Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/820551
46 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 7 with Illustrator Joe Studzinski to sell the idea of an abandoned fire lookout station. After the concept was approved, modeling began on a structure that would eventually be built as a practical interior/exterior set, on the edge of a cliff near Abiquiú, New Mexico...all practical with no blue screens allowed. At the conclusion of New Orleans principal photography, focus shifted to the smelting plant exterior. There would be two full weeks of first-unit photography there, followed by a few weeks of second-unit action pickups. The Art Department shifted its attention to locations in Abiquiú, where preparation and construction of the lookout tower was taking place, as well as to a location further to the north for the final battle scenes in the Eden forest. An idyllic location was found at the Brazos Cliffs near Chama. The cabin campground setting with lakefront meadows overlooking 2,500-foot sheer cliffs was an impressive sight. The thought to use an existing log cabin interior as weather cover and inspiration for the bunkhouse in Abiquiú was a fairly late decision. The design, drafting and construction process for the cabin required a rapid hurry-up approach that relied solely on dimensioned survey photos, and only one 1/4-inch-scale plan and elevations. Two construction teams worked simultaneously retrofitting the cabin at Brazos Cliffs and building a second from scratch in the remote high desert above Abiquiú. Two identical cabins were needed for the first day of shooting in northern New Mexico, and both sets were used extensively. Struggles with weather on this film were constant, and most of the exterior locations were affected either by rain and lightning or by intense heat and humidity. From my point of view, I think we hit our marks each time. Every project has its moments of anxiety and as a team you must find a way to overcome the problems. Both Top: Landon Lott painted the interior of the smelting plant in Photoshop over a 3D rendering by Kevin Loo who modeled the space in Rhino3D with the OctaneRender plugin. Above: The smelting plant interior set onstage at Big Easy Studios, originally the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Below: A storyboard sketch by Gabriel Hardman of a sequence in the smelting plant set.