Design for Film: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Part 2

Having visited the Wallace Collection and the John Soane Museum I had a good idea of the style of architecture and features I wanted to create within the house. However, to begin with I started by roughly constructing each room of thee house, to get an idea for their size and how they would be laid out together. Having researched Victorian society I was much clearer on the etiquette of a middle class working household and this gave me a clearer idea of how each room would interact with the attaching one, for example I wanted a long corridor to give a good depth to shots but the practical function of this was that it also opened up the space and made it easier to move around the house, from kitchen to dining room and so forth. By adding archways and pillars I broke up the space to give it a more maze -like feel which would work really well when lit only in selected areas, channeling the light.

Main Hall section of rough model.

Rough layout of walls and room sizes.

I knew for the dining room and hallway I wanted to create a sense of grandeur which, while present through-out the house, was highlighted in these two areas. Giving a greater sense of cold, emptiness in these two specific areas as Jekyll has come to neglect the house as he becomes more obsessed with his experiments. As he has spent the majority of his time in the laboratory and operating theatre the house has grown quiet and merely acts to keep up appearances and social expectations. I liked the idea that it is still richly decorated, and at one point would have appeared very impressive with a varying works of art dotted around, but now has become neglected, like a forgotten museum. Almost in the same manner as pharaoh would be buried with all his treasures for countless years, Jekyll has spent his life collecting unusual objects and pieces which now seem irrelevant to him. Visiting prop houses and even looking at the pieces on exhibit at the operating theatre gave me a good idea of what kind of objects and pieces I wanted to have placed around the house and the cabinet.

Searching at the prop house.

I particularly focused on neglected period pieces that looked like they had a fair bit of wear and tear.

 

 

Victorian medical props

Jekyll is a man trying to divide the two opposing sides of his personality and soul. Ironically it is in an attempt to control his sinful side and create a purity in himself that leads him to create a potion which unleashes his darker thoughts and manifest itself separately from his more rational, good self. This concept of original sin and man trying to control his nature was something I really wanted to present itself in the art work and literature he had collected over his life. I like the idea of his work surface being covered in beakers and experiments boiling away but also the odd book or scrap of paper referring to something he had been inspired by, whether in say the Bible or a psychological journal. In terms of art work I wanted to source paintings that were grand and covered large spaces of wall, as well as smaller more easily missed pieces that would be just as interesting and offer an insight into Jekyll's psyche. While I did scour the internet and kept an eye open at prop houses I honestly struggled to find exactly what I was looking for and in the end had to abandon this idea in order to finish the design as a whole.

To fill the gap between the house and the operating theare/cabinet I stuck to the book and had a simple yard connecting the two, I also included a simple but ornate garden next to it that would show the cabinet from the dining room and vice versa. The yard and garden sections were divided by a row of arches and pillars which, while not in the book, I felt would add a little extra to the otherwise open space, obscuring the sky but also providing a good line of depth to shoot through and create a more dynamic shot on screen.

Above view showing the yard and garden connecting the cabinet to the rest of the house.

View of dining room windows and archway dividing the yard and garden spaces.

Completed scale model.

Above shows the completed scale model showing the house on the right and cabinet, operating theatre and street exit on left hand side. The white square the model sits on roughly show the entirety of the studio the set was designed for in our brief; Pinewood stage D. I then began experimenting with different lighting effects and shots from a variety of angles, trying to get in as close to the model as possible.

Shot from first floor staircase.

Lit shot of main hall staircase.

Lit shot of main hall looking down corridor.

Ultimately the project taught me a great deal about the process of developing a set from start to finish, trying to achieve an accurate but original style to not only the text but the Victorian period in general. Looking back I am glad I took the time to really immerse myself in the setting of the story, looking at architecture, interior design, fashion and the society of the era in general was really worth taking a solid block of time to do, which isn't easy when you have six weeks to develop a project from scratch through to its final design. Often I wanted to storm ahead with the design, conscious of the small window of time, but to have rushed the process of getting to grips with the setting of the story would have been a disaster. Of course looking back there are pieces I would tweak and want to play around with for longer but working alone on what was an  intense project I was pleased with the final design and presentation of my set, satisfied with the most fundamental elements of the set I wanted to create for an adaption of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

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.

ReCOGnition - Design for Music Production

For the second project I was given the brief to design the set for a weekly music show, based loosely around Top of Pops, that would cater to a range of different bands and performers. Set in the main studio at the BBC, it had to consist of both a main stage and smaller, truckable stage for presenters, interviews and smaller, more intimate performances. Like the first project the brief was focused on a set within a studio that incorporated an audience, however having laid down the fundamentals of studio design in the first project, the second one developed this knowledge, such as incorporating lighting effects and more technical camera shots.

