An accomplished art director–as five Emmy nominations would attest, four of which were for HBO’s True Blood (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013) and one for Shark (CBS in 2007)–Catherine Smith made an auspicious debut as a production designer, landing the pilot for what at the time was an obscure series on a fledgling online television platform. The show turned out to be the acclaimed Transparent, which helped to put Amazon on the TV entertainment map.
Smith established herself as a production designer on the first season of Transparent and at press time had just embarked on season two. In between seasons, she had a production designer turn on the NBC sitcom A to Z, as well as a couple of pilots.
The accolades Smith earned over the years as an art director extended well beyond the Emmy nominations–and beyond TV as well. As an assistant art director, she was part of the team which earned what turned out to be her first Excellence in Production Design Award nomination from the Art Directors Guild–for the feature American Beauty. As an art director on True Blood, she garnered three more nominations from the Art Directors Guild–in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
In this installment of SHOOT’s Chat Room, Smith reflects on Transparent and her working relationship with series creator Jill Soloway who won the DGA Award earlier this year for the show’s “Best New Girl” episode.
In addition to the coveted DGA Award, among the other honors bestowed thus far upon Transparent have been Golden Globe Awards for Best Television Series–Comedy or Musical, and Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series–Comedy or Musical for Jeffrey Tambor. The American Film Institute named Transparent the recipient of the AFI Award for TV Program of the Year, noting, “Transparent illuminates the role of television in changing global perceptions through laughter and love. Jeffrey Tambor is transcendent as a divorced dad true to herself in Jill Soloway’s emotionally universal series–one which challenges notions of genre and gender by celebrating the idea that we’re all human, no matter who we are on the outside.”
SHOOT: How did you get the opportunity to work on Transparent, landing your first production designer gig? What drew you to the series?
Smith: Production designer Suzuki Ingerslev, whom I worked with on True Blood, recommended me to Jill (Soloway) for the pilot. When you meet Jill, she is such a powerful presence. She believes so much in the art of what she’s doing. She gives so much freedom to those involved in the work. I feel so fortunate to have connected with her and with Amazon who’s been awesome in giving us the creative freedom to do what we do best. For me, to land this as my first job as a production designer was like winning the golden ticket.
I was very drawn to the story in Transparent. The script took place in L.A. and I’m a local. I felt a connection to the script because I could visualize the settings. I also saw Jill’s movie Afternoon Delight, which I thought was amazing and made me want to work with her all the more.
SHOOT: What were the biggest creative challenges that Transparent posed to you as a production designer?
Smith: This was a pilot for Amazon. Amazon was brand new to this world and money was a challenge. We didn’t have a whole lot of money to work with so the challenge was to find locations that would work within our limited budget. What helped was Jill being so specific in terms of the characters, defining them and their environment. She creates an amazing kind of collage where she connects visuals and colors with the scenes and the characters. I wanted to respect all that in the production design–and to do all that in real locations. We had to go out and find a lot of these perfect little places–and fortunately we were able to do so. The Pfefferman family home was almost ideal. You felt it the moment you walked in.
SHOOT: How did you find the Pfefferman home?
Smith: It was before I even got the job. I put together a look book for my interview with Jill. On True Blood, we used to look through location websites and I put a little research library together. Some people’s houses are staged online. Some people put pictures of their houses on the web. I use them as research for how people live. I looked for what would be the perfect house for the Pfeffermans. I found a couple that looked pretty good. But then I found my favorite. I put it on the cover of my look book. I asked the location manager of True Blood and he said it would be possible for us to shoot there. I remember during my Transparent interview pointing out that was my favorite house for the Pfefferman family and that it was an actual location we could access for shooting. It turned out to be the house we would use for the series.
SHOOT: What’s next?
Smith: I’m happy to be starting season two of Transparent.
