“I encountered a new culture with which I had no experience” [Exclusive Video Interview] – GoldDerby

Gold Derby

Helen Jarvis understood that she had a lot of work ahead of her after signing a contract in early 2021 to serve as production manager for the new 10-part FX adaptation of the 1975 epic film James Clavell novel “Shōgun.” For one thing, we were still in the middle of the COVID lockdown, and everything was really shut down in Japan—making access to the country where the series is set impossible, even though it is set over 400 years ago. Jarvis had never read the book either. “I avoided it in 1975 because it was way too thick and I would probably never read it through,” she claims. “Plus, I had never worked with multiple different directors on a series before, so it was a very interesting proposition. And I had never been to Japan.” British-born Jarvis still hadn’t been there, as “Shogun” was filmed in British Columbia, Vancouver Island and the suburbs of Vancouver. “Plus, by that point, I had gotten used to working with a crew of people you communicate with twice a day via Zoom. It would have been nice if there had been a little more dynamic around the table.”

We spoke to Jarvis as part of our “Meet the Experts” panel for TV production designers. Watch the exclusive video interview above.

Despite the obstacles, which included “dealing with a new culture that I had no experience with,” Jarvis somehow persevered and triumphed with a gorgeous, richly designed production. But at first, Jarvis says, “there wasn't a single molding or wall paneling, nothing that you recognized. The show had this kind of fresh start. The story is so good. Once you start doing the research and the principles of architecture, it's very engaging.” She also loved working in Vancouver, where she rebuilt two outdoor sets and a pair of sound stages to create the “Shōgun” world.

“You learn to appreciate the beauty of nature because so many interior shots depend on beautiful exteriors,” she points out. “All the sets have to open up to gardens and views, so that was all very pleasing. Even though we were 50 percent or more in the studio, everything just had a lovely kind of outdoor feel – which I think comes across when we're enjoying the rain in Vancouver. There are a lot of humid, atmospheric views that I think really, really complemented what we were doing. We saw all the seasons (while filming) and a lot of the exterior scenes have a certain kind of cool, blue-gray humidity that I think helped support the story.”

Many of the sets designed by Jarvis and her team were miles apart, including a fishing village, a harbor, royal palaces and samurai houses, all of which were being worked on simultaneously. Fortunately, her years as senior art director meant she was used to keeping multiple balls in the air at once. “Very early on, I was thinking about what a particular set would look like in eight episodes, just because I think I developed a kind of antenna for keeping all those plates in the air and developing them at the same time,” Jarvis believes. It also helped that she had a close working relationship with the costume designer on “Shōgun.” Carlos Rosario. “Having never worked with him before, I thought, 'Okay, I should develop some themes here, we need to sit down and get the colors right.' And that process was really easy. Once we aligned what I was doing with what he was doing, it just seemed to flow well together and we supported each other.”

In fact, Jarvis modestly asks her costume designer how the look of the show was influenced. “I think, and still believe, that a lot of what (the audience) sees is the beautiful costumes with a little bit of background,” she says. “And I felt like I had to keep things fairly neutral so that the costumes and the beautiful fabrics really stand out.”

All episodes of FX’s “Shōgun” are available to stream on Hulu.