Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521244
5 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 2 4 devised the way it overlapped and transitioned to the Volume stage. He worked with Set Designer Aimee Desmond and they developed a lot of the set language used in the show. The script called for the farm to have painted wall murals of an idealized farm. The showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson- Dworet said they wanted it to look like the production of the musical Oklahoma! I proposed that the vista be a projection rather than a painting, and that way we could change the time of day at will. Jonathan Nolan then took it further and added that the system would be damaged during a raid on the Vault and the film image would burn up in the projector during a big fight sequence. Great idea and also really challenging to pull off as it was all happening in the Volume digital asset that we had to create. Trying to illustrate how this would look also became challenging as well and stylistically tough to figure out. To get the Volume to work, I was lucky enough to work with a VAD team provided by Magnopus, a virtual production company. I had gotten to work with them previously on some smaller digital "experiments" and was very fortunate they took this on as I had a lot to learn quickly to understand how to design with the technology. Virtual production director AJ Sciutto pulled together an amazing team and I tasked Art Director Ann Bartek to be the coordinating Art Director from the physical side. I knew Ann again from The Knick and she was detail- oriented and a good communicator. New York didn't have a base for virtual production, so we were forging new territory here. In fact, part of the work included building the Volume itself as a complete one did not at that time exist in New York. This undertaking involved a lot of partners, including MBS and FUSE. I could write another whole article just about that experience. It did give the series a chance to design our stage, and Jonathan felt a horseshoe-shaped surround would be better than the more common circular design. This also meant I had to design to that shape, which dictated how it functioned as well. A good example of this would be the vault door chamber to outside. Developed from concept art by Thang Le and based on a similar barrel-shaped room from the Fallout '76 game. It might seem counterintuitive but we actually built the very large door but the room itself was the asset on the Volume walls. I think actually building the massive door gave the room a reality that it might not have had if it was a digital image. The whole scene was about the door. I was really fortunate that I got to Regina Graves to take on the daunting set decoration challenges of this show. She had done incredible work on The Knick so I knew she could handle the scale, detail, unique style and manufacturing needs. Regina really defined the quirky retro-futuristic look that the game had through her choices. She did it using a mix of vintage and retro-style new pieces. There is an exaggerated sense of scale in the game so, she had custom made carpeting and fabrics with over- scale patterns. Regina would find patterns and then work with the graphics department to manufacture custom wallpapers as well. A A. FARM ENTRANCE, CONSTRUCTION ELEVATION BY SET DESIGNER AIMEE DUMBO, THE SETS WERE DRAWN IN A MODULE SYSTEM, LIKE THEY ARE IN THE GAME, SO EACH COMPONENT COULD BE UPDATED AS WE CONTINUED TO DEVELOP THE SETS. B. VAULT FARM WEDDING CEREMONY, ILLUSTRATION BY MATT SAMA USED ON THE VOLUME. THIS WAS THE "SUNSET" LOOK FOR THE VOLUME FARM SET. PRODUCTION STILL. C. VAULT 33 EXIT CHAMBER AND DOOR, VOLUME STUDY WITH PLAN AND SECTION BY ART DIRECTOR ANN BARTEK, THIS SHOWS THE BESPOKE, ELONGATED HORSESHOE DESIGN FOR THE VOLUME CREATED THE SHOW. B