This is the story of an explorer who finds herself in a garden which seems like a paradise. However, the residents are trapped in a feeling of eternal bliss and the explorer finds that peace is not always as it seems. I was very excited when this movie was pitched at our program because I knew this would be amazing to work on as Artistic Director, allowing me to create a look and an aesthetic that you wouldn’t see just any day. I was able to pick out all of the costume pieces (most of which we thrifted) along with makeup looks, and the idea was to have the original paradise be pure, where the fairies inside could dance around in simple white dresses, but the explorer would be more grounded in reality, wearing greens and browns, bringing her closer to the natural earth. Once in the void space (this is what the paradise is really made up of), the fairies would be wearing black, an obvious contrast to their earlier looks. Because a majority of the story took place outside or in a void, there wasn’t much opportunity to build a set for this film, but I did have the chance to scout and choose locations for filming. We were lucky enough to be staying at Northwestern University which offered us many beautiful, garden-like locations to work with; I wanted something picturesque and untouched to create the feeling of a world without humans. Lighting was also a major aspect of this production, especially in the void, and I was able to act as gaffer for the film. For the void, I picked very unnatural colors to contrast the earlier gardens; blues and purples were rarely seen up until the characters entered the void, so I knew this would be somewhat jarring when the audience is placed there. Lastly, I selected or made all of the props for the movie. The most time-consuming prop was the journal, which was pivotal as it introduced the residents of paradise to the harshness of the human world. I spent many late nights filling the pages with words, art, and decorations, all for it to be ripped up at the end.