Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1504681
Heart Murmurs, aka "The Murmuring" "The Murmuring," directed by Jennifer Kent, was a flight into blues, greens, browns…the tones of nature: water, birds, sky. It was also a story of love and endurance and motherhood, all in the sometimes dreamy, sometimes spooky, realm of a ghost story. Jennifer and Shane Vieau (set decorator) and I began the process through a series of long-distance meetings mostly centered on the William Morris wallpapers that we all loved: wallpaper flecked with birds, flowers, wallpaper that feels like memories. We shared thoughts on furniture styles, embroidery and the mood of blues. The main house set was from the early 1900s, but the film took place in the 1950s, so we had a layer of period elements with which to contend. The crew painted the set, a partially reused house set from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, from which we reformed halls, staircase, windows, doors, adding on a turret room and kitchen. The set went from a dark oak, to a deep period blue for all the trim, and wallpaper throughout most of the set. Jennifer was worried about blues, she had used so much of it in Babadook, but it just felt right for this sad tale. The greatest design challenge was building a Nova Scotian/ East Coast house next to the ocean. The episode cheated by using a lake in Ontario, finding a fantastic location in Port Perry, a spot that once held a grand house on which we could erect the lower portion of the house and porch. We were able to use the existing boathouse, which the crew had to partially reconstruct, and the remaining stone walkway that led to the original house. This helped make the set feel very tangible and grounded. The strange bones and human remains at the location, which we were told about by the indigenous caretakers of the land, made it even more real, more evocative. A. "THE MURMURING" TUB ROOM. ILLUSTRATION BY ANDY TSANG. B. "THE MURMURING" EDWARDIAN HOUSE. EXTERIOR. MODEL VIEW WITH VFX OVERLAY BY JON CHAN. C. "THE MURMURING" EDWARDIAN HOUSE. SET PHOTO. D. "THE MURMURING" EDWARDIAN HOUSE INTERIOR. COLOR PALETTE BY TAMARA DEVERELL. E. "THE MURMURING" EDWARDIAN HOUSE DRAWING ROOM. ILLUSTRATION BY ANDY TSANG. F. INTRO STATUETTES DIGITAL MODELS. ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS PENNA. G. INTRO STATUETTES IN PROGRESS. H. CABINET OF CURIOSITIES. ILLUSTRATION BY SORIN POPESCU. C B A