The Get Down

CHALLENGE

Recreated the Birth of Hip-Hop

Baz Luhrmann’s resplendent, hyperactive Netflix series The Get Down documents hip-hop in the days before it was officially recognized. The story takes place in the colorful, graffiti-strewn Bronx of 1977.
My role was designing period sets that served as backdrops.

RESEARCH

New York City Timeline

PARTY-ROCKING, GRAFITTY-SPRAYING

Some of the design references for The Get Down were Blaxploitation films, epic Hollywood musicals, the grainy melancholy of stock footage, and the clash between reality and fantasy in 1970s dramas like Saturday Night Fever.

DESIGN

A Collage Without Prejudice

I designed a set for the exciting rooftop chase sequence in which fire, smoke, and crumbling buildings must be overcome by the lead character, Shaolin (played by Shameik Moore). Shaolin is a thrill-seeking child of the streets who jumps between building rooftops.