Production designer Jim Fenhagen and senior designer Larry Hartman have worked together on many projects in their respective positions with Jack Morton Design/PDG, not the least of which have been Comedy Central’s incarnations of The Daily Show sets, as well as the set for The Colbert Report when it first launched and when it was redesigned. They’ve also worked on Colbert’s specials, including Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear at Washington DC’s National Mall, the 2012 summer concert series on the aircraft carrier deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York, and his December interview with President Obama in DC.
With Colbert moving to CBS to take over the timeslot and space of The Late Show With David Letterman at the iconic Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York, the same design team masterminded his set. We caught up with Hartman the week after The Late Show With Stephen Colbert first aired to learn more about converting the famous space, including the new lighting design by Michael Scricca. Be sure to read the first set of questions and answers in Part One.
LD: Talk a little about any challenges that arose when you got onsite at the theatre for the install and build process.
LH: Because we imagined a set that tied directly into the existing theatre facade, integrating our scenery was extremely complicated. The nearly 90-year old theatre elements were asymmetrical, and nothing was square. Every fit involved custom templates massaged into place. This made the installation much slower than we had hoped, with many of the pieces needing to be adjusted onsite.
The scenic balconies we created on either side of the stage, as well as the canopy that cuts across the proscenium arch, all had to be supported from above, with pick points to the steel above the dome structure. Ideal point locations had to be reworked in the field, as some elements weren’t able to land exactly where intended, so that meant more modifications on site to ensure ample structural stability, and again, an extended load-in period.
All of this brings up timeline as another challenge. Because Letterman was on the air until late May, none of the theatre renovations or set installation could begin until practically June. That left roughly three months to complete both huge undertakings, but everything got done in the end, and we’re very proud of the results.
LD: Talk about the different areas of the set and their functionality.
LH: The interview area incorporates a large, high-res LED screen framed with our Mondrian light boxes and wood shelves. We made sure that Stephen would never be shot against a purely digital background, always wanting a physical piece of architecture in the frame. The interview area features some of the actual proscenium columns. We had additional faux columns cast and reproduced to play as supports under the canopy. Stephen’s desk is a fairly traditional wood-paneled one, but color-changing lighting adds a modern accent.
The interview platform flows into a downstage right nave. Here, the original theatre facade is again incorporated into the set design. The thin, ornate columns and friezes are integrated into a library filled with books and props. Stephen wanted to take advantage of ladders already behind the facade to allow him sneak entrances onto the balconies on both sides of the stage. In the end, we needed to have new ones built, but the functionality is there.
The opposite side of the stage houses Jon Batiste and his band Stay Human. The band is so energetic and mobile that we wanted to keep their area very open. They truly cannot be contained, with Jon and his players strolling throughout the theatre, through the audience, both ground floor and balcony level, and performing during the commercial breaks. The scenic balcony above the band has the look of another brick building just beyond the existing theatre facade. Painted with a faded CBS eye and a “ghost ad,” these walls reinforce a gritty backstage look against the ornate classical details of the theatre.
The center area between Stephen’s desk and the house band is the main performance space. In addition to guest bands, this area will be used for green-screen bits, standups, and for Stephen’s entrance. We have created three layers of backgrounds here. The base look is one of successive brick walls creating the backstage. An LED screen flies in front of the brick walls. A flying garage door drops in as a final layer of depth.
Tech Talk
LD: What software do you build in, and how does that translate to your client?
LH: The base 3D model of the theatre was created with data obtained from an accurate 3D laser scan of the existing space by HAAG 3D Solutions, a company specializing in geospatial imaging based on point-cloud technology. The architects incorporated the proposed theatre renovations onto this base model, which we further developed as we advanced the set design.
We had a long design period and used a range of tools to present our ideas. We typically do rough sketches on paper and digitally, then quickly start building 3D models using Maxon Cinema 4D. Graphics for our renderings are created using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Our final renderings are touched up in Photoshop. We do all of our drafting in Vectorworks. I have also found sketching on the iPad to be a very powerful way to communicate ideas quickly as well. For this, SketchBook Pro is a terrific app.
