4) CONCRETE MODEL

The images above show some views of the concrete model, while I was shooting these images I have tried to play with lights and smoke in order to create a more interesting atmosphere, which could suggest the idea of a sci-fiction moviescape.    

CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONCRETE MODEL

Formworks

Concrete

Mixing

Formworks +Concrete 

In order to create the set for the "Brutalist City" I decided to make a model experimenting with concrete, a material very spot on for the kind of architecture I wanted to represent. 

The aim was to create a model which could resemble a brutal and concrete cityscape, to be then used during the shooting of the movie. 

I decided to use plastic packages from different products as formworks for the concrete, because they seemed very suitable for the kind of industrial and repetitive shapes I wanted to create.

The outcome is quite interesting especially with the help of special lighting and post production effects although I am working on the concrete shapes in order to improve the composition and the quality.   

3) CONCEPT DRAWINGS

 

POST IN CONSTRUCTION....

2) FIRST SKETCHES FOR THE SET

Brutalist Island

Brutalist City

Post-Apocalyptic London

After I defined the storyboard I started sketching some ideas for the different sets I want to create for the movie.

1) STORYBOARD

(POST IN CONSTRUCTION...)

BUILDING "LONDON @ THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION"...

The following posts show step by step how I am developing my own cinematic and fictional environments to be shot in order to create the movie "London at the age of Mechanical reproduction".

What I am trying to do is to  apply different techniques in the construction of the movie sets,  blending together analogue and digital techniques. 

MY OWN PROJECT BRIEF

"London at the age of mechanical reproduction" is a fictional city expressly designed for a short movie, whose individual structures have been enveloped into a sort of urban machine.
It is an exploration of architecture and space through the lens of both narration and the cinematic experience; a collection of images of how London would look like in an hypothetical dystopic future where the architectural machine has become so advanced that is eventually erasing the human presence.
This mechanized city shows a visual narration and hint of a future exploration of the contemporary urban scenario.

In its fictional and imaginary background it questions the complex relation between humans and architecture and it attempts to investigate where the role of one of the two ends and the other starts. 

The picture above is a concept image, I created to give the idea of the architectural grey goo.



 

MATTE PAINTINGS....Creating fictional environments

Taking the analysis further and using as a starting point the study of the flatness in Japanese animation and my first attempt to create a moviescape through the use of flat paper silhouettes(see post "My first moviescape experiment") , I have decided to look at matte painting techniques and the use of this media in the history of cinema.

I have gathered together some information about the history of this media and how nowadays the industry is creating and using these techniques.

I have then focused on the analysis of the work of some of the most talented artists and designers in the field of matte paintings. 

Going through this research made me understand deeper how the role of spatial designers fits into the movie industry and how the discipline of spatial design is fundamental to create successful and striking fictional environments. 

DYLAN COLE

 

BLADE RUNNER, THE INSIDE STORY

 
During the Easter Break I had the change to read this book about the making of Blade Runner. 
The publication takes the reader behind the scene of Blade Runner and reveals all the techniques, drawings, sketches, 3D models and matte paintings used to create Blade Runner Environments.

METROPORISU ....Studying the use of flat images in movie sets

I was interested in studying how Japanese animation movies use flatness in the construction of the cinematic environment. 

Metroporisu is the Japanese Anime adaptation from the original movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang.

Metropolis is a futuristic city where humans and robots coexist uneasily. Robots are heavily discriminated  and segregated into the city's lowest level. 

Much of the city's human population is unemployed and very poor; many blame the robots for taking their jobs.

What it is really interesting and fascinating in the movie is the design of the structure of the city (spread through different levels) and the use of flat images to create the effect of a real 3D space.

What really interested me, and I would like to take into my project, is how the cinematic experience can transform a flat 2D image into a tangible and complex space. 

Here below there are some of the most significant images related to the movie environment and set.