The first photo in this series was taken of me while I was the art director on LOST, Season 3. We were preparing a location to be filmed as part of Episode 5, "The Cost of Living". In the story, Mr. Eko is returning to a Nigerian village portraying himself as his deceased brother, who was the priest at the only church. The real location that was used for filming was in Waialua, Oahu. There is an old sugar mill in the town that had closed in 1996, leaving part of the area somewhat abandoned looking. This happened to serve the desperate look of the set that was described in the script. The Production Designer, Zack Grobler, is from South Africa and used his personal experience to inform the details that would go into creating a make-believe Nigerian village. Mr. Grobler is an amazing designer who applies his intellect, artistry, his eye for detail and a sense of dramatic tension in every set that he designs. One of the first steps in the process of designing this set was to gather research. We were fortunate to have as a resource Mr. Grobler's photos, but also continued to collect images of African villages, signage, construction methods and materials, and most importantly, research on how the people in that area lived. Rick Romer, Set Decorator, brought a truck load of items to be used to create a marketplace. We used corrugated plastic and metal, plastic containers, tarps, old furniture, clothing, wood planks, plastic and metal chairs, rope, and wire to create individual shacks and stands. Added to that was original hand painted signs, and burned out cars. Simultaneously the Construction department installed the church walls. Our goal was to make an environment for Mr. Eko's truck to drive through on its approach to the church exterior the next day. It was a long, hot day under the Hawaiian sun, where the UV index is much higher than on the mainland. The church seen in the set photo above was merely a facade. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, (Mr. Eko), walked up to the facade door, then was filmed coming through the door of a real church down the street. The interior was filmed at a historic church in Hale-Iwa, also pictured above. What impressed me about the old church location, besides its authenticity, was the church's 110 year old Bible, still open on the podium. Part of our mission as film designers is to make the transition between a set/facade and a real interior appear seamless in the course of the narrative. In the original staging of the scene, director Jack Bender wanted the approach to be filmed using a long lens, showing Mr. Eko's truck driving up a dusty road past make-shift shops and shacks selling their wares. Unfortunately, the final edit was shortened to the arrival of the truck, cutting out so many details that made you feel like you could actually be in Africa. Incidentally, the dog featured in the scene was the director's own pup, a rescue dog, and on-set mascot. Despite that Waialua is near the North Shore, the lack of an off-shore breeze made the prep day hot and dry. When I returned to the production facility, I ran into Executive Producer and Writer, Carlton Cuse, who had just arrived from Los Angeles. He asked me how the set was coming along, and I answered him saying--"It's hot, dry, desolate, and poor".
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