{"id":18035,"date":"2011-11-03T11:00:25","date_gmt":"2011-11-03T18:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/?p=18035"},"modified":"2011-11-03T11:12:54","modified_gmt":"2011-11-03T18:12:54","slug":"interview-daniel-novotny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.csifiles.com\/content\/2011\/11\/interview-daniel-novotny\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Daniel Novotny"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’<\/em>s Las Vegas setting, the series is filmed hundreds of miles away. Spread across four sound stages, CSI<\/em> takes residence on the Universal Studios lot, also known as the entertainment capital of Los Angeles. With two stages devoted to permanent sets, one housing set construction, and another sheltering temporary sets, production designer Daniel Novotny<\/strong> keeps a busy schedule designing sets that look and feel as if they’re actually in Sin City. Novotny talks with CSI Files’ Shane Saunders<\/strong> about what his job entails, following in his predecessor’s footsteps, and previews his next big set for the show. Exclusive photos and video after the jump! <\/p>\n

CSI Files<\/strong>:\u00a0“Freaks & Geeks”<\/a> featured a very high-profile (and very large!) sideshow circus set. What was most-challenging about constructing this specific set piece?<\/p>\n

Daniel Novotny<\/strong>:\u00a0I think the most challenging part of creating this set was the overall size and time frame.\u00a0It wasn’t the most difficult or detailed, but as far as square footage goes this was the biggest. The exterior portion of the circus had to be tall enough to look real. We used actual circus tents which created an authentic look, but required special rigging and extra preparation time.<\/p>\n

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Prior to building the set for "Freaks & Geeks," production designer Dan Novotny sketches out his vision. (Photo: Dan Novotny)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/center><\/p>\n

CSI Files<\/strong>:\u00a0Was it ever considered shooting on location at an actual circus for this episode opposed to having to build a set of your guys’ own?<\/p>\n

Novotny<\/strong>:\u00a0Shooting at an actual circus was never an option. \u00a0Doing so would have created different and more problematic circumstances. \u00a0Building a circus on a sound stage allows us flexibility to create the style we want with the ease of controlling our environment.<\/p>\n

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A behind-the-scenes look at Dan Novotny's "Freaks & Geeks" set. (Photo: Dan Novotny)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/center><\/p>\n

CSI Files<\/strong>:\u00a0How do you as a set designer determine what is built and what is done on location?<\/p>\n

Novotny<\/strong>:\u00a0While reading a script for the first time, I do a breakdown of each environment required to accomplish each scene in the episode. These environments can be built from scratch on stage, while others are modified on location. \u00a0Determining what is built on stage vs. location is a balance of many factors. \u00a0First thing considered is the vision that we are trying to create, which in turn tells the story given in the script. \u00a0Second, balancing a number of factors such as: prep time, budget, ease of shooting, accessibility, safety and how many pages of the script are written within each particular environment helps determine how and where these environment will be created.<\/p>\n