Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1177962
A D A S T R A | P E R S P E C T I V E 5 7 Ad Astra might seem like an unusual choice for an article about graphic design, it's not a project that demanded a wide range of splashy graphics. But my job on a fi lm encompasses more than that. Sometimes it's about language, creating it anew or translating English into an existing one. Other times, it's about historical accuracy. In the case of Ad Astra (the term means "to the stars" in Latin), it was about trying to get the technology right—because as fi lmmakers, we make movies for everyone, including the scientists, engineers and explorers who will potentially be in the audience. While it's impossible for a Graphic Designer to become a rocket scientist in a month, it's still important that I try to engage the whole audience, which includes showing proper respect, graphically, for their knowledge. Although I've been surrounded by artists most of my life, my father is a scientist. While I didn't exactly inherit his scientifi c mind, I do understand how he thinks, thanks to the many conversations we've had over the years. If a science-based fi lm doesn't make scientifi c sense to him, he loses interest. He's not just noticing the movie's art; he's noticing the integrity of its science. Clearly, for the Ad Astra Art Department, making a beautiful and compelling Production Design was going to be only half our challenge. Ad Astra director James Gray tasked the designers with portraying realistic space travel. He was not interested in creating a fantasy fi lm in which humans can zip across the universe and live comfortably on another planet. Although those fi lms are great fun, that was not what we would be doing. Gray wanted utility, he wanted Helvetica, A. AN ASTRONAUT'S HAND AT THE CONTROLS OF THE CEPHEUS. PHOTO COURTESY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX. B. CEPHEUS FLIGHT DECK CENTER CONSOLE. GRAPHIC LAYOUT. BASED ON THE COCKPITS OF NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLES. THEY WERE DRAWN IN ILLUSTRATOR CC AND SENT OUT TO HAVE THE HOLES LASER CUT AND THE TYPE ETCHED SO THEY COULD BE BACKLIT. CEPHEUS: FLIGHT DECK - CENTER CONSOLE I FLAT AREA FULL SCALE B