Indieview invited production designers from the Oscar-nominated films to choose and analyze an important scene that Best showing off their craft. Here are the four who could participate: Judy Becker (“The Brutalist”), Suzie Davies (“Conclave”), Patrice Vermette (“Dune: Part two”) and Nathan Crowley (“Evil”).
Brady Corbet’s drama after Holocaust, “The Brutalist”, pits Oscar-nominated Adrien Brody as the visionary architect László Tóth against Oscar-nominated Guy Pearce as the Harrison industry van Buren. Becker channeled Tóth to create furniture, a library and a tall building that symbolizes his lived history and struggle. She was already familiar with the minimalist architectural style of brutalism, which emphasized function over form with its large block of concrete and steel. Her work was the perfect match for filmS wide, rectangular display format.
For Edward Berger’s conspiracy thriller, “Conclave”, which affects the politically charged selection of a new pope, Davie’s Vatican interior in Cinecittà Studios, in particular, recreated the sequence conclave in the last chapel. This conveyed an atmosphere of light and dark, traditional and modern and male and female. Then there is the hermetically sealed, posh prison method for the fictional Casa Santa Marta Vatican apartments, where the Cardinals live.
Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermette (“Dune”) takes a deeper dive into the many cultures explored in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part two.” This includes the mysterious, hidden world of the nomadic fried, which is slowly buried. The soul’s cistern is where the fried collects water from the dead to maintain them in preparation for their dream of a green arrakis. For Giedi Prime, septic tanks became the visual metaphor associated with the hardness and their morality in a drain.
Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked”, who tells the origin story to Elphaba (Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo) and Galinda (Oscar-nominated Ariana Grande), Mapley Crowley Mapped Oz with models, illustrations and visual references to create each environment, eventually to a fantastic weave of Americana. This includes Rainbow-Colored Munchkinland, the Exotic Shiz University, where Elphaba and Galinda first meet, and the Chicago-inspired Emerald City, where they travel to meet the magician (Jeff Goldblum).
‘The Brutalist’: The Library Transformation
“The transformation of the library is some of the most important scenes in ‘The Brutalist.’ This is when we realize that László is a truly creative, talented artist, and it is a turning point in that sense. The scripted description of the library was very short, with just an interesting detail – during the installation the new shelves opened, like a flower. While I was waiting for the official prep starting, I examined all types of private libraries and shelves, to determine what would look modern and transformatively, ”said Becker.
“In November 2022 we went on a pre-scout to Hungary and looked at the Hungarian mansion that became Harrison van Buren’s estate. The only room that seemed suitable was a whole glass of winter garden/winter garden. It was a slightly odd shape – a square with a small rounded extension; The only wall that was not glass was an open entrance. We knew it could be good for this set. It was private. It was separated from most of the house. But it had its challenges – the walls were very high, maybe 20 feet, completely glass.
“I had always imagined it as a traditional men’s library with leather chairs and heavy curtains. But I thought it would be more fun if it was Art Deco style. In the model we created a version of the old library with a small background of the Art Deco version. And then we switched to the new iteration with the opening shelves. And Brady came in and shone a flashlight through it so we could see how it would be lit with the new glass, and it was really nice.
“When it comes to actually building the library, the most difficult part was finding wood that was of uniform color and that looked expensive and it was the right color, as it required a lot of wood to make these cabinets, and it had to look excellent and excellent and get over a modernist, functional sensitivity. The furniture was much affected by the Bauhaus design (including the tubular steel -lined chair). I did it consciously because I thought that at this point in Lászlon’s life, when he is quite exhausted by everything after spending years in a concentration camp, he would have returned to his early education in Bauhaus, and that would have been all this really left of their creativity at that point in his life. “
‘Conclave’: Inside Casa Santa Marta
“The mild hum of air conditioning, the little buzz of the neon lights in the hermetically sealed corridors and suites that the Cardinals inhabited was one of my first inspirations for the Casa Santa Marta scenes. The whole film is a composition of elements. The wide open space in the lovely Sixtin chapel, wonderful ornamented monasteries and marble stairs needed a back for them. Casa Santa Marta gave Edward and I the opportunity to get a more contemporary, modern Italian vibe for the procedure. A space where we could symbolize the hidden, secret processes for a conclave, ”said Davies.
