Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1542693
UK Art Directors Tom Whitehead and Guy Isherwood oversaw the construction of the 360-degree Times Square backlot. Built at two-thirds the scale of the actual Times Square, the set included more than two dozen 30- foot facades, a monorail infrastructure and a practical screen that extended fifty feet into the air. Hundreds of practical signs were designed by Charis Theobald and Dominique Sanglier's graphics team to bring the facades to life. Jille Azis's team brought in a small city's worth of period decor to breathe specificity into the set. The layered physical build allowed Matt to compose shots with real depth and allowed actors to find blocking that felt natural to the moment. I've always felt: If you build it, you gain spontaneity and truth that are impossible to simulate. Yancy Street While Times Square stands as an emblem of Reed's dazzling world, Yancy Street serves as the grounding force for Ben Grimm, the steadfast heart of the Four. Yancy had to exude a sense of familiarity, warmth and nostalgia—a tapestry of cultural richness. Historically, a Jewish neighborhood, we honored its heritage while simultaneously embracing the undeniable multiculturalism of mid-century New York. Maisie's Diner shares the block with a Latin American bodega and an Italian restaurant, while the Yancy Street Synagogue anchors the neighborhood. However, if you look past the rooflines into the adjacent neighborhoods, you'll see the emergence of a new world—curved spires, saucer shapes and monorail tracks stretching into the horizon. The Baxter Building The Baxter Building had to be the ultimate icon of Reed's aesthetic language. Though it shares DNA with Niemeyer and Saarinen, it needed to feel uniquely "Reed": a vertical expression of acceleration, a structure that feels as though it wants to lift off the ground. This was one of the first pieces of architectural form language we designed, as we knew it would stand as an aesthetic lighthouse for the rest of the world. Set Designer and Concept Artist Tex Kadonaga brilliantly ran with my pencil thumbnails, and through many iterations we found the right balance of austere elegance and dynamic optimism. Within the Baxter Building are the two most important interiors of the film: the Baxter apartment and Reed's lab. Together, they represent the duality at the core of Reed Richards—family and genius. A. & B. TIMES SQUARE BACKLOT. SET PHOTOS. C. TIMES SQUARE. FINISHED FILM FRAME WITH SET EXTENSION. D. YANCY STREET. ILLUSTRATION BY JOE STUDZINSKI.DEVELOPED IN BLENDER AND THEN ILLUSTRATED IN PHOTOSHOP. E. YANCY STREET BACKLOT. SET PHOTO. F. BAXTER BUILDING. PRELIMINARY SKETCH BY KASRA FARAHANI. G. & H. CONCEPT ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BAXTER BUILDING AND EXCELSIOR LAUNCHPAD WITHIN RETRO-FUTURISTIC NEW YORK BY JOSHUA VIERS, CREATED IN OCTANE AND PHOTOSHOP. BAXTER BUILDING MODEL BY TEX KADONAGA. EXCELSIOR MODEL BY COLIE WERTZ. F G H