"Thinking With Richard". Directed by: Peter Bielagus

“Thinking With Richard” is a romantic comedy with a twist, in that half of the film takes place inside the body of the main character. This internal realm consists of a council of body parts–Brain, Heart, Lungs, Eyes and yes, even Dick and Balls– who argue and debate the daily and long term decisions of the body.

The film is a parody of our own Congress and the writer/director of the film wanted a set design to reflect that. So, I created a world inside the Body.

“The Council” set consisted of a three level wooden structure with leather chairs and custom made lamps. It was 42’ wide, 23’ deep and 12’ tall. Every one of the 28 council members had their own “station” that was fashioned loosely in the style of “Steam Punk”. Each member of the council had a unique control station riddled with knobs, dials and levers– Nerves had a series of electrical wires, Eyes had a periscope, Mouth had a retractable microphone, etc…



Production Design for Independent Feature Film “Thinking With Richard”. “The Council” Set. Shrewbury, MA. 2011.



Concept sketch for "The Council" set.

Details of Podium for “The Council” Set.



Details of Control Stations for “The Council” Set.



Details of Control Stations for “The Council” Set.



Process images of the props. Bottom left: example of movement on controls, the “eyes” control rotated on its base as well as folded down into itself.



The “Memory Library” set consisted of hundreds of labeled file boxes organized by age. I made the lampposts to match the lights in “The Council” and made street signs that served to navigate the organs throughout the body.

Production Design for Independent Feature Film “Thinking With Richard”. “Memory Library” Set. Shrewbury, MA. 2011.



Concept sketch for the "Memory Library" set.

Details of “Lamp Posts” set.