Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1061165
Stuart Kearns Supervising Art Director. Feature films with set builds of this size aren't made very often in the UK these days. The fact that the film had such large and high stages to work in meant that they could be filled with scenery, often with three hundred and sixty degree, fifty-foot-high hand-painted scenic backings. The aim was to achieve as much in camera as possible, using both old and new techniques. That being said though, the stages were not large enough to avoid having to wrap out a complete stage and fill it again with brand- new sets within a grueling couple of weeks. There were very few locations used for such a large movie. Some locations had never been shot before; others allowed such a large amount of augmentation so that they appear in the movie completely unrecognizable. Halton House for example, owned by the Royal Air Force, allowed the producton to completely paint the inside of their great hall in a gloss red. We were also permitted to remove a large metal chandelier that had hung in that hall for over thirty years to make room for the Christmas tree. Being able to change, dress and build in these chosen locations on such a large scale allowed a seamlessly blend into the word created back at the studio. In the end, the lines were so blurred, it's going to be hard for the audience to separate the two. A B A. THE PALACE COURTYARD. B. LONDON 1879—THE STREETS AROUND THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL IN LONDON. IT WAS MID- SUMMER AND VERY HOT, VERY SHORT WORKING NIGHTS AND A WHOLE ARRAY OF REAL-WORLD CONSTRUCTION WAS HAPPENING AROUND THE HISTORICAL SITE. C. INSIDE THE ONION DOME. CLARA AND HER ASSOCIATES ARE HELD CAPTIVE IN ONE OF THE TALLEST TOWERS AT THE PALACE CALLED 'THE OBSERVATION ROOM' DESIGNED AS A PRIVATE PLANETARIUM. PHOTOS BY LINUS SANDGREN.