Photographs of Abandonment: The post apocalyptic landscape

This is a selection of photographs showing places around the world that have been abandoned for many years. These serve as inspiration for my scrapbook and also show in conjunction with my previous  post https://amandafullwoodma.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/the-post-apocalyptic-landscape-location-and-production-designthe-road/ that potential locations do exist and provide a wealth of visual information for the Production Designer.

Pripyat, a city of nearly 50,000, was totally abandoned after the nearby Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

The Ryugyong Hotel –Abandoned for 16 years.  In 2008, work started again and although a lot of the interior is still abandoned and incomplete, the outside is now coated in $150 million worth of glass and has paying guests.

Abandoned Coal Plant – France

The abandoned Hashima Island which was once rich in coal, with over 5000 miners once living on the island.

Abandoned Power Plant – Belgium

Abandoned Domino Sugar Factory — Brooklyn, New York

Originally built during World War II to protect the River Thames.

References:- http://distractify.com/culture/arts/the-most-spectacular-abandoned-places-in-the-world/ [sourced on 28/12/2013]

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The Post Apocalyptic Landscape: Location and Production Design(The Road)

When  watching films and TV programmes I am always trying to guess which locations are real and which are built sets or have been altered with CGI.

Being fascinated with derelict buildings and looking at the photographs that I have recently documented I am turning my attentions to actual locations that have been used, albeit slightly altered to suit filming. From a production design point of view, it’s interesting to see how and what informs the decision-making for the Production Designer/Director and whether it is story or budget or both that influence these.

 

Here are a few actual locations used for post apocalyptic films/TV so far:-

The Road

Much of the filming was done in Pittsburgh and not in the studio as the budget was small and the story  called for multiple locations. Chris Kennedy talks about his location experiences to Rochelle Siemienowicz.

“AFI: And was it always going to be a location-based shoot? Was there ever any talk about doing it in a studio?

CK: Basically it was an independent film and always had a very small budget, so there wasn’t really the money to do it in a studio. Also it’s a journey story and needed a lot of different locations. So straight away that meant asking the question what kind of landscapes can we use? Straight off the bat, what country can we go to? Russia would be good – Chernobyl! Those kind of landscapes. Iceland was one idea. Even thought about Australia. But what about the gum trees? And blue sky? A lot of people just think, ‘oh post-apocalyptic, oh go to the desert.’ But of course the  book isn’t set in the desert. It’s set in North America. So I spent a fair bit of time online looking at places in America and found all kinds of places. Eight miles of abandoned freeway in Pennsylvania, a beach in Oregon, an abandoned amusement park. Started putting together a list of locations, the ideal plan. We had to do a certain amount of it in Pennsylvania due to tax incentives. So a lot of it in Pittsburgh rather than where we wanted to. We found pretty much what we needed. Abandoned coal piles. And Pittsburgh itself is pretty much an abandoned city. Back in the early 20th century  basically half the population left…so that all came together pretty well.”

http://www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/HTMLDisplay.aspx?ContentID=9954&Section=Turning_words_into_pictures_An_interview_with_production_designer_Chris_Kennedy [sourced 30/12/2013]

The following images are taken from the film and are courtesy of Dimension Films. They are of locations in post Katrina New Orleans, Pennsylvania and Oregon.

An Oregon beach location.

The Road excerpt:
They stood on the rock jetty and looked out to the south. A gray salt spittle lagging and curling in the rock pool. Long curve of beach beyond. Gray as lava sand.

Abandoned freeway in Pennsylvania.

Post-Katrina New Orleans.

“One of the more compelling aspects of John Hillcoat’s 2009 adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road is the fact that the film’s post-apocalyptic landscapes are not computer generated but largely shot on real locations in the United States.”( Cited Chiarella 2009: 91).

The below statement is taken from the blog post  It’s All out There:-

“Production designer Chris Kennedy scouted a number of locations in post-Katrina New Orleans, including the devastated neighborhood pictured above. He also found Pennsylvania to be a treasure trove of desolate settings. “The state has depressed socioeconomic situations in suburbs like Braddock and Keysport and devastated mining areas with coal piles and fly-ash piles that looked like a blackened landscape,” Kennedy said in a statement.” (Landskiper.BlogSpot.co.uk, 2011)

 

For the most part The Road was all about location and America provided many opportunities for filming. Some CGI was used in the bleaching out of colour particularly when dealing with sunnier places such as New Orleans to create the desired effect. America and other large countries will provide many locations similar and it would be interesting to see if the same can be said for the smaller more heritage influenced UK.

Director Hillcoat discusses the film’s use of CGI when dealing with the New Orleans location above. Image courtesy of Dimension Films. Sourced from http://landskipper.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/its-all-out-there.html

“This maritime wreckage was filmed in Louisiana by an Imax documentary crew two days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the surrounding area. “Cormac’s material felt so familiar, like we’ve already seen it,” Hillcoat said. “That’s why we went to the leftovers of Katrina. Then we used CGI to take out the bright blue sky and green grass.”

