Written by Mariane Tremblay
Last week, I had the chance to sit down and talk with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma art director, Courtney Stockstad. We talked about the glass matte paintings, practical effects, and fighting to preserve the integrity of creating all the art tangibly and creatively, rather than relying solely on computers.
Quotes have been slightly edited for clarity.
W SPOTLIGHT: Hi.
COURTNEY STOCKSTAD: Hi.
W SPOTLIGHT: So nice to meet you.
STOCKSTAD: Very nice to meet you too. Thank you so much for asking me to do this.
W SPOTLIGHT: Oh my god, of course. Thank you for taking the time to talk with me!
STOCKSTAD: Yeah!
W SPOTLIGHT: Well, first of all, congratulations, the movie looks incredible.
STOCKSTAD: Thank you.
W SPOTLIGHT: From the moment when I saw the first teaser trailer, I was like, "Oh my god, this is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen." And that's one of the first things that actually drew me to it. I was like, "I need to watch it now, and like on the biggest screen possible." And I know Jane [Schoenbrun] is known for their very creative and singular vision when it comes to movies and storytelling. So I was wondering, what was the process of taking their script and transforming those ideas into a tangible world? And how did you and your team begin shaping the look of the film and figuring out how that vision would come to life during pre-production?
STOCKSTAD: Well, for starters, when I came on, our production designer team, Brandon [Tonner-Connolly] and Matt [Hyland], had already built quite a big catalog of research and reference material because they wanted things to be very specifically cued towards all those quintessential 80s slasher films. I grew up watching all those and loving those, so I already knew them, but we had a few younger people on our team, so we did a lot of visual screenshotting and picture referencing, and we put them up all over our department so that we had inspiration every single day, every single second. Brandon and Matt were very specific and very particular, as much as Jane was. So it was really, really helpful.
And we were very lucky that most of our sets were real locations, real summer camps. So we had a lot to work with already. And then we had our stage for our fantastical, like the Flesh Palace and all that kind of thing. Those took longer to develop, and we developed them on the computer with our set designer, Stevo [Bedford].
And then also we had an amazing graphic design team that was working very, very hard the entire run of production, building all of those posters, all of that little franchise merchandise. That took a really, really long time — I'd say that took the biggest bulk of our energy was developing all those things. Because in real life, those movies — like a movie that has merchandise and posters and promotional material — that's all months and months of development with a movie that already exists. So we were having to develop it for a movie that didn't exist, and it was quite a challenge. And we really had to think outside the box and really look back on merchandise of the 80s. That was really fun and exciting to try to find some of that stuff, you know, still in existence on eBay and stuff like that. It was great.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, wow! And you just mentioned that that was a challenge. And I know the movie was shot on a shoestring budget within 25 days, and that the script was both challenging logistically and creatively for you guys. So what was the experience like for you and your team? And were there any other challenges when it came to bringing this world to life? And how did you approach finding creative solutions to those "constraints?"
STOCKSTAD: Well, I'll start with logistics. It was challenging because our offices were in Vancouver, and we were shooting on Vancouver Island, so we had a ferry ride away. Every single thing that we needed needed to be coordinated and shipped over to the island. So that was extremely challenging, just making sure that we got things on time. And it was also challenging because, yes, we had a shoestring budget, but Matt and Brendon were very inspiring to work with, because they were very, very adamant about fighting for the creativity, which I think a lot of times gets pushed to the wayside. And it's one of the first things to be cut in a budget [because] "We can just do that in post; we can do that in CGI." And that, I mean, a very small amount did happen, but for most of the script, we tried to keep the integrity of doing it tangibly and creatively, you know, as a physical team, not just on the computer.
So it was challenging; we had a lot of meetings, and a lot of convincing that it was worth doing. But you know, I never thought I would ever be able to get to do, like, the glass matte paintings for some of the backgrounds — those are all done in CGI now. We never see people doing that practically, and I never thought I would get the opportunity to be able to build something like that. And it was very challenging because there's a lot of math involved. But man, it looks so cool! All those backgrounds look so amazing, and they were [all] hand-painted by us. So it's really cool.
