The Art of Prometheus: The Planet

Started by ikarop, Apr 18, 2012, 02:56:26 PM

Author
The Art of Prometheus: The Planet (Read 25,550 times)

ikarop

ikarop

Fox has just released some interesting information via their Facebook App regarding the 'Planet' where all the action from Prometheus takes place. Production designer Arthur Max explains part of the location process and the art direction of the film. You can read the full article here.

The Icelandic location, it transpires, wasn't the first choice. "We were planning to shoot in Morocco," reveals production designer Arthur Max. "But with all the geopolitical turmoil in North Africa, we weren't able to do so. We'd scouted it several times with everybody and had worked out all our locations, and we've had to rethink.

The change means a very different aesthetic to the look of the planet – Morocco's deserts have been replaced by the cold, icy rock of the Iceland location. "When we first scouted Iceland it was winter, and 20 below, and you couldn't see anything," remembers Max. "But thank God we'd pre-scouted it. When we went back we nailed the locations and got Ridley over there and he liked them."

Thanks to seeasea for the link.

Full article:

When the crew of the Prometheus land on the alien planet at the core of their expedition, they find an inhospitable, barren environment and a strange, vast alien structure. It will, assures director Ridley Scott, look like nothing we've seen before in science fiction, and the production went to great lengths to shoot on location in Iceland, at a location so remote that the cast, crew and equipment had to be airlifted in.

The Icelandic location, it transpires, wasn't the first choice. "We were planning to shoot in Morocco," reveals production designer Arthur Max. "But with all the geopolitical turmoil in North Africa, we weren't able to do so. We'd scouted it several times with everybody and had worked out all our locations, and we've had to rethink."

The change means a very different aesthetic to the look of the planet – Morocco's deserts have been replaced by the cold, icy rock of the Iceland location. "When we first scouted Iceland it was winter, and 20 below, and you couldn't see anything," remembers Max. "But thank God we'd pre-scouted it. When we went back we nailed the locations and got Ridley over there and he liked them."

In addition to shooting on location in Iceland, the production took over the 007-Stage at Pinewood Studios, just outside London. At 374ft long, it is the largest soundstage in Europe and boasts more than 59,000 sq ft of usable space. For PROMETHEUS, it wasn't big enough by half.

The production started on the backlot behind the stage, constructing the Prometheus's cargo bay and a small replica of the planet surface. This spilled onto an extension built to house more of an alien pyramid mound interior set, before finally connecting, and filling, the main space inside 007-Stage.

"It's never big enough," sighs Scott. "I worked on it once, years ago, for a film called LEGEND, and I burnt it down. Even then I was thinking, 'Damn, it's not long enough.'"

In the end, the production added 150ft to the stage's length. "I knew, looking from end to end, it was never going to be big enough for this set," says Scott. "I hate working with green screen. I like the actors to have their proscenium and see what they're doing; see the arena they're in. It's partly that. To do that blue screen thing and say, 'the monster's coming down the corridor!' It's really boring."

"The scale meant we could do a nice, big exploration scene in there," explains Max. "We've got a 250ft network of tunnelling in there, 150ft of chambers and 25ft high doors."

For Michael Fassbender, Scott's attention to detail in the set design of the planet surface was second to none. "Have you gone into 007-Stage yet?" he exclaims with disbelief. "You have to see the space colon, as I call it!"

The practicality of the set makes his job easier as an actor, he explains. "What's great is Ridley will do something on a piece of fishing line if it works, and stick a bit of green screen up in the corner. He knows technology but what's great about him is he's very primal. Even the technology in the film, you're like, 'That's totally feasible.'"

To be able to look around at the set in 360 degrees is essential, he argues. "To have these things all around you helps, without a doubt. It's like putting on the costume. Or if you do a period piece, to be surrounded by the objects that they would have used at that time; all of that helps you get that extra layer on the character. If it's not there then you have to work on it but it just takes that little section out that you have to work on."

Arthur Max says he and Ridley Scott have learnt, over many years of working together on films like GLADIATOR, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, and BLACK HAWK DOWN, that sometimes it's better to achieve something practically than with CGI. "I think balance is the key in how much you build," he says. "You have to get a convincing base, and when you speak to the visual effects department, they'll tell you that they want enough reference material to work from. It's especially tough on this, because almost every shot has a visual component and everything has to be constructed from scratch. You can't go to a backlot and you can't go to a prop house."

