Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1533577
Candles are the sole source of illumination in the film. Director of photography Shelly Johnson ASC incorporated this concept into each set, as all the sets had a beautifully eerie sense of constant flickering twilight. It was as if you'd gone back in time, Barry Lyndon style. Director George Nolfi worked with us to maintain a very period look using natural materials and rustic set dressing. For the location of the town itself, a few things needed to be conveyed, one being that natural growth had taken over the roads after three years, no cars had driven on them so they could be used to plant crops and for the drying of animal skins and meats. Head greensman Andrew Nowling and his team killed it by creating modular pallets so the crew could move them from road to road as needed for camera. Some of Gold Hill's actual residents weren't thrilled with Hollywood invading their small town. One particularly vocal critic—the local school bus driver—shouted obscenities at us daily and even ran over some of our carefully placed set pieces and foliage. For Will and Hunter's house, we found a historic landmark—the first structure built in the town, a true beauty dating back to 1861. The house was mainly for exteriors as it related to the town and its location. The majority of the interiors would be shot on stage in Atlanta. The character of Nina, the local scientist, created an open-air laboratory to test ways to kill the so-called "reapers." Her entire family had been killed by them, and she had made it her sole mission to find a way to destroy them. Bullets were useless against the single reaper scale she possessed. Haunted by her failure, she had turned to drinking to numb the pain. A few solar panels generated a little power for her to use. Set decorator Joanne Baker and her team created a few "Frankensteined" appliances cobbled together from found parts to illustrate Nina's unique genius. Will's son, Hunter, has a medical condition which involved replacing breathing canisters and he is down to the last one. The only way to get more is to go to Boulder, below "The Line"; down to the world of chaos and death…what could go wrong? Along the route, they encounter what had been a futile battle with the reapers. A squad of marines lost their fight and all that is left is the bodies, A. THE GOLD HILL STORE SERVED AS A TRADING POST WITH ONLY THE BASICS. BEHIND THE LOCKED GLASS CABINET WERE VERY RARE ITEMS SUCH AS A SINGLE PLASTIC BOTTLE OF CHOCOLATE SAUCE, ONE CAN OF PEANUT BUTTER AND A SINGLE PACKAGE OF HO HOS. SINCE IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD, THESE ITEMS ARE PRICELESS. SET PHOTO. B. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY SHELLY JOHNSON ASC CREATED A DESATURATED, BLUE COBALT VIBE WHICH AMPLIFIED THE FEELING OF HOPELESSNESS AND LACK OF OPTIMISM. PRODUCTION STILL. C. THIS CABIN WAS BUILT IN 1861 AND WAS PICKED FOR ITS RUSTIC BEAUTY TO BE WILL AND HUNTER'S HOME. SET PHOTO. A B C