Ute Bergk is a set decorator who has worked on films like Enemy at the Gate, The Dark Knight, V for Vendetta, Bruno and Opehlia. This interview centers around her work on Passion (2012) starring Rachel McAdams.
Travis
So how did you come to be a set decorator for Passion?
Ute Bergk
I was attached to it for quite a while. Over several years, we (Brian De Palma & Co.) budgeted the movie for different locations. There was a point where (De Palma. director of Passion) was thinking, “Oh, we’ll do it all in London.” And then I mentioned all the cars would be driving on the left side, and he didn’t like that at all.
Travis
So you guys worked on this movie for years?
Ute Bergk
Well, it was very on-and-off. The Production Designer Cornelia Ott, who is a friend of mine, she got the script and got me involved, and we budgeted over and over and over again, because they couldn’t make up their minds where they wanted to shoot, and they had certain actors in mind that didn’t kick in at the right time, at the right point.
So it was at least over a year before we got storyboards from Brian De Palma. Which were brilliant! He does them all himself. And it’s like a Bible. Because the film took so much time to kick off, he worked them over and over again, so when the filming finally started, it was so straightforward. He had it all planned out. It was fascinating. It was really precise.
He’s one of these directors that just knows: he’s coming in in the morning, he’s not saying anything, and he’s working with people who he trusts for whatever reasons, and he’s just watching them work for a little while, and then he asks if everybody is ready, and he starts to shoot.
Travis
Wow. (*nerd-out warning*) He’s easily been the most influential director on me. Probably my favorite. And knowing that, so many of my friends were trying to warn me: “Passion is no good.” And then I start watching it, and I’m thinking, “No. This is classic De Palma.” Everything really is so precise. Does that precision make your job easier?
Ute Bergk
Of course. This film was shot mainly on locations, and the Core Image Ltd. offices were in a building that was built and designed by Frank Gehry. It is, in itself, a very interesting architecture. And that’s where we shot the office scenes. And it’s a massive building. But the conference room, for example, is what it is. It is that egg-shape oval, woody.
Travis
So you don’t do much work in a room like that.
Ute Bergk
No, not much. We chose this building because of the views. If you look through the office windows, like Isabel’s office for example, you look straight into The Parliament, which is a well-known glass building in Berlin. We used the rooms for these kinds of views. The rooms themselves were empty, which is where my job came in and we furnished it.
Travis
So if Brian (is it OK if I call him Brian?) is coming on set and not talking to many people, is he talking to you? Or is it pre-planned, where he’s talking to you beforehand? Or is it more organic, where you get there and set things up?
Ute Bergk
It’s very planned. He never arrives anywhere without expectations. He knows exactly how the room will be set up before he gets there. We would present it all in little models or sketches or photos.
And for every location he would have a little folder, and we would explain, “This is the sofa she sits on,” etc. Like in one of the offices, where you see the white arrangement of very sophisticated white leather sofas: “This is where the Japanese board is going to sit.” Very rarely will he say, “Oh, I don’t like this at all.” It’s usually the other way around. And because the arrangements are so classic, you kind of go that route and not allow yourself to be off stylistically. You don’t want to go overly pop, or overly sophisticated.
Travis
I was wondering if concept was ever a discussion when you designed the sets, because there are very deep themes, and I think the movie shares a relationship with the audience. In the first half of the movie, there are a lot of wide shots, shots of rooms, like when they’re in that elegant hallway and there are gold statues everywhere. And there’s always a sense that somebody is watching. There’s all this technology everywhere, and you see it capturing everyone’s movements and what they say.
And then when the ballet sequence happens, the tone shifts a little bit (Future Travis: “That’s an understatement.”). I noticed the decorations become darker, there are few wide shots decorated with things. It’s very focused on lines, creating a sense of being trapped. And I was wondering if you discussed those concepts and if they influenced how you did your job?
Ute Bergk
Yeah. We had references for other films by Brian De Palma. But yes, there was this big split between the dream sequences and reality, which obviously you see in the lighting as well. That split was always there. You have the dream sequences, which are more or less black and white, colorless, and the rest is very colorful and vibrant.
But the lighting was totally different for both of those parts. And knowing that, you furnish things a bit differently. You know that the camera may only possibly catch shadows, and that’s why you look for something dark or shadowy, like an interesting flower vase or something.
Travis
So your job involves working extensively with the lighting department, as well as a slew of other technical departments.
Ute Bergk
Yes. I remember that Jose came in, and obviously we did not know each other when we started, and that working relationship came into play very quickly. Because the moment Noomi (Rapace, playing Isabelle) was confirmed for the film, I got a call saying, “We start prepping ASAP.” Now basically.
And I said, “Really? Finally?!”
And of course, off we went, and Jose came in. José (Luis Alcaine, director of photography) was always trying to discuss things with Brian, which was quite funny, because Brian would always make excuses, like, “I’ve got to go to the dentist.” Because I think Brian totally trusted him and what he was going to do. So he didn’t want to control him whatsoever. And that was great. That’s why it was so good to work on this movie, because there was freedom.
And so, I had this long meeting with José and went through all the practicals, which was quite important for the whole film, because, at that point, I wasn’t very knowledgeable of Brian De Palma and unaware of how important all of that is. Because there are sequences, for example, where the entire scene is basically lit by the practicals. And if you see the two different offices (Isabelle and Christine, played by Rachel McAdams), one is white, and one is white-and-black. And if you look closer at what there is in terms of practicals, it’s totally different.
