Unit 7 - Part 2

For the second part of unit 7, we collaborated with the masters filmmaking students at Goldsmiths University. They pitched each of their films to us, explaining the story and aesthetics, and then we chose which one we wanted to work on, as the art department.

I chose to work on Raja's Had Enough, a film about Raja, who works at the femicide department of the afterlife and sneaks to Earth to save a stranger, Zoey, from her upcoming murder. I chose to work on this film, as the story sounded exciting and I thought that the surreal and fantastical elements of the story would provide an opportunity to design something other-worldly.

We first met with the director and producers to understand the visual look they wanted for the film. They referred to The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946) as references for the design of the afterlife. They liked the surreal feeling of the sets in A Matter of Life and Death, as well as the pastel and quirky symmetry in The Grand Budapest Hotel. They also referred to Promising Young Woman (2020) as a reference for the design of the exterior locations, as they liked the neon colours and lights in this film. For Zoey's house, they mentioned Get Out (2017) as a reference, because of the way the designer has subverted warm and inviting colours in a way that creates a creepy and intense atmosphere.

We also looked at the mood boards the director had put together.

After learning about their inspirations, I put together a mood board for the afterlife. I looked into the sets of The Grand Budapest Hotel and A Matter of Life and Death. I also researched the work of Alexis Christodoulou and Andres Reisinger, two digital artists who create surreal, imagined architectural spaces. I also explored retro-futuristic architecture, as I felt that this combined the pastel look of Wes Anderson and the surreal aesthetic of A Matter of Life and Death.

Next, Rhianna created the main script breakdown with a prop list. This would mean that we can organise ourselves better and keep track of what needs to get done. She also created a budget list for each location, which helped us to track our spending.

After clarifying what needed to be done, we assigned roles to each person. My main role was to oversee the creation of the graphics for the Afterlife set, but we also helped each other with general tasks in the design and creation of each set.

I started by doing some research into design pieces that could inspire the graphics of the Afterlife set. I looked at Annie Atkins' work, as she was the graphic designer for The Grand Budapest Hotel, and her work maintains this symmetrical and retro aesthetic. I also looked at vintage propaganda posters, as I felt that they emulate the organisation and order of The Afterlife Bureau.

I first explored different fonts I could use. I tried to look for fonts that had a retro-futuristic feel to them.

For the first iteration of designs, I experimented with the composition used in propaganda posters. I included straight and diagonal lines in order to evoke the sense of order and control that is present in The Afterlife Bureau.

After reviewing these, I wasn't happy with the font anymore and also decided that I hadn't captured the retro-futuristic feel we were going for. I did a second iteration fo designs in a more vintage and propaganda-like style. I used a more retro font and added grain and texture to achieve this.

I also made a second poster with The Afterlife Bureau logo (designed by Rhianna).

After talking with the director, she decided that they looked too vintage. I then created a third iteration of designs, using a more futuristic font. I also kept it sleek and modern, adding no grain.

After reviewing with the director again, she said that these were too futuristic, and wanted to go with a more classic look. I did a fourth iteration of designs, with a different font and colour scheme. I also included the logo in each of them to make them look more official.

These designs were reviewed again and were approved by the director. This meant that I could go on to print and mount them to be used in the film.

I also designed Afterlife tickets to be used by souls entering The Afterlife Bureau. I used the same font in order to keep the design consistent and created some different options in pastel colours. After talking with the director, she decided to just go with pastel blue tickets.

I also designed emotional baggage tags, to be attached to props in the afterlife. Once again, I stuck to the same font.

When first exploring the afterlife set, there were a few different potential locations. We prepared different options for these locations, so that we would be prepared for when one was confirmed.

The main two options were a church and a corridor. We planned a few different scenarios for each one and presented these to the producers and director to help them in their decision. Rhianna created a blender model to illustrate our ideas and I made plans for each set option to show them the different components.

After reviewing each location and set options, the director and producers chose to go with the corridor. Misseti created a sketch up model for this location.

Next, we broke down which props need to be constructed and sourced, we moved on to preparing for constructing, painting and assembling these.

We first went to the save the world warehouse and sourced a lot of office supplies, which could be used for the afterlife set.

We also went to the corridor location to measure things and also to get a closer look. After doing this, we realised that we needed to cover up a lot of door signs. I designed three different signs for a waiting room, emotional baggage customs and lost and found. I then made illustrator files for them, which Misseti laser cut. Sarah then painted and glued down the signs.

We sourced a desk from Facebook Marketplace to be used for the femicides department desk. Rhianna constructed desk platforms, which I painted, so that the desk could be turned raised to a standing level desk. Sarah painted the desk pieces and I painted the poles. We also ordered files to be placed on the desk.

In the script, Raja scans a pass on her desk. This meant that we had to create a functioning pass scanner. We used a nail UV light dryer as the scanner, which we covered with a box that I laser cut and painted blue.

A few other signs also had to be created. We laser cut and painted location signs to be placed near the lift. We also made a femicides sign by lasercutting and painting letters, which we stuck on to a light box.

Two more props we made were the shelves and eye clock. We laser cut the pieces for both of these, then painted and glued them together.

The main decorative piece of the afterlife set was an anamorphic art piece that Misseti designed and lasercut. I helped to paint the design on these pieces.

Overall, I'm very happy with the work that my group produced. We undertook a great deal of construction within a very short amount of time. We worked well together and maintained clear communication, which helped us get through tasks in an efficient way.

There were some challenges when it came to working with the director and producers from Goldsmiths. There were a few instances of miscommunication and last minute decisions, which sometimes created a tense working environment. However, we mostly worked well together and the few instances of conflict were just caused by misunderstandings between the production team and art department.

This collaboration has taught me valuable skills in conflict resolution, teamwork and time management and I feel that I have gained a lot of experience that will eventually aid me in a professional setting.