Mark Worthington needed more than just an Infinity Stone to create Wanda Maximoff’s reality.
Set in a post-“Avengers: Endgame” world, “WandaVision” follows the infamous Scarlet Witch’s (Elizabeth Olsen) complicated journey through grief and loss as she creates an alternate sitcom-themed reality to relive a life with her late partner, Vision (Paul Bettany). Nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour), production designer and faculty member at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television Mark Worthington said “WandaVision” utilized the sitcom genre to portray the superhero’s experience navigating the very human struggle of grief and PTSD.
“Sitcoms were a really important part of Wanda’s early life as a kid and they were that touchdown point of comfort for her,” Worthington said. “They represent her family when it was a positive thing before her parents were killed … it’s her using (sitcoms) as a shield against the trauma and the grief she’s dealing with.”
Though the series draws from old shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Bewitched,” Worthington said the episodes were not intended to be a mere copy of them, but have an intentional relation to them. Inspired by sitcoms from each decade, set decorator Kathy Orlando said the environments were created to reflect the moods and attitudes of the different eras.
When designing the episodes shot in black and white, Worthington said there was different color transfer compared to scenes shot in full color. For instance, a bright red would appear darker in black and white shots whereas green would appear lighter, he said. In order to determine which colors would transfer accordingly for the episodes set in the ’50s and ’60s, he said he used the black and white filter on his iPhone as a guide.
