The time to begin building the sets for this summer's film is rapidly approaching, and that means getting our designs in order.

James, Rich and I sat down and discussed the mine walls a couple of weeks ago and set out the requirements. We wanted to make a few reusable set pieces that could be moved and reconfigured to create new locations and shots in the mine. That means the pieces have to be interchangeable and must have some standard form to follow. They also have to be light, inexpensive, good looking, and quick to build. At least we're not too demanding! The solution we came up with is very light wood frames to give them shape, a pvc tubing infrastructure so they can stand on their own and paper maché facing.

We worked out the scale and the basic shape. I then took all the ideas we had and started to mock them up in 3d. Here are a few of the renderings:

The first two shots illustrate how the camera will see the set, using the lens and settings we'll be using during the shoot. The blurriness of the mine wall illustrates the depth of field we'll be able to achieve and we also get to see how some of the angles will look.

The other two shots show the construction method. We're going to build 15 panels with a similar profile (that can be used as walls or ceiling). We're also going to build 3 angled sections to allow us to put bends in the mine shaft. Also you can see in the last shot how a roof piece can be removed to allow for lighting.

So there we go, building starts in a week so check back for some photos of the process.