 W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, I wanted to talk more about those paintings, actually, because I've seen the movie three times, and every time they appear on screen, I'm like, "Wow, this is so beautiful." And I was wondering, how early in the process was it decided that these painted backgrounds would be part of the film? Was it always part of the process, or did the idea evolve as you were building this dreamlike world? |
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, it was always intended to be like that; it was very specific. It was scripted to have that style of background in certain specific scenes to really make that homage to the way they used to do films. So, those were already listed. But it was back and forth, budgetarily, if we should do it in post, or if we should do it, you know, green screen, that kind of thing. And so we did a lot of back and forth about, you know, advocating for doing it practically with a piece of glass and our really talented painters. And then we had to wait till we had a location before we could actually move forward with that. So that took up a chunk of time. And then when we did land a location, and we did land a spot, we had to do a lot of testing, a lot of measuring, a lot of double-checking with our camera department, because if the camera decided to move its angle at any point, the whole matte painting wouldn't work, because it's a piece of glass in between the subject and the camera. So the background actually isn't in front but behind. So that took a lot of prepping. And then when we finally did that, we started to save time. I did a lot of Photoshop mockups of what it should look like. And then when they were happy with the results, we took it to our paint department. And they had, I'm gonna say, maybe four days to paint those backdrops.
W SPOTLIGHT: Really?
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, yeah. We have a very, very, very talented paint department.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, definitely! And Matt posted something on social media yesterday about the behind-the-scenes and everything. And everyone was so impressed by that, because the process is so fascinating for people who are not working on sets. So I was wondering if you could talk a little more about that, and if there were any other techniques or processes you used on the movie that you’d like to share with us?
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| Image from the behind-the-scenes video posted by Matt Hyland on X. |
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, that video is probably my favorite behind-the-scenes video.
W SPOTLIGHT: It's so cool!
STOCKSTAD: You can't see us, but we were all, so we had the camera under, you know, some blacks so that it wouldn't let the light in and affect the matte painting at all. And when it was finally coming together, like everyone on the crew wanted to get under that and see how it looked because it was so cool. And you can see someone walking where the matte painting ends; you can see their feet. So we hadn't quite finished it yet in that video. But just seeing it come together and come to life and having it work, because we really didn't know until the day of whether it was going to work or not. And we didn't really have time to adjust it that much. So it was really exciting to have it be perfect, basically, or almost perfect. Yeah, that was a really, really awesome day — I would say it was closer to the end of filming.
And yeah, what else was my favorite? The fact that we shot on actual film was really, really cool, too. Usually we get dailies to see what the shoot looks like and how we can improve every single day. And that was just not going to be the case with this because we had to get it sent away to get processed. So that was interesting, because you're just kind of like, "I hope it looks good." But it did; it really did look good. And I would say all of our so the entire intro with all our franchise stuff, doing that, and getting all of our pieces, because we physically made all of these things, and have them pop up and then do all of our little fast-bit intros, like it's been a movie forever, for decades was really, really exciting and fun. We did that; we did a lot of blue screen, green screen stuff with that.
STOCKSTAD: What else? Our special effects department was super amazing, too. You know, all of our blood meetings were pretty funny.
W SPOTLIGHT: I bet!
STOCKSTAD: It was like, "What color should it be?" because they didn't really want it to be, you know, that realistic; they wanted some of the cheese and gore of, you know, the blood being slightly tonally, not quite right to be real blood. And, you know, when someone's limb or head gets cut off, the spray is not just like... you know [going through] the ceiling.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, I love that so much!
STOCKSTAD: It was really fun. I wish we recorded some of those meetings because they were pretty hilarious. People probably thought we were crazy.