The centrepiece of the alien set at Pinewood was a 32ft tall monolithic head, which can be glimpsed in posters for the film. This was built practically by Arthur Max's team. "The idea there is that it's part of the culture of the Engineers," says Max of the race of aliens at the heart of the story. "This race of interplanetary visitors who have given us upgrades – mentally and physically – over the millennium."

Constructing the "pyramid mound" – its shape was described as a pyramid in the script, explains Max, but the final conception is a little different, hence the contradictory descriptor – took 16 weeks to complete with more than two hundred technicians working on it.

In attempting to understand PROMETHEUS's connection to ALIEN, for which H.R. Giger designed the reptilian, skeletal and iconic look of the Xenomorph alien, Max says he had a clear direction from Scott. "Ridley said, 'I don't want it to be too Giger-y, but I don't want to give it all up either."

The art department looked at design work Giger had achieved for the first ALIEN film, in the form of archival files retrieved from the Motion Picture Academy Library and from the personal collections of those who'd worked on the first film. Ridley also screened some of the genre's most definitive works. "He had accumulated a lot of research based on the original movie and the whole series," remembers Max. "We watched all those movies. Ridley had us screen ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, and a lot of movies with 'STAR' in the title. There's three of them. I'll let you figure out which ones!"

Watching the reference material was as much about discovering what not to do. "We didn't want to be like any one of those," Max explains. "We wanted to be new and fresh because, I hate to admit it, otherwise it really dates us. We decided to make it less biological, in terms of the styling of the alien planet, and more mechanical."

Max summarises the key challenge of envisioning the alien environment: "The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick."

Link To Post


Berserker Pred

Interesting read. The more I see and read about Prometheus the more I want to see it!

Deuterium

Deuterium

#2
Not that it is now any sort of a secret, or source of speculation...but the importance of the "ancient astronaut" angle is firmly cemented in this quote by Arthur Max:

Quote"The idea there is that it's part of the culture of the Engineers," says Max of the race of aliens at the heart of the story. "This race of interplanetary visitors who have given us upgrades – mentally and physically – over the millennium."

Damn you Lindelof!  >:(

Deuterium's C.E.L level is holding at a steady 3.5  :-\

Jenga

Jenga

#3
This is our answer for why they derelict and temple in this film looks so much like alien but without the more literally biomechnaical details from Alien:

"Max says he had a clear direction from Scott. "Ridley said, 'I don't want it to be too Giger-y, but I don't want to give it all up either.""

I have to admit this makes me sad. Seeing as these are the same race that built the ship in the first film I don't see why they couldn't have gone 100% Giger on the ship design.


zecojones

Quote"He had accumulated a lot of research based on the original movie and the whole series," remembers Max. "We watched all those movies. Ridley had us screen ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, and a lot of movies with 'STAR' in the title. There's three of them. I'll let you figure out which ones!"

Which films might these be?  ;D

LarsVader

Quote from: zecojones on Apr 18, 2012, 04:49:45 PM
Quote"He had accumulated a lot of research based on the original movie and the whole series," remembers Max. "We watched all those movies. Ridley had us screen ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, and a lot of movies with 'STAR' in the title. There's three of them. I'll let you figure out which ones!"

Which films might these be?  ;D
StarWars
StarTrek
DarkStar
I guess.

JonesTheCat

JonesTheCat

#6
Quote from: Jenga on Apr 18, 2012, 04:44:21 PM
This is our answer for why they derelict and temple in this film looks so much like alien but without the more literally biomechnaical details from Alien:

"Max says he had a clear direction from Scott. "Ridley said, 'I don't want it to be too Giger-y, but I don't want to give it all up either.""

I have to admit this makes me sad. Seeing as these are the same race that built the ship in the first film I don't see why they couldn't have gone 100% Giger on the ship design.

Yeah, that makes me real sad. Why not stick with the same 'derelict' design as seen in Alien?

I wonder how they intend to explain away the differences between the alien ship in Prometheus and the one in Alien, to say nothing in the difference in size (and biology - it's NOT a damn suit!) of the Space Jockey.

Giger's designs were a major contributor to what made Alien such a success  - I cannot fathom why Scott is sidelining Giger's design work so much. I realise that he doesn't want to be accused of copying/relying on Alien too much, but even so, I think that moving away from Giger's designs is a huge mistake. Everything that I've seen so far of Prometheus looks too 'clean' and 'flashy' - not visceral, awe-inspiring and disturbing like Alien.

