SET DESCRIPTIONS AND REFERENCES
-scene 1 already somewhat established, 3 and bunker interlude more complex.
*I’m hoping to be as flexible as possible according our resources and collaboration, therefore in this description, I’ve tried to make everything more flexible and less tied to the specific ideals of the script. I’m hoping to keep the doable in mind.
SCENE 1: Industrial/oil mining field in Southern California
SCENE 3: A Desert (Zakho conjured from imperfect memory)
2. Props/Set Items
A- petals and arrangement... still researching this appropriately, think it will be carnation.
B- beer is most likely the contraband/cheap turkish beer Efes Pilsen. (historically
http://www.campingequipment365.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/campingstoveisbetter.jpg
SCENE 4: (Stop Motion) Worn Industrial Complex Converted to Barracks
-scene 1 already somewhat established, 3 and bunker interlude more complex.
*I’m hoping to be as flexible as possible according our resources and collaboration, therefore in this description, I’ve tried to make everything more flexible and less tied to the specific ideals of the script. I’m hoping to keep the doable in mind.
SCENE 1: Industrial/oil mining field in Southern California
General:
Location was already scouted and decided upon. Much of the scene was written to take place there. Danny will consult with Mike about specific references.
http://www.clui.org/section/seal-beach-oil-field-0
Ideal:
Set pieces are flexible. Minimal: a railing/chair/table/support somewhere in the vicinity to rest or hang a the bridge schematic.
Description:
Rusted industrial debris rises amidst low, arid brush. At uneven intervals, oil pumps nod in the background. The arrangement is haphazard and in slight disrepair, but still conveys a sense of utility. A wash runs through the compound. The juxtaposition of water, rust and sand contributes to the otherworldly feel of the setting. This feeling is enhanced by the structures themselves: a mixture of absence and presence, abandoned but clearly in use.
SCENE 3: A Desert (Zakho conjured from imperfect memory)
General:
Memory conflation of a Landing Zone camp in Zakho Iraq c. 1991 and elements of SoCal in Scene 1.
Ideal:
Although I have a very specific picture/blocking based on research. This section is also open and can cater to do the doable. The important aspect is the ability to dig small rectangle “cooling pits” about 3’x2’x1.5’ and one person sized larger cooling pit. Ideally, the ability to safely create a small camping/cooking fire. Though (if it comes to it) this can be re-staged for permit issues? The setting should also be fairly isolated and posses a sense of emptiness. The type of desert can be flexible based on available locations. I’ve included some reference photos of Zakho that have similar climate/landscape to parts of SoCal.
Description:
James transitions from underwater to the desert. [Starts with the footage taken off the bridge by the gopro. Still deciding on exact FX-good area to talk to Danny about. Shot he’s most excited about] Although the transition is seamless, a subtle sense of vertigo remains in the setting. James walks through a deserted landscape that feels empty and reminiscent of both iraq and SoCal references. Along the peripheral horizon, an alternating pattern oil pumps (scene 1 reference) and Kuwait oil fires (burning backwards) subtly litter the sidelines. They are the only orderly things in an untamed, desolate land. James’ walk is bisected by a make-shift path. The path eventually dissipates into a hillside clearing that is large enough to accommodate the (hypothetical) landing of a helicopter. The camp serves as a transient Forward Operations Base. It consists of a small cooking fire at its center and an improvised hooch. The hooch is a simple tent constructed from a poncho or tarp. The most appropriate one would probably be an approximation of the tarp/sandbag one here: http://prestonm.com/military/gulfwar/history/432_pg25.html. The general idea is to give the impression of a temporary and hastily constructed camp. Sandbags can (and were) used to build the side of a lean-to shelter. The shelter itself is more set detail than necessity. The clearing’s central focus is the fire with the cooling pits and tent in the distant and side periphery respectively.
References:
1. Landscape of N. Iraqi/Kurdistan and Zakho
A- Steven Dutch’s Journal I’ve been following.
