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'One Night' - Initial Meeting

The job I had been assigned to on this film was graphics but also making a colour model. This was an unusual request, in their script a building is set on fire and as they obviously couldn't do this full scale and getting permission to use smoke machines and other effects would be a health and safety nightmare we decided a scale model of the building was worth a shot.

Francis Boyle was very helpful in coming up with solutions for filming the model and he suggested burning gels and lighter fluid for creating a small controlled fire. He told us to practice but obviously to be very cautious and do this outside.

'Sweet Changeling' - Initial Meeting / Script Breakdown

'Sweet Changeling' was the first LCC group I emailed. I really liked their moodboards and overall aesthetic for the film (as seen below). The film has a 1950's through to 80's style. The story follows a young ex-pageant winner named Mary Beth who loses her child prematurely and has to deal with this loss as well as with her family.

SCRIPT BREAKDOWN
We were put in charge of the dining room set and making the washing machine so I analysed these sections of the script.

INITIAL MEETING
Francis again helped us with tricks and solutions that would help us reduce the number of necessary props and dressing. 10 sets seemed incredibly ambitious especially with such a small art department from Wimbledon.

'Under the White Sun' - Initial Meeting

'Under the White Sun' is a film about a dystopian future where people over a certain age pay life tax and the world is managed by an aggressive organisation called CSEC. The genre for this film is Sci-Fi and influences included Blade Runner (1982) and The Matrix (1999). I personally felt their script was reminiscent of Logan's Run (1976).

I emailed 'Under the White Sun' about working on the graphics as this is something I was interested in developing as I feel I already have an eye for it. Plus from the examples of their inspirations in the pitch I could tell this would be a fun and creative project. The Production Designer in their team, Sebastian Chan, responded promptly to my email saying they would love for me to help out.
I was one of a few people doing graphics work for the film so I was confident it wasn't going to be too demanding. Jane was our head of department and would be in charge of keeping us on track and informed.

Initial Meeting Notes

The notes below are from our first meeting and a production design tutorial we had with Francis Boyle at LCC. He was incredibly helpful in making clear to the film students what he thought was possible for us as an Art Dept to do and coming up with solutions to possible issues whilst raising others.

After our initial meeting, we created a Facebook messenger group so that we could discuss ideas, keep updated and on target throughout the Christmas break.

Alexandra Palace - Nothing But Thieves

I have been to concerts in Alexandra Palace a few times now and I every time I find myself staring at the building longer than the musician I am there to see. I found the design of the hall interesting and wondered what the inspiration was. I thought ancient Roman or Greek perhaps?

Alexandra Palace was built in the Victorian era and first opened in 1875.

Nothing But Thieves at Ally Pally - my photo

Concert Hall - Google images

Concert hall - my photo

From the last photo it is clear that the columns are in the style of the Corinthian Order.

Left: The origin of the Corinthian Order, illustrated in Claude Perrault's Vitruvius, 1684. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corinthian_order

Right: Corinthian Order. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/designucdavis/130376828/

Bishop Home - Sketch Up

Making a SketchUp model helped me find the rough measurements of the set. For me, this was an important part of the process and I could quickly make alterations if it didn't quite match up to the screenshots I had from the film.

Finals Shots of my SketchUp model -

I really feel like I've developed my SketchUp skills since using it for the first time last year. I had never made skirting board or cornice before, but now I feel like I could almost do it with my eyes closed. I also used the 'follow me' tool a lot more for things like the banister. This was hard to figure out at first but was easy enough to get to grips with after a while messing around with it.

Contextual Studies - Goggle making

For the Unit 6 festival, I designed and made the goggles we would be using for our installation. I knew they could be made easily and in a few pieces out of cardboard. I happened to be inundated with the stuff after my house had bought several desks from IKEA.

Initial drawn designs -

Rather than making them out of three pieces we managed to make them out of two; a front piece and another piece that would block out the light from the sides.

Dan modeling the goggles after assembly -

After this, I then made the viewing holes and passed the goggles on to the other members of my group who were painting and attaching the elastic.

Me modeling finished goggles -

I'm pretty happy with how these turned out considering how simple they were. They fit well and weren't too uncomfortable to wear. Sometimes it doesn't have to be complex, it can be as simple as some cardboard and elastic. Cardboard can be a very useful material and this is a nice reminder of that.