Piano Dreams

This project for Bose 901 Concerto speakers was one of the largest sets we ever built in the studio. The backdrop behind the arches was custom painted by William Rogers, and was forty feet wide! This was pre-digital.  It was shot on 8×10 film, and 8×10 polaroids. Just figuring out how to build the set to match the layout was a challenge.  We made an acetate line sketch of the layout scaled to fit on the camera’s ground glass.  Then, with the lens open we gave our set-builder, Larry Sammons, a step by step guide to the height and width of the various components.  Larry constructed the set in sections that were then assembled in the studio.  When everything was up, he had a pair of faux-finish artists add visual character to the walls.  The floor where the piano sat was recessed at a lower level than the foreground where the speaker was placed.

The video below gives a good look at how the whole thing got done.  This was one of those challenges that I live for!!

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