Carly Sertic - The Killer

Working on David Fincher's The Killer was one of those shows where you pay attention to every detail and the camera sees only about 10% of your efforts. Because David is very detail oriented, everything needed to be scrutinized. If he notices a mistake or something looks like a prop, he will make you fix it even if he knew he'd never put it in a close up. David is also very concerned that things be as they are in real life - no fake brands, no fluff, so the things that DID make it on screen, you may assume already existed because they are simply recreations of reality.

Therefore, I've decided to set up this portfolio page as a fun game of "What we saw vs. What I made".

A warning, if you haven't seen the film yet, there are spoilers here..

The Paris WeWork Space

Cardboard boxes stacked in the corner under the window.

Every label and bag here was recreated in French down to the warnings on the fine print, and there were a lot more labels created that probably didn't get used or are so blurry you can't tell.

Each sheet of drywall had to be rebranded with French branding in the form of strips on every edge and rubber stamps made to stamp onto the surfaces (which we never see).

The WeWork branded door was a last minute addition, rush printed and installed on the day of shooting. We printed it in three different sizes for David to compare before it was installed..

The French mail was all carefully translated, and stuffed with camera-ready filling as well, just in case.

Customs and Airports

So many tiny pieces of paper and directional signs. You can't see them, but I tell myself the film is better because they're there anyway.

Never saw these stands.

From the ticketing area that we pretty much never seen at all.

Airport Hotel

Technically, the phone keypad insert made it in ....

Buses, Taxis & Airport Shuttles

Airport Shuttle Bus

Taxi Topper Ads

We even made the FedEx Truck

Hodges Office

When I made this newspaper, we didn't know the action, and the script indicated a front page. I poured all my thought into headlines - you'll find there are Easter Eggs written in relating to subjects of previous Fincher films. For example, in the "What's News" column each bullet point story is formed around each of the seven deadly sins - an homage to the film Seven.

David Fincher and Eric Messerschmidt filming my pill bottles.

The Rolodex

The purpose of the rolodex was originally served by en entirely different prop - first as a hollowed out book with a USB hidden inside, then as a series of ledger books. So when David finally arrived on a rolodex that had to be completely filled from scratch, we were scrambling to get it done in time. Every card in the final piece was readable, alphabetized, and often held some fun hidden meaning. The code was so complicated that I even rewrote the script so that the actors could use the prop.