CIARAN SHARP FILMAKING
Set Design
Synopsis
Water Harvesting is a dangerous industry, the smoke produced to gather the very last of the world's water devastates the environment, leaving the population having to wear masks and protective equipment to avoid skin combusting in the highly acid air. The higher class still exist, living among large glass greenhouses, full of alien plants and clones of themselves. This is where the plot for my film begins, a young astronaut who crashes unto the planet, will he survive amongst the hundreds of cloned elite upper class.
Interior Concept Art
Design Requirements
My interior design idea poses many challenges when approaching set construction, as it is a large glass dome. Due to this fact, I will have to be considerate of the structural integrity of the dome when approaching my design requirements. When thinking about supporting structures for my dome I have two options to consider, I can either use strongly curved metal beams to support my dome, with a centre column to hold the top of the dome up. I could also construct my dome out of connected triangles, which are so strong they are self-supporting because the triangles distribute strength evenly across the area of the dome, thus eliminating the need for a support structure. I think making the dome out of connected triangles is a better idea as it will be a stronger structure. I can use triangle shaped thick glass, connected with a metal seam in the middle. The set will also include functional pieces, including a door to get in and out, a smoke machine and lights. The smoke machine will be hidden in the middle of the dome, so I will need to create an access hole underneath the set, for the wires of the smoke machine. I plan to have strip light circling the interior perimeter of the dome, hopefully illuminating the glass and making it look more futuristic. In order to clear the smoke from the dome after use, I will add a removable top to the dome. I plan to have a painted exterior backdrop outside of the dome, having it out of the dome will add depth and more it looks more realistic. It also has an added bonus of being interchangeable with other backgrounds, without interfering with the set.
Construction Methods
When constructing my set, I found a workaround for having to build a glass dome myself, I found that I could buy a dome greenhouse off the internet, that is built from glass triangles as I wanted. This is great as it will save me buckets of time. I can use scaffolding to support the structure and exterior lighting, as well as utilise the scaffolding for interesting camera angles during shooting. I will also have my set on top of scaffolding to raise it up, allowing space underneath it for a smoke machine to pump into the dome through the fountain in the middle. I will use decorative plaster and paint effects to create a fountain and floor that look like they have been made out of stone and brick respectively. I want to use fake plants, as they are cheap and don't need any upkeep, I can also paint these to look more alien. I will use plastic and wood to create the pods filled with liquid, I can then paint these to create the illusion of metal. I struggled to figure out how I will create the illusion of liquid within the pods, as filling them would be time-consuming and dangerous if they leak. I think the best plan is to use two sheets of plastic, with an inch gap between them, then filling them with liquid, I think this will take a lot less time and still give a realistic effect. I also think I can replace the greenhouse glass with sugar glass, an inexpensive alternative which is stunt friendly.
Budget
My budget for this set is £1000. I know I wouldn't be able to source all the materials to build my own dome with this being considered. Instead, I thought buying a premade dome , like a greenhouse would be viable if I added some artistic touchups. This is a much cheaper alternative than I can bulk buy plants, and with proper lighting, I feel this will achieve a practical, living interior which doesn't exceed my budgeting limits.
Materials
This is a list and evaluation of the materials I would need to construct my set. My initial idea would involve a bulk of triangle cut, thin pane glass, metal beams, bolts and adhesive materials in order to construct these into the dome. However, after considering my budget I decided to buy a prebuilt glass dome that would achieve the exact same effect but with a considerable reduction in the time, it would take to construct it. I would also need a considerable amount of plants, for this I would bulk buy plants and pack them in the greenhouse. I also considered painting these plants to make them look more sci-fi but thought that might be unethical. I would also need a smoke machine and a large pond like a fountain as the centre piece of the dome.
Floor Plan
This is a 1:50 scale accurate floor plan of our designated build space in college , it took multiple attempts to both accurately measure , and then calculate the area . I think this was because , as the tape measure would not be long enough for the entire wall, so we had to mark the end point and then measure more . However the communication between me and my partner wasn't perfect , so our measures tended to slip.
Card Models
Sketchup Model
This is my white card model , which is scaled right so it will fit in my floor plan. The dome was a tricky shape to construct , after mutile attempts I ended up hot glueing stilts unto the end of the beams , as to not recut all the arches. The fountain was originally made out of paper, which is a lot easier to create curves with , in the end I used8ths of a circle hot glued at angle angle to a centre circle.
My designs contribution
How does my design contribute to production?
Having my design be a glass greenhouse-sci fi living quarters offers a wide range of benefits to the production of my film plot. To start with having it be a dome contributes to bonuses , it offers a wide variety of interesting camera angles , like birds eyes , and offers the chance to produce creative lighting . If lighting is used effectively with the background of the dome , the glass will create a very eye appealing cinematic feeling . The fountain in the middles offers a strong centre point in shot composition , and it having a smoke machine underneath also adds appealing shots . I feel smoke and plants in a dome is a very visually pleasing image that could boost the cinematic value of my production .
Materials Breakdown
Evaluation
I was not looking forward to this unit, to start with I didn't like my synopsis, I thought it could have used more development in creating a deeper story, with this and my interior concept art, I felt unenthusiastic to start with, as the work I had to build off of wasn't my strongest. But after learning a small amount about set construction methods and requirements, I felt a rush of inspiration thanks to the magic of learning. I was interested in carefully planning how to build my design. I am satisfied with my construction methods evaluation because it gives a comprehensive overview and evaluation of the multiple options I had to build my set. I do feel like I could have gone into more detail about the tools I would have used to complete my build. Creating my floor plan based on our break area was a lengthy process and helped build my communication when working in a team. We had to remeasure the area multiple times, which was a time-consuming process, which I feel could have been cut down by taking up more of a leadership position. Once I had my floor plan I went to SketchUp to design a 3D version of my set, this was my least favourite process in this unit, as it presented the steepest learning curve. Although I am proficient with other design software, I really struggled with designing my set, and as it had so many things within it, like plants, the software was struggling to run smoothly. Next time I approach SketchUp I will spend more time learning the basics of control and mouse movement, to help me design something better. With this design I then moved to white card, my favourite part of this unit, using a scalpel and constructing is something I feel a lot more comfortable doing. Furthermore, my comfortable mediocrity allowed me to construct a fairly impressive dome with curves relatively quickly. I feel like my white card model is the best version of this design I have, however next time I would add more detail to each individual piece , to make it look more interesting and believable when I take photos of it. Overall I would say this is my most varied unit, after starting this unit with very little motivation, I was able to learn general basics when it comes to set construction and produced a solid white card model that I think does its job at conveying detail to a viewer. On the way, there were a few elements where I struggled, due to a limit in skill and education but they presented valuable opportunities to expand my knowledge.
Peer Review
This is my peer review, here I presented my white card model and ketchup model to two of my peers, and they then gave me constructive criticisms. From this I could then improve my SketchUp model, I added a doorway for easy access for the actors which will mean easier transport of camera equipment into the dome.
Improved 3D Model