When I first began considering the design of the set I played around with a number of different shapes and constructs, some inspired by the theme of 'music' and others I had simply began drawing and seeing where they led. Most didn't get past the 'Initial idea' stage and, along with others on the course I struggled to pin down a simple concept on which to develop and evolve a set from. The majority of my initial designs were overly complicated consisting of too many ideas and shapes, I also had to bare in mind that the design had to cater to all genres of music. The turning point came when I decided to restrict the design to a single shape, repeated throughout the set. To begin with I had tried cubes and spheres, and while these seemed to progress better than my previous ideas they were still missing a sense of originality and complexity that I was aiming for. For my next idea I started using the shape of a cog. Having done alot of steampunk - style sets and props in the past I was used to using and designing cogs and once I began to develop the idea of making up a set that consisted solely of cogs of different shapes the development really started to gain momentum rapidly.

Initial concept for Main Stage

Using varying styles of cogs I developed an initial design for the main stage, in this early concept I tried to create an interesting composition of cogs in order to get a variety of different camera shots depending on the angle. This early design also featured a tiered stage, however I realised that this would create a smaller, more impractical space. Instead I decided to keep the outer shape of the stage, and instead of having the tiered cog design I would create the same outlines but in the surface of the now flat stage. This broke up the space but retained a large, more practical space for varying performances.

I played around with the idea of having an upright cog 'framing' part of the stage and thus adding to the variety of camera shots available. By placing it off center it would still provide a unique space to film without obscuring the majority of the space, as opposed to if I had placed it more centrally.

The main stage reconfigured to create a more practical performance space.

I still wanted to create varying levels in the main stage and so used the second tier that had originally been in the center of the space to create a upper level attached to the side of the main stage. This gave me a more dynamic space to shoot but in a much more successful layout than the original structure.

Developing the main stage, the small stage also begins to take shape

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As the design developed I started playing around with a larger variety of cogs. As there would be a number of large gaps in between set pieces it was important to begin considering where exactly the cameras would be positioned. The use of lighting would be integral and help obscure views of whatever lay behind the set but I still had to build up a certain amount of pieces and consider where they would be placed. I made a pair of scaffolding towers with a number of light weight cogs fixed to the upper half of them and began positioning them in various places to see how best to use them, sometimes behind the main stage but also in the foreground creating a greater sense of depth.

At this time I also began development of the small stage and the layout of the two in the studio together. For the small stage I used the same size cog as that attached to the main stage and began to build up the set pieces behind and around it. As the space would be used for presenters and smaller performances, interviews, etc I wanted to restrict the size as much as possible. Not simply to be more cost effective but also to maintain a greater space between the small stage and the main stage as the health and safety rules stipulated a gap of around five meters.

\Development of possible camera shots.

As I began playing around with the layout of different pieces alot of refining of the set took place. After altering the position of everything, even the height of the screen in the background, I began to set pieces in their final place. With the composition of the set almost complete the next step was to begin adding detail to the surface, considering what materials would be used and how lighting would effect the surfaces of the various shapes in the set.

The surface begin to be clad.

When I began my research to find the style of surface detail I wanted to use I initially considered what would best benefit the shapes I had created in the set. It was important to me that the shapes of the cogs not be obscured by the finished surface detail. To emphasize the outline of the cogs in the flooring of the stages I decided they would need a bright outline to highlight them and make the most of their shapes. As the show would feature varying genres of music however I wanted this lighting to be able to change to a variety of colours, depending on the artist/ mood of the song, etc.

The surface detail of cogs is usually old-fashioned but as this would not be appropriate for a music production I decided to go for a much more futuristic, crisper design. Heavily influenced by Tron Legacy, the design style of black with lines tracing the shapes and their outlines seemed a perfect approach to the problem of highlighting the cogs and creating a versatile set. This took care of the flooring, however for the upright and hanging cogs I wanted something different that would work for close-up shots, as well as provide a good lighting opportunity.

Redesigned flooring and addition of hanging pieces.

It was at this stage in the development that I considered the shape of the main stage. It was suggested to me that I fill in the gaps between the 'teeth' of the cog shape to provide a larger, more traditional shape to the stage. While I agreed with the idea I didn't want to lose the dynamic shape of the large cog flooring by filling in these two gaps with a similar surface to the rest of the black stage. Instead I decided to fill them in with a transparent flooring surface that didn't distort the cog shape. Further down the line I decided to fill in the underneath of this flooring with strips of lighting to conceal the flooring of the studio and provide more lighting, as can be seen in the next image.

