With a slew of award nominations and critical acclaim, the eight-part mystery thriller All Her Fault has become Peacock’s biggest series debut of all time. Set in Chicago, the high-end drama was filmed inside the world’s largest LED volume stage, operated by NantStudios at Docklands Studios Melbourne—an innovative choice that facilitated the look and feel of the entire production.
Building the Irvine Home in the LED Volume
The show’s central location was the expansive two-level home of Marissa Irvine (Sarah Snook) and husband Peter (Jake Lacy), with the Ground Floor set built on the volume stage. Art Director Seth Aitken says the design was modelled on a Stephen Akehurst–designed property just outside Melbourne.
“It was absolutely seamless—you can’t tell the difference,” Aitken says. “Michael Bell (Designer) matched the house beautifully, and the construction team worked with us to recreate all the stonework, the weatherboards, and a lot of bevelled glass.”
The team replicated the iconic front door and built around ten metres of façade on either side, including a walkway leading to Brian’s cottage. Bold decisions in lighting, furnishings and artwork—moody deep greens and burgundies—completed the rich, lived-in aesthetic.
“It gave the show a very real American vernacular,” Aitken adds.
The Power of Virtual Production
While Aitken had worked on commercials inside the volume, All Her Fault was his first time using virtual production for a television series. The 12-metre-high, 30-metre-wide LED screen displayed pre-shot plates of the Irvine home’s cliff top location, lush garden and open skies, creating naturalistic vistas without the constraints of shooting outdoors.
Aitken says he loves exploring the creative possibilities the technology offers.
“You can play around with your assets—move the moon, adjust where the sun rises, tweak the colour of the sky to suit the story,” he explains. “And the beautiful thing about working with the volume is you have full depth of field right through the set to the assets on the screen.”
“It helps the actors to see where they are when they walk into a house,” he says. “With green or blue screen, you’ve got thousands of hours of post work ahead. This is immediate, albeit with many hours of pre-production to create the screen assets.”
Beyond the Volume
Alongside the hero set, the team constructed several additional sets on Docklands Studios’ traditional stages, including the police station, Irene’s apartment, a motel room and Detective Alcaras’s family home. Outdoor filming took place in Williamstown, Altona, Elwood and Elsternwick, which doubled for suburban Chicago.
Sustainability Practices
Aitken is particularly proud of the production’s sustainability achievements. With support from a dedicated four-person sustainability team, he oversaw extensive recycling and repurposing of timber, glass, textiles and other materials.
“The sustainability part of it was very pleasing. We were able to go to the next level in terms of recycling. It was a real departure for me from a learning point of view.”
The art department successfully achieved zero waste by diverting 95% of their waste from landfill thanks to those recycling/repurposing efforts.
Creative Partnership with Rob Harris
Another standout experience was working with renowned British production designer Rob Harris.
“Rob is just an incredible guy, a really brilliant designer, brilliant leader,” Aitken says. “And a strong decision-maker, which I love! He’d never want to see more than three options, which meant set dec, props and construction could continue to push the work out the door, which was necessary for such a quick turnaround.”
Aitken describes All Her Fault as a professional high point, combining a demanding design brief with the opportunity to collaborate with world-class creatives.
“It was pretty special to work with Rob and with set decoration and props to give the house that layered, lived-in feel. As well as NantStudios’ incredible technology, adding to that sense of ‘being there’.”
Production Credits
All Her Fault was produced by Carnival Films, which is part of Universal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group. All Her Fault was attracted to Victoria through the Victorian Government’s Victorian Screen Incentive.
- Production Designer: Rob Harris
- Supervising Art Director: Maxine Dennett
- Art Director: Ben Barber
- Art Director (Irvine House / Volume Stage): Seth Aitken
- Senior Set Designer: Michael Bell
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