W SPOTLIGHT: No, but that’s so nice, actually. It must be so fun to be part of the art department and to talk about all that stuff and create all those things, because it’s so important for a movie to be visually interesting. Otherwise, you don’t really want to watch it. Beyond the story, it’s the first thing you actually notice. But yeah, this one is just incredible. Even just seeing images from it, you really want to watch it. Like, regardless of what the story was, I would have wanted to watch that movie because of its visuals.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, I mean, I love being in the art department. It's a different job; it's a different world for every single project, which makes it so much fun. I don't think I could ever go back to a nine-to-five job. And, you know, you kind of have to be a little... we are the ones that pick apart the script and go, "Okay, so that person's getting their head cut off, how many times do you want to cut their head off?" And you know, we ask — we have to ask these weird, very particular questions for it to run as smoothly as possible. You know, not just with cutting off, but you know, other things too.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, that’s so cool. And also, one thing I think is really cool about the movie is that Billie is living in the abandoned sleepaway camp from the movie she made years earlier. How did you approach creating a space that feels like an abandoned film set, but also like a home to someone?
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, well, we had, so we shot in three different locations for one place. So we really had to make sure that we were tying every space together. Because, you know, some things worked for certain scenes, and some things didn't. And it was also real; they were real Christian summer camps. We had to be cognizant of children coming in there at certain times. And so, the schedule didn't allow us to just be in one place at one time. We had to make sure that, when they walked through the spaces, they all kind of matched and felt similar. And then with Brandon and Matt, we really did a deep dive and really broke down what kind of summer camp it would have been, thinking that in the movie, they probably filmed that at a real summer camp too, and so we wanted to do things like in the theater, we, we all did handmade wall posters with kids photos, a lot of the photos were some of us in the 90s, you know.
W SPOTLIGHT: Really?
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, and, you know, cut out stars and, and things that we put up fully, and then spray-painted with age, and then pulled some of it off. So you could see the ghost of, like, what would have been, you know, something for kids that has been long gone, like those kinds of things, those kinds of details that take quite a lot of time. But again, we didn't really have that much time, so we really worked overtime for that kind of thing. But yeah, we wanted to make sure there were elements of not just the movie, not just the script. But actual, like old summer camps from the 90s, so that was a fun process as well.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, I bet! And It's crazy, because I feel like I have so many questions; I just want to know everything about the creative process — this movie is so cool, and I'm really impressed by everything that you guys did.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, I was very happy to get the call. And yeah, again, I do a lot of horror movies; I have done a lot of horror movies in my career. And a lot of the fun stuff is done in post these days. So it was extremely, extremely — I feel very privileged to have been able to work on it and do so many of the fun things that, I mean, it's the reason why I got into films to do all this stuff. So I feel very, very lucky and privileged.
W SPOTLIGHT: Practical effects are so much better!
STOCKSTAD: So much better!
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, it's much more fun, and the results too. CGI, I mean, I get that it's helpful, but there's truly nothing like practical effects.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, I do think these things will do a lot of stopping people's eyes or, you know, breath when someone is dead. And I feel like that can be helpful, but it's also hilarious watching somebody be dead on the floor and still breathing. Yeah, like those kinds of, like 80s B movies are my favorite.
W SPOTLIGHT: That's so funny, because I always look for that when someone's dead in those movies. I'm like, "Are they still breathing?"
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, "Are they blinking?" But some actors can be very good at playing dead.
W SPOTLIGHT: Oh, yeah, definitely! And also, my kind of last question, although I wish we could talk for hours about this, because it's so interesting, but I want to talk about the Flesh Palace.
STOCKSTAD: Oh, yeah.
W SPOTLIGHT: I think it's my favorite set from this film. And I read that it wasn't supposed to look like that originally, and that it sort of changed through the process. So I was wondering what led you to that creative shift? And how do you even begin designing a place like that? Because it feels kind of familiar, especially to movie lovers, because it's like a video store, but it looks so surreal at the same time.
STOCKSTAD: Well, I mean, that was the point; that was what they wanted to achieve. So Jane's script had a description — this is what happens in a lot of situations when you do, especially like a surrealist piece or a surrealist set. You have the director or the writer describing how it is in the scene. And then, you know what I think it looks like based on that description, and what Brandon or Matt thinks of when they read the description, and what the set designer thinks of when they read the description is like all completely different things. So it went through a lot of, again, photo referencing. We did a lot of block-like, you know, old Blockbuster video rental place. We wanted to get a lot of as many like as iconic elements in there as possible, to make it seem like a movie theater, like the, you know, the type of carpet, the type of shelving that the VHS tapes would be on, how many shelves, so it actually went through so many iterations, there were, I'd say that our set designer, Stevo, bless him, was working on that set the entire time, and it was the last thing to shoot.
