Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1514626
and kept the interiors from feeling dark compared to the desert sun outside. We also studied how our artificial landscape behaved through the day. Since our 'mountains' were shallow relief carvings spread around the town in 360 degrees, they would change dramatically with the moving sun. There were times of the day when a certain direction would become difficult to shoot as the mountains would become too sharply side-lit and give away their scale. First AD Atilla Yücer built the schedule with Wes to maximize the best hours for each major direction. And luckily, the light of Asteroid City was meant to be unrelenting, so the usually difficult midday sun was actually just right. Bad Day at Black Rock was another of the early inspirations for the look of the town and landscape. Wes even developed a credit sequence using the freight train much like Black Rock's. The train was a miniature, but at 1:8 scale, so quite large. Simon Weisse and his team, who've been with Wes since The Grand Budapest Hotel, made the train cars, as well as the alien spaceship and the motel vending machines. We wanted to reuse our landscape for the desert background of the train. Alexios Chrysikos modeled all this as well—planning the second phase of the town while we were building the first. After shooting wrapped we struck all of the town's buildings, crater, and highway ramp. Then C. GAS STATION. ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIOS CHRYSIKOS USING 3D STUDIO MAX WITH PHOTOSHOP. D. 1:8 SCALE MODEL TRAIN BEING WORKED ON HIGHWAY RAMP AND QUARANTINE GUARD TOWER VISIBLE IN BACKGROUND. SET PHOTO BY VALERIE SADOUN. C D