I'd like to add on to this some quotes from Jerry Wanek (head of production design on spn) and others who worked in the props and art department, from an interview in an issue of the Supernatural Magazine (I really recommend reading the whole article!):
One of the extra touches that appear in every motel room are the postcards. “We do a different postcard for every motel,” [Lee Anne] Elaschuk (graphic designer) confirms. “For example, if we're in a Missouri fishing lodge, on the postcard I’ll put a bait shop, cave tours, and a taxidermy service. Some of it we get pretty tongue-in-cheek...."
The one downside to creating such amazingly immersive sets is there’s no way everything is going to make it onto film. “In pretty much every single episode something I loved designing doesn’t get seen,” Wanek reveals. I don’t watch dailies anymore. [...] Early on in my career, I was watching a show that I was really proud of, and it was like, ‘Oh, man, they didn’t see this’ or ‘They didn't see that.' I really didn't want to get into the mindset of ‘They’re not going to see it anyway, why take it this far?’ As soon as you do that, they’re going to focus on the comer you didn’t finish, and then you’re going to feel like a jerk."
"We know we have a lot of diehard fans out there that love to see the little stuff,” notes Elaschuk. “Even though they may not see the level of detail we put into it, it’s there [...] We really try and get the details right - and it’s also a lot of fun for us.”
Elaschuk loves it when the fans pick up on these elements. “Tell the fans to look for the little stuff,’’ she instructs, “because we’re always putting it in there for them. Have fun looking for clues, like in Bad Day At Black Rock we put clues of the rabbit’s foot, basically anything to do with rabbits, layered throughout the episode. Always look for the little things, because they’re there - we make them in the art department.”
Also I can't find it right now but I do remember a quote about how all the lore books are made by the art department.
These things are definitely intentional artistic choices. Never forget how much of a collaborative medium television is. Everything plays a part in constructing meaning. It's not just the writing and acting. It's the set dressing, props, lighting, editing, music, everything. The summation of all these parts create the text.
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