Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1400113
A New Frontier Finding the right graphic research for the Amazon in 1916 was a challenge. This was a Brazilian frontier town, but as Americans, we are often predisposed to think of our Wild West where the signage was not graphicly sophisticated. After much unsuccessful searching, I started looking up towns along the river in Portuguese, and that's when I hit the jackpot, a treasure trove of photos of 1910 Manáos (Manaus), Brasil (Brazil), which showed this frontier as anything but plain. Large, fanciful lettering adorned many of the buildings in an off-beat art nouveau style. I was surprised and thrilled as I walked around the Art Department with the photos like I had won the lottery. Although a lot of it was deemed too eye-catching to use, it did offer a base to work from and 'permission' not to do the obvious. The lettering on the walls in the food market was taken directly from one of the photos. The research was also used for the tavern, the hotel and the back alleys of the town. Arriving by Train Lily and McGregor arrive by train at the small station in Porto Velho to begin their journey. Luckily, the production was able to use the Kauai Plantation Railway for our location and repurposed the museum's trains and buildings for the film. At the station, in addition to the establishing sign, I designed a large train schedule and some advertising for the rich boat company boss, Nilo, that fit into existing frames on the building. The 1 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 1 A. THE MARKET TOWN OF PORTO VELHO WITH FRANK'S JUNGLE NAVIGATION CO. IN THE FOREGROUND. THIS WAS SHOT ON THE KAPAIA RESERVOIR IN KAUAI, HAWAII. PRODUCTION STILL. B. & C. 1910 PHOTO OF MANAUS, BRAZIL, WHICH INSPIRED THE LETTERING AT THE PORTO VELHO MERCADO AND TAVERN. D. THE PORTO VELHO TRAIN STATION WHICH WAS SHOT ON THE KAUAI PLANTATION RAILWAY IN HAWAII. GRAPHIC DESIGN BY KAREN TENEYCK. E. ADVERTISING POSTER FOR NILO'S RIVER ADVENTURE. GRAPHIC DESIGN BY KAREN TENEYCK, BOAT ILLUSTRATION BY VICTOR MARTINEZ. A B C D E