The cogs around the stage, fixed and hanging, I then had to decided how to clad. This proved challenging as I didn't want the same style as the flooring but not be utterly different from it either, ensuring the entire set fitted as a whole. Some of the cogs I decided to leave white, their crisp shapes would not only stand out strongly against the blacked out background, but also provide a versatile lighting surface to alter and possibly project onto as well.

Completed main stage.

For the surface detail of the cogs I played around with different styles and textures for those not wouldn't be left white. One such treatment I experimented with worked very well close up. By first undercoating the  cogs in black paint and then dry-brushing them with layers of metallic paint I created a surface that gave the effect of a rusted, uneven surface. At first I wasn't sure it would work with the crisp flooring, although I thought the contrast with the white cogs was quite effective. Once I began introducing lighting effects with fairy lights placed around the model and experimenting with photoshop the different styles of cogs and the flooring began to work really effectively together. With the later addition of an image on the screen framed in the background, the man stage was complete.

The completed small stage.

Above shows a much clear angle of the painted cogs I had developed. Ultimately the size of the stage was quite small but the area was made grander and more elaborate by the use of upright cogs organised around the stage, as well as those placed on the studio floor to pick up light and those placed in the foreground.

Below are a number of images taken from my attempts at lighting the model, I found that the white fairy lights were particularly effective compared to the coloured ones, and interestingly the visible wires in the background were easily overlooked.

Lit main stage with screen.

Looking through  the cog.

Lighting the small stage.

Completed Model, here you can see how it makes up three quarters of the main studio at the BBC.

Completed small stage with curtained off backdrop.

Having gained an understanding of set design for TV in the first project, the second was were I really began to build and develop creatively. Where as the first project had held me back creatively while I dealt with learning about how sets operated differently to theatre it was satisfying to be allowed much more freedom and scope with which to develop ideas that were fun to design and make but crucially worked on a more realistic level. The next two projects would move away from studio audience sets and into the the TV and film drama area. Working on enclosed sets and accurate white card models that gave insight into the architecture of the design.

I will be including further images from this project at a later date as they are rendered in photoshop presently and incompatible with blogger.

Design for Arts Review Show

Our first two projects during the Masters were based around light entertainment shows and audience- based productions. The first project was designed to give a grounding in working within the confines of a studio and designing from a cameras perspective. This was my first real challenge as in the past I had always designed sets that would be viewed by a large audience, whether Promenade or Proscenium Arch the designs were always dictated by a audience with a less restricted view. A number of initial set designs had to be reworked as the set pieces were far too high for a show that would be focused on camera angles mainly featuring close ups of people, with the occasional wide shot showing a larger amount of the set.

Early stages of final design.

As the brief of the show was to design for a arts review in which the presenter and three guests would be discussing a broad range of art from classic to contemporary in a variety of areas, (e.g. architecture, installation, paintings, etc) I wanted to design a set that didn't refer to any one specific style, but at the same time not seem to busy and random. After working through a number of different designs I decided on a style that was initially inspired by Gothic architecture but in a more minimalistic, contemporary style. In terms of the surface detail I had originally wanted a rich, textured surface quality that drew more inspiration from classic architecture but ultimately I decided there was something appealing in the simplistic nature of a blank canvas like surface of pure white. This would also work much better in terms of lighting potential, and I believe the complex design of later pieces would have been lessened by overly detailed surface textures. I also decided on a gloss coat to the surface of the studio floor, while in reality in would be difficult to achieve such a highly reflective surface, especially considering reflections from the lighting rig and possible glare, I still liked the idea of creating pieces that continued in the reflection of the floor and achieved an interesting effect.

The finished set with furniture and P.B.Us

I took a lot of inspiration from Gothic window designs and striped them down to a much more linear design that focused more on the shapes used to compose them, by building up a number of layers I created a much greater sense of depth to the set. In addition to the these set pieces I incorporated a number of simple arch shapes used for photo blow ups (P.B.Us). I imagined these would change every week to reflect the work on discussion, which while varied would neatly tie together in the cyan, green and red hues that restricted the use of colour. The work I used for this specific weeks discussion is that of Andy Goldsworthy, as well as architecture taken from London's Southwark, Hampton Court Palace, Manchester Town Hall and Barcelona's Sagrada Família. The latter of which also influenced the whole set design in it's contemporary approach to more traditional architecture styles in terms of its interior. For the furniture I wanted something that stood out but didn't distract from the surrounding set pieces. I chose transparent acrylic pieces that would be custom-made and matched the colour scheme of the P.B.Us.

The entire set was placed against a black cyclorama, however looking back I would possibly re-think this and incorporate more lighting into the background. I think it can probably be put down to me clinging to my theatre design-comfort zone! As with the next project I worked on both where designed with a in-house audience present in the studio so to a degree I think it helped me in the transitional stage of coming from a theatre background and beginning to design for screen instead.