References:-

SIEMIENOWICZ, R., 2010. Turning words into pictures:An interview with production designer Chris Kennedy [online]. The Australian Film Institute. Available at: www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/HTMLDisplay.aspx?ContentID=9954

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/11/the-road-page-to-screen/3/[sourced 30/12/2013]

2011. It’s All Out There. Available at http://landskipper.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/its-all-out-there.html [sourced 30/12/2013]

Cited sources from Chiarella, Tom (2009) ‘The Most Important Movie of the Year’ Esquire June: 87-91.[sourced on 30/12/2013]

Film Focus:The Hunger Games (Catching Fire)

After watching Catching Fire at the cinema a couple of weeks ago I made some notes on the overall visual impression that the film gave me.

The beginning of the film focuses on district 12 as the location and straight away the audience is immersed into a cold, poverty-stricken world of mining in a dystopian world. Visually I noticed how dark it was. It was winter of course and the weather certainly reflected the state of mind of the characters and of the district itself. Without reading into the hows and whys of the decision-making between the Director, Production Designer and Director of Photography I can only assume, as an audience member that this is deliberate–a metaphor of character and situation, influenced by the original novel.  A visual representation of the old poorer world.

Still from Catching Fire from www.IMDb.com  picture courtesy of Lionsgate (2013)

District 12 (The Hunger Games) http://thehungergames2012.wordpress.com/

Later on in the film, The Capitol shows the stark contrast. The Capitol is the governing city for all the districts of future America and  is shown as brightly coloured, modern, clean and almost surreal in its portrayal of the people who live there. A depiction of the new improved world that is more technologically advanced.

A screenshot from the film trailer of The Capitol from turntherightcorner.com  picture courtesy of Lionsgate (2013)

Scene from Catching Fire from www.IMDb.com  courtesy of Lionsgate (2013)

To the main character Katniss Everdeen it’s an alien world. Flamboyant and unnecessary given the poverty of her own district and others, but she is forced to conform; to save her family, her own life and that of her friends.

Dystopian film and fiction seems to exaggerate opposites. The ruling classes are often shown as rich, while the masses are poorer much like society of today only taken to extremes. Like survivors of post apocalyptic stories, the poorer dystopian communities are forced to return to a simpler way of life in regards to occupations, technology and the housing that is available to them.

Production Designer:- Philip Messina

Director:- Francis Lawrence

Approx budget:- $130 Million

References:-

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2518473984/tt1951264?ref_=ttmi_mi_typ_sf_41 [sourced on 23/12/2013]

http://thehungergames2012.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/photos-district-12seam-digital-rendering/ [sourced on 23/12/2013]

http://turntherightcorner.com/2013/07/21/the-hunger-games-catching-fire-trailer-reveals-the-quarter-quell-102-screenshots/the-hunger-games-catching-fire-trailer-screenshot-the-capitol-2/ [sourced on 23/12/2013]

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2827670272/tt1951264?ref_=ttmd_md_pv [sourced on 23/12/2013]

Dystopian Literature, Film and Culture 1

I thought this picture was a good example of how dystopian fiction has developed over the last century. It shows the most popular books to date and how they reflect the cultural climate of the time that they were written. There has been a recent increase of book to film releases particularly in the Young Adult category with The Hunger Games and Divergent (to be released in 2014). Both these books and films show that there is still an interest/anxiety in fear of the state, government control, manipulation –subjects that may appeal to teens.

The teenager is at a stage of their lives where they are learning about themselves, understanding the world around them and forming relationships; who to trust and who in the adult world, if anyone, is an ally. Is the popularity of these stories a result of society, development of an understanding of what is going on politically/environmentally or is it just a result of a more disposable income for the teen reader/audience? Perhaps it is a combination of all of these.

Reference:- http://www.goodreads.com/blog/show/351-the-dystopian-timeline-to-the-hunger-games-infographic [sourced on 28/12/2013]

Artists and the Apocalypse

Today I came across the Polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński (1929-2005) who produced apocalyptic/hell like paintings reminiscent of film concepts. They are incredibly dark in their subject matter and I love how he uses simple colour schemes and organic textures to portray horror.

Grim Reaper

Night Creeper

Derelict House

Tower

I will be adding this artist to my scrapbook/visual research for future inspiration.