LD: Who built and installed the set?
LH: The set was built by Black Walnut. They had also constructed the previous sets for The Colbert Report. The installation was done by the Ed Sullivan’s crew, with supervision from Black Walnut.
LD: How about the lighting and video systems?
LH: The lighting package came from Light Action. D3 LED was the LED supplier. The video projection system on the dome and theatre architecture was designed by Bravo Media. The Late Show staff video content creator is Jon Pretnar, working in conjunction with the show’s producers and graphics team. Lighting control is via two [MA Lighting] grandMA2s with 25 two-port data nodes. There is also an integrated ETC Paradigm system for house/emergency lights. The video system control is a combination of media servers and live inputs from the production switcher. The overall system that feeds it is called Orad.
LD: Anything else you want to add about the experience?
LH: It was a thrill being part of the launch of this show. I have never seen a host more involved in the creation of the set than Stephen Colbert was on this one. He is obviously extremely smart and very funny, but he also truly considers everything that he is doing. Nothing is arbitrary. He ponders what every choice can say. We believe that attention translates to the screen and adds richness to the design in a powerful and unexpected way. Arriving at the look you see on camera was truly a design process that began at that first walk-through of the space.
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Credits And Equipment
Scenic Design
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Stephen Colbert
Executive Producers: Meredith Bennett, Tom Purcell
Co-Executive Producer: Barry Julien
Jack Morton/PDG
Production Designer: Jim Fenhagen
Senior Designer: Larry Hartman
Senior Project Manager: Matt Glaze
Senior Illustrator: Chris Maroney
Illustrators: Molly Hellring, Adaer Melgar, Jennilee Aromando
Graphic Art Director: Shelline Vandermey
Graphic Designers: Raeford Dwyer, Tamir Karta, Paul Budd
Drafters: Evan Hill, Catherine Carriere, Molly Hellring
Producer: Amanda Dwyer
Coordinator: Meredith Murphy
Scenic Build
Black Walnut
Managing Partners: Jac Gendelman, Mike Van Dusen
Project Managers: Frank Bradley, Lee Martindell
Installers: Konrad Majchrzak, Wyatt Peterson
Electricians: Tim Martindell, Rich Lopez
Lighting Design
Lighting Designer: Michael Scricca
Associate Lighting Director: James Milkey
Head Intelligent Lighting Programmer: Justin Cheatham
Lighting Console Operator: Constantine Leonardos
Head Electrician: Shawn Walters
Production
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert: Stephen Colbert
Executive Producers: Tom Purcell, Meredith Bennett
Co-Executive Producers: Barry Julien, Emily Lazar
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Supervising Producer/EIC: Tanya Bracco
Line Producer: Bjoern Stejskal
Video Content: Jon Pretnar (in conjunction with the show’s producers and graphics team)
Show Scenic Design Department: Andrea Purcigliotti, Brendan Hurley
Scenic Artists: Lyvan Munlyn, Bill Depaolo
Stage Crew
Head Carpenter: Harold Larkin
Carpenters: Tom Gordon, Bill Palumbo, John Tutalo, Jose Rosario
Head Electrician: Shawn Walters
Lamp Operator: Cory Schaub
Head Intelligent Lighting Programmer: Justin Cheatham
Equipment
Lighting
Light Action (custom truss and gear)
ETC Source Four LED
GLP impression X4
2 MA Lighting grandMA2 Console
ETC Paradigm Control System
Video
D3 LED
Managing Partner Sales & Marketing: Jason Barak
Director of Systems Engineering: Meric Adriansen
Senior Project Manager: Jim Pappas
Lead Technical Project Manager: Raphael Delacruz
TE-SMD-2.5mm
3 4.7' x 6.3' Units for Column Displays
1 14' x 11' Unit for OTS Shots
1 20.5' x 14' Flying Display
TE-SMD-1.6mm
1 4.7' x 6.3' Lower Column Display
565sq-ft UHD LED
9 Million Total Pixels