ADG Perspective

May-June 2017

Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/820551

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François Audouy, Production Designer Chris Farmer, Supervising Art Director Scott Plauché, Art Director (Louisiana) Luke Freeborn, Art Director (Vehicles) Jordan Ferrer, Art Director (New Mexico) Matt Gatlin, Christina Kim, Assistant Art Directors Kevin Loo, Trinh Vu, Walter Schneider, Brian Waits, Nicole Reed LeFevre, Jessica Stumpf, Set Designers Stephanie Charbonneau, Will Eastin, Roger Johnson, Graphic Designers Nick Pugh, Illustrator/Vehicle Designer Shae Shatz, Paul Ozzimo, Landon Lott, Keith Christensen, Edon Guraziu, Joe Studzinski, Illustrators Zachary Berger, Keith Christensen, Steffen Reichstadt, Aaron Sims, Alex Tuis, Eve Ventrue, Concept Artists Gabriel Hardman, Marc A. Vena, John Coven, Storyboard Illustrators Peter Lando, Set Decorator options out there, people tend to forget the importance of seeing something as subtle as automotive surfacing in real life. It is a great moment in the design process when you can close your eyes and run your hands across the smooth, painted shapes of a model and feel the creative choices you have made in your mind's eye. The most difficult moment for me came after the whole vehicle had been designed, planned and engineered, and right before the studio was to give final approval and release funding to build it. Early in the process, it had been decided that we were going to build a fully custom chassis, body and interior. This made the most sense considering the performance demands given by the story and, since we needed to build four different vehicles, it was also the most economical. But only a week before the studio meeting, someone suggested that it might be better (translation: cheaper) to use an existing production car instead. As often happens in production, the script changed in mid-design and as a result, the limo was not featured as much as originally planned. The studio needed to redirect funding to other aspects of the film, but we still needed to make a great-looking car for Logan to drive through the first half of the movie. The car company partner turned out to be Chrysler, and we had actually used the 300 as an inspiration for some of the limo styling, though we had developed a unique set of proportions and surfaces. I was asked to do side-by-side illustrations showing the fully custom design next to a version of the design shoehorned over the 300. As you might expect, both versions looked black and shiny and like limos, so it was decided that the 300 was the way to go. This choice probably saved some money but it posed significant challenges at this late stage in the process. The biggest one was that the overall proportion of the design relied on maintaining a specific height/ width relationship. The 300 forced us to lose about six inches of width and keep the height, resulting in the car looking stumpy and top-heavy. I tried to compensate for this with tweaks to the surfacing and details but in car design, six inches is HUGE. In real life, the car does look a bit awkward but on screen, all you see is acres of shiny black paint and chrome getting shot up and destroyed in one action sequence after another. I wanted the look of the car to be very strong, masculine and simple. It was to be a sort of hybrid between a sedan and an SUV, where surfacing created large simple shapes accented by unique but severe details. Acres of shiny black paint and chrome created a classic limo feel, realistic but slightly different from what is out there now, with a subtle futuristic twist. The front and rear views are conventional but the headlight and taillight designs give the vehicle a unique identity both in the daylight and at night. The look of the interior is also simple and masculine. I tried to blur the lines between classic and futuristic. The dash and instrument panel are a large touch- screen, but instead of a futuristic graphic interface, I chose a retro chrome and dial look, thus blending the futuristic function of a touchscreen with a classic style. The seating was inspired by well-known mid-century furniture such as the Barcelona chair and Eames lounger. Most of the time, the lighting in the limo is cool and subtle but it has the option to go into party mode with gaudy colors and flashing LEDs that create some funny moments between Logan and Laura. Overall, I really loved working on this film and I will remember the experience as one of the highlights of my career as a Hollywood car designer. It was gratifying to see the limo driving across the New Mexico desert, the version of it in its totally destroyed state, and to sit in its mid-century-styled interior. I met so many interesting and talented people and got to use my skills to their fullest. Special thanks to Paul Ozzimo for helping with the 3D model and Luke Freeborn for keeping the limo production on track and looking as good as possible and of course, to François for his enthusiasm, leadership and great taste. ADG Below, left and right: A Photoshop sketch by Joe Studzinksi helped sell the remote location found near Chama, New Mexico. Laura and the mutant children mourn Logan's death, taking a moment to turn the cross memorial on its side to form an X, before the group continues on their journey across the Canadian border.

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