The Tamesis
Not to mention the need to work within the confines of an independent budget. As you might expect, the major studios aren’t lining up to finance a musical about an obscure historical religious leader from the 18th century that features an original set of hypnotic, avant-garde ballads and bursts of ecstatic dance. If only they had faith: Ann Lee’s Will is one of the best, most dazzlingly original films of the year, and its mesmerizing production design is one of its crowning achievements.
Here, Bud and Fashion On the extensive research process that underpins his designs, and the stories behind them That Jaw-dropping ship sequences, and why the Shaker aesthetic still resonates today.
Fashion: Going back to the beginning, tell me a little more about how this project came to you in the first place. Do you already know Mona?
Sam Bader: Long ago, Mona needed a production designer to create a trailer, much of which later ended up in the film. It’s actually Andrew Morrison [the film’s producer] It was he who brought me in. It was January 2024, the middle of winter in Massachusetts. So I worked with them to design this two-day shoot at Shaker Village to bring everything back to the 18th century. Frankly, I didn’t know much about the project at the time, but I found Mona’s energy and style infectious and I wanted to read the script, so I did. Then I did what any good designer would do: I created a reference bible for every scene, had a few meetings with her, got hired in May, and jumped right into it. So this is my first time working with Mona and my first time designing something of this scale. This is my first time designing in Europe or anywhere else, for that matter.
I think it’s an exciting task, but also a daunting one – the sheer scale of it and the fact that you have to achieve it on a fairly limited budget. And then, there’s the fact that the Shakers are probably best remembered today for their furniture and architecture, so that’s probably going to end up being very closely scrutinized. Does this scare you?
I was probably too excited, with the adrenaline and excitement to fully immerse myself in the fear, but it was there. It’s true: the Shaker aesthetic, the architecture, the furnishings, are all well documented. Choosing the best pieces, the best moments, the best shapes to represent something so vast and so unified in so many ways—that’s really daunting. But then add a certain visual distinction and intrigue that’s also intimidating. Then, to properly understand the function of settlements and spaces – to really understand how people live, what they own, what these things mean to them, and how they display them. A lot of it comes from a relatively short but fairly intensive research process.
