The clinic I had to set up developed into a battle of materials, budget, suppliers and ongoing dilemmas. I found two thick LEITZ folders, one with pictures of my research at hospitals and the progress of set construction, and the second with market research– then done without Internet –and correspondence with suppliers, budgets, offers and memos (not to write the whole deplorable word) to Bavaria, with which I had a peculiar relationship, something between designer, contractor and client. I had to co-ordinate its subsidiary "Bavaria Studios", which would build the bearing structure with manufacturers-suppliers of the partitions, stainless steel surfaces, panels, door and window frames and fittings, suspended ceilings, lighting, flooring, indoor and outdoor plants and finally glass frames, doors and surfaces. The client was the producer of the film, Bavaria Film Produktion, with which I had a contract to carry out the project within a specified time and budget, I have scanned a 12-page self-made, Lotus 1-2-3 budget for ASIDES, showing the full extent of my drama. In this phase the only help I had was from Bonnie Salzmann in New York, who would supply us with everything from pictures of the city for backdrops and electrical switches to coin-phones and signs for New York taxis.

Glass, beyond its other literal and symbolic meanings, is a cold and transparent material, but may also reflect like a mirror. In spite of all that we decided to try it, not to illustrate the English title, but to have depth where there would be walls, and luminous surfaces at night. Before we arrived at the concept I made a few sketches for Carl, with whom I had worked only a couple of times on commercials. The most important thing was the agreement of Dietrich Lohman, director of photography and associate on several films, who certainly saw that he would face a lot of problems lighting the set. On the other hand my design forced him to have only two basic lightings: day and night, and perhaps some dusk with autumn foliage behind the balcony. This came at a cost because it would require a large number of lights on the ceilings, but it would save us a lot of time during the shooting.

The specific asides could perfectly well be omitted: a set construction budget in German, an article about Martha Plimpton, and a frame from a close shot of Jamie Gertz, or a shooting schedule. I’ve digitized much of the material on this site, asides and others, so I'll be able to refer to them or just to have easy access if I ever want it, e.g., to remember what I did in the winter of '88, since my memory, despite the B vitamins, is playing strange games.