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Over the course of the past five years, Outlander fans have followed Claire (played by Caitriona Balfe) and Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) around Scotland, to Paris and now North America where they have settled on Fraser’s Ridge. Making each location look authentic is production designer Jon Gary Steele. But after six and a half years, he has announced he will be leaving the series.
He explained it was a “dream job” working alongside a “great team” but the time had come to move on.
Jon said: “I had never done a period piece before.
“The eighteenth century is a great period for costumes and a great period for sets and locations.”
While Jon has tackled the 18th Century, 1940s and 1960s, he admitted the fifth season which saw the Frasers become more settled in North Carolina was the hardest to get right.
Fans of the Starz series know the cast and crew film in Scotland however, they have to make the highlands look like North America.
Detailing the amount of work Jon did to make sure the setting was as authentic as possible, he told Gold Derby: “We built a backlot and we built tons of sets.
“It’s fun to go from a sketch of a town or a big plantation or the big house or any of the sets, then to see models and then to see it all being built.
“Then the actors with their costumes come in and it all comes alive, it’s quite an adventure!”
Caitriona and Sam recently spoke about Jon’s incredible work as they revealed their favourite sets from the series.
“Mine would be the Great Hall, season one, at Castle Leoch,” Sam said in a Q&A with Deadline.
“I remember it had such an impact on me because I was quite green coming into this show and just seeing the dedication and detail he put into it.
“He had taken castings I believe from the local castle and then recreated this hall and chandeliers with stag’s heads and there were just so many amazing little details. You know, the sawdust and the dirt on the ground.”
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Unfortunately, despite the hard work Jon puts into his sets, they don’t last too long after filming.
Sam continued: “And then of course, everything gets completely destroyed after four weeks of filming or whatever it is.
“It was just so overwhelming and that was the first impression of Gary’s work but to be honest, every time he’s increased the bar and out done himself.
“He’s going to be an incredible loss but he was a remarkable man to work with.”
Caitriona added of her favourite set: “It’s so hard to choose, there’s an embarrassment of choices but actually Master Raymond’s apothecary in France in season two was incredible.
“The thing with Gary and all his work is how it helps us in our work and you would go on to any set and just the attention to detail and all those little details that make the world so alive and so available to you.
“So much of your work of your imagination of putting yourself into a place is already done.”
Outlander seasons 1-5 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video now.
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