Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1109293
C A P T I V E S T A T E | P E R S P E C T I V E 8 1 D E F For weeks in preproduction, Sunday mornings were dedicated to casual "script page-turn" brunch meetings with Rupert and director of photography Alex Disenhof. We reviewed many documentary-style movies, '71 , La Haine, The Wire, Army of Shadows, Gomorrah, The Battle of Algiers, all human stories. All visceral in style. This was the style and tone Rupert wanted. So what would an American city under occupation look like? In order to set some visual guidelines, we began to pose a few questions. The city should feel familiar, yet unfamiliar. The aliens (known as The Legislators) are strip-mining fossil fuels. Gasoline is hard to come by. We asked ourselves how that might affect the environment. Once the fuel ran out, abandoned cars would be left to rust where they stalled. And what if those cars were eventually collected and disposed of? The streets would be empty. The hypothesis formed that what was not seen would help shape this "new" vision of the city. The idea formed of a city is stuck in time. There's been no urban progression since the invasion. Electricity and water filtration would be unreliable. Common appliances (refrigerators, stoves, faucets, etc.) are unusable. What if citizens in this new ghetto had to supply their own power and clean water? What would those jerry-rigged devices look like? And on and on. That's where the conversation started. Other creative heads, like costume designer Abby O'Sullivan, soon joined in the exercise and even more nuances were explored. A cohesive visual plan was in the making! Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Rupert wanted a gritty Philip K. Dick type of science fiction. Grounded and relatable. Dirty. Analog. The exterior color palette was dictated by the warm earth tones of the brick and concrete textures of the neighborhood architecture. Brighter colors were reserved for domestic interiors and costume highlights. The city is being drained of life. That notion is reflected in the desaturated exterior tones. While the interior residences still impart a sense of hope (color), all things alien were to exist in the dark gray, metallic color realm.