Not at all keen on Lindelof's apparent scriptwork either - and now we know that this 'ancient astronaut' guff is part of the film. WHY do we have to have this daft link to humans? (the script needn't be centred around us - that's just boring).  Prometheus should be 100% 'alien', as was the case with Alien.

Deuterium

Deuterium

#7
Quote from: zecojones on Apr 18, 2012, 04:49:45 PM
Quote"He had accumulated a lot of research based on the original movie and the whole series," remembers Max. "We watched all those movies. Ridley had us screen ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER, and a lot of movies with 'STAR' in the title. There's three of them. I'll let you figure out which ones!"

Which films might these be?  ;D

My first, knee-jerk response...he must be referring to the only real Star Wars (Episodes IV, V, and VI).  On further consideration, I offer the following possible alternative list:

Star Wars (Ep. IV)
Star Trek TMP
Dark Star

EDIT:  ^ Shit, beaten to the punch by Lars Vader.  Lars, we were thinking the exact same thing, LOL.

ryanjayhawk

"The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick

I wonder if this is just designer talk or if this is actually the planet they live on... When there was talk early on about Prometheus and that we would be visiting the Engineers home planet it seemed very different in my head from what we have seen in the trailers.  The trailers and pictures that have been provided do not give me the sense that this planet is a home planet but rather just a base if you will... like a bunch of pyramids with hangers but not a civilization.

Deuterium

Quote from: ryanjayhawk on Apr 18, 2012, 05:26:28 PM
"The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick

I wonder if this is just designer talk or if this is actually the planet they live on... When there was talk early on about Prometheus and that we would be visiting the Engineers home planet it seemed very different in my head from what we have seen in the trailers.  The trailers and pictures that have been provided do not give me the sense that this planet is a home planet but rather just a base if you will... like a bunch of pyramids with hangers but not a civilization.

This might be obvious to everyone, already, but nevertheless...
Might this confirm that the "Engineers" are in no way related to the "Space Jockeys", except by causal association?  Furthermore, I assume it is the Space Jockeys who designed and pilot the Derelict class ship.  It would be hard to reconcile the fact that the Prometheus is (apparently) able to intercept and ram the Derelict ship, if it was designed and operated by a race so technologically advanced as to be incomprehensible.  The only satisfactory explanation is that the Derelict craft is not constructed and controlled by the Engineers, but is purely a product of the Space Jockey civilization...which is more or less at "relative" technological parity with the Human civilization.  Any difference would be of degree, and not of kind.

Again, I realize this is probably no astounding revelation...however, it does raise an interesting possibility/implication.  Perhaps this idea has been raised already, but if so, I don't recall it:  The Space Jockeys are in the exact same predicament as the Humans.  They have been lured and ensnared by the "Engineers". 

How these 3 separate factions interact may be the crux of the story.  Could a provisional alliance be formed between the Space Jockeys and the Humans?  If so, how do we explain the kamikaze action by the Prometheus against the Derelict ship? 

Zeta Reticuli

Quote from: Deuterium on Apr 18, 2012, 05:58:53 PM
Quote from: ryanjayhawk on Apr 18, 2012, 05:26:28 PM
"The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick

I wonder if this is just designer talk or if this is actually the planet they live on... When there was talk early on about Prometheus and that we would be visiting the Engineers home planet it seemed very different in my head from what we have seen in the trailers.  The trailers and pictures that have been provided do not give me the sense that this planet is a home planet but rather just a base if you will... like a bunch of pyramids with hangers but not a civilization.

This might be obvious to everyone, already, but nevertheless...
Might this confirm that the "Engineers" are in no way related to the "Space Jockeys", except by causal association?  Furthermore, I assume it is the Space Jockeys who designed and pilot the Derelict class ship.  It would be hard to reconcile the fact that the Prometheus is (apparently) able to intercept and ram the Derelict ship, if it was designed and operated by a race so technologically advanced as to be incomprehensible.  The only satisfactory explanation is that the Derelict craft is not constructed and controlled by the Engineers, but is purely a product of the Space Jockey civilization...which is more or less at "relative" technological parity with the Human civilization.  Any difference would be of degree, and not of kind.

Again, I realize this is probably no astounding revelation...however, it does raise an interesting possibility/implication.  Perhaps this idea has been raised already, but if so, I don't recall it:  The Space Jockeys are in the exact same predicament as the Humans.  They have been lured and ensnared by the "Engineers". 

