Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610353
computer-controlled wire rigs and their movements through the set were timed to meet the hub ladder shafts, which were also computer controlled, just at the moment where actual gravity assisted the actors' moves. Green screens were hung to camera as suited the individual moves and the sets were again lidar scanned and photometrically sampled in order to complete the ceiling. The set itself was built on top of a 20-foot-high steel platform rigged on rubber bellows to simulate the shaking during launch. The set was then craned down to a lower platform placed under a 360-degree circular LED lighting rig to simulate the tumbling movement of the capsule during its Mars orbit. There were three separate cylindrical air locks incorporated into the design of the Hermes spaceship which was achieved by revamping one set piece three times. This set was finished both on the interior and the exterior, and was constructed on its own purpose-built wheeled steel cradle so that it could be moved from stage to stage in order to make room for other sets and to be free for extensive revamping, including changes to surface cladding, equipment modules, lighting, graphics and set dressing elements. The door hatches and doors of the main air lock set were designed to be compatible with elements from other sets so they could all be recombined to create new sets from existing pieces, such as spacesuit and equipment rooms attached to the air locks of the Mars Ascent Vehicles. This is the same approach used by all international space agencies so that their space capsules can be docked with each other for cooperative supply and rescue missions. Shooting in Budapest also provided another bonus in the unique multi-storied "Whale" conference building in the city center, which has a very large curving geodesic roof enclosing what previously was a late 19th century customs house along the Danube and was then renovated into a combination shopping mall and events center. The building's largest space was used to create a slightly futuristic NASA Mission Control and Space Operations Center, into which were installed wheeled faux-concrete wall flats and columns to match the existing interiors. In the largest space, a huge bank of LED display walls was hung for displaying a Top: For scenes with the Ares 3 and Ares 4 landers, a set of legs was all that was constructed, as shown in this model by Assistant Art Director Shira Hockman. The remaining portion of the ascent/descent vehicle was added digitally. Above: The lander legs in the Martian landscape set on Stage 6 at Korda Studios. Below: A working drawing for the lander legs, also drawn by Ms. Hockman.