Breaking Ground: Building the New CTU



Breaking Ground: Building the New CTU is a special feature found on the Season Four DVD.

Breaking Ground
The feature begins with production designer Joseph Hodges talking about how lucky he feels to build a whole new set with a show that is four years old. He describes his basis for the design of the new CTU: the outside of a building that would be the location of the new set. He talks about his discontent with the original design of CTU that he had to use as it was created before him for the pilot. He says that spacially the old CTU worked well and so he based it around that, but modernised it. Explaining the changes he has made for the current CTU, he says that he has made concrete steps that should cause less problems for sound, more space in the ceiling for lights to be hung. He also says that the strips in the windows are actually barcodes that have hidden messages in which he claims he will never tell anyone.

Andrew Murdock, the set designer, explains the specifics of his job; to draw scale images of everything that can be given to the construction crew. Hodges then shows the half-complete CTU, still in construction after six weeks of building. He shows in detail different portions of the set: the interrogation room, the bullpen, the concrete-looking walls.

Two weeks later, the set is finished, with all props and lights added to create the perfect design. The cast arrive, and director Jon Cassar complements Hodges on the set, and gives him a small cameo as a CTU worker in the first shot at the new set. Cassar finds problems with people at the new set just walking around rather than appearing to really be at work. However he says that soon enough it will work out as people warm to a new set. Cassar explains that, before Jack arrives at CTU, all the shots are close to try to confuse audiences into being unsure if they are at the same CTU, and when he comes wide shows showing everything will be used.

A final interview with Hodges shows his happiness with how the new set looks.