Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061165
1 2 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 9 Lasse wanted the world to be fanciful and idealistic as seen through the eyes of a young child. Everything designed in the fantasy world had to be playful and toy-like, realistic but with an intriguing, surreal quality. To help the younger members of the cast with their performance, it was decided to use practical sets and locations, using CGI only as a support to the real environments. The large-scale snowy forest and fourth realm forests, along with the creepy abandoned fairground set with all its nightmarish rides, were all constructed on the enormous Pinewood stages near London. Large portions of the palace exterior, waterfall, cliff face, bridge and palace courtyard were all constructed along with vast interior corridors adorned with hanging tapestries upward of twenty feet high. The elaborate throne room with its four ornate thrones, each framed by a window behind them, overlooking one of the four realms, was also a practical build in its entirety. Every conceivable construction technique, old and new, was utilized to meet the challenging schedule. Traditional canvas-painted backings surrounded the exterior builds on stage while at the same time, state-of-the-art-industrial scale 3D printers churned out an array of full- size demonic carousel animals; giraffes, dragons, ostriches, all posed as if running for their lives! The construction build time was approximately fourteen weeks, preceded by several key weeks of location scouting, set design and drafting time before building commenced. The whole process began in earnest, however, in a little office in Burbank, California, near Disney headquarters, with a core team of talented staff, artists and designers who worked tirelessly to help bring this world to fruition. I can't thank them enough for their enthusiasm and belief in the project. I think the whole crew, on both sides of the pond, felt the responsibility of fulfilling an audience's expectations for a truly unique and magical world for these vibrant characters to thrive in. Designing this film really was an unforgettable and extraordinary challenge, and so I wanted some of the key crew to weigh in and share their memories from The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. A B A This film's version of the story was set in 1879 London, a rich period of invention and creativity for the Victorians. The developed world was still largely coal- and steam-powered and illuminated with candles and gas light, which gave me interesting design limitations of what could exist in the worlds of the film, real and imaginary. To put things into perspective, in the same year that the story is set, Thomas Edison first demonstrated his electric light bulb to the general public. It's for this reason that in the film I couldn't resist placing a single, handmade light bulb as a proud new acquisition and centerpiece for Drosselmeyer in his study. When first approaching the design for this magical world, I dreamed up a fictional landscape and decided to arrange each realm so that they were positioned at the four points of the compass. This straightforward geographical layout avoided confusion between the realms and allowed for easy cinematic storytelling. The royal palace, which becomes a key location as the story unfolds, was positioned at the center of this compass; visually demonstrating its importance in relation to the realms. It sits majestically over a dramatic waterfall with huge industrial water wheels that power everything within. Inspired by Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow's Red Square, its vibrant red brick and decorative, onion topped spires in primary colors and gold leaf are framed against a vast expanse of blue water, a lake created by melting ice glaciers from the Land of Snow to the north. A. EARLY CONCEPT PENCIL SKETCH EXPLORING THE POSSIBLE GEOGRAPHICAL LAYOUT OF THE WORLD TO BE CREATED FOR THE FILM. SKETCH BY GUY H. DYAS. B. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WORLD, CLEARLY SHOWING THE FOUR REALMS, THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO THE CENTRAL PALACE. GRAPHIC MAP BY CHRIS KITISAKKUL. B