Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/916056
sets were built on three separate stages. A lot of studio space was needed, since portions of the sets needed to be replicated at a much larger scale, in order to create the illusion of a small- world environment. For example, the downsizing chamber and docking station were built at full scale on one stage. In one scene, nurses wheel the newly downsized people on medical carts into the small docking bays across from the chamber. In the next scene, the full-size nurse interacts with downsized orderlies who are waiting to accept the new patients on the other side of the docking station. The "small world" side of the docking station had to be recreated, with great precision, at fourteen times the scale of the normal-sized set. The orderlies were then shot against green screen and the "normal sized" nurse was composited in during post production. This was generally the formula throughout the film. Whenever the two different scales of people interacted, or when the audience needed a reminder of the "small world," a version was built at fourteen times the normal scale. The story continues into Paul's new city, new home, new life, and to the excellence of banality. Most of the stereotypes of modern urbanism, with the illusion of how to reach happiness, are evident. This involved a number of existing locations, with a few purposeful changes. I really didn't want to build an artificial reality. I believed that this new place had to have some connection to the world the characters came from. Also, as mentioned, I wanted the audience to forget Paul's new size very quickly, like I did. I wanted it to be like a real Alexander Payne movie, not a science fiction story. Dusan's place above Paul's new apartment is intentionally out of the ordinary. I scouted a big villa with an indoor pool, terrazzo, and added eclectic amenities (including oversized money and an old polaroid of Dusan before he downsized) and decided it would sit, literally, on top of Paul's apartment building. Would a huge two- story penthouse really be built on top of an apartment building full of modest single units? The standard rules of architecture were deliberately ignored in order to better serve the story, and to further illustrate the vastly different characters of the affable Paul and the ostentatious Dusan. Then Paul meets Ngoc, and everything changes. When designing Leisureland, it was taken into account that there would be a progression from dense and vibrant at the city centers, to less populated and more suburban around the perimeter. When Paul first travels with Ngoc to the poor part of town, this is the first time A. View of Jeff's model house. Modeled in SketchUp and rendered with Vray by Etienne Gravrand. B. The paint department putting some final touches on Jeff's model house. Photo by Etienne Gravrand C. Photo of the bedroom in Jeff's house. Photo by Stefania Cella D. The interior of a luxurious house set where Paul and Ngoc are cleaning, a redress of Jeff's house interior. Photo by Stefania Cella A B C D