Series:

The Crafts in Hollywood: Production Design

Topic:

Film and Television

COVID-19 Pandemic

Interviewer:

Collings, Jane

Interviewee:

Chambliss, Scott

Persons Present:

Chambliss and Collings.

Place Conducted:

Sessions one and two: Chambliss's home in Los Angeles. Because of the necessity of restricting personal contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, the third session was conducted by phone.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library’s Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Jane Collings, principal editor and interviewer, UCLA Center for Oral History Research; Ph.D., Critical Studies in Film and Television, UCLA.

Processing of Interview:

The interviewer prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Chambliss was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the content but made no changes.Some months after the oral history interview was completed, the UCLA Center for Oral History Research recontacted Chambliss to invite him to participate in another interview session documenting the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film and television industry. The final session thus focuses primarily on the personal, professional, and industry-wide effects of the pandemic.

Length:

3.5 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

This series of interviews was undertaken in collaboration with the Art Directors Guild. Its aim is to document the lives and work of Guild members and staff who have made a significant contribution to film and television history. Interviews capture the work of title artists, set designers, art directors, production designers, and many other categories. The contribution of labor unions in shaping the conditions of the work is also addressed.

Early interest in set building and arts--Enjoyment of MGM musical anthology That’s Entertainment--Studies set design for theater at college--Graduate work in theater at Carnegie Mellon University--Begins work with Tony Walton--Enjoys the content of the work in regional theater--Begins to work in film--Production design for The Celluloid Closet.

Begins work in TV on Felicity and on Alias, with J.J. Abrams--Chambliss’s vision for built environment in Tomorrowland--Continues to develop philosophy of visual story telling--Work on Mission impossible III--Working with crews in Italy, China, and Romania--Concepts at play in work on Salt--Design concepts in the work on Star Trek--The transition from production to post-production in Tomorrowland--Balancing use of real locations with use of computer graphics--The working process for Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2--Brings a strong research foundation to design concepts--Visual concepts in Godzilla: King of the Monsters--The issue of re-circulation of images--Chooses to work on projects that convey optimistic world view.

Shutdown of Amazon Studios project in March--Travel through deserted airports and on empty planes--Sense of isolation from society--High level of governmental and public response to COVID-19 as compared to AIDS--Household routine under quarantine--Reworking of current project under new production rules--More on sense of social isolation--Poor response by federal government to pandemic--Settles in a “new normal.”