"Boardwalk Empire": Season 1, Episode 1. "Pilot"

Production Design: Bob Shaw
Art Direction: Doug Huszti
Set Decorator: Debra Schutt

I have no rationale behind including this poster here. I just really like it.

The aspect of production design that I find fascinating is working with period pieces. The research involved is incredibly time consuming, and in the case of "Boardwalk Empire" required the authentic recreation of not only several interiors, but the entire boardwalk of Atlantic City in1920. Based a behind the scenes video, the boardwalk entailed 300 feet of construction of completely life-like sets and the rest of its eight miles were filled in by the visual effects team. The clip below shows the construction of that set as streaming video, and it's absolutely captivating:



The trick to set design is that you can't just take a look at the year and design around it. If you were to look at a bunch of Art Deco skyscrapers in Atlantic City it would ring ever so slightly false. Instead most of the buildings and scenery were built in the Victorian era with a Beaux-Arts influence. According to Director Martin Scorsese, "There are hardly any remnants of Atlantic City now, the original one. We were guided by photographs of the period, postcards."

Victorian interior architecture/design is showcased heavily on the set of Babette's nightclub, the site of one of the opening scenes. It is evidenced by the dark, Gothic revival wood paneling, the moody green paint, the thick turned balustrade (save for one which I'll get to in a bit), the Battenburg lace tablecloths, etc. As the first scene in that club depicts a "funeral" (a joke regarding the beginning of Prohibition) I found the setting to be cheekily appropriate.

Nucky (Steve Buscemi) and Lucy (Paz De La Huerta) in "Boardwalk Empire"

I'll admit that part of the set (in terms of the "architectural history" of the building within the confines of the story) seems to have been tacked on after its original construction, and that's the balcony. Production Designer Bob Shaw has stated that "There was a real Babette's, and the bar was shaped like a boat."

A still of the balcony level of said boat is shown below, and as far as architectural detail is concerned, I'm quite frankly stumped. I have never seen a balusters in that shape before, and it feels a bit Disney-esque. However, knowing the level of research that went into this production there is certainly a justification for the way this part of the nightclub was presented.

So, I haven't watched episode 2 yet, but I am really looking forward to it. A lot of critics are comparing "Boardwalk" with another HBO juggernaut "The Sopranos". Story- and character-wise, this is a very apt comparison. For me, "Boardwalk" wins hands-down for its extreme attention to visual detail.