How do you create six unique, realistic sets for the same western film? Production designer Jess Gonchor has the answers.
the Coen Brothers’ new Netflix western anthology presents the struggles of living out West in six short, provocative vignettes. It’s one of their most ambitious projects to date — playing with the medium by telling six stories that play on a theme that the Coen Brothers are very familiar with: death. From Fargo to Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers’ films remind us that no matter who you are, or how important you are to the story, you’ve got a pretty good chance of dying.
Since westerns are such a unique form, they require a very acute sense of detail to really immerse the viewer. Pulling it off takes a load of planning — and a very thorough production designer. Jess Gonchor has worked on quite a few of the Coen Brother’s films, and he approaches his job as an art form. No Film School recently spoke with him about his work on Buster Scruggs and his experience working with the most prolific directing duo in the industry today.
Working with the Coens
Gonchor has long been the Coens go-to production designer, so he’s got a feel for how the duo operates during pre-production and on set. Here’s Gonchor on his experience working on Buster Scruggs:
Designing A Unique Western World
Designing six different sets for one film is a monumental task. So what’s the best way to consolidate all of your ideas? Usually, Gonchor uses a series of giant bulletin boards that organize his sketches and mock-ups, but for a set design as detailed as a western town, he had to go 3D. This included using 3D modeling, building foam core models, and even designing entire miniature sets to get a 360° view of the set before they set out to build the full-sized one.
Trying to visualize the Coens’ concepts can sometimes be like assembling a puzzle. What exactly does a one-man traveling side-show look like? These are the questions that Gonchor had to ask himself while designing the stagecoach for the “Meal Ticket” vignette:
As you can see, the design of the set can influence the look and feel of the entire film, and it’s hard to compete with Jess Gonchor’s ability to do so for the Coen Brothers. You can see his latest work come to life in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, currently on Netflix.
For the entire interview, check out the full article at No Film School.
All images via The Ballad of Buster Scruggs(Netflix).