depth. I used molded paper stone panels to create the surround, and sourced old wood to build a mantle that I then paint-distressed and dressed with tools and layers of candle wax drips to give it the illusion of age.
We shot this interior mostly day for night so I used as many practicals as possible throughout the space; a mixture of battery operated candles with kerosine style LED lanterns and period lamps plus two real flame hero candles were augmented by LED panels and tubes from our amazing lighting team. The fireplace glow was particularly effective and served as fill lighting for the rest of the evening scenes.
The furniture and props were sourced from every corner of LA—I purchased thrift store cast iron and baskets but rented the more period-specific pieces like the coffee grinder, candle sconces, and lanterns. I repurposed an old pine toy chest by adding wrought iron decorative hardware and covering the top with a sheepskin to add texture. The kitchen was appropriately sparse for a man living alone, but I wanted echos of the family’s past to be peppered throughout the cabin. I imagined the quilt that served as a room divider was a wedding gift that was hung up to provide some privacy for the parents once young Carson had his own bed.
This project was challenging on many levels, but the incredible talent and dedication of the crew made this one of my favorite sets!