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The early stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic saw no shortage of Angelenos who began creative projects to stay inspired and productive amid work slowdowns and social distancing. After all, how many loaves of banana bread could one bake? Although many of those interim efforts never saw the light of day, those that did were powered by an extra dose of passion and tenacity during a particularly disruptive time.
Such was the case for longtime photographer and set decorator Lauri Gaffin. With close friend and fellow set decorator Florence Fellman, the Los Angeles native spent four years, starting in 2021, developing and assembling “Moving Still: A Cinematic Life Frame-by-Frame.” The glossy volume, published by Damiani Books, features striking behind-the-scenes photos Gaffin shot while working on high-profile movies such as “Fargo,” “Iron Man,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “Captain Marvel.” They are accompanied by vivid anecdotes from the set-decorating trenches.
But it’s Gaffin’s candid memories of the family and romantic struggles that dovetailed with her career that lend the tome a weightier, more personal touch. They serve as an affecting complement to the production stories, many of which take place in and around L.A. and other Southern California locales.
I recently sat down to discuss the book with Gaffin and Fellman at Bergamot Station’s Galerie XII, where a selection of Gaffin’s “Moving Still” photographs will be on exhibit through Nov. 22.
Lauri, how did this book come about? Did you always plan for the text to combine your personal and professional journeys?
Lauri Gaffin: I’ve always wanted to do a book of photographs about my history in film as a set decorator, and Florence and I started talking about it on one of our morning bike rides. But I didn’t want it to just be photographs of pretty sets or pretty pictures. And that’s when Florence said, “Well, you’ve had an interesting life; let’s do a book more like a memoir.” And for four years, we rode our bikes and talked. And talked.
Florence Fellman: About three times a week, after our bike rides, we met up at my house, which has since burned down [in the Palisades fire], and I would interview Lauri and try to write her point of view of her life. I’ve known Lauri since 1980 and have been a friend and a witness to the progression of her life, which had lots of drama in it, I would say.
Given how long and well you’ve known each other, what were the interviews like?
Fellman: I would ask her a question and she would burst into tears. [Laughs]
Gaffin: Those interviews were very intense — in a good way. It was a very organic process. It was like therapy in that way. It took me a long time to want to confront and reveal things in my life. I didn’t always make the best choices and I made some great choices, but you have to accept yourself. I kept things very compartmentalized in the past because work [as a set decorator] allowed me to function, to have structure.
Ultimately, how was the actual writing, getting the text down, accomplished?
Gaffin: We did it in consecutive, chronological order of the films, more or less. We wrote about [personal] episodes that were happening simultaneously with the shooting of the films.
Fellman: Then, having curiosity and wanting the book to be deeper, I’d come back and say something like, “I really need to talk to you about ‘Iron Man’ again.” It might have been the 10th time. I’d say, “I feel like something is missing — like you’re not telling me something.”
Gaffin: I was very guarded. Very resistant. But Florence persisted!
For the uninitiated, what exactly does a set decorator do?
Fellman: The art department on a film overall is responsible for everything you see visually outside of the actual acting. There’s a production designer who functions like an architect; they’re in charge of the overall look and the building of the set. The set decorators fill that set. We give the actor a context for their character. We’ll create their background, their [visual] back story: anything that character might collect, pictures of that character’s family and the like.
Lauri, how did you zero in on the shots you wanted to include in the book?
Gaffin: It was a long process. I started out with hundreds of photographs that I’d cataloged from like 15 films that I’d been on over the course of 30 years. It took a lot of working through the text and combining the photographs with it. I picked films that I had the best photographs from. We started [taking photos] in analog on “Fargo” and, as the years progressed, we went to using cellphones and other cameras. Some films, I just didn’t have good pictures of anymore, especially from the cellphones. It was a challenge.
So, as a photographer, you just naturally took photos while you were on set, separate from the pictures you had to take for your set decoration work?
Gaffin: Absolutely. I’ve been taking photographs since I was 16. I went to CalArts. I went to art school. I was a photographer — and I wanted to make a living as a photographer. But I had other necessities in my life with my family, and so that’s how I got into set decorating. I just always enjoyed taking photographs. It was in addition to what my job was.
To that end, how would you say that photography informs set decoration and vice versa?
Gaffin: We use photography as a tool. Certainly, way before cellphones, we had to photograph every object we were going to use. We made a catalog, and that’s how we showed the designer and other people what we wanted to do. We use photography as a medium for artwork as well on sets.
Fellman: When I worked for Lauri [as assistant set decorator on “Iron Man,” “Thor” and others], we’d dress the whole set and then she would say, “OK, let’s see what the camera sees.” She’d take pictures of the set and we’d go, “That’s awful!” That’s because what you see on a camera you cannot see with just your eyes. Lauri was really good about taking the finished picture, and then we’d go back in and make the set camera-ready.
Lauri, now that it’s up, how does it feel having a gallery showing of these photos?
Gaffin: I’m thrilled. It was a dream of mine. I really pursued the book and then it made sense to have a book and a show. To be able to share it all. With a gallery show, you get to see the pictures up close — and the prints are so beautiful. We saw so many more things when they were blown up. I felt really redeemed.
The post ‘Iron Man’ to ‘Fargo’: Behind-the-scenes photos and stories from major movie sets appeared first on Los Angeles Times.