MA in Production Design for Film and TV

Having graduated from St. Mary's last year I spent the summer deciding what my next course of action would be and what direction I wanted to head in regarding my career. During my final year at St. Mary's I had thoroughly enjoyed working on a variety of shows inside and outside of uni, focusing on set and prop design. By the end of the year I had designed and constructed a number of sets and props for a variety of shows at uni and gained a huge amount of experience in professional theatre. It was such a joy to wake up every morning head down to uni and spend the day in the workshop sketching out designs for props and set pieces and then spending the day bringing them to life using a variety of materials. Needless to say once I graduated I was at somewhat of a lose deciding what I was suppose to spend my time doing. It wasn't until a month or so after graduating that my girlfriend suggested I apply to do an MA in set design. This was a stroke of genius as, although I had loved spending the year designing and building things I lacked the technical skill required for professional work and as I explored the idea of an MA I found that it would give me the additional skills I needed to properly seek employment in the industry.

I applied and was accepted onto the course at Kingston University studying an MA in Production Design  for Film and  TV and have spent the last year working intensely on a number of projects tailored to give you the skills required for working in an art department for film and television. This included technical drawing/ hand drafting of plans for sets, as well as constructing accurate, scale models of our sets which we then photographed and created visuals from, showing close-up, mid and wide shots from a cameras perspective. Also we worked on prop and texture boards, giving an insight into the set on a more detailed level, and in some cases creating a variety of pieces intended to give the overall impression of a set prior to construction. Over the next few blogs I shall be presenting a selection of the projects I worked on during the last year, having now completed my MA and begun the exciting albeit daunting task of seeking employment!

Clockwork: Building Cogs.

Last week we began designing cogs to be used in the set for Clockwork. Initially I decided that the quickest way to make up a number of them to work with would be to spend a bit of time designing one really accurate cog, and then use it as a template to mass produce more.

I therefore looked for a circular object large enough and drew around it on a thick piece of plywood. As we had never made cogs before we considered what would be the best way to get an accurate design drawn up. We had our circle drawn on the wood and next we had to consider how we would make the teeth. All had to be the same size, and also the gaps between the teeth had to allow the same shape into them, as a cog would work.

The way I decided to design them was to measure the circumference of the circle and then divide it up into a number that was large enough to fit the right number of teeth all the way around the circle. We also left a gap either side of the teeth so that the teeth of another cog would fit in smoothly. Basically we measured five centimetres for each tooth of the cog and left a centimetre gap either side of the teeth.

Once we had marked up the measurements for the teeth I drew a line across the circle to the mark opposite. This divided up the circle so that we could draw out the teeth accurately, as is shown above. At this point we cut out the circle of the gear, planning to cut the individual teeth out after and with more ease.

With the cog cut down to its circle we began to work with a jigsaw to cut out the individual teeth accurately and precisely. Once this was done we had our first cog shape and would be able to use it to stencil more

and quickly make more.

Above you can see the first completed cog, as we were unsure whether they would be stationary or move whist hung we decided to cut out the circle in the middle to give us the option. As the circle hadn't been drawn but had formed as a result of the lines we had drawn across the surface this gave us the impression we had been more or less spot on with our accuracy.

Once the circle was cut out the middle of our experimental cog we began to increase in the rate of our work. Although at first we had taken our time to create an accurate shape, this had been completely necessary and we could now not only use this cog to quickly make more, but also put into practise what we had learnt to make cogs of varying sizes. Which we avoided at first, preffering to get one right before branching out and over complicating things.

With each cog completed we painted them with a black base coat. As they became incredibly easy to make we bashed out about six that day including two that were joined together permanently, as is shown below.

Originally these two cogs had simply been drawn very close together to fit as many on the wood as possible. However, we decided whilst cutting them out leave them attached together. Rather than struggle to hang them perfectly next to each other we could keep them left attached and give the same appearance. Even here on the ground they look like they have just been placed next to each other.

As we had spent all day in the workshop I took the cogs to finish off at home with a dry brushing technique I had developed during Sweeney Todd. This was very useful as I could quickly paint up a large number of pieces to a standard high enough to be viewed hanging from the rig in the theatre. Here I experimented with a look that made the cogs looked wooden but flickered like brass. One PT student even asked me what they were made of, which I was pleased to hear as it meant we would be able to convincingly make them look like they had been constructed of a different material to wood. For this batch I tried out a number of variants that all gave an oaky, yet brass look to them. I think for the next few I will try something colder, more silvery and steel-like, but for the mean time I was happy with what we had achieved and learnt, especially from experimenting with new techniques we had to develop ourselves as we went along.