We had this glass desk in Christine’s office because we wanted to see her legs. And it’s all very sexy and round…and a bit bitchy. Isabelle’s office is the other way around: it’s all very cruel, almost frozen. You see this black, bold standing light in the background, which is pretty much what I thought was her. And it’s a very complicated light fitting because it’s lit in a very complicated way, but José liked it because, for all the dream sequences, he used this black-and-white lighting, which that light fixture naturally gives him.
And that was a very interesting discussion! I’d never had that before. But obviously that was so important for the whole film. The more time you spend with these guys, the more you get into it. You learn what’s important, that you have to find just the right standing light to place next to Isabel’s bed during her dream sequence. That took me weeks to find!
Travis
So, I still don’t quite have a succinct definition of a “set decorator.” Google isn’t doing the job. So help me out…
Ute Bergk
A set decorator, by nature, makes sense if you have a film that is on a stage. All the big Hollywood blockbusters and all the classical movies, for a reason, are built on the stage—either for stylistic reasons or logistic reasons. The art director or the set designer would build the set, and the decorator comes in to decorate it. And decoration means everything—it’s not only wallpapers and chandeliers. In another project we had to build an ice palace on a stage and design ice furniture, and in another film we had a big garden, and my job was doing the garden, which is basically a big decoration. So it’s not only soft furnishing and pretty cushions. There’s a lot more to it, although I think that’s where I think the tradition lies for a set decorator.
And there are times where a film is on location and there’s already furniture available. But for Passion, it was a good thing to have me there, because the production designer is more of the forewoman or foreman who speaks mainly with the director, and not so much myself. It’s the director that gives them all the ideas and all the concepts and the whole style decided on, and they communicate constantly.
Me, I’m out and about all the time to buy things so I can dress sets physically. I’m never on set. The moment they walk in, I walk out.
Travis
So where did you go to find the decorations for Passion?
Ute Bergk
It depends where you are. Passion was shot in Berlin, and we didn’t shoot many sets in the studio. We built a few additions to existing locations, and we’d incorporate architectural details. But the thing with Berlin is: it’s not such an advanced industry, as it is in London (where Ute resides). Berlin does not really have facilities.
So, for Passion, it was all very contemporary. It’s not like you had to do lots of research into some period details. It was contemporary, it was very classic. If you work with Brian De Palma, you know that you have to have mirrors. You will see the ceiling, which is very unusual, because a lot of directors don’t show the ceiling in movies at all. So that’s a very interesting research subject actually: who is looking up in the film?
And because the style was contemporary, most of the stuff you see is available in shops. It’s very high-class furnishing. In the first scene you see a sofa in Christine’s apartment, and that’s one I had made, which was possibly the most expensive piece of furnishing in the entire film. But I thought it was worth it—there was something existing and I adopted it, changing its color and shape. This kind of film is not rough. It’s a very delicate film.
There’s this nice sequence where they’re sitting in front of a huge television and a character gets drunk, and he gets drunk on a Fendi, a luxurious settee—and it is so uncomfortable. I saw it in an exhibition. To sit on it is fine, but to get drunk on it is very uncomfortable. It’s not like a sofa that you fall into. And he was supposed to fall into it, but he couldn’t because it has wooden a frame. So when he does fall into it, he makes this sounds like [insert uncomfortable *oomph* sound effect], which is exactly what was needed for this sequence. So that was a good find.
Travis
I feel obligated to ask about the ballet sequence, just because it makes me giggle with excitement every time I watch it. I know in the actual ballet studio, there isn’t a lot in there, it’s mostly blue and white walls. Did you contribute anything specific to that sequence? Working with the idea that it would be displayed partly on a split-screen? Or that there would be a lot of empty space to deal with?
Ute Bergk
It was actually more of the other way around. I sent you a video, did you get it?
Travis
Yeah yeah, I watched it!
Ute Bergk
That was the original version of the performance. There’s a foundation behind it, and you are very much controlled by this foundation. The choreographer came over from the States and she was very controlling about everything. If you see, in the black and white footage I sent you, in the beginning, the curtain is on a pole and goes up, above the stage, which is where we shot. It was quite difficult to do, because we had this theater setting and everything just goes up, and not up and around. And we had to do it that way. They had to see that pole going up. So we had to build a structure to do that with.
Basically, you have to find the right materials. We had to slim it down because we shot it on a quiet part of the stage, which is in the Renaissance Theater, which is not big at all. So there was a model built that was put into this existing space. And to drape white fabric without having any frills in it is not easy.
The whole ballet sequence—we knew it would be very important, so we shot it for three days in that theater with those two wonderful dancers. And it was crystal clear that the stage design at that point was part of what the story tells. And specifically, in that performance, the audience is the mirror (Travis fist pumps like Tiger Woods in excitement). They dance behind their exercise rails to warm up, and what is behind is basically nothing. It’s like a rehearsel room. And all you see is the door they come in and a window. And that’s all. The rest is up to them. And that was as simple as is. Brian, at that point, was just focused on the dancers.
Travis
Well definitely. They’re looking right into the camera, and effectively looking right at you. I’m fascinated by that aspect of the film. Not only the characters are being watched—he’s looking right at the audience and acknowledging their presence in the movie.
Ute Bergk
It was a very artistic approach, obviously. To have the audience as the third part, see that in certain kinds of artwork, like Manet’s paintings for example. The artist plays with the subject as well. So it’s very interesting to address it in that way—it’s a very De Palma style of filmmaking to address the audience. And then the split screen…I still get goosebumps thinking about it.
