Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1177962
6 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 of the fi lm. As you can imagine, there are some inspiring visuals associated with Elton. From this material, I build a design document that I add to and refer to constantly throughout the entire preproduction and shoot period. The next stage for me is to sketch rough drawings of how I see the larger set pieces, which I then develop further using SketchUp, allowing me to play with the 3D space, which is a brilliant feature of this program. For the fi nished plans, the Art Department used a combination of Layout, Vectorworks and hand drafting. When I fi rst read the script, it felt like Rocketman was predominately a location-based fi lm, however, for practical and stylistic reasons, a good proportion of the fi lm ended up being built. In many ways, I fi nd building sets easier, it massively increases your creative options and reduces the logistical problems associated with location shooting, give me a studio anytime. Studio space over the last ten years in London has become harder and harder to fi nd as the big studio movies take over vast amounts of space. In many respects, this is a good thing for the UK fi lm industry in general, however, it does mean smaller fi lms have to think out of the box when it comes to places to build and shoot. The solution for Rocketman was the recently reopened studios at Bray, once famous for the "Hammer House of Horror" fi lms, which provided two stages where the production was able to do rotated set builds. We also acquired a large open plan warehouse in Greenford London, an old post offi ce building, which of course, came with no sound proofi ng. The down side of this for the Art Department was all builds needed to be complete before the shooting crew arrived. It was fun and interesting to look at all the sets lined up one after another all in this one space. B C A. FLOOR PLAN OF REGGIE'S CHILDHOOD HOME. BUILT ON STAGE AT BRAY STUDIOS. B. BACKROOM OF REGGIE'S CHILDHOOD HOME. PRODUCTION STILL. C. KITCHEN OF REGGIE'S CHILDHOOD HOME. PRODUCTION STILL. D. BACKLOT PLAN SHOWING ALLEY AND CARNIVAL LAYOUT. E. ILLUSTRATION OF THE PUB ALLEY WITH THE CARNIVAL IN THE BACKGROUND. F. & G. CARNIVAL BACKLOT SET DURING SHOOTING. A