How these 3 separate factions interact may be the crux of the story.  Could a provisional alliance be formed between the Space Jockeys and the Humans?  If so, how do we explain the kamikaze action by the Prometheus against the Derelict ship?

its an intriguing concept.
this whole idea that some unknown alien race is luring other civilizations into traps so they could harvest their DNA and maybe adopt some of their technology really leaves space for alot of possibilities.
especially when you think about all the Weyland technology we have seen in the viral stuff. at that time mankind certainly has alot of interesting technology to offer that some alien race would like to check out, maybe just to see if we humans are becoming too powerful and worth of being wiped out.
it's clear that the engineer/Space Jockey link could hold some surprises.

ryanjayhawk

Quote from: Deuterium on Apr 18, 2012, 05:58:53 PM
Quote from: ryanjayhawk on Apr 18, 2012, 05:26:28 PM
"The people who inhabit this planet, called the Engineers, and their technology, is beyond anything we're able to know or understand, but it has to be visually interesting. That's, I think, the hardest challenge, too, because we have to compete with the most iconic science fiction creature ever. Trying to come up with something that's going to rival that is the real trick

I wonder if this is just designer talk or if this is actually the planet they live on... When there was talk early on about Prometheus and that we would be visiting the Engineers home planet it seemed very different in my head from what we have seen in the trailers.  The trailers and pictures that have been provided do not give me the sense that this planet is a home planet but rather just a base if you will... like a bunch of pyramids with hangers but not a civilization.

This might be obvious to everyone, already, but nevertheless...
Might this confirm that the "Engineers" are in no way related to the "Space Jockeys", except by causal association?  Furthermore, I assume it is the Space Jockeys who designed and pilot the Derelict class ship.  It would be hard to reconcile the fact that the Prometheus is (apparently) able to intercept and ram the Derelict ship, if it was designed and operated by a race so technologically advanced as to be incomprehensible.  The only satisfactory explanation is that the Derelict craft is not constructed and controlled by the Engineers, but is purely a product of the Space Jockey civilization...which is more or less at "relative" technological parity with the Human civilization.  Any difference would be of degree, and not of kind.

Again, I realize this is probably no astounding revelation...however, it does raise an interesting possibility/implication.  Perhaps this idea has been raised already, but if so, I don't recall it:  The Space Jockeys are in the exact same predicament as the Humans.  They have been lured and ensnared by the "Engineers". 

How these 3 separate factions interact may be the crux of the story.  Could a provisional alliance be formed between the Space Jockeys and the Humans?  If so, how do we explain the kamikaze action by the Prometheus against the Derelict ship?

I agree that a lot of things point to the Jockey we know (from both the trailer and the original Alien) not being the Engineer.  We have clearly different ships Saucer compared to Derelict, the idea that a ship like the Prometheus could take down an Engineer ship by ramming it, and of course the fact that we have seen so much of the familiar Space Jockey.  I think this may be the crux or the movie of the big shocker.  Plus is leaves more to be explored if they decide to go sequel. 

nendo

nendo

#12
Quote from: Jenga on Apr 18, 2012, 04:44:21 PM
This is our answer for why they derelict and temple in this film looks so much like alien but without the more literally biomechnaical details from Alien:

"Max says he had a clear direction from Scott. "Ridley said, 'I don't want it to be too Giger-y, but I don't want to give it all up either.""

I have to admit this makes me sad. Seeing as these are the same race that built the ship in the first film I don't see why they couldn't have gone 100% Giger on the ship design.

Its an art choice by Ridley. Its his film at the end of the day

acrediblesource

I love how Ridley poses his answers that are so easily misinterpreted by a reader.
This statement could be interpreted as  , 'I don't want it (the job)to be too Giger-y, but I don't  want to  give  it (the job) all up either.""
in any case it would mean "damned if you did, damned if you don't".

Whats your thoughts on this? any one else think so?

ChrisPachi

ChrisPachi

#14
"This race of interplanetary visitors who have given us upgrades – mentally and physically – over the millennium."

Someone put a gag on this guy, stat! Seriously, spoiler much? (Max, not ikarop.)

Ugh, now I know that I hate the premise of this film. IMO the connection to Alien better be tenuous at best, else this bullshit plot element is going to do some serious damage.

AvPGalaxy: About | Contact | Cookie Policy | Manage Cookie Settings | Privacy Policy | Legal Info
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Patreon RSS Feed
Contact: General Queries | Submit News