MANDALORE SURFACE

Art Directing Mandalore

The design of Mandalore had a distinct look of glassy green shards that encrusted the planet's surface. Supervising sculptor, Craig Abele, led an incredibly talented team to sculpt the fragmented landscape. After much R&D, I worked with construction coordinator, Steve DeSantis, mold/staff shop supervisor, David Cohen, and Paint Supervisor, John Risso, to create a unique material process that shined in the volume. Material tests are a crucial part of prepping for volume sets. It's a chance to see how the content interacts with the physical scenery. It allows for the art department and VFX to compare notes and work towards developing a seamless integration between physical sets and virtual content. This series of sets leveraged the power of the LED volume's ability to shift content loads in a matter of minutes. We maximized the set pieces to create three distinct sets and multiple non-descript exterior setups.

Working with a scale model was invaluable in presenting the sets to other departments for discussion. It allowed for flexibility and engaged directors so they could plan their shots. Model shop supervisor Jason Mahakian made multiples of each set piece at a 1:24 scale to illustrate the changeovers and provide a clear plan to install these massive and organic pieces.

PD: Doug Chiang & Andrew Jones