Lighting could make or break this show in terms of whether we can establish the right mood of humor, suspense, hope and doubt lurking in the shadows. The glow of the fire will be very important, as will a sense of where light does enter into this damp little cabin. This story feels very saturated, very dark, with very sculpting light to me. The murkier the mood, the better. We will definitely need a very different, angelic light on the boy at the end.

We should hear the wind threatening to blow the house down. Rain, thunder and the bird screams that scare the shit out of us are essential. It would be great if the sound design helps us feel as though nature is hungry and right at the door, threatening to swallow up the entire cabin with everyone inside it and sweep it back out to sea. We will need specific bird sounds—the gull and the tern and of course, the night heron. The very home-made recorded voices of Wattmore and Bolla on the boom box will be integral, of course.

The guys should have the clothes on their backs and just the few other items mentioned in the script (pjs for Wattmore, coat, ski mask, etc. for Griffin when he is out). Their dress is totally utilitarian and rough, emphasizing their status (or lack thereof). Bolla needs to have a strong duality of a tough, denying-her-femininity attitude mixed with a desperate desire to be accepted as a woman when she dresses up to go out. That should be comical not because we try to make her look comical, but because she is trying so hard to dress up that she way overcompensates. In all characters, their dress should tell us very clearly of the hierarchy among these people in the story.