Back in 2005, I found myself working on the Discovery Channel’s reality based construction show “Monster House.” Billed as a remodel show on steroids, Monster House totally pushed the boundaries of what is possible for a television home remodel type show and paved the way for future shows like Extreme Home Makeover. A team of five contestants were brought in to tackle a week long monster sized house remodel project designed around one central theme. For example, we did themes like Paris House and an Aviation House. Contestants would see the monster designs we came up with for the first time Monday morning, and they had until midnight on Friday to figure out and complete the build. It would take a normal construction crew many weeks to construct what our team has only five days to complete. 

 

I was originally brought onboard to take over the art department and get the show brought back on track as it had got a bit out of control during the first season. Builds were going way over budget and deadlines weren't being met. To make matters worse, previous builds were not being done to building codes so getting building inspectors to sign off on the work had become a huge nightmare for the show and for the home owners. It took me a couple months just to wrap my head around a show such as this, but once I had a handle on things, changes were made and shows were soon being done on time and on budget. A major effort was made to reach out and improve relationships with the city building departments and permits and final signs offs become a much easier task. 

 

Art Directing this show was a challenge, to say the least. First off, the production staff would meet the homeowners to find out what kind of theme they wanted for their "remodel" and get a feel for their personalities and interest. We would then spend a a couple weeks coming up with the “Monster” designs that will eventually go into their homes. Unlike normal film and television work, our homeowners actually have to live in their “sets" after we left. That means taking our designs to the city, and dealing with permits and inspectors. If that sounds easy, imagine trying to explain to the city planning department that you need a construction permit to build a patio cover onto someone’s house that looks like a giant crocodile head made out of Styrofoam and chicken wire and sprayed with truck bed liner!  

 

Next, with the use of 3D CAD models of the house and designs, we would spend the next few weeks putting it all together to determine the final builds and construction methods for the designs. In addition to the creative process, I was also responsible for each episode’s budgets, ordering the needed materials, as well estimating the labor hours it would take our contestants to construct the designs, so the build could be achievable. Easier said than done. At this point we usually had way too much build, and too little money, so decisions were made as to which designs to keep and how to scale down the remaining ideas into something we can actually afford to build.

 

A show of this type wouldn't be possible on our budgets without a lot of product placement. For example, for a house like Motorcycle House, we needed to provide builders with tens of thousands of dollars worth of bike parts. As our needs were always much greater than our means, deals are made with companies to provide thier products in exchange for a on camera advertising. Much time was spent reasearching and tracking down the products we would need for each build and getting those vendors in touch with our promotional department to work out the details. Thank God for the internet!

 

Production week on our show was, at best, a loosely controlled train wreck. Structural issues, changes by city inspectors, production problems, delays by product vendors, builder talent and a tantrum throwing host all had a dramatic effect on the designs schedule and outcome. Being a reality show, there was no stopping the train once the cameras start rolling, so changes and revisions had to be made constantly to keep the designs on track during the week. 

 

On Saturday, after the contestants had finished (or, not finished) their build, the show's construction crew was brought in to polish the mess we are always left with. There was always plenty of work that was left undone by the contestants, work that was done wrong, didn't meet code, or work that simply needs a lot of love to be presentable. Once the construction work was done, our fabulous decorating and scenic crew would then take over and do their magic to complete the home's monster transformation. It was our job to take the builds to the next level and give the homeowners an awesome looking remodel that they would be happy with.

 

It was quite normal for us to have one house in production, one house getting final repairs and inspections, and one or two homes in various stages of the design process. The work was very difficult and the hours very long, but as hard as it was, doing the show was one of the best experiences of my career. My abilities were pushed to their limits on this show and I experienced what I felt was an enormous amount of growth at my craft during it's run... and, I got paid to do it. All and all, not a bad deal. 

 

Here are a few of my favorite builds from Monster House:

 

Oh, and just in case you thought I was joking about that patio cover shaped like a giant crocodile head...