The new set was designed by John Giles of Reunion Design for Russell Best of Brave Street Productions, Inc., the producer. Chicago Scenic’s Senior Project Manager Gary Heitz oversaw the variety of scenic elements that the new Lottery set required, including a life-sized, 11-foot tall bank vault. The vault’s eight-inch thick realistic door, featuring a gigantic combination lock, was double-hinged so it could fully open and support the door’s substantial weight. The vault was the key focal point of the show; audience members and contestants were told that the vault housed the million dollars that contestants were vying to win.
Chicago Scenic also built the main “dog bone” shaped contestant platform. Contestants stood in the railed, circular platforms at either end during the game. A series of light boxes connected the two platforms and lit up individually.
“Make Me Rich” featured the “Grand Prix” platform, part of which supported the 3,400-pound Ford Mustang that one lucky contestant took home. A series of individual light boxes formed a path to the car’s platform and as contestants answered questions correctly, they proceeded to the next lighted square.
In addition, Chicago Scenic built a set of “floating walls” and installed them in the studio. These walls concealed the cameras that shot through the open spaces between the wall segments. Chicago Scenic also built a large surround for a 12” x 16” screen used during the show.
Since “Make Me Rich” has been a hit among Michigan viewers, The Lottery wanted to test a new pilot, “Face the Music”. To maximize their budget, the individual circular platforms used on the “Make Me Rich” show as contestant platforms were built to detach and were then re-purposed for the pilot. Show producers hope the show will pick up sponsorship and be taped quarterly, like “Make Me Rich” is.
Chicago Scenic also built four “sound proof” booths for the pilot. Each circular booth was enclosed on three sides; the fourth side featured a curved door with an acrylic window. Each booth’s exterior featured three bands of LED lights and spelled out each contestant’s name in lights. As part of the game show’s contestant “reveal”, the booths were placed on one of Chicago Scenic’s 18-foot rental turntables. Chicago Scenic lead Jeff Matteson used manual controls to automate the turntable, and rotated the contestants to reveal them the studio and viewing audience.