Reference source:- FOSTER, R., 2013. Visions Of Hell By A Murdered Polish Painter.London.  www.dontpaniconline.com

http://dontpaniconline.com/magazine/arts/visions-of-hell-by-a-murdered-polish-painter [sourced on 21/12/2013]

Designing the future: Clarifying dystopian and post apocalyptic

“Designs of the future can be divided into utopian or dystopian in their  underpinning conception. The surface design tends to fall into a limited set of styles, defined as futurism, retro futurism, realism, gothic and post apocalyptic” (BARNWELL, J., 2004: pg 100)

I have already looked at some futurism art references so I will now turn my attentions to post apocalyptic futures and what dystopian actually means in terms of society, film and literature.

When dealing with film and fiction, dystopia and post apocalyptic are usually categorised as separate types of film although some stories encompass both situations.

Dystopian:- The antithesis of utopian: figuring a nightmarish world in which rational impulses to engineer society back-fire dangerously. (KING, G., & KRZYWINSKA, T., 2000)

dys·to·pi·a

noun

a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.(online. available at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dystopian?s=t  [sourced on 21/12/2013]

So looking at recent films I can start to clarify what films are classed as dystopian:-

Minority Report (2002) Picture and budget courtesy of IMDb.com  :-

In a future where a special police unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes, an officer from that unit is himself accused of a future murder. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181689/

Production Designer:- Alex McDowell

Director:- Steven Spielberg

Budget:

$102,000,000               (estimated)

Utopian:- An imaginary state of ideal harmony and perfection derived from Thomas More’s Utopia (1516).  (KING, G., & KRZYWINSKA, T., 2000) For the purposes of comparison.

Post apocalyptic:-

a·poc·a·lyp·tic

adjective

1.

of or like an apocalypse; affording a revelation or prophecy.

2.

pertaining to the Apocalypse or biblical book of Revelation.

3.

predicting or presaging imminent disaster and total or universal destruction: the apocalyptic vision of some contemporary writers.

(online. available at http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/post-apocalyptic?s=t [sourced on 21/12/2013]

So anything set after  apocalyptic events such as large-scale environmental disasters, widespread viruses, biblical events, wars etc. Living in the after times is termed as post apocalyptic.

The Road (2009) picture and information  courtesy of IMDb.com

A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Production Designer:- Chris Kennedy

Director:- John Hillcoat

Budget:

$25,000,000               (estimated)

The films and books are often categorised together as there is often a cross over of ideas, situations or causes. The same audiences or readers are drawn to both kind of stories as seen in on-line book groups such as Apocalypse Whenever found at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/967-apocalypse-whenever. Both types of story are generally about forms of survival.

What I will be looking at as part of my research is the audience/social context  through engaging with fans of the genre but also as a designer thinking about such questions as:- Are there differences between the two strands of dystopian and post apocalyptic stories in terms of design? Do they present the same problems in terms of budget and approach?

At first glance at the two example films above, there does seem to be quite a difference between the size of budgets. I will look at this in more detail in future research.

References:- BARNWELL, J., 2004. Production design: Architects of the Screen. London, New York: Wallflower

                        KING, G., & KRZYWINSKA, T., 2000. Science Fiction cinema: From Outerspace to Cyberspace. London:

                        Wallflower

                        Online sources :- https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/967-apocalypse-whenever

                                                        www.IMDb.com

                                                        http://dictionary.reference.com [All sourced on 21/12/2013]

The Production Designer and The Art Department

A breakdown of the modern art department courtesy of Alex McDowell. This image is from The Art Direction Handbook for Film (RIZZO, M., 2005) and shows how the design departments are organised in relation to everyone else.

The Production Designer is the head of the art department, so this is a breakdown of a simple art department structure in regards to the roles and relationships.

Production Designer as head

The core Team:-

The Art Director:- Organises everything on behalf of the Production Designer from coordinating the designers to the logistics of set/property production on a day-to-day basis. The AD reports directly to the Production designer.

Set Designer:- Designs and supervises the set build. Depending on the size of production can design one or more sets and  also produces drawings/concepts/blue prints. They too collaborate with the Director and Director of Photography.

Set Decorator:- Responsible for the décor of the set or location from soft furnishings through to lighting fixtures.

Property Master:- Responsible for all objects and props that are used by the actors. Works with the Set Decorator and Production Designer and is responsible for obtaining the props.

Support Staff:-

Buyer:- The person who purchases all decorative items such as furniture, clothes, props etc. They need to be good negotiators and to have a good knowledge of sources and suppliers.

Construction Coordinator:- Responsible for the building of sets from the technical drawings. Supervises the construction crew.

Construction Crew:- Made up of the carpenters and painters.

Production Illustrator:- Artists that paint or draw the concepts of the Production Designer’s ideas. Generally, they are only used on larger productions and are particularly useful in Science Fiction and Fantasy when trying to raise more funds for the production.

Scenic Artist:- Responsible for painting backdrops, signage, illustrative materials, murals, props etc. They can paint out hot spots, shadows or anything that interferes with the filming.

Set Dresser:- Works under the Set Decorator and applies the décor to the set. They often have a background in furnishing and decorating.

