Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533577
The Outside World: Public Spaces Out of My Mind did not have much sound stage work but we nonetheless had big builds within real spaces. The vast planetarium set was designed and built entirely in the lobby of a modern building. We created the entire nebula exhibit from scratch, with its sculpted displays and interactive stations, foreshadowing the dramatic "Whiz Kid" competition in which Melody will get a science question about nebulas, helping her team win! As a sidenote: I'm a big fan of reusing and repurposing sets, so you might notice that the planetarium's metal structures become the frames for the clothing racks in the shopping mall set, albeit slightly transformed. Also important was to show spaces that were totally inaccessible to Melody. The planetarium has an exterior playground with interactive planets and rides for kids to play on, an environment that totally excludes Melody. Shut out from the playground, Melody wanders through the museum and stumbles into a screening room where she discovers a film on Stephen Hawking and his iconic speech-assistance device. This leads us to the next innovation in the film: inventing the "Medi-Talker." The Medi-Talker: Assistive Technology for Communication Because this story is set in 2001, prior to current iPads and other present-day assistive technologies, nonverbal individuals back then had very limited options. In the original novel, the author imagined the Medi-Talker, a device that would help Melody communicate via a tablet that speaks. It was our task as an Art Department to bring it to life. Two of the consultants on the film, Richard Ellenson and his son Tom, who has CP, actually invented a tablet called the Tango in the early 2000s, back when no such devices were readily available. Tom, who is nonverbal, and his father E. PLANETARIUM LOBBY EXHIBIT WITH PLAYGROUND BEYOND. SET PHOTO. F. RECYCLED PLANETARIUM DISPLAY RACKS IN SHOPPING MALL. SET PHOTO. G. MEDI-TALKER DESIGN. GRAPHIC LAYOUT BY EMILY TAM, HEATHER CARLSON AND DYLAN REV. H. MELODY USING THE MEDI-TALKER. PRODUCTION STILL BY DISNEY/MICHAEL GIBSON. F E G H