Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1316563
addition to NesSmith, the Art Department counted on the wisdom of Gordon Lacko, the production's naval technical advisor. A retired officer of the Canadian Royal Navy, he knew the ins and outs of naval protocol and more importantly, he knew how all the mapping and tracking equipment should work. He has an infectious enthusiasm and always greeted a question with a smile. Yves De Bono was brought on to oversee special effects, including the elevated gimbaled platform for the main set of the bridge. At one point, there were two gimbals considered, with one to hold the CIC, but that grew beyond the budget and time limitations, as did a single larger gimbal that might hold both sets. In the end we settled on a 28-foot by 35-foot platform for the one interior bridge set with its exterior wraparound walkway, raised ten feet above the floor with a large surround of muslin drops to act as backings and as a containment of the weather effects. The CIC and the Captain's uarters were also built on stage, though not on a gimbal. The movement in those had to be created in camera. Matching and building a ship for a historically based story ultimately becomes, in a sense, as much a math problem as a design challenge. The world of the Navy is dictated by rules, manuals, and, of course, the inevitable official color charts of every grey and green you could want. Combining the film's sets with a location curtailed wild deviation from what existed since everything in the end ultimately came back to matching the Kidd, on some level. That is not really a limitation though, just a different focus. For the stage sets, the interior plans of the ship did need to be uietly reconfigured to accommodate the camera and certain script requirements. This called for constant diligence to proportions and equipment arrangement since scenes might start on stage and overlap into the same spaces on the Kidd. It often boiled down to inches just to make these differences work. The two rooms of the bridge set were built as a steel frame box which carried the wilding wall and ceiling panels. Since the actual ship is made of large steel plates, there are few actual existing breaks to replicate and use to hide the wilding pattern on the exterior walls. Hence, welding beads were cast from polymer and used to cover the breaks, and then duplicates were added to the Kidd for continuity. The steel walls of the ship are all surprisingly far from flat. The structure and the guts are exposed throughout, and the ship A. SCENE IN NAVIGATION BRIDGE BEING SHOT WITH FRONT WALL REMOVED. PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE. B. CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS BUILT ON STAGE. PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE. C. NAVIGATION BRIDGE SET BEING FILMED ONSTAGE. SET PHOTO. D. MUSLIN SURROUND LIT FOR FILMING. PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE. A B C D