Landscape photos at bottom would be an accurate historical reference to the hilly regions peppered with Loading Zone camps
B- defensorfortis’s photo stream
scroll down: “supply yard”, “group photo” and “troops heading home” are good examples of the more arid lowland.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/defensorfortis/sets/72157608768880443/
C- from Washington Post’s Day in Photos
*At either elevation. We are not trying to reproduce historical accuracy or pretend we are shooting in Zakho, rather create a tone of “memory” so the space is still very much a hybrid between memories of Southern California and Iraq.
2. Props/Set Items
A- petals and arrangement... still researching this appropriately, think it will be carnation.
B- beer is most likely the contraband/cheap turkish beer Efes Pilsen. (historically
accurate and possible to obtain in SoCal)
http://www.ekindiyebiri.com/wp-content/uploads/efes_pilsen.jpg
C- Fire. Some historical and aesthetic possibilities include the following referenceshttp://www.campingequipment365.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/campingstoveisbetter.jpg
something with a contained burn above ground would be appropriate for a non stealth camp. A stealth camp would probably use a version of the Dakota Fire Pit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYxxyCEFvZ8&feature=relmfu
SCENE 4: (Stop Motion) Worn Industrial Complex Converted to Barracks
General: This is the last scene that I’m working on re-imaging after the latest round of changes. The chronology of the flashback needs more tweaking, but general visual references for the miniatures/set before and after “implosion” have been collected. It’s still pretty wide open at this point, since I need to re-outline it. But here are some set possibilities-suggestions
Ideal:
Need to outline to identify all salient features. We require some form of the scaled card game props and scaled mask prop. The tone should be a foreboding without being heavy-handed. Don’t have as a clear a picture as the other scenes yet. We should discuss the aesthetics.
Description:
A. Before impact.
The structure itself is based on a converted warehouse/factory. To match the tone of the bone-soldiers it may have a somewhat a skeletal architecture. Very, bare-bones m.c. escheresque exposed pipes/rafters. Visual references on the inside of adhoc army bases in saudi arabia during that time are difficult to find. But the flashback should be more abstract anyhow. The space may carry the forced illusion of an endless perspective with the back-wall seeming to stretch into infinity. If sleeping quarters/cots line the wall they may simultaneously feel orderly and cramped. At one point we had discussed one of the walls being covered in TVs flickering small intermediate 1991 broadcasts or the graceful arcs of infrared scuds. This will probably be changed to one TV on last edit. The central focus is a window over a card table with 3 chairs. The window itself could be extra-large in perspective to to the forced importance in the character’s memory.
*an element that I do feel strongly about is the inclusion of references to the bridge’s architecture within the barrack’s space. Like the desert, this should be another conflated space of present and memory.
References:
Inside of Quonset Hut (much more decomposed than needed) http://www.kadiak.org/quonset/hut3.jpg
one of the inside reference of a barracks that’s stylized and not a tent
also closest to being accurate. Open space with exposed supports.
http://www.blackanthem.com/artman2/uploads/1/Army1.jpg
B. After impact
I imagine the impact itself as extremely delayed. Similar to how we are shooting some of the scenes introducing the main characters. The quality of falling apart is more of a sectional implosion like when the room implodes in ink in Danny’s tower8 prelude.
Instead of the full barracks, the next shot is more of a full-body shot of bone-soldier jesse in the rubble.
aftermath of our historical reference: base in Dhaharan
Khobar Towers, also in Dhaharan: http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/images/khobar.jpg
C. Other References
When I first saw the “Street of Crocodiles” office set at the Moma, the feeling of the architectural space it made had a similar tone for what I was thinking of. Though the space is more compact and darker. I’m trying to find references that suggest a more “spacious and open” sinister quality. The set pieces should also have a sense of being standard issue and repetitive
Reminder for skeletal structure and unlockables.
Scene 1:
1.So Cal oil demolition scene: unlocks Bridge Table of Contents/Scene 2
Scene 2:
1 bridge scene- fall: unlocks looping bunker a and infinite scroll
2 looping bunker a unlocks bible a
3 infinite scroll
4 Bible A
Scene 3:
1 desert scene: unlocks final Bible, extended text , looping bunker final
2 looping Bunker final
3 extended text
4. Bible B
Scene 4:
1. rise on bridge
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