Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1043753
8 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8 First Man represents the coming together of processes old and new that I have been trying to initiate over the last eight years. I strongly believe in creating immersive films. Putting the audience in a world where they do not question the environment no matter how surreal. For me, immersive filmmaking means an "in camera" process whenever possible. My translations 'we do it for real' with different practical techniques until we can't. Distant landscapes, location builds, set builds, miniatures, front projection, LED screens and then CGI, to composite all these different methodologies together to make a seamless, gigantic experience. As a designer, my films have to be immersive, grand in scale, bigger than a TV screen can accommodate. That is my driving force in pre- production. I want the audience to be transported away, totally unaware of their surroundings, swept away into the universe being created. Films that have shaped these ideas are of course, James Bond, Barry Lyndon and even Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The scale that Ken Adam creates is astounding, I never question the universe he creates, it's simple and architectural, modernist at heart. Great Expectations (David Lean)—a great Victorian journey. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad—a remarkable piece of fantasy and technical filmmaking. Ryan's Daughter—unbelievably beautiful. Recently, I have been influenced by films like The Parallax View, Klute, Red Dessert and Five Graves to Cairo, mainly because they are so location-based and feel utterly immersive. Today, designers are faced with hurdles from producers and studios who are many times unwilling to support an "in camera" multi- technique process as they feel it's expensive and extends the shooting schedule. This is partially true, based on the reliance to push work to post production with an acceptance that CGI can handle it all. The "in camera" approach requires a very strong producing team to help support the process and keep it streamlined to avoid waste. Like all films, we as filmmakers, have to go on the journey to discover the picture and then design the production using the resources available. Anything is possible with film. The joy and terror of film design is the feeling of comfort in experience and terror in the realization that it has no bearing on the design job ahead.