“Lower roof that lacks decor, only the fixed marble panels with shadow gap details rather than elaborate moldings around the rooms provide a tight uncomfortable, almost pressurized environment that increased the tension and the feeling of insulation that the cardinals could feel when they were” locked “in their rooms. A “posh” prison if you want … albeit with modern accessories. Italia furniture always looks so elegant, which is why the chairs, sofas and beds raise a little compared to the strong surroundings.
“A sharp contrast between the Cardinals’ carefully designed red clothing while making their daily routines to make a coffee, brushing their teeth and riding the elevator also provides an interesting balance. In the vision, the lighting was also of utmost importance. Worked closely with our fantastic cinematic photographer, Stéphane Fontaine, who had the unusual challenge to light this set mainly with practical and props. For the majority of the film is Casa Santa Marta in ‘Lockdown.’ Stéphane successfully managed to create this feeling of limitation by only allowing slides of natural light through the closed window windows and creating a cage -like gobo. The humming fluorescent lamps in the extra long corridors contribute to the tension and intrigue.
In collaboration with other departments, we decided on a restrained palette, so that the color red was a running thread throughout. The brilliant (Oscar-nominated) costume designer Lisy Christl put the red tone with his fantastic work, and we supplemented this where it was possible with our color and textile choices. This made it possible for the characters to be forward and mine – a thread of red, which runs within the environments all the time. “
‘DUNE: Part two’: entrance in Sietch Tab
“With 100 percent original sets gave ‘Dune: Part two’ us the opportunity to discover the imperial aesthetics on the planet Kaitan, the resin World of Giedi Prime, and dig into the Fremen culture at Sietches,” said Vermette.
“I strongly believe that in order for all designs to be credible, it should be anchored to the reality it sits in and therefore tell a story. Design for purely aesthetic reasons should not exist. It must support the story and be in conversation with the natural elements and cultures it belongs to.
“The Fremen culture is very old. It is based on survival and toned by religious stories about a better world coming. Over the centuries, they have struggled to adapt to the hard natural elements and fought against the colonial units that came to their home plane to utilize its natural resources. It was important to create a Fremen culture that would be credible by emphasizing their reality.
Well hidden beyond a series of natural rock canon passages we find Sietch Tabr. As we travel through narrow stone, corridors finally reach a temple as a large hall. We notice that this space is partly engulfed by huge sand banks that come from the outside through every small opening and slowly drowns its world. Something hard to compete with.
The Fremen settings also have hieroglyphic frescoes. This comes from the need to communicate their stories to the future generations but also to act as proof of their existence if they were no longer. “
‘Wicked’: The throne room
“Wizard’s Throne Room was not just a reception hall for the big oz; It was a carefully designed environment designed to scare and control their substances. We imagined a massive, puppy, mechanical head that dominated the space: a practical vending machine that would realistically interact with the characters (built by the special effect team monitored by Oscar-nominated Paul Corbould), ”said Crowley.
“However, this throne room could not be fantastic. It needed to reflect the whimsical but still founded the reality in the world of the magician, a special mix of Oz’s magic and his own modernist feelings. Imagine a rising cathedral that extends to a huge skylight but imagines with layers of architectural rings that gradually rise, which creates a dizzying illusion of enormous vertical distance and distorted perspective.
“To further improve the complexity, we imagined this completely expressive and functional mechanical head as the midpoint, which comes from layers of cascade curtains: a living string sculpture that would breathe life and movement in the giant visage. This “man behind the curtain” effect was crucial – after all, the magician was in the end a only carnival illusionist in the heart, unable to practice true magic.
“The scene progresses when the guide recognizes Elphaba and reveals herself as a kind and gentle soul who wants to help her find a place where she really belongs. The Throne room subtly suggests its true motives but allows the audience to be imprisoned by the magician’s charm. This is a longing Elphaba so desperately longing for she originally overlooking the clues that suggest his true nature. “
