Behind the Velvet Curtain
Sometimes wallpaper is more than just wallpaper. Does your script call for a Victorian mansion? A spaceship? A prehistoric cartoon dwelling? Set decorator Rosemary Brandenburg culls sources from prop houses to Ikea to designer boutiques for the perfect furnishings to give a film or TV set that realistic look. Indeed, the Oscar in Best Art Direction goes to a project’s principal set decorator along with its head art director. During the past 20 years, Brandenburg, a co-founder of the Set Decorators Society of America, has dressed such films as “The Flintstones,” the Tim Burton-directed remake of “Planet of the Apes” and last year’s “The Ring.” From amid the draperies of Disney’s feature “The Haunted Mansion” (due in November), she offers a behind-the-scenes look at a part of movie magic that’s often overlooked.
What exactly does a set decorator do?
A set decorator’s job is analogous to an interior designer’s job. We don’t select the spaces to film in or decide on room shapes or sizes-we fill them up. Any kind of furniture, draperies, lighting fixtures, carpets, rugs. It’s a list-making job.
And the lists are based on what you think the space needs to be filled with?
Exactly . . . which we do by understanding all of the parameters involved: the period; who the people are in terms of their economic and social status; what the personalities of the characters are-what are their jobs? When were they married? We call it “backstory.”
Are you of the school where set and decor are like characters themselves? Or should decor serve the director’s vision?
There are times when a movie director or production designer is going to be calling for a very bold design. And then there are times when [the set] is a surround for the action. My natural tendency is to create a seamless set where you don’t necessarily notice everything. It’s not going to stand out or bring the eye to it, but rather complement [the action]. I have been called on to do films where there are bolder sets, and I can do that too. But I’m one who thinks you should serve the script, serve the actor, serve the whole.
Are there projects whose ambience tugs at you more?
I swing between the thrill of doing imaginary worlds like “Planet of the Apes” and “The Flintstones,” or period work, which is wonderful because you’re diving into history. Those are the two trends I like the best. I haven’t been pigeonholed, which is great because if I had to do just one kind, I would go crazy.
What about set decorating appeals to you?
My mother was an artist and my father was a historian, so I’ve always enjoyed the interpretation of human events through the physical. That is a whole art form in itself. We often think of ourselves as analogous to writers, and a little like actors, because we kind of become the characters as we create these environments.
What happens to sets after wrap?
If it’s a Warner Bros. movie, [some] items go into the Warner Bros. property storeroom, which is great because then we can go back and rent them again. However, at a place like DreamWorks, [where] they don’t have a property [storeroom], we sell them.
Do fans have access to that stuff?
To my surprise, very few of the studios have chosen to administer that kind of thing. I get e-mails all the time for people asking me where they can get something they’ve seen. I got one three days ago from someone who said that he saw “The Ring,” had written down my name, went to the set decorator’s Web site and found my e-mail address and wanted to know, “Where was that table from in Rachel’s apartment?”
Does anything become memorabilia?
Some of that stuff looks a lot better on film. Tom Rothman, who runs 20th Century Fox, was very excited about dailies he saw from “Planet of the Apes,” where we did the ape camp. We had made these little chairs and rugs and mats, and big giant pots of steaming stuff where they were cooking. And he asked to have one of the little mats and benches set up in his office. Well, these were junky things. They looked good on film, but in front of you, it didn’t look so great. And he was like, “That wasn’t the one, was it?” Yes, it was! Certain things tend to be very cheesy in real life.
What does your own home look like?
It’s the cobbler’s child with no shoes. I live in the canyons, in a quirky house that’s 60 steps up, so every time I change something, it’s an ordeal. I tend to neglect it terribly.
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Set Decorators Society of America, (323) 462-3060.