Design for Film: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Part 1

After the first two projects, we began working on designing sets for film. The brief I received was to design a set for a feature film production of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Set mainly in Jekyll's house, I first started to research Georgian properties in central London as Jekyll's house is described as older than the Victorian era in which the novel was set. Below is the exterior location I chose for Jekyll's residence.

Establishing shot of Jekyll's house.

Located in Knightsbridge, I chose this particular building as it was important to me that the actual exterior matched up with the set of the interior I planned to design. Not just for continuity but as a good opportunity to accurately copy the existing architecture. I also found it easier to design a Georgian building from the front using this as a starting point for the layout of the whole house.

Rough model showing opening hallway.

Full rough model

Working through a number of initial mock ups I began to get an idea of the layout of the rooms. The difficulty lay in trying to outline rooms in a way that would be easy to film in and provide a good amount of depth on camera, but still keep the structure of a period house accurately. The house had to work as a living environment but not obstruct the camera, and vice versa. In order to overcome this, I spent a great deal of time researching Georgian and Victorian properties as well as reading up on the daily workings of such households. By gaining an insight into the society of the time I found it much easier to mark out the rooms by considering how they would function with each other. For example, the working areas of the house and the main house, having the Dining room and Smoking room joined so guests and Jekyll could retire there after taking supper, etc. By observing the works and layout of rooms at the Wallace Collection and John Soane Museum I got a much clearer concept of what I wanted my set to look like.

Sherlock Holmes Exhibit

At the very beginning of my research I found out about an exhibition on in Holborn at University of the Arts which gave an insight into the creative process behind the Sherlock Holmes films. Production Designer Sarah Greenwood had recreated a 'set' of the films art department which gave visitors a rare opportunity to see the design process that goes into creating a major feature film from scratch.

Recreated Art Department

As I had just started my own Victorian-set design process the exhibition couldn't have been better timed. Within the relatively small space the exhibit had been packed full of technical drawings, scale models, research books and even files detailing the call times for cast and crew. The wall also showed a calendar detailing what was happening on every single day e.g. location scouting, set constructing/filming, etc. However, the most insightful element was the vast amount of research images that had been plastered onto the surrounding walls. The whole experience was both inspiring and insightful. Having done three projects on the MA, by this point I had a clear picture of how similar it appeared to the real thing and a professional art department.

I began building up my own wealth of research not only on the architecture of the time but educating myself about the culture and events in the Victorian time. As I had seen in the Holmes exhibit I printed off a timeline of the Victorian era and began immersing myself in the Victorian age.

Development

Having read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a couple of times, I had a clear idea of the rooms I wanted to feature prominently in the set. Ultimately the house was divided in two, with the main building being separated by a yard from the lab were Jekyll develops his potion and carries out his experiments. Having been outlined in the novel I was keen to stick to this division between the two buildings, which really represent his conflicting personalities. I also wanted to be able to shoot at one location from the other, not simply to take advantage of the depth of shot but also emphasis the concept that the house and lab are very much segregated from one another, more so as the story progresses. For example, I liked the idea of Jekyll's point of view looking out of a small dirty window in the lab and watching the comings and goings of the household staff, perhaps leaving meals outside the door for him and such. Similarly, the idea of filming a scene where a maid is cleaning the dining room and strange flashes of light are seen coming from the lab across the yard through the dining room windows, creating suspicion and fear. This would also help to emphasize how Jekyll is becoming more closed off and removed from the rest of the world through the design of the set.

Upon looking more closely at the description of the lab Jekyll uses to develop his potion Stevenson describes how the previous owner had built an operating theatre at the back of the house. By the time Jekyll takes up residence the operating theatre has been locked up and fallen into disrepair. I decided to visit the Old Operating Theatre in London Bridge for inspiration. This really got me excited about the set, standing inside the theatre I got a strong feel of the theatricality of the space.

Inside the Old Operating Theatre.

Operating table in the center of the space.

The multiple levels of the operating space.

 Restored to its former glory in the 60s (100 years after it had been boarded up) the operating theatre had a major influence on my design. I wanted to recreate the theatricality of the space, taking advantage of its performance-style shape. However, where as the operating theatre had been cleaned up and restored I felt a more derelict, run-down space (at least in terms of the finish) would be more appropriate. In terms of the surface detail I was drawn to the set from The King's Speech, in which the lessons take place in a stripped-down empty space with derelict walls and large curved windows in the roof, yet still retaining a feel of period elegance in the bare architecture and subtle use of furniture. But before I could get to concerned with the details I had to construct a roof shell of the building, and work out the refining from there.

Exterior of the operating theatre with attaching cabinet section.

As I developed the shape of the operating theatre I wanted to add extra grandeur to the space. Originally the surgery being performed there would have attracted a huge number of students, eager to learn from an esteemed doctor. I decided to add a second entrance door to the side of the building leading to the street that students would have entered through, this would also double as the secret entrance/exit for Hyde when he ventures out into London at night. However, for peers of the doctor who would have entered from the house I wanted a separate, reserved area for them to observe the surgery being performed and to retire to after it had finished. For this I built the cabinet on a floor higher up than the operating theatre form which they could stand at the end of and observe the operations.

Rough model of the attaching cabinet.

Beyond simply developing a back story to the building I also was keen to develop two different spaces that Jekyll works in. In the cabinet he would develop his potion, take his meals and generally spend his time researching his formula. However, for the practical side of the experiments I wanted him to descend into the empty operating space, perhaps even strapping himself down on the old table in a gruesome, mock of Victorian surgery. As he would be unaware what the effects of his potion were as he developed it, it made sense to have an empty space where he could test the effects without destroy everything around him when in his wild, feral state as Hyde.

Development of operating theatre and cabinet, rear view.

View through to the cabinet.

Completed cabinet and operating theatre (rear view).

Completed cabinet and operating theatre (front view).

With the completion of the rear section of the set (cabinet and operating theatre) I began experimenting with lighting. By using tea lights carefully placed around the model I began to see how flickering light would play in the space, and the effect the would have on the depth of shots.

The completed operating theatre with lighting.

Stark contrasts in light and dark spaces.

View through the cabinet arches  down to the operating theatre.

 As I photographed the model I mainly focused on looking at which areas worked best in focus whilst others were left dimmer and shadowed. In some cases I attempted to get right down into the model and take shots of how it would be filmed, e.g. the middle photo above which I imagined would have shadows flickering on the walls as Jekyll transformed in the dead of night. With the rear of the house complete my next step would be the development of the main house and attaching yard and garden areas.