Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1109293
Iron City's muscle formed through plaster tonnage, 480,000 lbs. of concrete, plaster and stucco. Glen Hoofman, Kevin Tomasiello and the LA/Austin crew tacked through that thick sea as if it were a calm bay on a bright day. They sculpted Iron City one wheelbarrow of plaster at a time. It was humbling to witness. "Let's make Iron City like a painting," I said to lead scenic Mike Mikita. He got it and was all in. Understated warm and cool neutrals created a nuanced color shift. Scenic Dennis Collins applied a warm silicate base coat to all Iron City, creating a unified underpainting. His applications were so artful, several areas stood pretty much on their own. From that mid-value range, the treble notes could sing. The "create Iron City as a painting" approach kept visual pathways connected as the painters worked their way through the streets. Opaque blocking next to buildings glazed with layers of washes created contrast and variation. Like a watercolor, light passed through the paint layers to luminous effect. Some buildings are rough and chipped, next to walls made smooth from centuries of applied plaster. Scenic gang boss Nelson Hawthorne, who comes from a family of painters near Puerto Vallarta, knew exactly how to balance these effects while Randy Puga and his team made every door, window and trim piece meld into its setting. I asked Mike at the outset to avoid using brackish umber when aging Iron City. A go-to for most aging, I find it flattens a set, giving it a dead look. I wanted the opposite. His aging consisted of varying hues in the same family with a splash of a complement added, and then just a light touch of a darker value. The slum district was just waiting for a narrative opportunity. I asked Graphic Designer Ellen Lampl to mock up a Motorball player that could span several walls as a mural. To that she added geometric patterns. Zach McDonald painted it with just the right amount of fade. The mural connected the set visually and made it a neighborhood. It took dozens of doors, windows, ironwork elements and hardware to hinge Iron City together. Assistant Art Director Paul Alix and set decorator Dave Hack scoured every salvage house and A. KANSAS BAR ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS. B. KANSAS BAR WITH ITS RICH SILICATE UNDERPAINTING. THIS WARM LAYER UNIFIED ALL OF IRON CITY. C. SLUM DISTRICT IN THE PROCESS OF FINAL PAINT TREATMENTS. D. MOTORBALL MURAL DETAIL. ELLEN LAMPL PROVIDED GRAPHIC INSPIRED BY CONCEPT ART. E. DOOR AND WINDOW SCENERY STRIPS: ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR PAUL ALIX COMPILED CANDIDATE DOORS AND WINDOWS AND INTEGRATED THE LIBRARY OF FOUND PIECES INTO THE SET. A B C D