Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/747534
P E R S P E C T I V E | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 61 using the clichés that are often seen in films depicting recent history. The main mining site, a five-week construction job, was built on the shores of a river, planting a colossal amount of greens, creating jungle where there wasn't any and even changing the colour of the earth. My of the monsoon season and the river burst its bank. The company turned up one morning to find the set under twelve feet of water. We had already shot on it for several days, so we decided that the only thing to do was find another location that matched the first, but was on higher ground, and replicate the set there. Things were rescheduled and enough scenes that didn't require the main set were found for the unit to go and shoot elsewhere. They traveled two hours upriver and I had one week to rebuild a matching set in a new location. It was surprising how much we managed to save and, considering what had happened, how little was lost. Even though the second valley is smaller and all the structures are a bit closer together, I don't think you can tell. Cinematographer Robert Elswit even said that the second spot was easier to photograph. Construction in Thailand is pretty incredible. Labor is cheap and sets go up fast. Set decorating, though, is quite different. Resources are few and choices are limited. As designers, we can't put up a title card saying, "Sorry no Los Angeles or London prop houses were available to us here." Wherever we are, we need to make everything look just as convincing. Sophie and I ended up having to ship quite a lot from London, and by the time the production was shooting the Bangkok interiors, I was back in New Mexico. With the thirteen- Above, left and right: Two set stills of the fi nished Indonesian village. The indigenous architecture of Indonesia is very different from that found in Thailand, so it all had to be built, often using traditional materials and methods. Below, left: The dressed set for the village market street. Right: A photograph of a river- raft scout on the Khao Sok River. Production Designer Maria Djurkovic is the only woman in the picture. "The rain you see in the movie is mostly real, too. It was the middle of the monsoon season and the river burst its bank. The company turned up one morning to find the set under twelve feet of water." Indonesian research showed wonderful images of red, red earth, looking like gaping wounds, where the jungle had been cut into. I was determined to see just that red in the movie. Everyone was thrilled with the set but after a few days, disaster struck. The rain you see in the movie is mostly real, too. It was the middle