Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1514626
6 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 cliffside landscape of Positano, Italy, combined with alien tech. The sets that we would build on stage and the backlot were winding city streets, as well as a royal palace courtyard where an alien banquet was scripted. From the beginning, I loved everything about these ideas. My inspiration came from the pastel-plastered buildings of Morocco, the color palette of the Amalfi Coast, a brutalist church in Tbilisi, modern architects such as Le Corbusier and Ricardo Bofill, and the otherworldliness of pop artists like Janelle Monae, Bjork and Lady Gaga. The design team had a very fluid process during the development of Aladna—as well as all of our worlds—with each member building upon ideas as we chipped away at big picture. Shae Shatz developed initial illustrations with me and I worked with Art Director Rhys Ifan on the architectural style that would set the tone for all of Aladna. I wanted the city to look old, but also thoroughly contemporary, with a curvilinear style that invoked a musicality, as the Aladnean language was all spoken through song. Karl Simon Gustafsson created the final overall hero illustrations depicting the cliff-side architecture, ocean, palace and spaceship landing port. Senior Art Director Rod McClean developed all the technical drawings and led the construction of a large backlot set that would be the setting for a musical number and battle. As each piece of the puzzle was developed, Art Director Gordon Champ would integrate them into an expansive 3D model that was created of the city for postproduction—which would be executed by ILM and overseen by VFX supervisors Tara DeMarco and James Alexander. Art Director Tom Whitehead developed the palace courtyard with me, an expansive set build that would host the royal banquet. The banquet was a joy to see come to life, with set decorator Jille Azis and her team creating delectable towers of pastel gelatins and fantastical alien fruits. Tarnax was scripted as the alien home of "The Skrulls"—an advanced alien race who went into hiding. The design process is a wonderful example of the collaboration that we had with the VFX team, led by Tara and James. Tara has a methodology that I really loved in her quest to create the most tactile and tangible digital worlds possible. Her process involves scanning real- world locations and textures to feed back into CG models during the post-production process. This way of working really gelled with me, as our Art Department references always drew from real- world architecture and locations. For Tarnax, we A. ALADNA, WITH SURREAL AND CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE INSPIRED BY RICARDO BOFILL. ILLUSTRATION BY KARL SIMON GUSTAFSSON. B. ALADNA CITY STREETS. ILLUSTRATION BY KARL SIMON GUSTAFSSON. C. ALADNA CITY STREETS. BUILT IN A CONCRETE CAR PARK AT LONGCROSS STUDIOS IN ENGLAND. SET PHOTO. D. TARNAX STREETS. ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS KESLER. CREATED WITH A 3D MODEL OF THE FINAL SET DESIGN. A SCAN BY VFX OF THE ICELAND LOCATION AND OUR DESIGN FOR THE ARCHITECTURE TO BE CREATED IN CG DURING POST PRODUCTION. E. FILM STILL SHOWING TARNAX GREAT HALL SET BUILD AND SET EXTENSION. F. TARNAX STREETS. SET PHOTO COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS.. A B C