W SPOTLIGHT: Wow, really?
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, I don't think it was originally supposed to be pink flesh. I think it was supposed to look more muddy, like underneath a lake. And then, you know, we wanted it to feel like inside of a, you know, a person.
W SPOTLIGHT: Oh my god, yes!
STOCKSTAD: And ultimately, it was like, it's ultimately Jane's decision what we did. But we were like, "What about this? What about that? What about this?" And they're very, very specific. But also, you know, when you present, you usually present like two or three options, and they're like, "Oh, I never thought of it that way. Maybe we do want to include this type of element." So, and then also timing and budget, we wanted all of the walls to have this, like, latex, living, breathing feel, but it was just not attainable to do it that way. So we had to get creative! Again, our amazing paint department really worked hard to make [it happen]. We did a lot of testing for colors and made it look as fleshy as possible, but it's just a flat, you know, wall theater flat.
W SPOTLIGHT: Really? Oh, no, that's cool.
STOCKSTAD: We just have a few pieces for close-ups. You know, kind of like Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), they did it the same way where, you know, the big part of their sets were just flat walls and a lot of paint. And then the parts that you go in and see close up, that's what you focus on.
W SPOTLIGHT: Really? Wow. That's really cool, because, like, there's this shot where, like, their faces are going through, like, "the walls," and I was like, "Whoa, how do they do that?"
STOCKSTAD: It's pantyhose on a screen, baby.
W SPOTLIGHT: That's so nice, and it's so interesting hearing you talking about all that stuff.
STOCKSTAD: You know, like, if you really like all that stuff, there's a really amazing museum in Queens, New York called the it's called the Museum of the Moving Image, I believe. I went there when I was like 18 years old, and it is one of my favorite museums on the planet. It goes through the process of filming, and they usually have amazing exhibits. And actually, that was the very first time I ever saw a Nightmare on Elm Street exhibit — they had some of the pieces set up there of how they shot it and how big those pieces were for, you know, it was, you know, the part where, like, all the faces are coming out of his sweater and his stomach. It was really cool! I know we're supposed to be talking about Camp Miasma, but yeah, anyone who's a big fan, I think should go check out that museum.
W SPOTLIGHT: Yeah, I'll keep that in mind for sure.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, no, I love that so much.
W SPOTLIGHT: That's great. And [looking at the time] oh my god, I feel like I barely asked any questions. I want to know so much more stuff about Camp Miasma.
STOCKSTAD: I was like, "Oh my gosh, it's been a year. Do I remember everything?" But yeah, I do.
W SPOTLIGHT: No, yes, and like I said, I watched it three times. And every time I watched it, I was like, "Oh, this and that, and then the paintings here and like all the details." I mean, there are so many details in this movie, so many Easter eggs. So many everything... It's crazy.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy. I have to credit Matt and Brandon for that. They were very intent, you know, on putting Easter eggs and specific little bits all throughout the movie. Sometimes to the point where it would make me crazy because we didn't have time. Or the team was... let me see, one, two, three, four... There were five of us in total, and we're in two different cities, right? So yeah, it was a very... Oh, no, six — there were six of us. Sorry. But that's not a very big art department. It's a very, very, very small art department. And to have all of these little things does make you crazy. But then in the end, you are very thankful that they forced you to remember to do it.
W SPOTLIGHT: Wow, okay. Yeah. But that's incredible. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me; I really appreciate that.
STOCKSTAD: Yeah, no problem. Thank you so much for having me!
W SPOTLIGHT: Of course. Thank you.
Note: If you want to learn more about the creative process behind Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and all of its props, the Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) is currently presenting an exhibition related to the film through November 8, 2026. More information here.
Images: MUBI
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