Greensman:- Responsible for the care and maintenance of the grass, shrubbery, trees and plants on location. They also can be involved in any landscaping needed for the shoot.

Draftsman:- Makes technical drawings of all the sets to scale ready for construction.

Location Manager:- Responsible for the location during pre-production and during filming. They are also responsible for the security of the location.

Location Scout:- Collaborates with the Director and Production Designer in finding suitable locations from the script.

Costume designers, Make-up and hair are all separate departments but are still under the supervision of the Production Designer. The production designer needs to have a good understanding of these crafts and of how they fit in to the overall look of the film.

Notes taken from The Filmmaker’s Guide To Production Design. Vincent Lo Brutto 2002

Contexts: Where to go from here

I’ve been giving my project some thought in regards to context and have come up with a list of potential avenues of research.

The question:- Given the post production techniques available today, what is required from the Production Designer at the pre-production stage in terms of scenic design?

Initially I can break this down into a list:-

Post-production techniques

Production Design/Designers

Pre-production

Scenic design

Each one gives me a vast amount of potential research. I have started to look at the role of the Production designer and art department, seeing where it fits in to the production as a whole. I am also looking at the Pre-production stage.  As my chosen genre is Sci-Fi- the post-apocalyptic/dystopian film/TV production, I will mainly concentrate my scenic design and Production Designer research within these parameters.

 

The genre choice also gives me a wide base of potential research:-

Science fiction in film and contemporary culture.

The role of Production Designer within Science Fiction/changing role?

The culture of Post Apocalypse/Dystopia in modern culture.

Scenic design in Science Fiction.

Post-production techniques in relation to pre-production.

Does Science Fiction differ from other genres in regards to design, pre/post production, the designers, knowledge etc.

Practical:-

Visual research for Science Fiction/the chosen novel (this will form the basis for my practical development in stage 2)

 

I also wrote down a few thoughts when I attended the past MA students lecture that relate to the above and my learning agreement.

-Do culture and politics impact on the books and films that are being produced…and why?

-What do Production Designers think in regards to above(this may become part of my case studies)

-Audiences/readers in regards to science fiction/dystopia/post-apocalyptic books, films, TV. What do they think? (a possible case study/survey/poll. This might be useful for the production designer when dealing with budgets/metaphors/pre-production techniques.

-Determine if there is scope for change within Production Design. The future of the film industry with Sci-fi in mind.

-Can we promote a more holistic approach in the design process, from pre-post production?

 

With this in mind, the contexts for research are as follows:-

Technology:- skills, techniques for sci-fi in a changing world.

Culture/philosophical/social/political:- an overlap of background research into dystopia/post apocalyptic ideas and how it relates to society and film.

Economic:- this relates to technology in regards to the changing film industry/design roles/budgets. Producers?

Audience:- aesthetic issues when turning books into films/how the designer uses visual metaphors/symbolism in design. The designer has to portray the directors vision while keeping audience in mind.

A Rough Breakdown of Dec/Jan: The timetable

This is my timetable for the next few weeks. I have done this partly to add into the learning agreement and partly to give me some kind of focus over Christmas. There are certain things that I want to achieve, or at least get underway by the 6th of January when we all have our first presentation and assessment.

9th-15th:- Starting the case studies:- gathering of information and making contact with potential Production Designers

General research in the way of art department/designers

The novels: gathering and reading potential fiction that can used for my realisation

16th-22nd:- Look at existing research and study in both post-apocalyptic and Dystopian genre culturally and design wise

Post apocalyptic and Dystopian films and TV in general

Current contexts

Expand on case studies in regards to above list

23rd-29th:- Continue with Post-apocalyptic and Dystopian film  and TV

Continue with reading fiction

Skills development in CAD and Photoshop

30th-5th:-  Add to the contextual studies where necessary

Fiction reading

The presentation development of what I have learnt so far

This is a working document so the timetable will change as I progress through the month. I will also be taking some time off over Christmas.

Case studies and films: Starting points

I’m compiling a list of potential films and television programmes with their Production Designers that will feature in my research over the next few weeks. Which ones that will become full case studies will depend on the amount of information I can gather and whether I can have contact with them in order to ask the relevant questions. This list is work in progress, so will be added to.

Post-Apocalyptic

Gae S. Buckley:- The Book of Eli

Dom Clasby :- Derren Brown’s Apocalypse (TV)

Chris Kennedy:- The Road

Greg Melton:- The Walking Dead (TV)

Mark Tildesley:- 28 Days Later/28 Weeks Later

Grace Walker:- The Walking Dead (TV)

Dystopian

Jim Clay:- Children of Men

Andy Nicholson:- Divergent

Philip Messina:- The Hunger Games/Catching Fire

Other sci-fi

Alex McDowell:- Minority Report