ADG Perspective

January-February 2016

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P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 6 47 Shooting in a natural environment with natural light requires an Art Department that is quick to adjust and sets that offer more possibilities than just what is indicated in the script. Often in a script, the realities of a place are hinted at but much is left up to the designer's imagination. I knew when Alejandro saw the finished fort or some of the Indian villages, he would find new areas to shoot in and be able to improve on the action. This required a constant Art Department presence on the set to accommodate changes required by the demands of lighting, weather and new ideas. Working with Supervising Art Directors Michael Diner and Isabelle Guay, and Art Director Laurel Bergman, I was able to design on the fly and alter or create in a short time, new options to accommodate changes. In April of 2015, we left a warming Canada still owing one scene: the last scene of the film, the climatic ending that needed to be shot in snow. With scouts still searching around the world's Southern Hemisphere, Alejandro chose a location on the southern tip of Argentina where winter was just beginning. The company moved there for ten days in July to finish the film. Well, not quite finish. Alejandro had earlier given up a scene of a Pawnee village in 1812 in an attempt to relieve the budget, but as the film went together, everyone realized how important that scene of the early life of Glass was to the movie and he asked me to create the village in Los Angeles. The village was constructed out of sticks and mud in the dry grass of Big Sky Ranch in Simi Valley, but then Alejandro told me that he wanted to BURN THE VILLAGE! Normally this would not be a problem, but California was in a serious drought this summer and temperatures were hovering around 100ยบ. I worked with the special effects crew and the construction crew headed by Karen Higgins to work out a plan to create a safe fire. These ideas were presented to the local fire marshal and tests were shot of them working. These tests and a careful presentation caused the fire marshal to approve the plan for the burn and Alejandro got the fire he wanted. Costume designer Jackie West and I have made eight films together and our work is always in tune. Throughout the making of this movie, we would share our research and discoveries with every department to ensure everyone was working toward the same film. The Art Department worked closely with the assistant directors to educate them on correct background action reflecting normal activities of the period. Clay Landry, a terrific historian, not only worked with the actors coaching them on use of black powder muskets, hatchets, skinning tools, etc., but also taught the background performers how to use hide presses and other set dressing and props that had been created. Living with elk, moose, bear, beaver and the inherent dangers of the wild, plus building real structures in the landscape, gave me an understanding of the trappers. Working on The Revenant with Alejandro and Chivo was a very creative, but exhausting, experience, confirming to me how much I like to work on this type of film. And that is my enlightenment! ADG Jack Fisk, Production Designer Michael Diner, Isabelle Guay, Supervising Art Directors Laurel Bergman, Art Director Chris Beach, Assistant Art Director Jill Beecher, Graphic Artist/Illustrator Brian Cunningham, Warren Flanagan, Illustrators Joe Wolkosky, Set Designer Lubor Cencak, Tom Johnson, Scenic Artists Brent Boates, Timothy Burgard, Storyboard Artists Hamish Purdy, Set Decorator

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