There is no doubt. You only need to see the FBI headquarters or the neighborhood buildings to be convinced: it is indeed in the United States that Bullit and Riper are leading the investigation into the serial killer of YouTubers in Pamela Rose series. A nice tour de force when we know that the nine episodes featuring Kad Merad and Olivier Baroux were filmed in the Paris suburbs. How do we give this illusion? Especially since, as Gladys Garot, the head decorator, specifies: “The goal was not only to be in the United States, but also to be in the Epinal images of contemporary American series”. Mindhunter, HomelandOr Ozark are cited by director Ludovic Colbeau-Justin who acknowledges having watched all the classic FBI series before embarking on this adventure.
It all starts with a lot of research and reference work. “We look on Google Earth at what the streets look like in Washington, the city center, then we move away to the suburbs because it’s no longer the same urban planning,” notes Gladys Garot. We also did this for Philadelphia because the serial killer is on the move.” The director admits that obviously “the main difficulty is finding the sets”. To find these American exteriors in the Paris suburbs, you have to look at the work of William Levitt. “This American architect had built several types of small pavilions located around Paris, so there are three or four areas which are villages referenced with this “small American-style house” aspect, that is to say gardens without fence, with a central alley, specifies the director. We also have a lot of “bow windows” (corbelled windows) in the series.”
Around thirty buildings visited for the FBI headquarters
Pamela Rose, the series is thus filmed in Lésigny (Seine-et-Marne), but not only. “In the same department, we also went to Serris,” adds Gladys Garrot. It was for the downtown Washington neighborhoods, which are three-story white buildings, all a little stuck together, with three or four steps at the entrance. This was used to create the exterior of Olivier’s character.” It also evokes towns in Corbeille Essonne, with more modest pavilions that resembled landmarks seen in the suburbs of Philadelphia. In total, the series has 35 sets, and we increase to 70 with the sub-sets, namely when exterior and interior are not filmed in the same place. “The constraint of the filming locations was very important but it is something on which we did not want to give in because credibility comes through that,” insists Ludovic Colbeau-Justin.
Next comes the imposing FBI headquarters. “I visited around thirty buildings, between those which were occupied, those which were not, those which were to be built”, indicates the director who, finally, sets his sights on former Nestlé buildings in Noisiel . “They were empty and closed since Covid. There, with the decor manager and the ops manager, we found large volumes, which we liked, which allowed us to create these open spaces, with fairly low ceilings because, in American films, we see the ceilings , the structures. The production team played the game because it accepted that we create universes so that we don’t lock ourselves in two small offices,” underlines the director.
Furnish “American style”
For the decor, it was decided to keep the classic office furniture present on site which “works as well in France as in the United States”, estimates the decor manager, and FBI logos are affixed to files or reworked in computer wallpaper. The case becomes complicated to film the exteriors of the FBI. “It was too complex, we couldn’t find it,” remembers the director, who then suggested taking a series of archive images. “We even got some from the film But who killed Pamela Rose? » , he remembers. A few little tips also reinforce this illusion of filming across the Atlantic. Interiors are furnished “American style”, for example with furniture larger than in Europe or by placing the headboard under a window. “I don’t know if it’s like that in all houses, but they are clichés that reflect the cinematography of this country,” notes the decorator. The director adds: “We wanted to keep the vision we have of Americans. Today, in Washington, you only see Toyotas or Audis on the roads. We also brought Cadillacs because it helps the visual, it reinforces the idea.”
It remains to be filmed in the style of a series produced in the United States. “Traditionally, they film with the cameras quite low,” points out Ludovic Colbeau-Justin. This seems like a detail but it changes the point of view. It’s not much but, in the package, it plays a role. We also shot in real cinemascope. It’s all these little extras that made the joke happen.”